For yuppies only - 12/27/2007

This town is a poor choice for several reasons. The main one is the fact that if you are an average Joe, you will not be able to afford rent, let alone buy a home in hardly any of the areas around Bozeman, and especially not in town. The town is going to engulf most of the Gallatin Valley and it will not be a pretty little mountain town any more. The college is a good one but if you come be prepared to be harassed by every slum lord in town and every employer. It is coming to the point that now students can only live and work on campus. This town has done its best to ignore the university. As far as nightlife, it is fun, until you graduate from college and realize that the few bars where you are accepted are just a place for other students who just want to get drunk. And raising a family? Forget it unless you want to send your kids to extremely cliquey schools where they will be reminded by the "haves" that they are "have nots" and they will be taught by teachers who are there because they had to stay in Montana or they had to stay near the college. Most of them are bitter because Montana has the lowest average salary for teachers in the nation and they are trapped in town by the high living costs. Do some serious thinking before moving here. Unless you are very wealthy, I can guarantee you are better off somewhere else.

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For yuppies only - 12/27/2007

This town is a poor choice for several reasons. The main one is the fact that if you are an average Joe, you will not be able to afford rent, let alone buy a home in hardly any of the areas around Bozeman, and especially not in town. The town is going to engulf most of the Gallatin Valley and it will not be a pretty little mountain town any more. The college is a good one but if you come be prepared to be harassed by every slum lord in town and every employer. It is coming to the point that now students can only live and work on campus. This town has done its best to ignore the university. As far as nightlife, it is fun, until you graduate from college and realize that the few bars where you are accepted are just a place for other students who just want to get drunk. And raising a family? Forget it unless you want to send your kids to extremely cliquey schools where they will be reminded by the "haves" that they are "have nots" and they will be taught by teachers who are there because they had to stay in Montana or they had to stay near the college. Most of them are bitter because Montana has the lowest average salary for teachers in the nation and they are trapped in town by the high living costs. Do some serious thinking before moving here. Unless you are very wealthy, I can guarantee you are better off somewhere else.

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Do some sole (and financial) searching before movi - 11/19/2007

Bozeman was a great little town set amoung beautiful mountain ranges with fantastic recreation oppertunities. However, if you want to survive in Bozeman and enjoy being there you need money before getting there, you most likely will not make it there. Housing is riduclous and pay is so low that most people are working 2-3 jobs, which leaves little time for fun. Montana has many great small towns that will not suck you dry. Bozeman has given way to being anywhere USA with the new Linens and Things, World Market, Home Depot, Lowe's and on and on. Not long ago there was a dirt road where those places are now. One might say why stop growth, the 1% unemployment has put the town in a horrible hiring situtation, McDonald's can't even keep their doors open due to staffing. Many many many college grads are working low wage jobs. For you own future do you homework. They say the way to make a small fortune in Bozeman is to start with a large one. Good luck.

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Pros & Cons - 11/3/2007

PROS: Bozeman is a beautiful town. Surrounded by mountains with easy access to every outdoor activity you could imagine. It's population is just big enough to escape the "small-town" feel, but just small enough to get to know your neighbor. CONS: While the above mentioned Pros contribute to a positive "quality of life" there are what I consider two major pitfalls: cost-of-living and lack of culture. The cost of living is very high making it impossible for the average Joe to own a home. It definitely either takes a two-earner income or landing one of the few professional jobs that actually pay worth a darn. The culture here is very narrow-minded. You have your western/cowboy/mountain/outdoor culture and that's about it. And even that is losing it's identity among the strip malls and over-development. I'm from the area(caucasian), but my husband is not, and he stands out as being from a different ethnic background. He says of all the places he has lived (Idaho, California, Utah, Washington, Texas, Billings,MT) that Bozeman is the least accepting of cultural and ethnic differences. Unless you talk to one of the many Californians that have migrated here many of the people in Bozeman are sheltered and narrow-minded. My husband has been employed with three different companies during our time here in Bozeman and all three of them have treated him with very little respect or professionalism. He has experieneced discrimination on many occasions (amongst employees, public service, restaurants, and retail), and I have been witness to it and have been embarrassed and appalled. I'm from Billings, Montana - grew up there and rarely saw such intolerance. You can't ask a native, caucasian Bozemanite if Bozeman is accepting of other cultures and open-minded, because they haven't experienced the other end of it.

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Nice place but... - 10/21/2007

Bozeman is a great place to live but is experiencing major growing pains. Quickly turning into "Anywhere, USA", complete with box stores, chain restaurants, high housing costs and homeless folks. Eight months of winter can get a bit old after a while. They don't call it the "great white pesticide" for nothing. Employment statistics are deceiving. Unemployment is low but keep in mind that because wages are low, most folks are working two or three jobs to be able to afford to live here. There is a true saying in Bozeman, "the scenery is your salary." Only problem is that you can't pay your mortgage with that. There are lots of trust fund folks that seem to do just fine.

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WAS a great town - 10/21/2007

I agree whole heartedly with the fact that Bozeman is ruining what made it great. The city has pretty much turned it's back on the university and it's students by catering to out of state yuppies (case in point: The R Bar). The town will hire the local college grads, and pay them peanuts, because they can (a lot of grads would like to stay), I stayed an extra year and all my engineering degree got me was a job swinging a hammer and a night job slinging pizza just trying to make ends meet. The only success to be found in Bozeman is if you bring your own money or get your degree and get out. I worked building customs homes, never a single Montanan client, never met an MSU grad in Bozeman making more than 50K/yr, which will never buy a house in Bozeman (Belgrade maybe). Gallatin county will continue to grow into a unrecognizeable blob of over priced houses while the college students won't be able to afford to set foot off campus.

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Great little town with a lot of recreation. - 9/25/2007

Bozeman is a great place to live. There are outdoor activities galore and the people are friendly. People move to Bozeman for the winters to ski but stay for the summers. There is so much to do including, hiking, camping, fishing, white water rafting, mountain biking, climbing, floating, or going to the weekly outdoor concerts. It is hard to beat the beauty of driving along the Gallatin River through the Gallatin Canyon. Bozeman is a great place.

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Lovely place to live, work, recreate and raise a f - 9/25/2007

Bozeman, Montana is a quickly growing town that still maintains a small town feel. Nestled in the heart of the Gallatin Valley, Bozeman is surrounded by soaring mountains, numerous rivers, vast open landscape and of course, the Big Sky. I have lived in Bozeman on and off since 1973. As a kid I loved riding my horses through the mountain trails, my bike along the gravel roads and cruising up and down main street visiting Western Drug or Crazy Daze. After graduating high school I moved away for college and several years past that. I returned in 1998 because I could think of no better place to raise my two children. Since moving back I have enjoyed the same wonderful events that wowed me as a kid. The Sweet Pea Festival, Music on Main, The Montana State Bobcats, floating the Madison, hiking through Hylite and skiing Bridger Bowl and Big Sky (and now Moonlight Basin!) just to name a few. There are new ones, too, that are just as enjoyable such as The Christmas Stroll, Hawthorne's Celebration of the Arts and the Broadway Series. And of course, I still love Western Drug and Crazy Daze! Bozeman has grown and changed but all in a good way. Our economy is strong with low unemployment, housing is still affordable (although you can spend a lot, too, if you want), and the old town charm is still intact. We have the best of both worlds in Bozeman. Great restaurants, lots of entertainment and cultural events coincide with the mud bogs at the Summer County Fair and a good ole down home rodeo can be found every weekend in the summer. We get to hike the mountains or fish the streams or bike the trails within minutes of leaving our homes. I feel very fortunate to be able to call Bozeman my home.

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if you don't know already . . . why bother? - 9/12/2007

bozeman is a place for people who love mountains, the outdoors, winter, farmers markets, local beer, ice-skating in parks, sledding, hunting, hiking, biking, fishing, rafting, music, festivals, road trips, yellowstone, wolf-watching, barns, haystacks, horses, bluegrass, and sunsets. if you don't like these things, why are you reading this? if you prefer your high-paying jobs and your high-rise apartments, you won't fit in. if you are an improviser, a friend, a good neighbor, and a lover of open spaces and beautiful places, you'll find a way to make it work. my advice to those who want to move here: start a business. add something. grow something. that is the easiest way to get to know the community.

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Wannabe big city - 8/22/2007

This town is completely anti-student. Every business here will not hire college students and they will not rent to them at apartments. Wake up people! This town would hardly exist if there were not university. Traffis is horrible for a town this size. The growth is positively uncontrolled. There is a complete lack of planning and yet they just keep building more and more. Houseing is in the $250,000 range and that will get you a cheaply-built cookie cutter. People move here because it is pretty and yet they are ruining the very thing that makes it that way. The other people who stay are former college students who do not know any home away from home and are too scared to leave. There is one over-crowded high school which is extremely cliquey. The people in general are some of the most inconsiderate, selfish people you will ever meet. Any working Joe will have no hope of ever owning a house and will just be in the "have not" category. Come to go to college (if you can afford it), then get the heck out for someplace better. Unless you are a lawyer, doctor, architect, or trust fund baby you cannot afford this place. I left after college and will never come back.

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Bozeman: Beautiful, but Overrated - 6/16/2007

We moved here on account of my new job; my better half did not have a position, but wound-up finding something within 1 1/2 months of moving here. Both of us are in IT; he had to take a position he was overqualified for (but we worried about not being able to pay the bills). The Positive: Beautiful scenery, nice Main Street, some chains if you prefer shopping at them (Target, Macy's, Costco, Home Depot, and so on), friendly people, beautiful summer, and VERY family-friendly. The Negative: Very white! I thought I could get over this, having traveled extensively, but with the lack of diversity and the attitudes of some (who have rarely traveled outside the state or have never traveled outside the state at all), I'm appalled at some of the things that spill from the mouth---I didn't move here thinking everyone was a cowboy, so why do they have attitudes about where I'm from? Some people do not like out-of-staters moving in; however, I've found that to come from the mouths of babes who relocated here. Food and utilities are cheaper, but housing is overpriced and salaries do not make-up for this fact. Sadly, don't come here if you don't have a job---a lot of people live that pipe dream, come here and struggle. There is a degree of snobbishness on Main Street. My suggestions? If you want a nice mountain town, move to either Boise or Salt Lake City.

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Anti-Student College Town - 1/5/2007

Bozeman is a very beautiful town but unfortunately it has fallen victim to the "end of the rainbow" mentality. People are trying to find their piece of paradise and driving the land value up to the point that the average Joe cannot afford to live there anymore. The price of housing is prohibitive and rent is also outrageous. $350 will get you a flea bag apartment. Speaking of apartments,slum lords run rampant in this collge town with no pride in their university. The town is so anti-student that many of the local stores will not hire students nor will apartment managers rent to them. The surropunding communities are not much cheaper to live in anymore. The one plus that they have is that some are not as cliquey as Bozeman is.

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not to late to change your mind about moving here - 11/3/2006

Bozeman is great if : independently wealthy/trust fund/bring your own job and salary. Montana State Univ wages are rock bottom, hopefully you have an expensive house to sell before moving here, because home prices are the same here, only the salaries are 1/3 of what you need (can you monetize the views to pay bills??). Affordable housing is available on the other side of the mountain pass, except winter road closures are frequent. People ride bikes here cause they need affordable transportation. Good Luck making a go of it out here......

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Response to Costa Rican poster - 8/15/2006

I think the Costa Rican poster would feel very comfortable in Bozeman. It's true that the large majority of people here are white. This is SLOWLY starting to change. That being said, there is a group of Costa Rican students that come to town on a foreign exhange every summer, and there are many others from different countries. I'm a member of a Spanish conversation club who would love the opportunity to practice with a native speaker! Our university here means that Bozemanites tend to be more open to different cultures than those in some other towns. Just be ready for the visual shock if you're coming from a place with a lot of ethnic diversity.

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Bozeman's people - 7/6/2006

I have been considering to move to Bozeman, but I have an inquiry that cannot be answered by stats or research. How are Bozeman's people towards foreign people. I am from Costa Rica and my wife is from Indianapolis, IN. I do realize that it should not matter but I also realize is not my country and some people are bothered by it, besides I would not like to live in a place where I wont feel welcome at all. Can someone tell about it... all comments are welcome. In Indianapolis people are in the overall fine with foreigners with some exceptions to the rule of course.

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beautiful bozeman is most expensive place to live - 4/17/2006

cost of living is high

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Love it here!! - 4/7/2006

What a place to raise a family! I am a Realtor here in Bozeman, and would love to help you get started moving to "the last best place"! Feel free to contact me at: treasuremt2004@yahoo.com Happy trails!

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The last best place - 3/31/2006

Boze is beautiful. Great for kids. hard to make a living. But if you are gainfully employed, it is truly the most beautiful place on earth. Growing too fast. Alli

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hidden paradise - 1/10/2006

Lived in Bozeman for three years. Friendly people, clean and beautiful city. Very educated population but it is being invaded by people from California, Seattle, Denver... Beautiful summers and winters. I remember many winters eating outside for lunch and they are nothing compared to the winters where I spent most of my life, Chicago, there is little or no wind and no wind chill and the snow is ambiance not a nuisance, the flashing light at the top of the old Bozeman hotel flashes when there is 2" or more of fresh powder at Bridger Bowl. I'll be back soon.

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Bozeman - Beautiful for College, Skiing, or Relaxi - 10/13/2005

Lived in Bozeman for 8 great years, 5 spent in college. Great place to go to school, especially if you love the outdoors (skiing, fly-fishing, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, camping). Nice, moderate-sized campus, w/ reputable education facilities, especially the sciences. Very clean and friendly. Great place to raise a family. Not a very good place to make money, though. Average household income is below par, and is tough to truly save money. The winter season is very long, cold, & snowy, but the short-lived summers are gorgeous. Overall, a great small mountain town for families or college students.

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