Here’s what you need to know about Missoula
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4/26/2019
I’ve lived here most of my life. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not a snooty local who doesn’t like change. I’ve wanted Missoula to grow past its old 60k population of (white) rednecks and (very white) yuppies for ages. And it is. That is, for the most part, fantastic. If you’re considering a move to Missoula, now might be the best time (not to say I’d recommend).
I won’t complain about the fact summer the last few years has been rechristened “construction”—those are just the growing pains of a small city getting bigger fast for the first time. There are more new and exciting restaurants, etc than ever, better infrastructure, greater diversity (by about 1%); all that. However, there are a few things you should know.
On the off-chance you’re considering this place for its college, UM has become a burning trash heap and that’s not about to change. This being something of a college town, that ethos has infected the rest of the city. We’re also seeing the vibrant, historic Missoula—even the bits that could ostensibly be maintained, bettered, and flourish—demolished each year in favor of ugly “big city” homogeneity in architecture that doesn’t quite make sense for a place still populated by ~70k. Median income is too low to fill the cookie cutter houses infringing closer and closer on the town center, so open fields, mountainsides, etc that have been replaced with suburbia often sit empty. (This is helped along by the fact that even most transplants come here looking for somewhere like the U District to live, and locals aren’t about to retire from that (admittedly fantastic) area of Missoula life to suburbia.) Additionally, I’ll say that if you’re moving here from anywhere south of the OR/CO/MN/NY line, you will not be able to handle the winter. Not that we don’t want you here—despite what some may say, Missoula locals are pathetically welcoming of transplants. However, I’d say 9/10 people I know who’ve moved here in adulthood, especially to get away from this or that in Cali or the east coast) leave for southern climates after a year or two. I adore the winter here, but you must know that it is not all charming snow or even tolerable ice. Especially with recent climate change, please expect, yes, a couple months of drop dead gorgeous summer weather, followed by 6-8 months of utter darkness, sleet, and slush, with maybe one bright month or two of actual snow. Even though Missoula has been in the same spot since, well, it existed, the city still has no idea how to handle ice on city roads, so we get countless fatal crashes each winter, not to mention the guarantee that you’ll end up in at least a couple fender benders whether you’re the world’s best driver or not.
As far as the people themselves... countless friends who have left look back on Missoula in horror at its toxicity. Everyone, especially those (you know, the yuppies) who moved here in the 70s/80s, will tell you nobody is nicer anywhere. I’m not one to make generalizations, but I am to this day shocked at how bitter, manipulative, apathetic or outright evil the population is. Especially those who have lived here a while and gotten a foothold in the community feel, particularly these days, so entitled to live in “desirable” Missoula that they are ruthless (and often in the gray area of the law), in personal and professional interactions. With Missoula somewhere between a small town and a city with a potential for growth, business/real estate monopolies that have been here for generations have evolved into something entitled and, frankly, terrifying in their disregard for the law, and that also goes for your average joe. On another note, if you are comfortable (or even eager to be) living somewhere where literally everyone knows everyone (and thus knows everything about everyone), you shouldn’t be. That may work in a charming small-town way elsewhere, but in Missoula it quickly becomes incredibly toxic.
This review has gone on far too long, but I’ll just say this. I still believe Missoula and some of the surrounding area would be the perfect place to raise a family, but I wouldn’t advise moving here for anything but that for the next ten years at least. Missoula is a city going through its very uncomfortable teenage years in terms of growth, and until it stabilizes (i.e., perhaps grows into its smug title as Mini Portland), it’s a pretty dismal place to live for most.
Eliz | Missoula, MT