Its like living in a Steven King movie
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3/27/2018
We moved to Butte because my wife said she liked the look of the old timey western buildings uptown and that people seemed friendly here. I tried to talk her out of it, but she had made up her mind. Living here now for about 5 years is akin to living on a movie set. It is not at all as it appears. The Old Timey buildings are actually just piles of rubble waiting for demolition that never comes. The friendly people actually are from a movie set, maybe a Steven King movie where they all share a horrible secret that they must keep secret. The secret is like a cancer with tendrils everywhere waiting for the moment to unfurl its long fingers and wreak havoc on your life. Homebuying was like trying to navigate a gorged spring creek with sweepers and jams around every bend. We were sucked in by an agent posing as a knowledge guide. The weather is something people always like to complain about because there is common ground. In Butte, that ground is frozen most of the year and when its not frozen its leaking dangerous poisons, chemicals and minerals that do cause cancer. We have one of, if not the biggest EPA superfund sites in the nation and the mining company is still making it worse by the day, chiseling and blasting away at the mountain just as they do in Appalachia. Luckily, I am retired so I thought, oh, how bad could it be, living here in Butte? My wife found out a short time later after securing a professional position here. It turns out that working in Butte is more dependent on the nature of your ability to socialize during the day rather than your ability to produce a viable product or complete a deadline. Yes, here in Butte, the deadline is the anytime and having gone to high school with the boss supersedes responsibility and expertise. If you do find a job or have planned sufficiently for your retirement and can afford leisure time I guarantee you won’t want to spend any time or money here because local businesses cater to those folks that have lived here their entire life, never having ventured out of the county – and proud of it mind you. As a result, local business’s do not aspire to stock the latest anything, but rather the same stale repertoire of items and services from the 1950’s at best. The local clerks and owners go out of their way to not offer an alternative to what you need or want. If entertainment for you consists of finding a local bar and drinking until the lights go out, then you’re in luck in Butte. It seems like there is a bar on every corner, but if you want a venue of live music, comedy or theater you must venture uptown into a single building where looking for the nearest exit is wise and prudent. If a restaurant and fine dining is your avenue of respite, then keep on driving because if you stop here, at the least you’ll be deeply disappointed at the worst need a few days to recover. Yes indeed, I suggest you just keep your eyes on the road and keep on driving.
Dissapointed | Butte-Silver Bow, MT