The Last Best Place
We moved to Montana to get away from smog, traffic, crime, stress of jobs and family obligations. We found a place with blue sky, no freeways, a low crime rate, little stress and left our family behind us. It was good for the first few years and then Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Famous Dave's and Bed, Bath and Beyond showed up in the middle of the Flathead Valley. Lots of cars, bumper-to-bumper traffic at noon in the heart of Kalispell, and our police log became longer and much more graphic. Seemed like everybody in Texas, Arizona, Florida and Canada decided to load up a U-Haul and move in down the street.
Montana's millionth resident is coming soon. We will reach a major milestone later this year when the state tops 1 million residents for the first time. We are now the nation's fastest-growing region as reported by our local newspaper. People come here to vacation then decide to live here permanently so they can enjoy fly-fishing, boating, rafting, skiing, snow boarding, golf and the average morning commute of only 17 minutes.
2010 Census counted 994,416 Montanans, with the millionth Montanan projected to appear in November or December of this year. This means a sort of "closing of the frontier", and the next thing you know we will have yet another Super Walmart and another Starbucks.
To some this is normal and progressive and good for business. I find it sad and disappointing that wide open spaces will now be bulldozed down for single family homes and baseball diamonds. Although you will find plenty of trucks, dogs, guns and wild turkeys in NW Montana and everybody wears jeans, there is very little diversity here with regard to folks of other races. Montanans are 89.5% white, compared to a national average of 74.5%.
I don't want more traffic. I'd rather not have air pollution. I'd like people to come and visit, take their pictures, buy their t-shirt and then get out.
Some say to live in Montana you must be a "lifestyle warrior" meaning you are willing to accept less income to live and play in this state. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the 10 million tourists who visit the area each year will take a look-see and then go home.
Montana's millionth resident is coming soon. We will reach a major milestone later this year when the state tops 1 million residents for the first time. We are now the nation's fastest-growing region as reported by our local newspaper. People come here to vacation then decide to live here permanently so they can enjoy fly-fishing, boating, rafting, skiing, snow boarding, golf and the average morning commute of only 17 minutes.
2010 Census counted 994,416 Montanans, with the millionth Montanan projected to appear in November or December of this year. This means a sort of "closing of the frontier", and the next thing you know we will have yet another Super Walmart and another Starbucks.
To some this is normal and progressive and good for business. I find it sad and disappointing that wide open spaces will now be bulldozed down for single family homes and baseball diamonds. Although you will find plenty of trucks, dogs, guns and wild turkeys in NW Montana and everybody wears jeans, there is very little diversity here with regard to folks of other races. Montanans are 89.5% white, compared to a national average of 74.5%.
I don't want more traffic. I'd rather not have air pollution. I'd like people to come and visit, take their pictures, buy their t-shirt and then get out.
Some say to live in Montana you must be a "lifestyle warrior" meaning you are willing to accept less income to live and play in this state. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the 10 million tourists who visit the area each year will take a look-see and then go home.