gorgeous place that gets daaamn cold for extended periods of time.

Between Big Sky and the Beartooths there are a million and one other- wordly places to see.

Shoot pool at the Molly Brown, eat bacon at the Cat's Paw, Snowboard at Big Sky and Bridger, and shop at one of the best co-op grocery stores in the good ol' USA.

well it is about -8c right now.

Do you like Cowboys?....once heard it said, Montana is a beautiful place and a not so nice place to starve. Things have changed since then with the Star Money coming to the state. Keep in mind you have to land a Star. Oh ya, if you fly fish, consider yourself in heaven.

bozeman has the reputation of being a nice place to live, if you can stand the weather - it's got a university that, in a very conservative state, tends to be a very liberal influence - if you're the outdoorsy type, you can't beat the million acreas of beautiful scenery that surround bozeman

the weather and the outdoors aren't an issue. i come from cold weather, and i love the outdoors, especially skiing. i'm more concerned about what the town is like; cost of living, is there an art scene there, what is the influence of the local architecture school, nightlife, etc.

I wouldn't call Montana conservative, more independent than anything. They were one of only 2 states to go from republican to democrat in the last gov. race (first time in 20 years) and the State Senate went from from 29-21 Republican to 27-23 Democrat.

I think the national race was more about the 'the devil you know...'

--

It is shockingly expensive (mainly the cost of food) but being 15 minutes from a ski resort has its' plus side - if you ski. Too much for us - we're moving to Minneapolis next month.

hmmm...the median salary for architect II from salary.com was barely 30k/yr. it sounds great, but i'm concerned about the money issue especially. small towns in the west tend to be incredibly cheap or incredibly expensive, depending on the proximity to ski resorts.

JOb Captain - all salaries in montana are damn low. And bozeman has one of the highest costs of living in the state. But not quite as high as Park City or an actual resort town. It's far enough from the ski hills not to be affected extremely by things like resort tax etc. So don't expect to get rich. Most people are there for the skiing and the outdoors rather then the "happening" nightlife. Architecture school is decent, hell I went there. We did have this terrible guest prof from england that was a complete drunk buttt... Bozeman tends to have a higher architecture standard than the rest of the state and I think a more interesting clientele. There are a few really class works around there if you seek them out. Design-build is big. There's also a art community that while maybe not thriving like larger cities is definently alive and well. Couple of film-festivals that are gaining attention. The architecture school is kinda the center of the arch. community and there are a ton of firms in Bozeman. (per capita) If your looking for a higher salary seek out the satellite firms of larger companies that are there. I'd suggest one of the smaller ones though if you want to work on more "desireable" projects.

jasoncross - screw the cat's paw. eat your bacon at the stockyard, the greatest breakfast place in the world.

I never heard of the stockyard while I was there...94/95...I did date the girl who did all production for the flightpath though...the flightpath was the place to see any decent touring shows...I hope its still thriving.

Being from Texas though, I could not handle another winter in Montana. I lived in Cooke City for a winter and there was the low of -42 degrees...that was when I knew I had, had enough of those Montana winters...but it is absolutely gorgeous up there while it lasted.

For some intertesting architecture check out Paradise Valley between Livingston and Gardiner...some nice work through there and its not far from Bozeman at all.

Cameron,
What is "shockingly" expensive?

I'm living in New York right now, which most would consider expensive, and I'm looking for my next place to live (a few years off). Bozeman is definitely on my list also (I spent a month there in 2004), but I didn't realize the cost of living is so high.

Minneapolis is great also, and on my list, but I'm not sure if I can stand that kind of cold with no mountains around -- even the Catskills, Berkshires, and Poconos are within 1.5-3hrs of NYC.

Lived in NYC - the flatiron/chelsea dist. - for 5 years and moved to Bozeman. (mainly to pick on architecturegeek)

Most restaurants charge between $9-25 for an entree, it is $3 for a decent coffee and a flight out of Bozeman is $400 minimum. I fly almost twice a month so that is where I get hit the most. That being said the people out here are down to earth and pretty laid back and I'll probably miss it once I leave.

I'm only in Minneapolis for the spring to teach at CALA and for most of that I'll be down in Miss./La. (planning a poss. Biloxi Spring Break for students) or in South Asia.

oh yeah it was -25 last night and there is still ice on the inside of my apartment.

i currently live in ann arbor, michigan, and have been told to look for similiar living costs. unfortunately, ann arbor seems to cost more than chicago [except for the price of gas] and, obviously, isn't as interesting. i make about 30k/yr and rent is the pain. i wouldn't mind finding a decent place for around 400 bucks. maybe i'll check craig's list.

If you can handle roomates you could find rent for that amount. Where Cameron's living (judging by the photo I don't actually know) the rent is about 400 but in order to be in the graduate housing area you need to be enrolled or teaching at the school. If you don't mind a bit of a commute you can find fairly low rent. Just realize when the weather is frightful commuting is out. There's a ton of new apartment complexes so housing should be in abundance. Threre are actually a couple of new urban "experiments" going on near town as well.


get used to this and then sunshine the next day. then a day of rain followed by 50 degree weather.

I'm headed back there next week for 10 days of skiing. woot!

take back, cameron looks like he's still in the Cat Eye another good breakfast joint.

thanks i appreciate the input. i'm not sure how long i'll stay in bozeman if i go. if i fall in love with it, maybe the rest of my life. but more likely a year and a half, or two ski seasons. my ultimate goal is to live in a large coastal city, though i've acquired some contacts in montana and thought i might try to relax for a year or two and follow through on some job possibilities. because two years from now, if i'm in ny or sf or whatever, and am working 80 hours a week, it might be nice to have been in montana.

im headed to big sky this weekend. we are staying at the rainbow lodge. any recommendations for bars, food, or whatever ????

Doesn't look like much from the outside ... but, good food, good atmosphere and great wine list.

Why is everyone so afraid of cold weather. Your body will acclimate to it quite quickly, and Montana has good dry air which doesn't feel near as cold as, oh, a windy day during a Chicago winter.

I lived in Houston for years and never was bothered by the heat and humidity. After moving back north I got used to the cold within the first month of winter. Of all the places I've lived I still say Chicago is the coldest.

Montana is a beautiful state. I tend to like the Missoula and west areas better for scenery, but Bozeman did seem like a nice progressive town. Don't really know the area outside of traveling. One thing to note though is the entire state is extremely isolated from major cities. Seattle is a long way west, Denver is a long way south and Minneapolis is a long way east. Cameron is right about the flights. Not the place to be if jetsetting is your priority.

well, i've flown to bozeman for cheap before. probably i wouldn't be doing a lot of flying, maybe the occasional trip to seattle or denver. i am not afraid of the cold. probably a lot of the people on this site are from southern california, and they have a warped understanding of what weather is supposed to be.

Yeah and that same good dry air meant cracked and bleeding hands during the winter. I'd prefer the moisture personally, I grew up in northwest montana where it's significantly more humid. You're right about being aclimated. I'm in seattle now and 30 degrees feels downright balmy compared to back home.

If your really worried about cheap flights go to Salt Lake or Spokane (both relatively short drives.. 4-6 hours.. that'd be short my MT standards)

I'll be passed out drunk downtown sometime next week, and really that's the ultimate "quality" of Bozeman life.

Yes, I prefer the humidity as well. Just saying that humidity does make cold air feel differently.

I do like your ultimate "quality" of Bozeman life. Went up there while in college to go skiing, but did more drinking with MT State students than anything else.

Not sure how you get to Spokane or Salt Lake in just 4 hours. In winter it could be much more. Another option for getting out of town would be heading up to Calgary, AB. They've got plenty of charters out of there to Europe and Mexico destinations. Flights to the USA from there aren't cheap from my experience.

Flying in/out of Jackson is also a ton cheaper than flying out of Bozeman.