Bozoulian | Column by Pete Talbot
What’s Underneath the “Snobbery” of Bozeman and Missoula
By Pete Talbot, 3-24-06
There have been comments that this column has slighted the other cities and towns in Montana."You folks in Bozeman and Missoula are snobs," a woman in Kalispell remarked.
She’s right. We can be pretentious. You don’t hear the spontaneous “howdy” on Main St. in Bozeman, or Higgins Ave. in Missoula, anymore. The welcome wagon isn’t quite as welcoming.
Is it because we’re just too cool or are there underlying factors? Could it be that we’re not quite sure what to make of all these new faces on our streets, that we want this breakneck growth to slow a bit, that maybe we’re losing control over the future of our cities?
Change can be scary. Old schools and family cafes close, new schools and franchise fast-food shops open. Our hiking trails and fishing holes become more crowded. And while other Montana cities may not offer sushi or Beaujolais, they also don’t have median home prices approaching $200,000.
After traveling to Great Falls and Billings recently, I remember what Montana cities used to be like. The folks there just seem to be more genuine. They may not be thriving but they’re secure in their Montana way of life. Maybe because Great Falls and Billings aren’t changing as fast as many other New West towns, they’re more accepting of strangers.
I’ve always been proud of Montanans, both urban and rural. They tend to be hard working, independent and they keep their noses out of other people’s business. They judge you by your character, not by your income or skin color or even, usually, your sexual preference. They’re the kind of folks who’ll stop and help you out when your rig breaks down on the highway.
Can we keep these fine attributes? It’s going to be a tough balancing act – to stay accepting of newcomers in the face of monumental change. To do so, we need a plan.
Not everybody agrees on the definition of smart growth, but smart growth is exactly what we need. The true cost of the ten-acre ranchette needs to be figured into the parcel’s price. This means infrastructure, like roads, and the increased police force, firefighters and schools that the outlying areas require. City dwellers shouldn’t have to subsidize these things.
But what about the more intangible costs like loss of open space and wildlife habitat, and access to public lands, or the diminished air and water quality? Figure those costs into the price tag and you’ll see a lot fewer of this these properties on the market. Also, enact a gated community surcharge – few things in Montana are less hospitable than gated communities – then we could use the fees to buy up some open space after we’ve been locked out of these resident-only developments.
Conversely, we need to encourage growth inside our cities, especially in the more blighted areas of our urban core. We need better public transportation, more bicycle and hiking trails and more neighborhood commercial establishments. I believe folks will be friendlier when they get out of their cars and start walking or biking to their neighborhood grocery stores, coffee shops, pizza joints, etc.
These few suggestions may not be the answer to all our snootiness issues but current growth management strategies in Bozeman and Missoula are polarizing people. A change in direction certainly couldn’t hurt.
[End of article]
Pete -
I think that you have some good points, and the topic is definitely worth thoughtful consideration. I do believe that at times Msla and Bzm denizens are 'snobby', but I don't think it's necessarily a function of the city. The folks that hold the snob factor high would be snobby in Montana, California, or Zimbabwe.
These are the folks who consider pretentious lamp shops and four high-end boutiques in a row in their downtown the end-all-be-all of 'cultural presence' in a community. These are the folks who have yet to wrap their minds around the fact that Missoula and Bozeman are not cities in Montana that hold history of community and preservation of local flavor in the highest regard. Higher than box stores and chain restaurants, even. Imagine.
I adore Missoula - I graduated from college there and I had a fantastic time being a student there. I love Bozeman, my grandparents lived there for over 20 years and some of my fondest memories are of the Christmas lights glowing over Main Street in December. I would not live in either city today.
Our Exec. Dir. of the Butte Chamber of Commerce is fond of saying that yes, Butte has a big ol' pit, but every town has its pit, in a way. Missoula and Bozeman residents can barely afford their mortgage payments, find jobs to keep them from being mortgage-poor, or feel comfortable allowing their children to run around in the neighborhood after dark. There are instances of severe gay-bashing in both cities.
I'm just guessing that folks who knee-jerk the comment 'y'all are snobby' are recognizing that some Missoula/Bozeman residents feel that the rest of Montana simply wishes to be them. It ain't so. We like where we live just fine, and don't appreciate the sometimes ethnocentric attitues and sensibilities that occasionally come out of your fine cities.
Jen.
I cannot vouch for Bozeman's snobbishness, but I can say that I have never met people as arrogant and insular as Missoulians. Truly, New Yorkers and Parisians are warm and welcoming in comparison. It seems to me it's a town of shallow intellect and outsized ego that can feel superior in a state that simply has other priorities.
Comment By touchstone, 3-24-06Yup, I'm one of those lazy, co-dependent, nosy people that live in Missoula. I like to judge people, not by the color of their skin or their sexual preference, but by their shoes. And I never help people in trouble, especially big-rig drivers, who as a rule wear horrible shoes.
And Jen! Who are you kidding? We know you want to be a Missoulian!
Okay...in all seriousness...seems like Missoula is a friendly place once you've lived here awhile and have gotten to know the people around you. But couldn't that be said for any place in Montana? I've visited lots of rural places in MT and have often gotten the cold shoulder from locals who seem openly hostile to visitors.
The place friendliest to strangers? New York City.
Let's face it, Butte is the last best city in Montana.
We can still find solitude on the ski trails just north of town, uncrowded lift lines and ferocious back country at Discovery, fine trout fishing on the Big Hole without another angler in sight, abundant public land for elk and mulie and antelope hunting at our elbow, and our own local wilderness area.
In Butte, glorious Victorian homes are cheap, people are friendly, and it's a traffic jam when there are 3 cars at the stoplight.
Yeah for Superfund! - Pat
Pat - ssshhhh.....
:)
Wow. Yeah there are some snobby people in Missoula. But I think it is a little crazy to claim that everyone in a particular town acts the same way. There are plenty of great, down to earth Montanans in Missoula who will still say "hey" to you ont he street. Sure there are more ritzy folks around who define themselves by their suit jacket or shoes, but given a little time and patience, they will be going to professional meetings in jeans in no time. I've been in alot of towns in the west, and I must say there are MANY other towns out there that are far more pretentious than Missoula. Boulder and Aspen Colorado comes to mind. To me Missoula is still a real town, and maybe we sometimes get a little too proud of our town, but that doesn't stop me from waving to my neighbor.
Comment By Mike, 3-25-06Sure, let's have some intellectuals socially engineer our lives with a network of rules to make us all friendlier. That'll do it.
Comment By Mike, 3-26-06Good question, Ewitch.
Holding one's tongue might contribute more to reducing partisanship than expressing another opinion.
I do, however, find it mildly odd that someone would think the secret to being nice to people--newcomers or others--is to be found in central planning.
Uh...liberals are to blame for snobbery?
I am constantly amazed by some people's capacity for self-delusion. This post has nothing, NOTHING to do with politics. Why did you even go there?
Next time you decry partisanship and the polarization of our communities, take a look in the mirror.
"I learned to drive in NYC ... learned to hate in LA."- anon. Start your car in NYC, the horn immediately starts to blast away at 130 Db. But it doesn't mean anything. Come upon a 100 car pileup in So Cal ... there's dead silence ... but a lot of seething. And that means something. Readers' comments that NYC is friendly to strangers is pretty much on the mark. If you visit Manhattan and see a ground-floor line, get in the queue: there'll be good eats and banter at the other end. SoCal has come to the Flathead, Missoula, and Bozeman, where folks are not as friendly as they once were. It's an edginess similar to that of other wannabe burgs seeking legitimacy. Santa Fe and Taos come to mind. And despite its toxic Pit, Butte has far more civility and charm than any number of Western cities. God help its citizens if the Pit is drained, filled with cotton candy, and the developers move in.
Comment By yswolf, 3-27-06Pete,
You grandstanding slut! Who the hell gives you the right to denegrade people in Missoula. We're not arrogant or insecure, you supercilious scotch-swilling toad! We're always open to valid critique. So shut up.
What's the big f-in deal? Even if it's true, why would someone even let this "issue" ruin one's day? Where one lives, there are always going to be good and bad people.
Though there may not be a snobby person in Butte or Billings, I know there's some crazy mofo who lives down the street, who has plenty of firearms and is waiting for an excuse to use them. I'm more scared of that person, then some soft Range Rover driving Cali yuppie transplant with $$$.
Having spent some years working with conservation groups in other Montana towns and sitting on the bleachers with parents from other towns at umpteen gazillion swim meets, I have to say that this whole Snobby Town Contest is damn amusing.
Wish I had it in me to incite further the Bozangelinos vs. Missoulifornicators, but yous seem to be doing a pretty good job on your own.
After a few beers at Pissers Palace, a theory emerged: When people have lost their personal history, sense of place, and (therefore) soul, they get an offer in the mail to buy a title of "c'est noble" (trans: snob). The title often turns out to be an interesting self referential joke -- sort of like those Enlightenment-era Jews living in German states who bought (or were assigned, through the Judenregelment) Germanic secular-sounding surnames and ended up with handles like "Mauskopf" (trans: mousehead).
Anyone for requiring alien transplants to Bozeman and Missoula to buy a new name? [In Butte we aliens can simply make up stories about growing up in Dublin Gulch or Meaderville...]
Reading this article and the comments makes me laugh. As a transplant from the Billings area to Bozeman I have noticed the snootiness here as opposed to the small town feel of Billings. Funny thing is, the author of the article discusses smart growth and the inclusion of hiking and biking trails in development to encourage interaction. Neither Billings nor Great Falls for example have well used trails, neighborhood commercial establishments, or any of the other new urbanism ideals in place that the author suggests, yet both towns are noticeably friendlier than either Missoula or Bozeman.
The problem with the New Urbanist ideals is that you can't recreate the city in the country no matter how hard you try. What is needed is a completely new idea that helps the two ends of the spectrum exist simultaneously, instead of trying to force one condition on another.
However, I can remember a time when Bozeman was a lot more friendly. A time when the CNFR was still here and when cowboy hats were commonplace and not the exception. Hmmm, think there is any correlation? I do. Both Billings and Great Falls are more agriculturally based than either Bozeman or Missoula. Both Missoula and Bozeman have forgotten their roots. Maybe if they look back at how they came to be, there might be an answer there.
Hey Montana, Get a clue -I am From California and we will dominate Missoula and Bozeman with
shear California Numbers of us. We dont give a damm how much the real estate costs. WE HAVE
THIS THING CALLED MONEY $$$$$$$ and you idiots
can move to those dust blown shitholes like Great Falls and Billings. Face it we now own it!!
Crime, Gangs, Faggots, traffic jams and trashing
the enviroment is what or culture is and does---
So GET USE TO IT OR MOVE OUT !!!!! Say Bye Bye to
all the Prime western Land idiots!!!
Hey Billy, I would like to get my hands around your Califagia throat. Who the hell do you think you are you little queer biach? Go back to your
Liberal little fruit basket and take all your
Golden state trash with you !!!!!!!!!!.
Your original article mentions items such as sushi being ammenities in Montana cities, as a novelty. On a positive non-snobish note, Dave's Sushi-Off Main, located in Bozeman, has one of the most amazing casual Montana atmoshere's and has the added benefit of offering a delightful taste and cultural experience. For Montanan's and Californian's and others alike, it remains specifically distinct. Whether you're Billy Snodgrass (interesting comment, by the way, Billy..whether you are right or wrong about the land issue, $$$ alone doesn't buy peace of mind, solice to taste buds, appreciation for local culture - your mentality alone provides cause for hate crimes for those to follow) or others more accepting of what Montana has to offer, this nautural beauty, whether it be in form of landscape or great sushi, is taken for granted. Why did you move here? What do you hope to accomplish during your stay? Or were you simply in a tangent when you wrote what you did? ....just curious and hypothetical in Montana, and appreciative of what one finds here vs. larger cities, of which I have also lived in...so signing off now before it get's too deep. Your comment was free speech, which is great in of that fact, but truly offensive on any humanistic level. I truly hope you see and reply as to your comments.
Comment By Daphne Jaguar, 8-14-06Howdy, Yes I agree. I have a friend who is quite a wine snob. This person will pay fifteen dollars for a glass of wine. Can you believe it?
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