The Bobcat Nation

I'm just curious.

Hey, what about that moved and worked out of state and then came back?

Or, moved out, and would only possibly consider moving back under the right circumstances and to the right place. ( I ain't moving back to Havre, no day, no time.... etc )

I voted "other."

Here's my situation: I moved to the east coast nine years ago, and it was always my plan, at some point, to move back out west again (back to MT if possible, or someplace close if not MT).

Since then, a few things have changed. My career has gone in a direction that cannot really be replicated in very many other places (arguably, the only places in the U.S. where the skill set I've developed wouldn't be under-utilized are the New York area, and maybe Washington DC, although I could probably find good work in any of Chicago, L.A., SF, or Houston, too. Not anywhere near MT, though.) I also married a native New Yorker a couple years ago, and her family is on the east coast. She loves visiting Montana, and I could probably talk her into moving back if I felt really strongly about it, but she's still a city girl at heart, and I don't think she'd really be happy living in a small town. Aside from all of that, I also like living out here a lot more than I expected to. I do miss certain things about Montana, but if I moved back, there are things I'd miss about the east coast, too.

I guess on balance, I would really like to click one of the "I'd like to move back someday" options, but between the career issues and the fact that I'm happier living on the east coast than my wife would be in Montana, I actually can't see any realistic chain of events that would ever lead to us moving back. At the same time, though, I don't have the heart to click any of the "I don't want to move back" options, and the "family obligations" option doesn't really tell the whole story for me. So I clicked "other."

I swore I would never leave Montana but now I don't think I could leave the northwest. I have gotten quite attached to the salmon fishing and mountaineering stuff here. I also love my quick access to BC for spectacular back packing, fishing and solitude. I come back to Montana on a regular basis to visit family and for the big game hunting season.

Also, now my kids have access to all kinds of sports programs that would be hard to leave. There current hockey coach is a former NHL player and their boxing coach was the 2000 Olympic team coach. It's hard to get those kinds of opportunities back home.

I have to say after my travels from away from Montana, Montana is the place to be. End of discussion. Perhaps I have died and I am in heaven. This is the place to be.

So 46% of the people who voted sold their soul for the almighty buck!

I just clicked other so I could see the percentages. Right now I'm content to just go from place to place in Montana.

CelticCat wrote:So 46% of the people who voted sold their soul for the almighty buck!

Yup. I'm one of them.

Like Grizlaw, I spent my career doing work in Billings that is niche but is common in larger markets. After I was laid off, I went to where I could make some money. Guess where that wasn't? Montana. NOBODY IS HIRING. I don't know how much more clear I can make that. Maybe you could get laid off and find out for yourself.

I'm coming back to Montana within the next five years, but for right now I need to put food on the table and a roof over my head.

CelticCat wrote:So 46% of the people who voted sold their soul for the almighty buck!

I guess if you want to think of it that way, that's fine. A lot of us don't equate "living outside Montana" with "selling our souls," though. We all love Montana, but you seem to be assuming that as soon as we take that Montana license plate off of our cars, our lives immediately become an intolerable living hell, and that the only possible explanation for us not moving back is that we are greedy. Has it ever occurred to you that, money aside, there are also nice places to live that aren't in Montana?

CelticCat wrote:So 46% of the people who voted sold their soul for the almighty buck!

Yep. I would love to move back, but have things too good right now. I really like my job and the people I work with, make good money, and have a great boss that is very flexible with my hours. I'm able to take 10 days off each over Memorial Week, Thanksgiving, and Xmas as well as make it back to Montana for 6-8 more long weekends. My current plan is to buy some land in Montana (where the $$$ part really matters) and eventually make it back, but for now I'm content in Denver. Plus our stock is deferred a few years so it is always incentive to stick around because you know what would be left on the table if you didn't.

BearCat wrote:I just clicked other so I could see the percentages. Right now I'm content to just go from place to place in Montana.

Just FYI, you can see the poll results without voting yourself.

Grizlaw wrote:You seem to be assuming that as soon as we take that Montana license plate off of our cars, our lives immediately become an intolerable living hell, and that the only possible explanation for us not moving back is that we are greedy.

That's just ridiculous. You have to establish residency before registering your vehicle, so your lives are intolerable living hells long before the Montana plates come off!

Bay Area Cat wrote:

BearCat wrote:I just clicked other so I could see the percentages. Right now I'm content to just go from place to place in Montana.

Just FYI, you can see the poll results without voting yourself.

I've always wondered about that. How?

While my intentions are to move back it will most likely be more than 5 years down the road and that's the reason for my other vote.

BearCat wrote:

Bay Area Cat wrote:

BearCat wrote:I just clicked other so I could see the percentages. Right now I'm content to just go from place to place in Montana.

Just FYI, you can see the poll results without voting yourself.

I've always wondered about that. How?

If you haven't voted in a poll yet, right under the vote button is a link labeled "View Results"

CelticCat wrote:So 46% of the people who voted sold their soul for the almighty buck!

If there were jobs that my wife and I could both get in Montana that made it possible to pay off our student loans (undergrad and graduate school), pay for a mortgage, and tuck money away for retirement we'd move back in a heart beat. So yes we did move away for the almighty dollar because we enjoy sleeping in a house, driving a car, and eating food.

TeacherCat wrote:we enjoy sleeping in a house, driving a car, and eating food.

Grizlaw wrote:

CelticCat wrote:So 46% of the people who voted sold their soul for the almighty buck!

I guess if you want to think of it that way, that's fine. A lot of us don't equate "living outside Montana" with "selling our souls," though. We all love Montana, but you seem to be assuming that as soon as we take that Montana license plate off of our cars, our lives immediately become an intolerable living hell, and that the only possible explanation for us not moving back is that we are greedy. Has it ever occurred to you that, money aside, there are also nice places to live that aren't in Montana?

I am glad to hear someone say that. Even though I still live in Montana, it has always bugged me when people act like no one would possibly want to live somewhere else, or that the only reason someone would choose to live elsewhere, is if they were forced into it due to a lack of career opportunities here. I have traveled enough to know that there are lots of places to live that are just as nice as Montana, and which offer amenities and opportunities not available here, that are very appealing to many people.

TeacherCat wrote:

CelticCat wrote:So 46% of the people who voted sold their soul for the almighty buck!

If there were jobs that my wife and I could both get in Montana that made it possible to pay off our student loans (undergrad and graduate school), pay for a mortgage, and tuck money away for retirement we'd move back in a heart beat. So yes we did move away for the almighty dollar because we enjoy sleeping in a house, driving a car, and eating food.

How about just a van? Down by the river?