Missoula native here. Let’s be honest this city is your standard liberal run city with yet another serious homeless/drug crisis. Yes it is one gigantic trash heap; but we like it that way. If you don’t like living with drug ridden thieving homeless people then stay out. We don’t like law and order here.
Well everyone has different opinion, their poverty may annoy some people but it’s more the pubic drug use and increased property crime that I disagree with. I think it’s unfair what hard working good people need to suffer the consequences of government negligence.
You did a good job with the video. My husband grew up in Missoula. Population then 17,000! It has exploded into a place we too prefer not to go to for many of the same reasons you mentioned. Right on and good luck with your channel. We do a lot of Montana videos but not as well done like yours. Best of luck with your work.
I want to sincerely thank you for this video. I seriously appreciate your honest and insightful opinions about Missoula. I found this video to be extremely helpful. And your drone footage was outstanding. Thank you again.
I was exiled here by the state of GA back in 2009. There's no hood, no crips, bloods, techwood homes rolling 40s, no ku klux klan, no skins, no traffic, it's not a police state here like Atlanta......weed is legal, mass transit is free... and you can't sling a dead cat here without hitting a public park. And the children's theater is bigger than the jail. 406, baby.
Having lived here for a while, the con's to me have seemed like there is something sort of 'off' about the culture here. I can't quite put my finger on what it is. The people are really nice, I think it has to do with the lack of sunlight and lack of real opportunity. As good as a place can be, as beautiful as a place can be, the lack of certain things can still drive you crazy. Being 3 months in, I remember sitting in traffic on Reserve Street and thinking to myself, "God I f*ing hate this place." But then later on in the same day, I saw a beautiful sunset against the mountains, and I was filled with love for it again. I think if you live there, you REALLY need to be going out of your way to take full advantage of the glorious nature, otherwise you're just stuck in sort of a crummy, congested small city with limited resources (yet very nice people).
I hope your homeless issue gets resolved. Keeping them out is a much better solution than trying to help them. My town tried to set up a legal camp. The homeless population exploded and now we have all the nasty issues you see on the news for San Francisco. Multiple murders and constant incidents: theft, panhandlers, and crime due to the homeless.
I love your review keep up the good work. Mabe your review will slow down the wave of fruits and nuts. Fifth generation Montana man saying stay home nothing to see here.
I've lived in mIssoula since 1986. my family has been here since 1921. the field behind sentinel high school is named Stegner field after my grandfather, guy stegner, who was a well known track coach. lots of happy summer memories of visiting family in MIssoula and at the cabin on Seeley lake. Funny story, even in 1986, people from california weren't exactly welcome here. until they found out that I was coach's granddaughter. If I was coach's granddaughter it was okay if I moved here. But it wasn't as hateful towards outsiders then as it is now.
I lived in Missoula in the 1960s, when the population was in the high 20K level. Now it's more than 70K, with the resulting sprawl and car-centric culture. I've been back a few times, and the changes have not been for the better. No longer as walkable or bikeable, with a lot of pavement where there used to be earth and foliage.
Be sure to visit Missoula when we have the smoke from the wild fires! We get smoke from all the surrounding states plus Canada and our home made fire smoke! We have had smoke for weeks all with unhealthy NOAA ratings! Do some research on the western Montana smoke issues! If I had done my research we would have looked into places in Wyoming!
My husband and I had the pleasure of living in Missoula for 2 years. We left and moved back to Ogden, Utah, for family reasons, but would otherwise gladly have stayed in Montana, and specifically in Missoula. It’s a great town where motorists go out of their way to be courteous to pedestrians and cyclists, busses are free everyday of the year, and (state law) you pay no taxes on retail items. And those are just minor points. The beauty of the Bitterroot area is spectacular. The arts are promoted in so many ways! And there is an atmosphere of happiness, a sort of expectancy of good things to come. Well, I at least, sensed this, though many might suggest this is a subjective feeling within me and not a city-wide sensation. We left also because we are grandparents and have already raised a family elsewhere. We had to move away from Missoula to meet certain family responsibilities. But if we were starting out, we would definitely be happy to raise a large, active brood in Missoula.
I recently moved to Missoula back in August because my wife was accepted to the law school here. It was a tough transition for me but I’ve grown to definitely love it here. Traffic can be horrible, not because of a high population but because of how the roads were designed. The winter isn’t my thing either but it’s manageable. Came from Eastern WA. This isn’t a huge issue but as a Hispanic male, definitely wish there was more diversity here in Missoula.
Locals HATE when people move here. Missoula has no housing and things that become available are massively over priced. A house (1bed and only 750 sq ft) on my street bought for 200k two years ago just sold for over 500k.
I heard from a local that big money from west coast cities are coming in and out bidding and driving up real estate (we did notice quite a few California plates). I also know that the city has some pretty strict regulation on where and how new construction can happen. Builders can’t keep up with demand.
But that isn't a people problem, that's a policy problem. If there is a profit to be made, more houses will be built unless the local government doesn't allow it through land-use regulations. We have that same problem in Portland where the county has a very strict Urban Growth Boundary and it causes a supply squeeze that drives up the price.
Good recommendation, PA is an interesting state, a lot of really good places and just as many terrible places haha! Feel free to check out our other videos, we are currently up in New England.
I love living in Missoula. Moved here in 2006 after living in Wellington, New Zealand and several surrounding suburbs for nearly 30 years. When I came back, my brother took me for a drive around the town. After about an hour, I asked him if Missoula only had white people living in it. He said, "Yeah, it is kind of like that. Its a shame, I guess maybe some people of certain races don't like the extreme weather patterns." So, I get why Ernie Sanchez is pining to see peoples of different countries. I felt like I had the pleasure to meet practically every kind of human on Earth while living in New Zealand.
I live in Missoula and everything you said is completely true. Missoula does have a homeless problem and even though the state wants the city to do something about it, cities and towns all across the state keep shipping their homeless here to Missoula on buses which is why it's as out of control as it is.
Y’all been living under a rock if you really believe being around homelessness is a reason not to live in a city. You wouldn’t last a week in LA or Portland.. ✌🏻
@@whodatwhoder or don’t go to LA. LA sucks. Southern CA sucks. Missoula has nice bike lanes so I don’t get that complaint but the homeless population is terrible for the size of the city.
@@Jessehermansonphotography I hope I didn't hurt your feelings there Jesse your pride is showing. Despite high prices people are STILL moving here to LA and other parts of Southern California. Furthermore, montana although beautiful has an extremely high suicide rate,an unbearable boredom perhaps.
yea i grew up in montana and they figure that 70 per cent of the people that grow up there leave and people that get good educations 85 -90 per cent leave .. also worked in missoula and people will walk by your tools and look they are taking inventory so then they move you to another job and if you forget any of your tools they dont tell you you forgot any they just end up useing and putting them in with their tools thats how they get your stuff without actuly stealing
I believe your assessment of Missoula is highly based on the location where you decided to live. We have a place in the Rattlesnake and could not be more happy with Missoula. From what I can tell, you're off of N Reserve somewhere and have to deal with that wretched strip of concrete daily. If I had to do that I would have never moved to Missoula. When selecting our place, we AVOIDED this area at all costs bc of the traffic you mentioned and the general feeling of generic suburbia USA. As with any city, it is usually location, location, location! Your positives were great, bus I'd also add that Missoula is a town that is super chill and everyone we have met there is friendly. Now the long winters, well, we can't do anything about that now can we?
We lived in orchard homes for our 4 months living in Missoula. We did visit all the areas in Missoula, either biking, walking, or at least a drive through so we could accurately review the city. The rattlesnake I would say is my favorite area in the vally, you’ve definitely found yourself a good spot 👍🏻 we appreciate the comment!
While I agree, its almost akin as to saying its much nicer if you have more money. Which isn't wrong. The Rattlesnake is prime real estate. You can buy a shack on a quarter acre for 400k.(2023 prices at least) I also agree that N reserve is crap, and the lights need to be timed much better. However, living in Austin TX for the last decade I can say this: At least in MIssoula at a 4 way intersection, they allow 2 lanes to turn left at the same time. In Austin, its 1 lane at a time for all traffic. very inefficient. And thats with millions of cars per day.
Looks like you were in Missoula at a shit time of year. Missed all the blooming wild flowers and trees. Also didn't mention the climate zone actually being warmer than rest of state or the fruit trees you can find around town. The free city buses that take u anywhere in town. The ski hill that's 15mi from downtown, the 3 dif rivers to fish or float ect. Or the music scene and abundant concerts and festivals that go on all summer. You seemed to focus almost entirely on the couple negatives that you'll also find in 90% of other cities with a metro pop above 100k.
There were several incidents due mostly to the homeless/drug addicts that just wildly overshadowed the positives we experienced. We have visited dozens of large metro areas all over the country and what I saw in Missoula resembles a typical liberal city using California logic to enforce the law (Yes, I have visited and seen many areas in California). It's very easy for people to not see the issues in their own city just due to a lack of perspective. There are just so many better places out there that offer lots of amenities just like Missoula, with the added bonus of feeling safe and secure wherever you go. Just our opinion based on our experience, but a simple crime statistic google search can easily corroborate our experience.
@@lucas_lydiatv I just moved here 6 less than a yr ago. Not sure what you experienced, must have been pretty bad tho. I have always called missoula the Portland of MT but to me the good outshines the bad by a lot. There are only a couple spots where u see the junkies and they are easily avoided. The cops are chill but not useless from what I've seen. Maybe something changed recently.
@@allensmith.aaffect.1626 We spent a lot of time near downtown due to work. Sadly a lot of cases of homeless related issues, from the open drug use, tripping out in public, and individuals trolling the parking lot were my wife works looking for opportunities to commit crime. The thing that tops it off was a bum high on drugs taking off his clothes in the grocery store, that really just rubs the wrong way to say it very lightly. Maybe things have changed since you last noticed but we can only report on what we have seen between January and May of 2022. Overall those are just not things that hard working honest people deserve to deal with. Despite the great things we do love about Missoula, somethings cannot be overlooked.
@@lucas_lydiatv yeah, the homelessness and drug use near the povorello center downtown it the Hotspot for that crap. I've actually heard other ppl talking about how it was getting bad. They must have cleaned up some since I've arrived. It is most Def not as bad as many other liberal dumpsters I've been to. Its unfortunate that you got to see missoula at its worst. There really is a lot of awesome stuff around here. That said, I fully agree that functional members of society shouldnt have to put up with that crap. The university brings in a lot of left leaning people who influence the city.
Missoula is completely awful. No one should ever move here. Especially from any other state.. Just looking at all the out of state plates while sitting in traffic makes me want to do my part and warn others to avoid this place. You two need to hurry up and get back to Philly before its to late. ..... lol...
There are about 1500 to 1600 full time homeless in Montana, 600 of them are in Missoula. (592 to be exact) Missoula, Billings and Kalispell are ranked as the top for homeless population. Helena is ranked 3rd in the state for safest drivers. So probably Helena would be better for traffic and Homeless.
I would love to attend the university there for Law (which would include staying there after schooling) but it seems by almost all comments on videos like this that Montanans really hate anyone from out of state coming in. I got a scholarship to go to UM but I’m not sure it’s even worth it given the local hostility.
Great video... it is interesting seeing a fresh outside perspective on living in Missoula. I moved here in 1987 from Tucson to attend UM, and earned an MFA in German...lol! I don’t have regrets about that. Missoula is a difficult place to make a living. I don’t think I could live here very easily on my own now. The cost of rent and living in general has steadily climbed over the years. I am a Mountain Line Bus Driver. I have been doing that for nearly 4 years. Some of the other drivers also have Masters Degrees. As a medical professional, my wife is the bread-winner for us. Missoula has a lot of great qualities... as you pointed out in your video and its share of bad qualities as well. Traffic is horrendous and Missoula drivers are the worst that I have encountered anywhere. In the past ai frequently bitched to friends about driving in Missoula, and now that is what I do for 8 hours a day or longer. Missoula used to have a small mountain town feel to it, but driving the bus has shown me that Missoula really is a small city now, with small town problems. The homeless problem has continued to get worse. I am no expert on this, but it seems as though the city attracts homeless people. I can’t say for sure that the city wants homeless people to come here. It seems to me that the homeless population brings funding for things. I hear things and this is also speculation on my part... as I mentioned, I am no expert in this arena by any means. Growth brings new things I guess. Well... enjoy your time here. I would recommend remaining here for the Summer. Summers in Missoula are the best... warm/hot days and cool nights. There is nowhere else I would rather be during the summer... unless we have a bad fire season!
We appreciate the thoughtful comment! It’s really a shame what we saw happening in Missoula. Personally, I would not call that progress buttttt, everyone has there own definition to that I guess. We wish you all the luck in Missoula, the mountains are truly beautiful.
Yeahh, something I try to work on. I only edit via imovie right now. If the channel gets more popular I’ll plan to invest some money for a computer that I can run some half decent editing software on..appreciate the criticism!
@@lucas_lydiatv wow you guys are awesome and sorry for being so harsh. keep up the good work i know people can be cruel due to lack of intelligence as to what it takes to bring to a post to fruition.
I’m not going to defend Philly. It’s not a nice city, they have a lot of issues. But Philly has over 1.5 million population just within city limits. Missoula’s entire metro is barely 115k so it’s really not a fair comparison.
this is all you got every big population city has problems there are also a lot of history and hard working people in that city also the history in PA is unreal the battle of brandywine biggest battle in the American revolutionary war, Gettysburg one of the defining battle of civil war ,valley forge. ,constitution was written here, first zoo, first post office please stop with the hate bashing
Stop financing the homeless and they will leave. To enable people’s addictions is not helping anyone least of all the addict. And if this continues you will have another Asheville on your hands. Trust me, YOU DON’T WANT THAT
Great review! Enjoyed the video and as a former resident I can confirm this is fairly accurate. This city is heading in a negative direction, sad! Although everyone is entitled to their opinion. So if you prefer a city that enables homeless folk and not enforce laws then Missoula is for you. Moving to FL was the best decision i’ve made. Good luck with your future travels.
Yeah I recently moved back to missoula and was pretty upset by a lot of what I saw, that said... they did apparently get enough complaints to tear down all the visible tents and cleared up sidewalks downtown that had little encampments starting. .
Went on vacation there,car got broken into.Drugs and crime are a big problem.Lots of homeless too.Priced housing,not much on the market and rents are not aviable.Didn't see any liveable wage jobs,but lots of fast food jobs.Not for us,sorry.
