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Why Billings, Montana, Is the Best Town of 2016 [video]

outsideonline.com

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Re: Why Billings, Montana, Is the Best Town of 2016 [video]

#11

Post by timmaah »

agentgt wrote: post #7

I can't properly describe the cultural phenomenon but there is a sort of intelligent/privileged/rich get-out-there demographic that has been on a steady incline for some time causing gentrification of many rural areas. Sort of a cross between totally-stoked-Mountain-Dew-guys + farm-to-table-vegan-tatooed-hipster + do-not-really-have-to-worry-about-money + love-ridiculously-over-hoppy-ipas + own-four-bikes + sustainab…

I'm not sure about the not having to worry about money portion, but I agree with the rest. It seems to be the 90's adventure sports crowd "settling" down and enjoying family life.

Re: Why Billings, Montana, Is the Best Town of 2016 [video]

#12

Post by paulcole »

ryanmaynard wrote: post #4

It seems Outside magazine propelled itself from obscurity by driving traffic to its site with population contests through Facebook. People tend to vote familiarity, so the larger metro area of the two tends to win. The exceptions are the tourist towns that have regional pull. I'm impressed this method continues to work.

Outside has been popular for decades. They published the articles that led to Krakauer's books Into Thin Air and Into the Wild.

Re: Why Billings, Montana, Is the Best Town of 2016 [video]

#13

Post by mstade »

That video didn't have a single person that wasn't white and young adult/middle aged. Maybe the hat guy is older, but still – diversity didn't seem a priority in the list of features. Maybe that's entirely representative of the demographics, just found it striking.

Re: Why Billings, Montana, Is the Best Town of 2016 [video]

#14

Post by ianleeclark »

It always seems like I'm one of the few in my age cohort (~24), but I'd rather work in Montana than SV/NYC any day. It feels like everyone just wants to be downtown to some major city, but I just want a respectable house on 1/2 acres with mountain views and snow every winter.

Re: Why Billings, Montana, Is the Best Town of 2016 [video]

#15

Post by hoodwink »

agentgt wrote: post #7

I can't properly describe the cultural phenomenon but there is a sort of intelligent/privileged/rich get-out-there demographic that has been on a steady incline for some time causing gentrification of many rural areas. Sort of a cross between totally-stoked-Mountain-Dew-guys + farm-to-table-vegan-tatooed-hipster + do-not-really-have-to-worry-about-money + love-ridiculously-over-hoppy-ipas + own-four-bikes + sustainab…

I'd say I fall in this demographic. It helps that many jobs can now be performed remotely. The thing holding me back from small town mountain living was my career, but now with remote work I can relocate to where I'm happiest.

Re: Why Billings, Montana, Is the Best Town of 2016 [video]

#17

Post by lgieron »

mstade wrote: post #13

That video didn't have a single person that wasn't white and young adult/middle aged. Maybe the hat guy is older, but still – diversity didn't seem a priority in the list of features. Maybe that's entirely representative of the demographics, just found it striking.

As an non-USAn, I'm always suprised how much emphasis is put on this in the USA ("look, these office visualisations have only white people in them, that's unacceptable!"), while at the same time very little is done to really improve the lives of minorities.

Re: Why Billings, Montana, Is the Best Town of 2016 [video]

#19

Post by ghaff »

timmaah wrote: post #11
agentgt wrote: post #7

I can't properly describe the cultural phenomenon but there is a sort of intelligent/privileged/rich get-out-there demographic that has been on a steady incline for some time causing gentrification of many rural areas. Sort of a cross between totally-stoked-Mountain-Dew-guys + farm-to-table-vegan-tatooed-hipster + do-not-really-have-to-worry-about-money + love-ridiculously-over-hoppy-ipas + own-four-bikes + sustainab…

I'm not sure about the not having to worry about money portion, but I agree with the rest. It seems to be the 90's adventure sports crowd "settling" down and enjoying family life.

I'm not sure it's so much the adventure sports crowd who, as you say, probably don't overlap so much with the not worrying about money crowd. Though maybe that's part of it.

Instead, I think it's more the outdoor lifestyle, decent restaurants, at least a modicum of culture, maybe not retired-at-40 but comfortable financially. Especially if they're willing to trade the offerings of larger urban centers for a more laid-back, more outdoor activities oriented existence.

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