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

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

#41

Post by yourcelf »

ghaff wrote: post #21
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.

I'm not sure about age. My anecdata is that I know a reasonable number of people who have moved to, more or less, "the mountains" when they've retired--for at least part of the year. But based on my observations hiking, skiing, etc., the participants in those activities in much of the US are pretty overwhelmingly white, as are the long-time population of cities in the Mountain West.

Indeed -- the demographics of Montana in particular are overwhelmingly white[1]. As of the 2010 census, 89.4% white, 6.3% native (many of whom live in one of the seven reservations Montana has, rather than the "star" towns of Billings, Bozeman, and Missoula), and less than a percent each for any other races. The state also has only just over a million people total, so there are about 4 times as many white people in New York City as there are in the whole state of Montana.

This isn't to excuse the white-washy-ness of the video (e.g. lots of cowboys, no Indians), but just to say that the problem is at least a couple of levels out from just this video.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana#Demographics

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

#42

Post by humanrebar »

ianleeclark wrote: post #14

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.

Most people agree with you. There are far more young people living outside SV/NYC than inside.

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

#43

Post by tahon »

Interesting. I grew up in Kalispell, went to college in Bozeman, and now live in Missoula. I would agree with some other people in the thread that Bozeman and Missoula seem like the 'cooler' cities, but I think the Mission and Flathead valleys take the cake when it comes to views and recreation.

I mean, you cant beat the mountain views of the Missions and Swans with Flathead lake right in the middle. AND Glacier Park just to the north. But I'm biased I guess :).

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

#44

Post by euroclydon »

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 grew up in a ski resort, but I don't want to get a remote dev job, and move back, just to find a bunch of people like me are already crowding the place up.

I'll do my part to make their life better by staying in Raleigh. We have: trees, 100% humidity for over 4 months of the year, this big area people keep claiming is a park, creeks that flow when it rains.

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

#45

Post by thaddeusmt »

After living in Montana for almost 10 years, this video is kind of funny. It's like an ad for all of the things that _other_ Montana towns like Bozeman and Missoula are famous for!

Granted Billings is obviously changing (for better or worse), but it's known for it's industrial plants, not it's bike trails. I will say the "rimrock" above town is lovely and unique (and it's home to one of the most challenging disc golf courses in the country!) but in terms of trails and other recreational development Bozeman and Missoula are years ahead in development.

Billings actually does have some diversity due to it's close proximity to the Crow Reservation (4.4% Native American), but that fact is just as absent as the 3 oil refineries in this cheery white-washing promo video.

As a side note: it's incredible how many breweries and distilleries are springing up across the country - even in Billings! I love beer, but it's kind of overwhelming.

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

#46

Post by clean_send »

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 a person of color the first thing I thought when I saw this video was, "Wow I would stick out like a sore thumb."

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

#47

Post by thaddeusmt »

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.

Billings is actually one of the more diverse towns in Montana (which isn't saying much) due to how close the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations are. 4.4% Native American according to Wikipedia. But I guess that's not part of the image this marketing team wanted to project...

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

#48

Post by ianleeclark »

humanrebar wrote: post #42
ianleeclark wrote: post #14

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.

Most people agree with you. There are far more young people living outside SV/NYC than inside.

This is definitely true, but I spend too much time on HN and living in Austin and it definitely affects my views on my peers.

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

#49

Post by andrewvijay »

darod wrote: post #20
andrewvijay wrote: post #10

What about crime rate and stuff like that. For some reason I feel that the town is almost 100% white.

i had the exact same sentiment looking at this video. i didn't see a hint of diversity in any of the shots.

Would be interesting to know the racial proportions of the town.

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

#50

Post by dursk »

rb808 wrote: post #23
ianleeclark wrote: post #14

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.

You can easily commute to NYC from Jersey. :)

Yes but Jersey is not going to give you the 1/2 acre property for nearly the same price as Montana, let alone the mountain views :(
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