“Californian Transplant” Pleads for Acceptance in Bozeman

If you talk to someone that has lived in Montana for a long time, they'll most likely tell you that Californians are ruining the state. Even though not everyone moving to Montana is from California.

Blaming Montana's problems on Californians isn't a new concept. It was the same way when I was growing up in Idaho. Californians just seemed to get blamed for a lot of stuff. People think Californians are to blame for the housing boom in Bozeman, but that's simply not the case.

Bozeman has become a popular destination for people from all across the country, not just California.

Recently, on the Bozeman Reddit page, a self-proclaimed "Californian Transplant" that goes by the name of u/Porkbellied tried to create some understanding by explaining that not all Californians are bad people. They also explained that a move to Montana had been in the works for a while, but the COVID-19 pandemic sped up the process.

For long-term Bozemanites, the rapid growth and change in Bozeman are definitely frustrating, but being rude to newcomers won't really change anything.

u/Porkbellied explained why he decided to move his family to Montana.

After high school 20+ years ago I spent a summer in Hamilton building coffins and fell in love with the Bitterroot and Montana. I spent another summer in Jackson. Based on these two epic summers we ended up here. Our kids have made friends here and love it here. My teen skied the ridge at Bridger this season. They are thriving and happy.

The Reddit user wanted to put a (semi-anonymous) face to the ‘Evil Californian’ persona everyone talks about, and clarified that they weren't posting for sympathy or anything. They just hope to create some sort of understanding.