Bozeman’s Cost Of Living Is Ridiculous. Who’s Really To Blame?

Ah yes, another "Bozeman is so expensive" rant.  Well, not exactly.  Anyone who lives here already knows how expensive it is, and if you're reading this and thinking of moving here, you should know...it's expensive.

I hear folks say "I miss the old Bozeman" or "I wish it was the way it used to be."  Change can be hard, and whenever you see something or some place you love change in a way that you don't think is best, it's difficult to adjust to. So here is the question: who is to blame?  What or who is the reason behind all of this change?

Is it the transplants?

Get our free mobile app

Maybe, but let's be honest, that's a pretty easy target.  I mean, folks move here because it's a desirable place and they jack up the home and rent prices, which in turn makes it darn near impossible for a whole lot of Bozemanites to remain here and have any quality of life worth a hoot.

So, yeah, I can understand how transplants might take some of the blame. Except, here's the other side to that coin: folks like me who move to Bozeman are often paying more than double in rent for less space than their previous place of residence.

Is it the folks selling to the transplants?

Here is a theory that we don't really explore that much.  Could it be that part of the problem is long-time residents cashing in and selling their homes for much more than they're worth?

I mean, think about this for a minute.  If you've lived here for let's say 20 plus years and bought a house for 120 grand back in the day and someone offers you 800k for that house, what would you do? Would you take the money? Or would you say "listen, I know the house isn't worth what you're offering, so I will take less"?

Of course, we all know that most folks are going to take as much as they can.  So, don't the folks selling to the transplants shoulder a little bit of the blame as well?

As in most instances in life, there always seems to be enough blame to go around.  Transplants, locals selling to transplants, and local and state politicians refusing to regulate the situation. The list is long as far as the reasons behind it.

However, one thing is for sure. It doesn't look like the growth or the cost of Bozeman is going to slow down anytime soon.