We Went To Montana: The Housing Inequality Will Shock You

Workers in Bozeman & Big Sky Montana are sleeping in vans, while the uber-rich buy massive mansions next door.

Montana’s Republican governors promised that huge tax cuts would be a boon to the economy.
Instead, they’re a giveaway to billionaires and private equity firms.
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[purplemicrodot]

"If you can't afford to live here, leave" must be hilarious to the maids, groundskeepers, cooks & chefs, plumbers and all manner of service workers and working class who literally take care of these uber-rich dependents.

[carpediem]

"Choose another place to live???" Who will buss your tables? Serve coffee? Deliver mail? Teach school?

[IsaacMuntz]

Private equity companies buying up residential housing should be illegal PERIOD!!!

[wheelytheboy]

This is a nationwide problem. Unchecked greed, private homebuyers competing against massive corporations and foreign investors.

[EricJacobson]

That woman telling people if they cant afford to live there they should just move away got my blood boiling

[somerandomguy]

As someone who lives in montana who lives paycheck to paycheck, the housing prices only sky rocketed once all the out of staters started to flock here. The worst ones are the billionaires who own multiple mansions and only stay for a month out of the year

[samkearney]

I lived in Montana for 35 years. It is poverty with a view for most people there. Had to move to provide a better life for my kids.

[Praisethesunson]

This week in "America building playgrounds for the rich while the majority suffer" they cover Montana.

[HakunaMatata-osog]

"If you can't afford to live here, leave" reminds me of "Let them eat cake" History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes.

[anniewlo]

Colorado is the same. Priced out in 2019. Spent a decade there, working, paying taxes, thought I could root down - I was wrong. If you miss the random dips in the housing market, you are priced out forever. So much of your money becomes lost to rent, that by the time of the next dip (crash, drop in prices), you probably don’t have enough saved anymore for a downpayment, as prices and inflation have all gone up by then. The boom-bust economy is really not working for anyone but the wealthy and a select lucky few with an understanding of timing the markets.

[MarkAvo]

Hawaii is calling, they’d like to ask why it’s taken this long to talk about outsiders reshaping local housing.

[RegularGuy-botv]

When you see range rovers and teslas suddenly driving around your town, "there goes the neighborhood"

[matthewpeters]

I do think it is 100% wrong to sell our federal and state protected public lands to anyone

[Justin-cnhq]

I am a relatively wealthy individual. But that woman's comment "If it is too expensive, choose a different place to live." boggles my mind. She is completely distanced from the realities of the lower and lower-middle class. I should note that I grew up dirt poor so maybe that gives me more perspective.

[Cavolfipriecapperi]

All workers "so poor they should leave" should stop working for 2 whole weeks. In Italy it's called scioperare, let's see how pretty their rich city stays

[kytim]

The entire United States will eventually experience what is happening to Montana.

[Fenristripplex]

The rich Karen telling all the poor people to leave is on brand for a Bozeman resident.

[drunksquirrel]

Born and raised in Montana since 80, , this was happening in the mid 90s as the rich Californias moved up and starting building big houses and completely changing the real estate and eventually the local economy. Aka, if you didn't have money to afford a home by 2010 you left Montana. I left in 2013 and never going back

[LolisFirebooks-gs]

This is happening nationwide not just in Montana

[TheWorldBelow]

I’m in Montana. it’s what we get for having the best government money can buy. There is a more humane way than to sell off to heartless outsiders. But politicians would have to be brave. And smart. Which they aren’t.