Thought that would get your attention.
You would think with all the people of Western Montana insulting ALL of Eastern Montana, that Eastern Montana would be better than that.
I like ALL of Eastern Montana, each Town/City has something different to offer people. I also shop in many different Cities/Towns of Eastern Montana. I like to support the little Cities.
By the way, Sidney is closer to Glendive, then Miles City and last is Dickinson, ND. I have shopped them all.
I had thought of going to Miles City to shop this trip, but now, I think I will do my shopping in Glendive and Sidney.
All places will not please everyone. I guess I am just getting tired of the many people of Montana, insulting someplace in Montana.
The State of Montana is a WONDERFUL State with so much to offer many people. That is what is so Great about Montana, every Town/City is so different.
You should just enjoy what you have, Montana.

"I had thought of going to Miles City to shop this trip, but now, I think I will do my shopping in Glendive and Sidney"

Ok, stay away, The shopping is so great in Glendive. LOL

And Glendive still Sux very very very bad. Nothing can change that and the Red Devils arent doing well this year I hear.

If ANYWHERE in MT is an armpit... it would have to be Butte or Missoula. Nice scenery, but way too many Subaru and Yugo driving tree-huggers.

At least Butte and Missoula both have descent Greek resturants. I haven't had a gyro in 3 years.

Butte is probably the best town in Montana.

Boo hoo hoo, I've offended Glendivians, boo hoo hoo. I suppose you also take offense at North Dakota jokes, too.

What's that old joke about the North Dakota homecoming queen? Something to the effect that they couldn't start the second half of the football game because she wouldn't stop grazing on the 50 yard line.

One can easily substitute "Red Devil" for "North Dakota" in that one.

When we first moved from York, NE to Gallup ,NM I thought (and was told) that we are moving to the armpit of the world. After living there for six years it was not that bad. We probably have more friends down there than any other place we have lived. Life is an adventure and you need to make the best of it no matter where you end up.

Kate,

Aren't you being a little overly sensative?

Richard,

I don't know about the Yugo's, but have you counted Subaru's in Miles City lately? They're the car of choice for 40 and 50 something empty nesters around here. There are tons of them. Why someone doesn't do a used dealership with nothing but compact and foreign cars in eastern MT is beyond me. There are hundreds of them driving around AND with fuel prices continuing to climb, there will be many more to come.

While Gallup has some abject poverty, its a pretty nice place, the scenery is spectacular (way prettier than, say, Gillette ) and the food is 10 zillions time better than anything you can get in Miles City. (I know, I spent three weeks there in 1994 on a project). An armpit it is not.

Err, Richard, in re-reading your earlier post, didn't you mean to say "Bozeman and Missoula"? Not sure I would ever accuse Butte of being a hotbed of tree huggers.

errrr....Butte and Missoula shouldn't even be in the same running.
Butte-- where there is less to do than Miles City, there are more rednecks, and it's normal to have children with abnormal birth defects.
Missoula-- where there is good shopping, the town is full of liberals (which I take, hands down, compared to the uptight conservatives), it's still a college town (meaning younger people), there are functions, concerts, events, etc...almost every weekend, yadda, yadda, yadda.
I definately think that Butte wins the armpit contest...but I live in Missoula, so maybe I'm a little bias.

If I had to live in Montana (and I wish I could get my salary in Montana, I really do) it would be in Missoula preferably.

Boy I love me some mountains!

The thing I always think about when everyone wants to live in "the mountains" is one of my last experiences when driving around Colorado. Namely the bumper-to-bumper two-lane traffic going from Ft. Collins or Denver to Estes Park. As everyone knows, Estes is beautiful, but to me it doesn't compare to Montana, because people there are taking their cities and building them straight into the mountains. For me, the result is depressing. Everyone is trying to escape the cities they previously created to escape to the "wilderness" only to destroy it with more of the city they're trying to escape.

While not nearly as bad here, I guess the same happening in Montana is inevitable. That is truly why only Eastern Montana remains what Montana has traditionally been. And if W.Dak/N.Wyo is looked at in the right way, it is just as beautiful as Sushi Montana.

The only thing wrong with eastern Montana is that its grouse are inedible. On the other hand, the western Montana grouse are better tasting than the finest Cornish game hens.

My point in starting this was to show people that each city has something to offer people and not all cities are for everyone.
I guess I was just tired of all the insults.
There are so many cites/towns in Montana I haven't seen, mostly west of Billings, but I hope to see as many as I can.
I do like Glendive and I like Miles City. I just don't want to live in Miles City, due to many reason.

I guess I like armpits because I can stand outside my home south of Terry on any given evening and not hear or see anything HUMAN!! There are no engine noises or lights. All I hear are the crickets and frogs and all I see are stars and dark. I left a great job on the coast because I could no longer get away from humanity. If I rode in the mountains in WA state, I was constantly dodging motorcycles, 4-wheelers, offending hikers with horse poop, listening to the choppers spraying the orchards, smelling the pesticides, watching the loggers tear up the last of the mountain.....sheesh! I'd much rather live in the "armpit" of Miles City where I can more than entertain myself....I was never into shopping anyways.

Glendive is a great little town and being called an armpit by the ignorant should not damage your self-esteem. It supports a nice little community college, has a good school system and a lovely recreation area close by. Towns like Miles City, Sidney, Glendive and even Baker need to pull together. Miles City 's economy depends on the region who come here for sports and other events. Let's stop the insults and jokes.

I just spent the last three weekends in the Black Hills. Heaven for a motorcyclist, right in my backyard! Like my friend who lives in Rapid City says "You wouldn't like it here, to many twisty roads, to many concerts and events, restaurants, and friendly people." (Kenny Wayne Shepard, Steve Earl, and the Young Dubliners were awesome!)

The roads are a little twisty and deadly. I also wouldn't recommend the alligator or crocodile tail at the rally. I forget which it is, but it's definitely not safe.

Pick any town or city on earth. Somebody thinks it is the best place on earth and somebody else thinks it is the worst based on whatever happened to them there. I continually run into people here in western Montana who have a strong opinion of Miles City based entirely on the meal they ordered at the 4-Bs since that is all of Miles City they have ever seen.

Has anyone ever recalled a restaurant?

huh?

I was at a meeting of historic preservation officers in Butte. A woman from Three Forks, who had lived in Montana two years, said to me, why do they have a historic preservation officer for Miles City? There's nothing historic there. Her experience of Miles City consisted of the Holiday Inn and, you guessed it, the 4-Bs. I pointed out there wasn't anything historic around any of the interstate exits in Bozeman, either, and that a person had to go into the historic districts to see the historic districts. She was offended. Her husband, by the way, commuted every weekend from his job in Houston so I suspect she was just offended by being spoken to by a poor person.

Amorette (Bill's sister, for the record. Like you folks didn't know. Say, your grand vizerness, great parade!)

I'm from Miles City, but am now living in Missoula. After spending 2 months sliding around on the roads, I traded my car in for a subaru. And believe me, I have seen my share of tree-huggers, but "I aren't one". My observation is that Miles City needs activities to do besides high school sports. After being in Missoula for 1 year, I have gotten do so MANY things. And the best part is... some of them I got to do for free! In one week, we can go to a huge farmer's market, a band concert, an out to lunch gathering where vendors sell food and music is playing and people are visiting, a college football game, swimming lessons with the kids, volunter at the school, and I could go on and on depending on what time of year it is. I thought we would move back to Miles City, but Missoula's starting to change my mind.

Funny - you can do all of those things here in Miles City (substitue college basketball, volleyball, baseball or rodeo for the football game, although we do have those here as well) without the smog and the traffic.
To everyone weighing in here, its easy to sit at the computer and bitch. Dont be part of the "the problem", be part of the solution. The grass isnt always greener on the other side...

[This message has been edited by Dan (edited 9/26/2005).]

I am a 5th generation Montanan and I was raised in Miles City. I left when I was 18 and spent 15 years abroad. I have been many places within the U.S. and outside of it, and it is my firm belief and I am blessed with the knowledge that Miles City is the finest place on earth!!! I currently have a job where I travel the entire state of MT from Libby to Broadus and everyplace in between. I would not trade tree hugger haven (Missoula) or Stirling Scotland for what we have in good old M.C.

If you don't share my opinion then I strongly encourage you to broaden your horizons and venture out into the world beyond. If you find a better place...stay there. If not, maybe you can begin to appreciate the fact that we are blessed to have our own brand of beauty in our little corner of the world, and the kind of people having a tie to it that makes Miles City so very special. Miles City is what MT was.

When I check my schedule and see the zillion in one things I want to do, need to do and can squeeze in, I think, if anyone says there is nothing to "do" in Miles City, they ain't trying.

Amorette

[This message has been edited by Joy (edited 10/1/2005).]

JB live in Missoula... THAT EXPLAINS THE CAPS LOCK ISSUE!

Miles City, did you know you had so many realtors? I chanced upon this site and gained an extraordinary insight into your underlying strengths.
The realtors were there profusely proclaiming your prolific charms and reassuringly attempting to sell your city.
As an observer from 'The Land Down Under', who, I ask, after reading the various comments, wouldn't want to call MC home?
The final incentive to emigrate would surely be the knowledge that Kara has the best coffee in town.

[This message has been edited by Ted Blatchford (edited 10/2/2005).]