Bozeman or Missoula?

Yes. Suicide.

That’s a little harsh. I’m only going on vacation.

Missoula is for hippies. It wants to be the new Portland.

Depends on what do you want to do on your vacation? River rafting, fly fishing, hiking, skiing, resort living, liberal atmosphere? What season?

Too bad you're not moving. You could buy this house

which one is more liberal? the only thing I know about Missoula is that Brad Pitt movie, A River Runs Through It

Missoula is more liberal than Bozeman, although both cities are considered livable since each has a state university. The problem with Montana is that the cities are small and the spaces are wide.

if I went to Missoula it would be for the scenery, outdoor adventures. I couldn't live in somewhere that gets that cold in the winter

DL fave Glenn Close had a home in Bozeman, where she used to own a coffee shop. Other celebrities lived nearby.

Bozeman is hard right and Missoula is laid back and liberal.

Summer is beautiful in Missoula. The fall as well. Most of the state empties into Missoula for Grizzly football games. If you want to ski, Bozeman has the big resort. Every time I return to Missoula I wonder why I ever left it. But I love the Rocky mountains.

I’ve been reading a lot about flathead lake.. looks close to missoula. My god its beautiful

The drive up to Flathead is very pretty. And yes Flathead is a beautiful lake. There are resorts there and Bigfork. Small interesting theater in the summer. Lots of wealthy and former athletes have summer homes in Bigfork. There is a small airport in Kalispell. It just kind of depends on what you want to do? Glacier Park is a little further up. Did you see the movie with Meryl Streep where she plays the river guide - Kevin Bacon was the bad guy? I can't remember the name. But it was filmed up there.

It seems like there’s more stuff to do on that side of Montana. I’m going up in November so hopefully it won’t be too cold.

Willis Alan Ramsey wrote a song about it.

The cheesy James Spader/John Cusack movie "True Colors" has some beautiful scenes filmed around Big Sky/Bozeman. Pretty as a postcard.

I think I’m going to google movies on Montana and check everything out. There’s some really good excursions around Missoula and Bozeman I just have to figure out what I want to do.

Bozeman is MUCH colder in winter. It's east of the continental divide, which means that icy winds tumbling down from the Canadian arctic regions slide along the east side of the Rocky Mountain ranges and end up rolling right into Bozeman. It's also about 1500 feet higher in elevation than Missoula. That means that the vegetation is more limited. Bozeman is more known as a ski town, so lots of the children of jet setters attend MSU so that they can ski, and their parents buy condos for junior so that they can come visit frequently during the school year and have a ski vacation at the same time. The shopping street of Bozeman might as well be Rodeo Drive - it has all sorts of very pricey boutique clothing stores that you wouldn't normally find in a town of 45,000 people.

Missoula is larger (75,000), warmer, has lusher vegetation and wonderful parks and walks along the Clark Fork River. It's more liberal and tries to have a "hip" vibe, with lots of art galleries and book stores. Bozeman is closer to Yellowstone, Missoula is closer to Glacier, if you're thinking about national parks. For my money, Missoula would be a better base for exploring the mountains with some cultural "city" offerings if you're in the mood for that. But summertime in either place would be great for super comfortable temperatures, sunny weather, cool nights, and lots of dramatic scenery.

R18 This is exactly the response I was looking for! What do you think the weather will be like in Missoula in November? Ton of snow?

You could definitely see snow in Missoula in November, but it might not stay on the ground more than a few days. Once you get to late November/December, snow will fall and stick, sometimes until March. Missoula only averages about 5 inches of snow in November, but every year is unique - you could see none at all , or encounter 12 inches. But more commonly in Montana, the high mountains that ring Missoula will be snow-covered starting in early November, but the low valleys (like the Bitterroot Valley which is where Missoula is) often stay clear until December.

PS, don't ask me how I know this, but Missoula has a number of very active adult arcades - maybe all the horny college guys?

Bozeman is the most expensive city to live in in Montana--it's where the rich people who want to ski live. It's so expensive that many of the people who work there have to live in outlying towns in order to afford good housing. It does have the best restaurants in Montana, though.

Missoula is more affordable, and it's extremely beautiful. It's also much bigger and has better cultural opportunities. It would absolutely be my choice.

Sounds like Missoula is it. I’ve been watching YouTube videos about it all night. It looks very progressive they actually have a gay community center. Scenery is unreal!

Missoula is jokingly called the garden city of Montana because it is on the western side of the Rockies and has better weather. But it can be cold in November. Early October would be good. But the weekends of Grizzly games everything may already be booked.

I'm feeling left out.

Billings? Isn't that where Ginny is from?

[quote]or encounter 12 inches.

I'd love to encounter 12 inches. In Bozeman, Missoula, Billings or anywhere.

R26 well go to the midwest .. Wisconsin or Michigan

[quote] Missoula is jokingly called the garden city of Montana because it is on the western side of the Rockies and has better weather. But it can be cold in November.

Well, for that matter, so is Bozeman. We're not comparing Missoula on this thread to San Luis Obispo.

The pride parade in Missoula looked like a lot of fun! There looked like a fair share of gay men and lesbians. Lots of outdoor cafés… Which of course are closed during the winter .. but there’s so much to do. Snowshoeing etc.

R23 here. I should have said that Missoula is on the west side of the Continental Divide. Bozeman is on the left.

A River Runs Through It was filmed in the Livingston, Montana area, not Missoula. Robert Redford first planned on filming on the Blackfoot River which is the river in the book. But it was horribly polluted and actually stunk. So he didn't use it. However, the movie and the publicity about the Blackfoot problems caused an outcry from Trout Unlimited. I remember I gave money to their cleanup fund. They really did a good job and got the surrounding industry to quit dumping in it as well. And the Blackfoot once again became a nice river that many fly fishermen have returned to.