We expected a fair amount of culture shock with this move, and we have definitely experienced it! Some of it we foresaw, but some of it has been a surprise. Here are some of the things we've noticed so far:
"gossip"
I don't know if this is a Montana thing or just a small-town thing, but it seems like everyone knows everyone else's business. We noticed this on our house-hunting trip, when the realtor we were with was very, very open about saying exactly who he sold each house to and for exactly how much. Minnesotans (or at least Twin Citians?) don't talk about finances much, so this was a bit of a surprise for us. And it's not just finances! Montanans just generally talk more about what other people do, and comment on others' choices. (Which really makes we wonder what everyone is saying about us...) It's taking some getting used to!
DMV
I'm accustomed to going to one place to get my driver's license renewed and to get my car tabs renewed. Here, however, there are two different offices - the state-run office handles drivers licenses, and the "city-county" office handles plates and tabs. Also, since there's no sales tax (on anything!) here, the price to register a car is more expensive than what I'm used to. But some things are the same across state lines: it's still miserable to wait in line for literally hours in order to get the task done.
niceness
Everyone is so, so, so, so nice! And it seems authentic, not like the passive aggressive "Minnesota nice" that I'm used to :) We have some great neighbors who would literally drop everything for us if we asked for it. I'm looking forward to the temperature dropping so I can start baking some thank you treats for all the wonderful neighbors we've met so far.
license plates
I literally couldn't tell what the "standard" license plate was until I went to the DMV. There are five "standard" plates and SOOO many specialty plate options. Seriously, the options are overwhelming. It makes it challenging to play the license plate game while driving because you see all these different ones, but they all turn out to be just from Montana.
beer/wine in grocery stores
It's crazy to me (coming from Minnesota), but you can buy beer and wine IN THE GROCERY STORE! Even Target has alcohol for sale, right there on the endcaps!! Hard liquor is in separate stores, but it's SO nice to pick up a bottle of wine while getting the rest of the dinner stuff in the grocery store. Now if only my local Target would start carrying my favorite wine...
casinos
They're everywhere! Seriously, you'll see about 10 casinos on every block. I don't know how they all stay in business! And it's not like they look welcoming, or seem to be known for their buffets, or anything like that. At some point we'll have to check one of them out, but for now I'm still just adjusting to seeing them all over the place.
dirt roads
There's the city roads. There's the interstate. And EVERYTHING else is dirt roads. Even in rural Minnesota or Wisconsin, my experience was that most roads are paved. Not so around here! But I guess that's what I should have expected with the incredibly low taxes in Montana.
I'm pretty sure these are just the tip of the iceberg, so it'll be interesting to see what else pops us for us as we continue to get settled. We've also been adjusting to living in the mountains (off grid) after living in a big city for so long. So in addition to the general culture shock of moving to Montana, we've also had the adjustments of living in the middle of nowhere. Things like:
-no pizza delivery
-driving >45min to get groceries/gas/etc
-needing a cell booster to get any service for our phones while at home
-getting satellite cable and internet (which means we have to closely monitor how much we stream each month!)
-no trash service at the curb
-prepping to heat our new house with wood this winter
-needing high clearance 4WD vehicles(?)
-learning to manage the solar power for electricity, and closely monitoring what we have plugged in when
But despite all these challenges, so far we have all been loving it! Kid is making friends and enjoys going to school, Husband seems happier than he has in a long time, and I'm loving the whole experience as well. So far Montana is an adjustment, but a fun one!
"gossip"
I don't know if this is a Montana thing or just a small-town thing, but it seems like everyone knows everyone else's business. We noticed this on our house-hunting trip, when the realtor we were with was very, very open about saying exactly who he sold each house to and for exactly how much. Minnesotans (or at least Twin Citians?) don't talk about finances much, so this was a bit of a surprise for us. And it's not just finances! Montanans just generally talk more about what other people do, and comment on others' choices. (Which really makes we wonder what everyone is saying about us...) It's taking some getting used to!
DMV
I'm accustomed to going to one place to get my driver's license renewed and to get my car tabs renewed. Here, however, there are two different offices - the state-run office handles drivers licenses, and the "city-county" office handles plates and tabs. Also, since there's no sales tax (on anything!) here, the price to register a car is more expensive than what I'm used to. But some things are the same across state lines: it's still miserable to wait in line for literally hours in order to get the task done.
niceness
Everyone is so, so, so, so nice! And it seems authentic, not like the passive aggressive "Minnesota nice" that I'm used to :) We have some great neighbors who would literally drop everything for us if we asked for it. I'm looking forward to the temperature dropping so I can start baking some thank you treats for all the wonderful neighbors we've met so far.
license plates
I literally couldn't tell what the "standard" license plate was until I went to the DMV. There are five "standard" plates and SOOO many specialty plate options. Seriously, the options are overwhelming. It makes it challenging to play the license plate game while driving because you see all these different ones, but they all turn out to be just from Montana.
beer/wine in grocery stores
It's crazy to me (coming from Minnesota), but you can buy beer and wine IN THE GROCERY STORE! Even Target has alcohol for sale, right there on the endcaps!! Hard liquor is in separate stores, but it's SO nice to pick up a bottle of wine while getting the rest of the dinner stuff in the grocery store. Now if only my local Target would start carrying my favorite wine...
casinos
They're everywhere! Seriously, you'll see about 10 casinos on every block. I don't know how they all stay in business! And it's not like they look welcoming, or seem to be known for their buffets, or anything like that. At some point we'll have to check one of them out, but for now I'm still just adjusting to seeing them all over the place.
dirt roads
There's the city roads. There's the interstate. And EVERYTHING else is dirt roads. Even in rural Minnesota or Wisconsin, my experience was that most roads are paved. Not so around here! But I guess that's what I should have expected with the incredibly low taxes in Montana.
I'm pretty sure these are just the tip of the iceberg, so it'll be interesting to see what else pops us for us as we continue to get settled. We've also been adjusting to living in the mountains (off grid) after living in a big city for so long. So in addition to the general culture shock of moving to Montana, we've also had the adjustments of living in the middle of nowhere. Things like:
-no pizza delivery
-driving >45min to get groceries/gas/etc
-needing a cell booster to get any service for our phones while at home
-getting satellite cable and internet (which means we have to closely monitor how much we stream each month!)
-no trash service at the curb
-prepping to heat our new house with wood this winter
-needing high clearance 4WD vehicles(?)
-learning to manage the solar power for electricity, and closely monitoring what we have plugged in when
But despite all these challenges, so far we have all been loving it! Kid is making friends and enjoys going to school, Husband seems happier than he has in a long time, and I'm loving the whole experience as well. So far Montana is an adjustment, but a fun one!
