Oh, come on, Mark Matthews. As I started your Writers
on the Range article “I’ve tried, but I can’t eat the
view” (HCN, 6/7/04: I’ve tried, but I can’t eat the view), I
expected an analysis of Tom Power’s anthem on how we make
worthy sacrifices to live in the great West, trading some monetary
rewards for quality of life in a small town. Instead, you tell us
what we already know about the high cost of living in large and
attractive, geographically confined Western cities that host the
largest regional universities. Missoula and cities like it attract
people. No surprise there.
Thing is, there’s plenty
of places you would be able to afford a home in Montana. I invite
you to Butte, Anaconda, Dillon, or if you’re ready to have an
expansive view with your affordability, Lewistown, Roundup, Miles
City, or Sidney, to name a few. Take my home of Butte. If
you’re handy with a hammer and a total outlay of about
$15,000, you could be the owner of a perfectly serviceable home.
My point is that Missoula, Coeur d’Alene, Park City
and Medford (or especially Ashland) are the places that attract
hordes of young people, the retired, or the affluent. They have
priced out many working stiffs. However, places like Butte,
Anaconda, and many others could actually benefit from an increase
in population. There are simply too many boarded-up buildings to
turn people away.
Larry
Smith
Butte, Montana
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Can’t afford a home? Get out of the city.
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