Bozeman, Montana-Top Ten Retirement Places in US

U.S. News & World Report - Bozeman, Montana-Top Ten Retirement Places in US
Monday September 24, 2007 11:39 am ET By Alison Go

The people of Bozeman, Montana don't want this story to be published. They want the writers and photographers out, and they want the media to forget that their beautiful, once little town exists. "There's the idea that 'foreigners,' as we call them, are going to destroy old-time Montana," says Connie Lord, a longtime Bozeman resident and native of the state. When Lord returned to Big Sky Country after moving away for work, she discovered a transformed city. "What happened to my sleepy little town?" she wondered.

Bozeman--an outdoorsy sanctuary tucked within the Rocky Mountains, just 93 miles north of Yellowstone National Park--anchors Montana's fastest-growing county. Bozeman is home to Montana State University, but it has also become a mecca to vacationers and tech-industry workers, along with retirees looking for peace, quiet, culture, community, and the great outdoors.

Winters in Bozeman offer excellent skiing at the nearby glitzy Big Sky Ski Resort and local favorite Bridger Bowl Ski Area. For the warmer months, hiking trails snake through the foothills and canyons in every direction, while the Gallatin, Yellowstone, and Madison rivers, less than an hour's drive away, are teeming with avid fly fishers (fish, too).

A historic downtown boasts cafes and boutiques and serves as the venue for a seemingly endless number of art fairs and music festivals. Opportunities abound for horseback riding, and dude ranches outside town attract tourists and sometimes even locals. The university, the Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture, and the Museum of the Rockies add their own energy, culture, and academic pedigree to the scene.

For Lord, who works at the university as a research technician, life revolves around ballroom dancing and the active two-step scene in Bozeman. She meets with her partner and other dancers from all over the county several times a week to practice, a time when sprightly senior citizens can mambo with 14-year-olds.

Outsiders have found the area hard to resist, and fewer and fewer do. Bozeman has attracted plenty of wealthy retirees who gravitate toward pricey real estate on the outskirts of the city. And the influx of all those well-heeled seniors has made living in what some have jokingly renamed "Boz Angeles" nearly unaffordable. New, reasonably priced housing does exist--a three-bedroom house could go for $275,000--but for natives whose wages have not increased to match, the transformation is often startling.

Change at the Bozeman Hot Springs mirrors the town's metamorphosis. The once dingy gathering spot has recently been transformed into a ritzy spa featuring nine pools filled with hot springs water, a fitness center, and a sauna.

Yet as corners of the town are upgraded and reimagined to the chagrin of some locals, Bozeman's core appeal remains the same: a sense of community that's obvious in the city's many groups and meetups dedicated to skiing, hiking, painting, and knitting, to name a few. And as long as newcomers respect Bozeman's natural beauty and small-town feel, they're sure to feel welcome. The locals are a very nice bunch, really. Just don't tell them you're a reporter.
Statistical Information:
Average January high/low temperature 33.4 ° / 13.9 °
Average July high/low temperature 81.8 ° / 51.9 °
Precipitation 19.29 in. /yr.
Index score for various storm types 5
Median home price $ 279,300
Median household income $41660.0
Maximum state income tax 6.9 %
State sales tax 0 %
Area of square miles of parkland/greenspace N/A
Number of public golf courses within the county 7
Number of private golf courses within the county 4
Number of sports teams within the county 0
Number of movie theaters within the county 6
Number of libraries within the county 11
Number of museums within the county 7
Number of college and universities that reside within the county 1
Total population 33,535
Population density 860 people/mi.²
Population trends (Percentage growth/decline of the 55+ population) 137.2% growth
Population over 55 5,392 people
Education 43 % have a college degree
Number of hospitals within the county 8
Number of clinics within the county 21
Number of elder care facilities within the county 4
(article and information from US NEWS and WORLD REPORT)

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