So What: I Want to Raise my Kids in Montana
Jen and I hosted a dinner party for my friends, it was sort of a welcome back Brad from Iraq and a Congratulations Scott and Jess for their engagement party all rolled into one night of good food, good drinks and good friends.
The conversation somehow turned to Sarah and how she is a gangbanger and down with the boyzzzz, ok she just knows the gang signs from a workshop she went to for teachers, close enough. ANYWAY, we started talking about gangs in schools and how the schools we grew up in are now turning into, how should I say this, ghetto schools and I mentioned that when Jen and I have kids we are moving to Montana to get them away from the daily crap we live in now. *As a side note, i would say you can all come and visit but Jess seems to think Montana is in the middle of the country, so she may have a problem finding us :)*
I digress, some people didnt agree with it because its sheltering your kids and what not, well yes and no and this is how i look at it. First, I want my kids to get a good education and not have to worry about going to school and getting a knife to their throat. Sure it can happen anywhere (see Columbine High) but I’ll take my chances with suburbia Montana vs Raleigh, North Cackalack any day. Secondly, sure I want my kids to be exposed to certain things, but not without my merrit, i want them to experience the world and formulate their own opinions but there needs to be the proper environment for them to thrive.
I look at my friends and I, and we are all good people, well for the most part, sorry Nate………………………I kid I kid. We all grew up in a Montana so to speak. We were in Cary, NC in the early 90s. This was before SAS, before the triangle consistently won best place to live, and before there was damn traffic on Tryon Rd at ALL HOURS OF THE DAY! It was a pretty small town and a wonderful place to raise kids. I mean I turned out well didnt I!? 
I just don’t see this area as the same as when we grow up and as the quality town where I want to raise kids. I really don’t want my kids to end up in Millbrook High in Mrs. Mac’s remedial but actually honors English class.
I think I might not have conveyed my message tonight so I figured I’d let everyone waste 10 minutes and read why I want to move to Montana and raise my kids. I don’t want to lock them up in a ranch and have them be farm hands but I’d like a small town atmosphere for them, which I don’t think is around the Triangle.
Hey it may snow a lot in Montana but they have good Moose Drools!
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8 Responses to “So What: I Want to Raise my Kids in Montana”
Hi there. I wandered in via your wife’s blog.
I currently live in Montana and I went to Jr. High, High School and college in Montana.
I think its really funny that people were saying that they didn’t agree since it would be sheltering your kids. Sheltering them from what, exactly? The town that I live in is fantastic. It is not a ranch town, but it certainly isn’t Billings, MT, which does have gangs, believe it or not.
But we do have big name concerts, lots of sports, a university and lots of great stores..plus a historic downtown that is to die for. A lot of people in this town (certainly not me) are very priveledged, so it most definately is not the typical stereotype of people riding their horses to school/work.
Bad things do happen everywhere, but I couldn’t imagine moving back to Southern California where I attended elementary school and 1 yr of jr high. I remember seeing an approx. 6 yr old boy once say that when he grew up he wanted to be in a gang. I lived in a diverse neighborhood but everyone got along great. The last year we lived there a gang moved in (20 or so people in one small house) and proceeded to try to terrorize our neighborhood. We were a bunch of laid back families and these guys were spray painting cars (including my dads), stealing cars (including my sisters) and threatening people. I think I’ll pass on the big cities.
So..why wouldn’t someone want to live in Montana? If you could protect your kids from the b.s. of gangs and what not, why wouldn’t you??
mmmmm, moose drool.
Thats exactly what im sayin AliCat, its not sheltering them more protecting them from the idiots of thie world, which seem to be growing in number
No place is really “safe” anymore. I remember watching a HBO special years ago about gangs in Little Rock, Arkansas. It would be great to raise your kids in an environment where everyone feels safe.
Of course, like Evan said - Montana has got some great moose drool.
Exactly.
P.S. Tell Jen I said hi! 
As a new father and as a life-long resident of Cary, it is disheartening to see all the old stopming grounds being torn down and the influx of carpetbaggers crowding the roads with mini-vans covered in lacrosse stickers.
The way your children act is a direct correlation to the way they are raised. Evan’s kids won’t be gang-bangers because…well…look at him.
Our kids won’t be able to couple skate at Sports World or sneak into Basic Instict at the old south hills 99 cent theatre, but they also won’t be starting meth labs because they are bored out of their minds in Montana.
Brent, I completely agree it all about the parenting, but I want to be the one to introduce my kids to things in the environment and not have some gang banger at school tell them about it, or learn it from watchin MTV.
I just want to be responsible for my kids growth, not someone else.
Okay,
The world is changing, fast. I don’t think it is sheltering. You don’t throw a person into a marathon their first day of training anymore than you can expect a child to be fully prepared to deal with all life’s issues when they are young. It takes time, experience and patient. Mistakes are made, but hopefully there is time to correct them before they become beyond the persons ability to reason through them. I had led an extremely diverse childhood. By all rights I should have turned out differently, but growing up slow was my savior in the end. Exposure is inevevatable. Reason is learned. Ideally, the two meet when reason is stronger than the force upon it. Montana is a great state, with great people, diversity and history. Nature also provides a healthy perspective. Good Luck.