At the
Movoto Real Estate Blog we know a thing or two about excitement. After all, we spend our days finding awesome houses for people all over the country, and by night…we fight crime! No, just messing with you. We go out to dinner, see shows, go to bars—you know, all of the exciting things that you do too.
Which is precisely why we have decided to go from state to state and city to city to find the very most exciting places all over the U.S. Today, we’re heading to Montana to see which of the Treasure State’s cities shine the brightest.
According to careful mathematical analysis (which is almost as cool as fighting crime), that honor goes to Bozeman. Here are the 10 most exciting places in Montana:
1. City of Bozeman
2. City of Whitefish
3. City of Missoula
4. City of Havre
5. City of Livingston
6. City of Lewistown
7. City of Helena
8. City of Great Falls (Tie)
8. City of Belgrade (Tie)
8. City of Kalispell (Tie)
What’s so exciting about these 10 places, you might ask? How did we come up with such a thrilling list in the first place? Keep reading and we’ll explain it all.
How We Created This Ranking
We started this exciting journey by gathering up all of the most populated places in Montana (places with populations of 5,000 or more). This left us with a total of 21 places. Then, we used the 2010 U.S. Census and business listings to research each place according to the following eight criteria:
- Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
- Live music venues per capita
- Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
- Arts and Entertainment per capita (movie theaters, festivals, galleries, theaters, etc.)
- Fast Food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better)
- Percentage of restaurants that are not fast food (the higher the better)
- Percentage of young residents ages 18 to 34 (the higher the better)
- Population density (the higher the better)
We ranked each place with with a score from one to 21, according to the above criteria, where the lower the number was, the better its score. We averaged these rankings into an overall
Big Deal Score, where, again, the lowest number was our most exciting and all around awesome place.
To see more than just these top 10, you can head down to the bottom of the post. Otherwise, we’ll take a closer look at why each of our top places are so crazy and fun.
1. Bozeman
If you are young or just young at heart, this is the
Montana city for you, as nearly half of the residents here were between the ages of 18 and 34. Yes, Bozeman is a college town through and through. Along with being the home to Montana State, it was also home to some of the most bars and music venues per capita in the state.
Where it really shined, though, was in the restaurant scene. With places like Montana Ale Works, Blackbird Kitchen, and, of course, Roost Fried Chicken dotting this city, MSU students won’t be going hungry anytime soon. But don’t worry, Mom and Dad—Bozeman ranked second overall for its active life options, so there are plenty of opportunities to work off those chicken wings.
2. Whitefish
It’s no wonder Whitefish ranked so well for its active life options, what with it being the home to one of the coolest (pun intended) ski resorts in the state. What may surprise you is that Whitefish also ranked first in not one other category, but three other categories as well: nightlife, music venues, and arts per capita.
Yep, in Whitefish you can end a day of skiing or perusing the galleries with some cocktails at Casey’s, or take it easy at Beirstube. Just know that you might be drinking your dinner, as this city ranked 15th (not exactly the best) for its restaurants per capita. My guess, though, is after a day on the slopes, you probably won’t mind.
3. Missoula
Home to the University of Montana, Missoula earned awesome points for its high percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 34—the second most in the state. Not only that, but Missoula was also the fifth most densely-populated place on our list.
So here’s what we’re looking at: a population that was nearly 40 percent under the age of 35, packed tightly into a city filled with bars, arts, and the third most music venues per capita. This is either a recipe for a whole lot of fun, or a whole lot of trouble. Preferably both.
4. Havre
Havre you heard how exciting this city is? Havre you ever been there? Okay, sorry. No more Havre jokes; but in all seriousness, this place really is awesome, and if you’ve been there, you must know. After all, it’s home to the MSU Northern Campus, so there are plenty of young people living here. Plus it was the second most densely-populated place in the state, with 2,840 people per square mile.
To put that into perspective, just look at one of our previous cities, Whitefish, where there were only 989 people per square mile, or even Butte-Silver Bow, where there were just 47. So whether you’re walking to class, or perhaps walking to one of the many art businesses, with so many people per square mile, chances are you’ll run into somebody exciting. Or, you’ll at least run into somebody.
5. Livingston
Livingston may not exactly have had the state’s youngest population (just 26.2 percent of residents were between 18 and 34), but don’t let that fool you. This place is packed with excitement—oh, and breathtaking natural beauty. There’s that too.
But back to the excitement. Out of all of the places we looked at, Livingston came in second place for its nightlife, music venues, and arts listings per capita. Plus, it had the third most active life options in the state—which makes sense when you look at the land surrounding it. It’s enough to make Calamity Jane hit the trails for a hike.
(She’s a former Livingston resident, by the way!)
6. Lewistown
Okay, Lewistown might come as something of a surprise to those of you who don’t actually live there, but for residents—especially of the dining out variety—Lewistown is plenty exciting. Case in point: it ranked third in the category of restaurants per capita, and fourth for its number of arts listings.
Let’s focus on most everyone’s favorite subject though: Food. There is, of course, the Mint Bar & Grill, Dash Inn, and for some of the best chicken chipotle in town there’s El Rancho Alegre (alright, it might be the only chicken chipotle in town, but still not too shabby for a small city in Montana.)
7. Helena
Our list wouldn’t be complete without Montana’s capital, and no, not just because it has a really beautiful Capitol building, but because this city is actually really cool. For example, out of all the places we looked at, Helena had one of the youngest populations, with 24.47 percent of its residents between the ages of 18 and 34.
It also had the 11th fewest fast food joints and the fifth most non-boring—er, non-fast food—restaurants per capita. Even with all the options in this city, you pretty much only really need Bullman’s Wood Fired Pizza. I mean, it’s practically a dietary staple here.
8. Great Falls
The only thing really surprising about our first No. 8’s rankings, is that it didn’t rank even higher for its number of residents between the ages of 18 and 34. After all, it’s home both the University of Great Falls and Montana State Great Falls. But still, 23.29 percent is nothing to sneeze at.
More important than the age of its population, it seems, was just how tightly everyone was packed in together. This city came in as the third most densely-populated in the state. Plus, with more restaurants per capita than a majority of the places in the state, it certainly doesn’t seem like any of those 2,685 people per square mile will be fighting over where to eat.
8. Belgrade
Our second No. 8 spot goes to Belgrade, the apparent mecca for young people in Montana. This city of just over 7,000 was made up of 30.03 percent residents between the ages of 18 and 34. To put that into perspective, just take a look at one of our previous cities, Lewiston, where there were just 18.4
So what’s the attraction? Was it the number of nightlife options in the area—the seventh most per capita in the state? Perhaps the closely-packed population? Or maybe just the awesome Belgrade Special Events Center? Whatever the reason, this place seems to be a good spot to live in, especially for those under 35.
8. Kalispell
Last but not least (because, actually, it tied for No. 8 with Belgrade and Great Falls), Kalispell ranked well in our analysis for its young population, its high number of active life options, and most impressive of all, the third most arts listings per capita.
There are unique stores like Think Local, museums like Conrad Mansion, and if you’re all about creating your own art for others to oogle over, there are plenty of art supply stores as well.
Like Finding Buried Treasure
Okay, perhaps discovering that your city is one of the 10 most exciting in Montana isn’t quite as thrilling as finding buried treasure, but still, it’s pretty cool. Especially for those of you in Bozeman.
If you’re looking to make a move to the Treasure State yourself, feel free to get in touch. After all, aside from writing illuminating posts like this one, we sell houses. That is, when we’re not too busy fighting crime.
