Hi Bozeman! I’m Megan – Here’s the Story of My Move

It all started with a phone message a few days after April Fool's Day.

“Hi, I have been trying to get ahold of you about a job offer," the guy said.

So right away of course, I am thinking it is a prank. I mean, who wouldn’t? A few follow up phone calls and emails later, I realize this is real! I was excited and scared at the same time. This opportunity would take me 12 hours from my home state of North Dakota, where I had spent 36 years, but the job would take me to Bozeman, Montana. 

I had only been to Bozeman one other time when I went road tripping to look at colleges. I remember it being cute, quaint, and “western”. I liked it. I hop online and start looking at housing.

Much to my surprise, cute and quaint Bozeman was no longer the same. If I wanted to purchase a home, I was going to need half a million dollars just laying around. I, like most people, did not. Onto rental properties. Again, another surprise! I had a budget in my mind, and that was a budget that was not very realistic for Bozeman. I did some more budgeting, cancelled a few memberships I never used (one being the gym), and was able to raise my budget to $1,400-$1,600 a month. I felt like this was very doable. Now just to find a two bedroom that fit our needs. 

I have a teenager so the area we wanted to be in was very important to us. I decided to pay one more application fee, get on a waiting list, and just sit back. A couple weeks went by and I finally got an email: “You have been chosen for one of our units”!

The excitement ran through my body like hot lava! The waiting had paid off. I had a nice apartment, that was built last year, and I had a move in date. It was well within my budget, they asked for the deposit and rent for the month I was going to be living there. It was great, smooth, and I finally felt confident about my move! Now as I sit here in my new state I now call home, look around, and I still see the same cute, quaint Bozeman I remembered from many years ago. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder.