With More People Than Ever, Bozeman is Becoming a Lonely Place for Locals

I'm not sure what exactly defines a 'small town' anymore but until recently Bozeman, Montana was a small town. Sure, it's been growing rapidly for several years because it's awesome and all the natural beauty - blah, blah, blah. But something changed very recently that has made Bozeman a lonely place for it's longtime locals.

Sure, we can all agree that Bozeman is a different kind of place than it was just a few years ago - let alone 30 or 40 years ago. It might be a paradise for those people who just moved here but it's become a challenge (and a bit lonely) to live in Bozeman for long-timers.

How can a town become lonely when you've lived there for decades? Lots of ways. The most obvious being with so many more people moving in, the less likely you are to know people. Could be lots of new neighbors, your regular bar crowd, a concert, or waiting for a flight at the airport.

Without pining for the good old days, the fact is Bozeman used to be an affordable place to live. Hell, even places like Big Sky and Whitefish had plenty of 'workforce housing'. It was simply called housing. You could work your full time job and pay for SOME place to live.

There used to be a real sense of community among Bozeman's younger population around the Montana State campus and downtown. For many, many years, you could afford a room in a shared house or a basement apartment - whatever. There were options, and those options created neighborly environments.

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Now we're overflowing with blocks of million dollar small condos, with many more projects in the works. Is there anything wrong with this new norm? People are buying them so I guess not. But it ABSOLUTELY changes what kind of town Bozeman is, and will be going forward.

Gone are the days when most residents knew who was on the Bozeman City Commission and which one was the Mayor. Now, a couple names might be familiar but people don't really give a crap, they're just really pissed off about the decisions the commission has made in recent years. That's problematic when your local leaders are viewed as "just politicians like anywhere else".

MORE: Montana Is Losing It's Trailer Parks Quickly

Your flights in and out of Bozeman are full of unfamiliar faces and they used to be packed with at least a dozen people you knew. We've touched on this one before and for some reason it resonates the most with me. The gate area before a flight was a fantastic reunion of friends new and old. Not anymore. Now it's people you don't recognize, with earbuds in, eyes buried in their phones. Lonely, indeed.