sdakgrl

I've lived in Missoula for the last two years as a grad student. It's not bad. I've grown to like it well enough. I think saritapie above has covered a lot of the upsides of living in Missoula. It's absolutely gorgeous here during the summer (usually) - dry heat, long days, lots of sunshine, and most of the students clear out of town. The first summer I was here, though, there were forest fires, which meant lots of smoke and haze. The Saturday farmers' markets in the spring/summer/early fall are kind of a fun Missoula experience. And coming from South Dakota, I've actually found the winters to be much milder than I was accustomed to - if you're from the upper midwest, you won't mind it here at all. I am going off for another degree in the fall, but I really hope that I'll be able to spend this summer here before I go. As far as the negatives posted above, I honestly haven't had that much trouble with the bus service. I haven't owned a car since I've lived here, and I've not had much trouble at all getting around on the bus. You definitely have to plan around when the bus is coming, since they usually only run about once an hour (and no evening/Sunday service at all), but I've never had any huge issues. Agreed that plane transportation is expensive and a pain. Very few direct flights, and only to hubs like Denver and Minneapolis. Amtrak runs through Whitefish, MT, on a line that runs from Seattle to Chicago, so especially if you have transportation to/from Whitefish, that's another (cheaper) option to get out of Missoula. Apartments get snapped up pretty quickly. If you come in late August with nowhere to live, you're going to have a really tough time finding a place. A lot of the property management companies will deal with you via e-mail, though, so getting something arranged isn't difficult. I had my apartment arranged here in May and I didn't move until August. I know people who live in the campus apartments and I haven't heard many complaints about them. You might want to give them a shot. There are both campus and city buses that run between the apartments and the University. I live in the lower Rattlesnake and I love it here. It's within walking distance of downtown, the University, and groceries, and there are some really nice parks and recreation areas here in my neighborhood. Knowing the city as well as I do now, if I had to pick anywhere to live it would be here. I'm disappointed that there don't seem to be any good Chinese places here in Missoula. It's also a big beer drinking town, which is something I've had to adjust to. People are really laid back - which can often cross a boundary into really casual rudeness and thoughtlessness. Both drivers and bicyclists are rude and careless (this is from the perspective of a pedestrian). Dogs run free and crap all over the place. Lots of hippies here, too, which can get tiresome. Montanans are perpetually late. I am not at all impressed with the undergraduates. But even considering all of that - I like it here, overall.