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A recent Business Insider<\/em> article written from the perspective of a wealthy celebrity news and social media personality who moved to Bozeman in 2020 has Montanans feeling like they\u2019re living in the twilight zone. (Yes, even the other transplants, myself included.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The article, \u201cI left NYC and bought a house in Montana. I had a big job title but a terrible bank account \u2014 now I\u2019m happier and my money goes further<\/a>,\u201d was written by Perri Ormont Blumberg as it was told to her by 42-year-old Shallon Lester. The article sums up Lester\u2019s reasoning for moving to Bozeman from New York City in June 2020\u2014to save money. That\u2019s a popular reason to move anywhere. In fact, it\u2019s the same reason why lots of longtime Montana residents have moved away<\/em> from Bozeman\u2014to avoid the strain of housing costs that are 62 percent higher<\/a> than the rest of the country.<\/p>\n But in explaining her decision to Business Insider<\/em>\u2019s 200 million monthly visitors<\/a>, which she also did in a nearly-identical article in 2021<\/a>, Lester also made some less-than-charming statements about the community that she sacrificed big-city luxury to move to. She highlights the lower-quality hair and nail salons, the understaffed businesses, the dating pool full of men who don\u2019t understand or appreciate her type of intelligence, the women these men do<\/em> desire who \u201cneed saving\u201d and \u201chave jobs but not careers.\u201d In the older article, she laments having to \u201c[keep] the bar low for dating\u2026 Every guy on Tinder is holding a fish or something else he killed.\u201d<\/p>\n Insults to hunters, anglers, hair stylists, manicurists, the service industry, and essentially every man and woman in the Big Sky State aside, she really emphasizes her biggest point: Living in Montana isn\u2019t cool.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTrading the big-city cool factor for an easier cost of living was the best decision for me,\u201d the article reads. \u201cFeeling cool isn\u2019t as important as feeling rich.\u201d<\/p>\n There are countless problematic components to both of Lester\u2019s articles. Like all the parts where she calls Bozeman slow in a way that reads as equal parts endearing and infantilizing. Or the part where she solves the problem of her \u201cterrible\u201d bank account by buying what she claims is a $1-million home in cash. (Some have questioned her appraisal of the property value, as well as her actual ownership status.) But the situation turned on its head when Hipsters of Bozeman<\/a>, a popular Instagram account dedicated to light-hearted humor about the town\u2019s eclectic mix of residents, posted the article to their page.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Suddenly, the hipsters, hunters, mountain bikers, baristas, fly anglers, and good ol\u2019 boys and girls had each others\u2019 backs\u2014maybe to a fault. The post received an onslaught of comments bashing Lester\u2019s every word. So Lester posted a response video, which she filmed while posing in front of a bookshelf of expensive handbags\u2014a reply that was widely derided and added even more fuel to the social media conflagration. (Lester did not immediately reply to a request for comment.)<\/p>\n Lol shallot\u2019s rant @ hipsters of Bozeman<\/a> The owner of the Hipsters of Bozeman account, who remains anonymous, has since disabled comments on the post and deleted multiple stories. The blowback to Shallon\u2019s story and response video\u2014in which she calls the owner of the Hipsters of Bozeman account a \u201cgoblin\u201d and an \u201canonymous, broke, dumpy pigeon\u201d\u2014was swift and harsh.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re pigeons she\u2019s the statue,\u201d one Reddit user comments<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the archetype of what everyone has been complaining about,\u201d another says. \u201cNo one could better personify the issues of cultural transitions around here better than her, she\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought she didn\u2019t need designer clothes etc. because she moved to Montana \u2026 but now she is showing off her designer handbags,\u201d a third points out. \u201cHoly fuck this lady is unhinged.\u201d<\/p>\n Shallon has become a lightning rod for criticism because she represents what so many Westerners fear: an invasion of wealthy out-of-towners who are out of touch with local values.\u00a0<\/p>\n Outdoor Life <\/em>shooting editor, John B. Snow, who moved to Bozeman<\/a> in 2010, has seen growing anxiety about and anger toward transplants who have altered the culture of Montana, no matter how good their intentions might be.<\/p>\n \u201cShallon confirms the worst suspicions that Montanans have toward newcomers,\u201d Snow says. \u201cHer comments and social media demonstrate a paper-thin understanding of life here and what makes Montana special. When she brags about her Mossy Oak hoodie, describes her home in a sprawling subdivision as \u2018rural\u2019, and refers to the locals who called her out as \u2018pigeons\u2019 and \u2018goblins,\u2019 it\u2019s easy to see why she\u2019s been characterized as an inauthentic and corrosive imposter. She has a smug, confidently-incorrect perspective that really struck a nerve.\u201d<\/p>\n At one point in the story Shallon claims to \u201chave a shotgun above her bed and a lasso in her truck bed,\u201d and she makes some socio-political statements that might sound more stereotypically Western than stereotypically Californian. But one statement in particular, from the 2021 piece, especially stood out:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPrices are through the roof,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping that once life gets back to normal around America, people will stop moving to Montana.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Read Next: <\/strong>Can You Blame Hunters for Wanting to Move to Montana? Locals Do<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s a sentiment I\u2019ve heard a million times, in bars and at trailheads and in interviews for other articles I\u2019ve written about the wealth influx in the West<\/a>. It reflects the old adage of \u201cclose the door on your way in.\u201d But countless case studies on population growth, housing prices, and urban sprawl prove that no newcomer is really listening. That\u2019s why Lester\u2019s hypocrisy is so infuriating: Her words were read by tens of thousands of people, many of whom have enough money to pay cash for million-dollar Bozeman homes of their own.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
by u\/Missunimpossible<\/a> in Bozeman<\/a> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n