Flathead living is like living in a dream

Living in Montana is like living in a dream. Some days I wonder what the hell possessed me to pick up shop and move to a place where it is truly a difficult task to make a living.

I think even if I wasn’t in the journalism business, a field where it is also a truly difficult task to make a living, it would still be rough trying to eek out a decent wage in the Flathead.

The new Flathead gun industry is gainfully employing my boyfriend, which is fantastic, and something which I think gives a lot of valley residents hope of an industry that can consistently provide jobs in an area plagued by seasonal employement.

Some days I look around me and can’t believe that I have the privelage of living in such a beautiful place, where mountains, water and wildlife come together to form some sort of recreation paradise.

A paradise which is great to enjoy when you’re not working, especially as a visitor.

This summer I decided to I needed to add more than a little extra to my income and picked up a job waiting tables weekend evenings. Right around the Fourth of July business started to pick up big time.

And that uptick in customers is good for the plethora of businesses in Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Kalispell, Bigfork and Lakeside that all depend on the two-month summer rush to sustain their businesses for the rest of the year.

But the majority of those customers are from out-of-town. It’s absolutely nuts to try and sustain a business based on two months of revenue.

Don’t get me wrong, I get it. Everyone who lives in the Flathead or has moved to the Flathead, I think, has more or less the same goal in mind.

We live here because we want to, not because we have to, and we do what we can to try and stay here. Whether that means taking two jobs, which is actually the case with the majority of the people I know, or trying to make a year’s worth of revenue in two months, we do what we can.

But it’s still crazy. When I think about how much easier life could be in terms of income, I can’t think of anywhere else I would rather try to make a living.

I honestly don’t think it would be worth it. This place is special.