Are there affordable trout-bum towns left?

[mporter012]

I moved to Fort Collins last year for a job, and it's a good town. We have great access to the Poudre and Big T. River, but it's not very trout-bum friendly at 450k a house. IS it just me or have all the good fishing towns in the west been developed and yuppified to the extent that one may as well give up hope at finding a nice western town and buy some acreage and get in 150 days a year on the water? The cost of living in the west, is arguably, ruining the west. Or maybe California is just ruining the west. Bozeman is now more expensive than Prague. It's out of control. Maybe the internet is to blame.

One can, of course, live in their van. That's always an option. And maybe that's the purist way.

Food For Thought.

[Rip Tide]

A couple of years ago while on a fishin' trip, my brakes let go. Broke a line
We limped into town and found a NAPA store
"Hey where can I find someone to take a look at my brakes"
"You should go see 'Chriswhoworksoncars'. He has a garage out behind the trailer park."
He got right to it and worked for about 2 hours. Even paid for the parts.
After he finished up I asked him how much
"Ahh..., how about 40 bucks?" Needless to say he got double that.
We were off with plenty of time left in day.

First stop was here

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Then here

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[joe_strummer]

I got one word for you: Carp Bum.

Zillow it.

[sweetandsalt]

Fort Collins wasn't a Trout Bum town back when I knew it in the 1970's. Of course, then trout bums used tents not bought houses as, well, fishing changes and we along with it. So, the only way you will find what you are looking for is to get that van, travel about the west until you find what suits you.

[silver creek]

Take a look at Philipsburg, Montana, 59858.

Philipsburg, Montana (MT 59858) profile: population, maps, real estate, averages, homes, statistics, relocation, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, moving, houses, news, sex offenders

Philipsburg, MT (Montana) Houses, Apartments, Rent, Mortgage Status, Home and Condo Value Estimator, Cars, Bedrooms, Owners, Prices, Averages, Residents Info

It is the County Seat of Granite County, MT, about 1 hr 20 minutes from Missoula, MT. It is small, relatively inexpensive and us near Rock Creek and a lot of other trout streams.

Google Maps

Google Maps

[k_e_v]

Philipsburg is a great little town and also near Georgetown Lake which is a great spot for float tubes or PWC’s for big healthy Brookies and Rainbows

[old timer]

I live in a small town of 2200 right on the Arkansas River. Forget getting a job here though. I'm retired.

Half the town are fishing bums and the other half are hunting bums. I'm both.

[jds108]

I think this is a great question. I'm in Bozeman and understand the cost concerns. I'd simply say that there are many small towns in MT. If the topic comes down to housing prices, those towns with known names and/or right on great water are expensive. The small towns that aren't known and/or right on the water aren't. So much of the answer depends on how far you're willing to drive...

If I had to do it over and didn't have the personal things that made Bozeman a no-brainer, I'd say finding a place in/near Helena would be my number one choice. I don't want to live in a town so small that there isn't a Costco, Target, and the like though, so everybody's going to have different preferences.

[gutterpunk]

As a Bozeman homeowner, yes I'm part of the problem. Philipsburg was mentioned--but i won't mention any towns here. Though the short answer is yes--while they are becoming more rare "affordable" trout towns still exist.

[Redrock]

I vote for living in a van down by the river.

Don’t stop in Dillon. The Beaverhead and Big Hole suck.