3 ms·

As someone that took a tech job in a (relatively) rural area, I can say there are some amazing perks, but also huge risks. Tech jobs pay roughly the same in rur

by jobu 9y ago

As someone that took a tech job in a (relatively) rural area, I can say there are some amazing perks, but also huge risks. Tech jobs pay roughly the same in rural areas as they do in larger cities, but housing costs are low enough that you can get a really nice house and still afford to put money in savings. The biggest downside is a lack of employment options. When the company had a huge layoff I started looking around for other jobs in the area and realized there weren't any. I ended up taking a great job 1000 miles away in a major city. That's when I realized another downside to smaller markets - it's really hard to sell a house and house values don't change. Even though we bought a foreclosed house in 2007, the value in 2014 was unchanged. After looking at what we had spend on improvements and upkeep we would've been far better off renting a house and putting more money into savings.

client4 9y ago
I agree that's a huge issue which is only slowly getting better. It's also rather normal for people to travel/work remote/move between the top cities. From Helena I drive to Missoula or Bozeman at least once a month to see friends / socialize. Regarding job movement, MT actually has a number of high tech companies per city, but it's a much smaller handful. Using Helena as an example (valley population ~80k), we have: Northrup Grumman, the State Agencies, SoFi, TSI&T, Boeing, Tempest (they work on KOA.com), Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc. Layoffs are not as usual here as we have a significant talent shortage. For instance I believe SoFi has ~200 devs in Helena when they would like 400 devs -- hiring being the biggest barrier.
- falcolas 9y ago
  In Bozeman, I've done the tour of the major (and more than a couple of minor) companies, and there are still prospects available to me. Throw in decent internet and companies which hire remotely, and you're in good shape. That said, Bozeman is currently experiencing a housing bubble that doesn't seem to want to break (we attribute it to the older Californians who are trying to avoid taxes on the houses they sold there). Nothing like SF, but 2x-3x the rest of Montana.

by jobu 9y ago

client4 9y ago

I agree that's a huge issue which is only slowly getting better. It's also rather normal for people to travel/work remote/move between the top cities. From Helena I drive to Missoula or Bozeman at least once a month to see friends / socialize. Regarding job movement, MT actually has a number of high tech companies per city, but it's a much smaller handful. Using Helena as an example (valley population ~80k), we have: Northrup Grumman, the State Agencies, SoFi, TSI&T, Boeing, Tempest (they work on KOA.com), Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc. Layoffs are not as usual here as we have a significant talent shortage. For instance I believe SoFi has ~200 devs in Helena when they would like 400 devs -- hiring being the biggest barrier.

falcolas 9y ago
In Bozeman, I've done the tour of the major (and more than a couple of minor) companies, and there are still prospects available to me. Throw in decent internet and companies which hire remotely, and you're in good shape. That said, Bozeman is currently experiencing a housing bubble that doesn't seem to want to break (we attribute it to the older Californians who are trying to avoid taxes on the houses they sold there). Nothing like SF, but 2x-3x the rest of Montana.