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With the onset of Starlink, I expect such locations could experience a population boom. With urban housing prices skyrocketing (demand exceeding supply = biddin

With the onset of Starlink, I expect such locations could experience a population boom. With urban housing prices skyrocketing (demand exceeding supply = bidding war), many are discovering the only thing they need to live where they actually want to is reliable high-speed low-latency internet. The land is cheap ($150,000 for 321 acres in Ingomar, Montana), the region attractive (drove around there this summer, very nice), just need a good data feed. Leverage it right, and that old bar could spawn a happenin' site for remote workers.

MS90 7y ago
Not in Eastern Montana, I don't think. It's a pretty depressing place to live. All the mountains and beautiful wilderness that come to mind when you think of Montana are about 300 miles west. All that's really out in the east is flat grassland, meth, and Indian reservations. The state has the highest suicide rate in the nation.
dobleboble 7y ago
Go back during winter and see if you feel the same way XD
planteen 7y ago
Right this minute you could find very fast internet (fiber) in rural areas with very inexpensive housing. I have a relatives in the Dakotas & Nebraska with better internet than I have in Denver. Some of them live in town and some of them live in the country. A lot of it seems to depend on local government having the drive to get rural access funds from the FCC. As another said, eastern Montana could be brutal if its not something you are used to. There are extremely hot and extremely cold days (in the -30s degrees F) possible. It will be really windy and really brown (its very dry) for much of the year. You might also be shocked by how much some people drink/use other substances and how they get around when incapacitated. (There is no Lyft/Uber). There will not be a lot of young singles around, either. I personally don't think there will be a big boom because of Starlink for housing. At the end of the day, internet is just a small factor in what makes a place desirable to live. Climate, distance to city/airport, local bars & restaurants, scenic beauty, and local activities all factor a lot, too.
- at-fates-hands 7y ago
  > It will be really windy and really brown (its very dry) for much of the year. Remember playing soccer with a guy from Montana. We were playing on a field in the Fall that was basically all dead, yellow grass. He used to say. "Dude, I'm from Montana, this is considered LUSH"
  - mitchty 7y ago
    > "Dude, I'm from Montana, this is considered LUSH" Good old prarie grass, green after it rains in June. Don't put a flame near or you'll start a wild fire brown the rest of the summer.
threwawasy1228 7y ago
I think the bigger problem is getting more companies to allow fully remote employees, internet connectivity is only a small part of the issue.
OnlineGladiator 7y ago
I think people care about food more than they care about internet. There are small towns that can't even keep grocery stores running (there was an article about it on HN recently).
randomdata 7y ago
While not Montana, I can get gigabit internet service [~10-30ms latency to Google servers] on my farm. I like it here, but I don't see the masses flocking to live here because of the internet service.
AdrianB1 7y ago
What are the taxes to live in this area? A colleague has a small farm in West Virginia and she told me she pays about half of her net income in taxes for the farm. I think she earns around $60,000.

MS90 7y ago

Not in Eastern Montana, I don't think. It's a pretty depressing place to live. All the mountains and beautiful wilderness that come to mind when you think of Montana are about 300 miles west. All that's really out in the east is flat grassland, meth, and Indian reservations. The state has the highest suicide rate in the nation.

dobleboble 7y ago

Go back during winter and see if you feel the same way XD

planteen 7y ago

Right this minute you could find very fast internet (fiber) in rural areas with very inexpensive housing. I have a relatives in the Dakotas & Nebraska with better internet than I have in Denver. Some of them live in town and some of them live in the country. A lot of it seems to depend on local government having the drive to get rural access funds from the FCC. As another said, eastern Montana could be brutal if its not something you are used to. There are extremely hot and extremely cold days (in the -30s degrees F) possible. It will be really windy and really brown (its very dry) for much of the year. You might also be shocked by how much some people drink/use other substances and how they get around when incapacitated. (There is no Lyft/Uber). There will not be a lot of young singles around, either. I personally don't think there will be a big boom because of Starlink for housing. At the end of the day, internet is just a small factor in what makes a place desirable to live. Climate, distance to city/airport, local bars & restaurants, scenic beauty, and local activities all factor a lot, too.

at-fates-hands 7y ago
> It will be really windy and really brown (its very dry) for much of the year. Remember playing soccer with a guy from Montana. We were playing on a field in the Fall that was basically all dead, yellow grass. He used to say. "Dude, I'm from Montana, this is considered LUSH"
- mitchty 7y ago
  > "Dude, I'm from Montana, this is considered LUSH" Good old prarie grass, green after it rains in June. Don't put a flame near or you'll start a wild fire brown the rest of the summer.

threwawasy1228 7y ago

I think the bigger problem is getting more companies to allow fully remote employees, internet connectivity is only a small part of the issue.

OnlineGladiator 7y ago

I think people care about food more than they care about internet. There are small towns that can't even keep grocery stores running (there was an article about it on HN recently).

randomdata 7y ago

While not Montana, I can get gigabit internet service [~10-30ms latency to Google servers] on my farm. I like it here, but I don't see the masses flocking to live here because of the internet service.

AdrianB1 7y ago

What are the taxes to live in this area? A colleague has a small farm in West Virginia and she told me she pays about half of her net income in taxes for the farm. I think she earns around $60,000.