A Few Tips On How To Spot A Transplant In Montana

Montana is full of folks that aren't actually from Montana.

Over the last decade or so, people have been moving to Montana at a record pace, and while many Montanans feel like the state is at full capacity, the certainly hasn't stopped the people from leaving their home states and coming here.

Recent data suggests that out of the states almost 1.2 million people, just over half of those were born in Montana, with the rest moving here along the way.

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Now, not every Montana transplant stands out.  There are many living in Montana that you would never know were someplace else unless they told you, however for others, it's a little more obvious.

Are there actual signs to tell if a person is a transplant?

Yes. Some aren't as obvious as others, but there are a couple of ways you can tell a person is a Montana transplant and the easiest one is the license plate. For whatever reason, many transplants hold out on switching over their out-of-state plates to Montana plates.

If you feel like you are seeing more California and Washington plates compared to other states, that's not just your imagination, those two states produce the biggest number of transplants to The Treasure State.

Do you know what you need here?

Another sign of a transplant is if they start by saying "You know what you need here?"  For whatever reason, transplants feel the need to tell you what would make Montana better. I don't think they do it out of spite, I just believe that they don't think before they speak.

READ MORE: Popular Montana location makes the "National Bucket List".

Most Montanans are fine with how things are, while some believe we have too much already.

Are you going to wear that? In public?

Clothing is a pretty good way to spot a transplant as well.  For whatever reason, folks that move here feel like they "need to dress like a Montanan" and sometimes their idea of how Montanan's dress is a little skewed. If you see folks walking around looking like they're in extra on Yellowstone OR heading to the dance after the rodeo and it's a Tuesday in the middle of the afternoon, they might be a transplant.

What are some other ways you can spot a transplant in Montana? Let us know by sending us a message on our radio station app.