Angela Jamison is a native Montanan and she grew up in beautiful Bozeman. I'm the mother of two girls and write a blog about our life here and taking in the simple pleasures of family and food. http://www.rdeliciouslife.blogspot.com/

I never imagined I would be in my home town raising my daughters in the same valley where I grew up.  Sure, I knew I wanted a family one day but always thought it would be somewhere far away from these mountains.  Recently I was reading an article about how Bozeman made it on another "Best of" list.  It seems to be a frequent occurrence.  The Best Place to raise a family, the Best Place for skiing, The Best Place to reboot your life, and on and on.  I get mixed feelings when reading these articles.  On one side I feel proud and fortunate to live here and as I read someone else writing about how amazing it is, I smile and think it really is.  But, then the other part of me wants to keep Bozeman a secret.  Anyways…the most recent one I read was the Best Place to Raise an Outdoor Child.   It was this one that got me thinking about raising my kids here.  It feels very safe and comfortable.  I know they are at a good school and I don't ever worry about going to the wrong part of town.  I know the parts of town, I know which neighborhoods have a more hippie vibe and which have a pretentious one.  I know what areas have more college student rentals and which are more family friendly.  I know these things because I grew up here.  Often fear comes from the unknown, so I get a strong sense of feeling safe here because I know Bozeman like the back of my hand.  Lately we have had talks of leaving again in a couple of years when my husband finishes school.  This both excites and terrifies me.  How will we ever find a place that can be as safe and wonderful as Bozeman?  I wonder…do I believe these things because they are actually true or because it's all I know?  Has the comfort of being in the same town become too comfortable and I can hide behind the idea that it is so fantastic because some survey says Montana really is the last best place?  Hmmm. I do believe Bozeman is one of the "best" places to raise an outdoor kid, or any kid for that matter.  A place where our family spends the majority of our time out in the fresh air.  Hiking our mountains, camping all summer long and sledding throughout the winter.  We've been to every park in this town and done every monkey bar.  I try to instill a love of the outdoors in them and the community we live in helps this concept thrive.  I go back to the comfort thing and wonder if I feel content with this because it is what I've always known.  I take them to swim at Bogart Pool where I spent many a summer day in my youth.  We camp up in the Elkhorns and I get a feeling of nostalgia from running along Crow Creek with my sisters and now see my girls do the same.  I think this is awesome, but also…how could it be different if I pushed myself out of my comfort zone?  I loved my Montana childhood, but could leaving the last best place be a chance for something new and exciting?  Would anyone who gets to live in this place that is coveted by many be crazy enough to leave it?  Have I instilled enough of the Bozeman goodness into my daughters that if we leave will they always consider themselves Montana girls or will they become something totally different?  And if they do, is that a bad thing? My biggest fear for leaving beautiful Bozeman would be regret.  If we took the chance to leave and raise our daughters someplace different and it wasn't all we thought, would we feel regretful?  In our early twenties we moved from one coast to the other with a brief stop back in Bozeman in the middle.  During those years the moves seemed as easy as moving across town.  I do believe it would be different now as we've added two kids, a dog and a fish to the family.  And, I'm pretty sure the cat would not survive another move…poor thing was a part of those early travels.  It would be hard to find a place that meets my Bozeman standards of excellent schools, wide open spaces, friendly community and safe neighborhoods.  If they didn't meet those standards would I long to come back?  Would it simply be impossible for any other place to bring me that comfort because Bozeman has held most of my 35 years?  The thing is….regret is always a two-way street.  We could stay right here, raising our girls as the next generation of Montanans, them having a childhood that so similarly parallels my own and regret could just as easily creep in.  Regret of letting fear make our decisions.  Regret of letting comfort and contentment hold us back from something different.  I try to remember the values I carry as a woman are part because of where I grew up and part because of my family.  I have to give Montana credit for giving me the desire to be a good, kind person and live a simple, happy life and want this for my own children.  I also know these values will translate across state lines, because no matter where I end up you can't change where I began.  And if I end up raising beach babies instead of ski bunnies, I know my roots and values will be instilled in them.  No one knows where life will take us.  I just want to make sure whatever road we travel, it will not be a road of regret.  And whether we kiss the mountains good-bye or stay here forever, it will always be my home.