Get Us the HELL Out of Montana (Moving Fund)

Hello! We're Carson and Emily, two mid-20's artists living in Montana! We're roommates, and we are getting sick of living here! Carson has lived here for 10 years, and Emily has lived here for her whole life, and it's getting to both of us.

Where are you moving, and why?

Between the brutally harsh winters and absurdly high rent costs, Montana has continued to be a source of frustration and hardship for the two of us. Montana has a lot to offer to outdoorsy folks who are looking to hunt or ski, and it has drawn in a huge influx of people from out of state. But since neither of us are said outdoorsy types, we’re spending all our time (and money) being in an expensive place that has nothing to offer us.

We've set our sights on California as the main option for where we want to end up. Subzero weather and snow are nowhere to be found, and the average price of rent for what we’re looking for are nearly identical to what we’re currently paying; all with the added bonus of more sunlight, easier travel, and more things for us to do locally.

Emily is a work-from-home artist, and a lot of her income is dependent on how much of her artwork she can sell. There are no (large) conventions in the state, and the nearest "con" city to us is Seattle, which is a 12 hour drive away. Flying out of the airport here is, more often than not, significantly more than it would be out of SNA or LAX. She was born and raised in Montana, and is starting to dread the thought of living in her hometown for the rest of her life… especially when so many other opportunities are out of reach due to the geographical isolation of Montana.

It is also worth mentioning that we are also both LGBT - Carson is a gay trans man, and Emily is a bi woman - and the political climate of Montana has been more and more conservative ever since the 2016 election. Even though we're in a more progressive area of the state, it is still very isolating to be here. We’re also both neurodivergent, and mental healthcare in general here leaves much to be desired. So that combined with the fact that we're LGBT makes it that much harder for us to find like-minded people who are willing to help and accept us.

(And for those wondering, Carson plans on transferring his job in the automotive industry to a shop in the area.)

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We're trying to move roughly 1,100 miles from Bozeman, MT to the Los Angeles area, and as one can imagine, it isn't cheap...

Break down of costs:

If the goal is exceeded, how will that money be used?

We will put anything over $3000 toward the cost of cleaning supplies, carpet cleaners for our current place, and deposit/rent on the new place.

Anything beyond those costs will be split 50/50 between us and go toward furniture, utility bills, medical and student debt, etc. We will both be missing out on about 5 days of work, as the drive takes about 20 hours, so anything extra we can raise to help cushion us would be amazing.

When do you need the money?

Our lease ends on June 16, 2022, so we ideally hope to have the majority of the money by the first week of June.

We're pretty determined to leave, and are looking into borrowing money from financial institutions and family, but we obviously will need to pay things back and will do so if our goal is funded after this date.

What if your moving plans fall through?

We will save the money for when our lease ends in 2023.

*Prices for gas were calculated in late March 2022, with a cost of $6/gallon being used for budgeting purposes