It’s been right around 45 days since we moved here to Billings, Montana (from Chattanooga, Tennessee) and boy have we observed a bunch of differences between the two cities!

Of course there are the obvious things like differences in weather and population, and the fact that there is a casino every 1/2 mile here.

Grocery chains are different too. The nearest Aldi is 565 miles away in North Dakota, but WinCo sure was a pleasant surprise! And, major shocker, they accept personal checks!!! What?! But not credit cards. Crazy!!

I doubt we’ll ever find a use for our dehumidifier or leaf blower, but I now own a snow shovel, insulated boots and as many “dry skin” lotions as I can find.

Am I missing any good ones? Help a southern gal out!

Thanks to the Internet, you can find out just about everything you want before moving somewhere, but “ain’t nobody got time fo dat!” so I’m enjoying the discovery of unexpected things as we settle in.

I put together this list of 5 things I didn’t know about Billings.

They aren’t necessarily life-altering revelations.

But, you know, good to know.

No. 1 It’s a Pup Paradise – Off-Leash Dogs Run Every Trail!

Whipper posing on the Island Loop Trail at Norm Schoenthal Island

Whipper insisted I put this one first – he said if you only read one thing he wanted it to be this one. And, truth be told, this has been one of my favorite discoveries since moving to Billings too!

Since Whipper has a lot more energy than he can expel in a 3 mile leash walk, I started searching for a dog park to take him to.

But instead I found something better: Norm Schoenthal Island. It’s a 5 minute drive from our house and there’s a 1.7 mile Island Loop trail there that is so dog-friendly it’s ridiculous! It doesn’t matter what time of day we go, the parking lot always has several cars and nearly everyone we see there has a dog running off-leash.

The dogs can greet, sniff and play with each other and boy do they! It’s fun to watch and I love that Whipper is able to interact with so many other pups.

Phipps Park is the same way. And so are the trails at the base of the Rims. In fact, I haven’t been on a single trail out here where I haven’t seen dogs running free. Whipper loves it! He can’t wait for warmer weather when he can swim in the streams too!

Poor quality video, I know, but PURE FUN for Pups!

No. 2 Most of it’s Craft Breweries are not Open Late – and There’s a Reason Why

Beers at Canyon Creek Brewery – this place is always packed!

When I saw the early closing times for many of the breweries here I just figured maybe Billings didn’t party as late as Chattanooga, but it turns out there is another reason.

Our first night in Billings, Rob and I went to dinner at Uberbrew. (Side Note – we’ve only found two breweries here that serve food, Uberbrew is one.) This place has since become one of our favorites for food and beer. The atmosphere is hip and fun, the food is good, and the beer never disappoints.

But our first visit there we arrived around 7 p.m., ordered a beer and took our time perusing the menu. The place stays open until 9 p.m. so we thought we’d have plenty of time to enjoy a few beers and dinner.

However, just before 8 p.m., our server came over to ask if we wanted another beer before last call. Last call?! That’s when we discovered why most of the breweries close at 8 p.m…Montana state law only allows breweries to serve beer from 10 a.m. till 8 p.m. So now we arrive earlier…or drink faster! Cheers to that!

Note: Restaurants are not governed by this law, it’s just the breweries.

No. 3 It’s Well-Caffeinated – Locals Love Coffee

Granted every city these days has a fair share of Starbucks locations, so I wasn’t surprised to see those around town. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover so many local coffee shops all over Billings as well.

City Brew Coffee is by far the most common – their website lists 9 Billings locations. (Ironically there are also 9 Starbucks locations in the city. Do I sense some competition?)

There are plenty of other independent coffee shops too – Rock Creek, Ebon, MoAV, The Annex, Mazevo and more. I’ve already been to several of them and they are super cozy and hip.

And if you don’t have time (or desire) to sit and sip, there are also quite a few coffee kiosks around town! The most common appears to be Mountain Mud Espresso (9 of those too – no joke! There really is a competition here!). Coffee kiosks aren’t really a thing in Tennessee – in fact I can only think of one – so the opportunity to grab a quick cup of joe all over town wasn’t something I was expecting to find.

No. 4 It’s Not Known as the Windy City – But it Should Be!

Since I spend a good deal of time outside on most days, I’m used to checking the weather every morning and dressing accordingly.

In Tennessee my main concerns were rain and humidity. I’m happy to report that neither of those is an issue here. At all! I think it has rained once since we’ve been here and the air is so dry I’m constantly slathering on lotion just to keep my hands from cracking.

But here I’ve learned that it’s all about wind! I wasn’t used to checking the wind speed before heading outside, but the difference that wind can make is huge and is something I no longer overlook!

I did a little bit of research and found this article on the windiest states in America. I’ll save you the read, but here was my favorite part of the article:

David Bernhardt, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Montana, told the Great Falls Tribune that the wind doesn’t get the respect it deserves and that it “affects everything.” The reason? Wind can have a greater impact on people compared with any other aspect of weather.

I’m no expert, but I say “Yes sir, you are correct!” And in their ranking of the windiest states Tennessee came in at #40 and Montana was #5! Why didn’t anyone tell me?!

No. 5 It has as Many Unique License Plate Designs as it Does People

Photo by Semen Borisov on Unsplash

Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But it does feel as though each person here has their own unique plate design. In fact, I have seen so many different specialty license plates that I didn’t even know what the “standard” plate looked like.

My curiosity on the actual number led me to this article where the author notes there are actually 5 standard plates to choose from. But then (as of his article in 2018) there were an additional 289 different plate designs to choose from!! That’s insane!

Good gracious, I would have been at the MVD for hours trying to decide on one if I hadn’t made this observation beforehand. Can you imagine having to choose between 289 designs while the person behind you taps their foot and whistles the Jeopardy tune?! Thankfully, now that I’m aware, I can peruse my options online before I arrive.

I’ve decided that the best way to approach this decision is to just pick 1-3 of my favorite things…say my dog and the mountains…and choose the design that corresponds.

Oh look, here it is!

If I get this one do I have to get a cat too?

Or I suppose you could choose the charity you want to support and then go with that plate…yeah, I guess that’s probably the better way. But, come on, we’ve all bought a bottle of wine just because of the label art, right?

So there you have it, that’s my Top 5!

Which one surprised you the most?

Am I the only one who wasn’t aware of these things?

What’s the best brewery to visit in Billings?