Maggie's Farm

My wife and I are political and economic refugees from the Soviet Socialist State of Minnesota. We loved the land and water there, but were driven out by the insanity of the Twin Shitties, which basically controls the entire state.

We moved to TinyTown™ here in northwestern Wyoming. We routinely go a couple of hours to Billings since it's the nearest thing to a city within hundreds of miles (including the panhandlers and bums on the streets). Heck, lots of times we'll go up over the Chief Joseph to the Beartooth, and over the pass to Red Lodge just for a beautiful drive.

But living out here isn't for the faint of heart. You've got to be ready to accept and embrace (rather than try to change) the culture of independence, freedom, and personal responsibility that was one of the biggest reasons for us to choose to live here. But if he and his family are immigrants who had the gumption to be willing to completely change countries and cultures a slight change in state shouldn't be an issue.

Compared to Minnesnowta winters here are a snap. The snow, even if you get 3 feet, usually melts within a week (strong sunshine at elevation), but we do get some cold snaps. The lowest we've seen here on our back deck thermometer was -38°F this January.

Tell the guy from Bangladesh to get warm winter gear, particularly water-proof and insulated boots (pac-boots work great); if your feet are warm and dry, you'll usually be okay.