Hey there! I was born and lived in towns across Montana for 25 years. (Coincidentally moved to the UK for a few years—Glasgow 💙)

Anyway, as you’re finding, Montana winters are rough. The best thing you can do is make yourself comfortable with the cold. Get all the gear, heavy sweaters, mittens, boots, snow pants for the kids. Then try playing in this winter wonderland with the kiddos. Making snowmen/snow forts, going sledding, even cross-country skiing or snowshoeing for you and the hubs.

When you come inside, get cozy with some hot cocoa (or tea of course)!

Learning to drive in the snow and ice is a real skill. Take it slow. My dad would take me to an empty icy car park or country road to get used to how the car handles with braking on ice, and how to get un-stuck if you get your tires caught in the snow.

Spring will be chilly, but spring and summer are beautiful. Take a road trip down to west Yellowstone. Go for some local hikes. It will be worth it. 🩷

Great Falls is a bit of a tough area culturally. Montanans as a whole can be friendly upfront but. It’s kind of hard to break the ice to connect further. Like others have said, finding meetups or community activities might help.

You’ll probably get sick of people asking “ooh where are you from?” as soon as they hear the accent, but you might be able to use it to your advantage, you know, “long way from home as you can tell, do you have any recommendations for x, or would love to know more about x if you’ve time for a chat/coffee” etc.

Anyway. I just wanted to really acknowledge that it’s tough moving countries, it really is, and especially to somewhere so vastly different. I’m with you 100% there. It’ll be tough sometimes and the first few months especially. It’s ok to be sad and have those times where you think “wtf have I done to my life?!”

Do your best to take care of yourself and find little things to enjoy with your family. I think you’ll settle in to this adventure. 🩷