There are a million people here. That seems like a lot until you see that Florida's population is closer to 20 million. People live in Florida because of the sunshine, beaches, and seafood. People live in Montana because it is beautiful. relatively free, and only has a million people.
Whether a Montanan likes an out of stater seems to depend more on what they are looking for out of their time in Montana rather than where they are from. Some states have better reputations than others...God help you if you are from California.
That doesnt come from backwardsness and misanthropy....it comes from watching our "free spaces" get bought up for a million dollars (a lot of money here...the cost of a 2 bedroom house in parts of California and Florida) and then we lose hunting/recreational privileges. Our ability to smoke a cigarette in our one-horse bar gets leveled to that of San Francisco (without the amenities found therein). Im sure that you drive wonderfully on snow and ice, but we have seen a lot of out-of-state drivers who are overly confident or under-qualified to drive in the elements. Go to Missoula or Bozeman while school is in session and snow falls...it becomes a mess. Nearly all of the middle class industry jobs are gone. Timber, Mining, and Agriculture are all decimated to a fraction of what they used to be.
With all of this in mind, you get a couple of scenarios....
Go to any Montana lake town and knock on the doors of the homes that surround the lake. Any body home? Are they from Montana? Seems kind of sad that the best parts of Montana are owned by somebody from Arizona who only comes up during the summer...and that the average Montanan will never see enough money to buy one of those lake houses in their backyard.
Now, go to Philipsburg MT. This is a town that is thriving because of out of state money and business owners. The town didnt fight change (much) and the new business owners were fairly restrained in their "take over" of the town. Even the White Front Bar is rumored to have sold from a local to the owner of Missoula's Top Hat.
Selling booze for "Top Hat" money in Philipsburg is bound to not work. But there are ways that "big city money" can make for a profitable and respectable Philipsburg business.
People love good neighbors....people dislike change (especially change with no reflection of them in it). Being a Californian who is willing to assimilate into a Montanan is never a problem. Being a Californian who wishes to bring their Cali issues/expectations with them will always be trouble.
I assume it is that way everywhere and why many states/countries fear refugees coming to their homes and communities. If they started eating apple pie and going to baseball games, nobody would bat an eye. If they seek to make Sharia Law binding in Skokie IL, there may be some resistance.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.