Casper/Natrona County

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cofen380

cofen380

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Luckily well going through Laramie on our way back down to Cheyenne. Looking forward to checking it out


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Casper is a shit hole. I lived there for a year and a half and I’m glad I had the opportunity to move back to Park County so quickly.

Good luck. Casper will make you miss North Carolina.
 

mxgsfmdpx

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Oct 22, 2019
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Outside
Visiting in July doesn't tell you all the story, keep track of the elevation, winter is severe in the entire state but correlates some with elevation, Laramie is 7220'
My advice for sure! Anywhere you plan on moving, go spend two weeks in January there for vacation.
 
OP
cofen380

cofen380

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Casper is a shit hole. I lived there for a year and a half and I’m glad I had the opportunity to move back to Park County so quickly.

Good luck. Casper will make you miss North Carolina.

Care to expound on that? That’s a lot of negativity without any details


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cofen380

cofen380

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We moved to Laramie for school in January. It took me six months to start thinking it was a good choice.

Was it just that different from where you were? Why do you think it took a while to think it was a good choice


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Care to expound on that? That’s a lot of negativity without any details


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As someone said earlier WY is different and different parts of WY are very different.

I moved to WY as a kid and grew up in the oilfield and around the coal mines before I became a professional. Casper is a lot different than it used to be, but it still has its cultural problems related and revolving around drugs and violence. The city is not clean, traffic is awful, it’s still a Boom/Bust town even though it’s had some modernizing and economic diversification. I encourage you to read Cowboy State Daily articles from the last year and really familiarize yourself with the news that comes out of certain areas.

Casper’s problem is the same as Gillette’s, Rock Springs’, Riverton’s, Rawlins’, etc.’s: they’re not the places you dream of moving to when you aspire to move to the Rocky Mt West. You’ll always compare where you live to the places you wish you could. It’s not as clean, scenic, calm or welcoming. Your license plate number will also get you the “side eye” when you travel to other parts of the state.

Granted, it’s easier to move into WY when you move to one of those towns mentioned above because they have more economic activity, but also more employment turnover and variability.

The idealistic life you’re looking for is not in any “big” WY town, and getting into one of WY’s idealistic small towns is getting harder and harder. Good luck achieving the dream and prepare for an arduous journey in the process.

I can sum up my post in one word: gentrification.

The nicer parts continue to stay nice and increase in price, and the less desirable parts stay shit holes that churn the people in and out because they’re never qualitatively or quantitatively satisfied with their lives.
 
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Was it just that different from where you were? Why do you think it took a while to think it was a good choice


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If you’ve seen southern Wyoming in January it would make sense. Brown. Windy. Cold. Windy. Windy. And windy.

It’s a great place in the summer and fall. I wasn’t used to winter lasting into May.
 

SDHNTR

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7,224
As someone said earlier WY is different and different parts of WY are very different.

I moved to WY as a kid and grew up in the oilfield and around the coal mines before I became a professional. Casper is a lot different than it used to be, but it still has its cultural problems related and revolving around drugs and violence. The city is not clean, traffic is awful, it’s still a Boom/Bust town even though it’s had some modernizing and economic diversification. I encourage you to read Cowboy State Daily articles from the last year and really familiarize yourself with the news that comes out of certain areas.

Casper’s problem is the same as Gillette’s, Rock Springs’, Riverton’s, Rawlins’, etc.’s: they’re not the places you dream of moving to when you aspire to move to the Rocky Mt West. You’ll always compare where you live to the places you wish you could. It’s not as clean, scenic, calm or welcoming. Your license plate number will also get you the “side eye” when you travel to other parts of the state.

Granted, it’s easier to move into WY when you move to one of those towns mentioned above because they have more economic activity, but also more employment turnover and variability.

The idealistic life you’re looking for is not in any “big” WY town, and getting into one of WY’s idealistic small towns is getting harder and harder. Good luck achieving the dream and prepare for an arduous journey in the process.

I can sum up my post in one word: gentrification.

The nicer parts continue to stay nice and increase in price, and the less desirable parts stay shit holes that churn the people in and out because they’re never qualitatively or quantitatively satisfied with their lives.
This is an excellent summary.
 

3325

WKR
Joined
Oct 10, 2021
Messages
449
Any time I start feeling anxious about housing prices I can just pull up Jackson…….
I grew up in NC. I’ve been a cop in Jackson for over 22 years and was a wrangler and ranch hand in the area for a decade before that. My wife works at the bank. While not people of means, we have good jobs and probably make okay by most peoples standards. Yet we live in a small condo. That’s all we can afford in Jackson.

I have a love/hate relationship with Jackson. I love the surrounding wilderness areas and elk opportunities and I’ve been here long enough to know “hidey holes” and out of the way places. I hate the town vibe.

My wife is from Riverton and we intend to retire in that direction - closer to Dubois if we can, closer to Riverton if we must.
 
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cofen380

cofen380

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Joined
Feb 24, 2021
Messages
169
As someone said earlier WY is different and different parts of WY are very different.

I moved to WY as a kid and grew up in the oilfield and around the coal mines before I became a professional. Casper is a lot different than it used to be, but it still has its cultural problems related and revolving around drugs and violence. The city is not clean, traffic is awful, it’s still a Boom/Bust town even though it’s had some modernizing and economic diversification. I encourage you to read Cowboy State Daily articles from the last year and really familiarize yourself with the news that comes out of certain areas.

Casper’s problem is the same as Gillette’s, Rock Springs’, Riverton’s, Rawlins’, etc.’s: they’re not the places you dream of moving to when you aspire to move to the Rocky Mt West. You’ll always compare where you live to the places you wish you could. It’s not as clean, scenic, calm or welcoming. Your license plate number will also get you the “side eye” when you travel to other parts of the state.

Granted, it’s easier to move into WY when you move to one of those towns mentioned above because they have more economic activity, but also more employment turnover and variability.

The idealistic life you’re looking for is not in any “big” WY town, and getting into one of WY’s idealistic small towns is getting harder and harder. Good luck achieving the dream and prepare for an arduous journey in the process.

I can sum up my post in one word: gentrification.

The nicer parts continue to stay nice and increase in price, and the less desirable parts stay shit holes that churn the people in and out because they’re never qualitatively or quantitatively satisfied with their lives.

I appreciate you going into more detail on that. Reading the Cowboy state articles is a great idea. I can’t lie though it’s funny to hear you say traffic is awful there. Compared to the city we’re closest to in NC the traffic seemed very mild, and crime rates per 1,000 people are much much lower in Casper than back home.

You mentioned the idealistic life we’re looking for isn’t in any of the bigger wy towns. What did you have in mind when you refer to the idealistic life we’re looking for?


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mxgust

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I’m in Casper. Born and raised. I was gone for about ten years for school and chose to come back after. My wife is not from here (or Wyoming) and loves it. My kid is younger than school age so I’m a little out of the loop but generally my impression of the school system here is very good and it served me very well. Crime and traffic are absolutely nothing compared to other areas of the country and other places I have lived. My entire job interacts with the public face to face. If you have specific questions I can answer them, just let me know
 
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cofen380

cofen380

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Messages
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I grew up in NC. I’ve been a cop in Jackson for over 22 years and was a wrangler and ranch hand in the area for a decade before that. My wife works at the bank. While not people of means, we have good jobs and probably make okay by most peoples standards. Yet we live in a small condo. That’s all we can afford in Jackson.

I have a love/hate relationship with Jackson. I love the surrounding wilderness areas and elk opportunities and I’ve been here long enough to know “hidey holes” and out of the way places. I hate the town vibe.

My wife is from Riverton and we intend to retire in that direction - closer to Dubois if we can, closer to Riverton if we must.

Where did you grow up in NC? We’re near the Greensboro area. Yeah the fact that ya’ll are able to make it work in Jackson is respectable. I haven’t spent much time researching Dubois. Have you spent some time there?


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3325

WKR
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Messages
449
Where did you grow up in NC? We’re near the Greensboro area.
Born in Waynesville/Haywood County. Grew up in Leicester/Buncombe County. Family is all from further west, Cherokee, Swain, and Macon Counties.
Yeah the fact that ya’ll are able to make it work in Jackson is respectable.
We’ve managed, but it’s not always been easy. We’re also not the typical Jacksonites. Not rich, not liberal, and don’t ski. Hunt, hike, and snowshoe hike a lot. We got priced out of owning horses. I’ve been here long enough to have known some Jackson Hole old timers whose parents homesteaded in Jackson Hole. I fit in with them better. But they’re gone now.
I haven’t spent much time researching Dubois. Have you spent some time there?
Just been through it a lot over the years and have friends there.

To some native-born Wyomingites, I’ll always be an immigrant, even though my wife is from Riverton and I’ve lived in Wyoming longer than some of them have been alive. Having lived and worked in Jackson for so long doesn’t help that reputation.
 
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