Cheyenne and Laramie

[TheCougar]

I got hired by a company in Denver. I have the luxury of being able to commute within a 2 hour radius and I’d love to make it into Wyoming. Cheyenne and Laramie are the only two towns that are realistic. It’s a bit of a hard sell for the wife. What are the redeeming qualities of those towns? I’ve shown my wife pictures and houses and she isn’t impressed. The highest selling point I’ve found so far is how conservative WY is…. We would need to live within 20 minutes of the town so she and the kids have access to church, sports, school, stores, etc. looking to find some place with a little topography and maybe even a tree or two. Also, how bad do the roads get between both towns and Denver?

 

[sndmn11]

Two hours during a rush hour commute? Or two hours at midnight on a Wednesday?

 

[Dirtbag]

Between the two towns, you’d like Laramie a lot better. With that said, traffic on I-25 in Fort Collins and northern Denver is an absolute disaster every week day and I can’t imagine commuting that long of a drive along Colorado’s front range.

 

[cnelk]

Laramie?
I spent a week there one night. Lol

I actually spend quite a bit of time in the Laramie area. It’s not too bad for the most part - except for the wind, brutal winters, wind and brutal winters.

But It’s a good gateway to other parts of Wyoming.

Btw - Hwy 287 is considered one of the deadliest highways in the area.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Cheyenne is a hard sell?
I've never lived there but that seems to be a regular big ole town to me.

The highway has a big steep grade between Laramie & Cheyenne that gets slick af.

Id rather live in Laramie but Cheyenne sounds more realistic.

Grab some plane tickets and head out there for a few days.

Wyoming seems pretty candy ass about closing the highway in winter as well.

I always have to check if headed thru Wy in winter.

 

[HOT ROD]

Keep in mind Wyoming will close I25 and I80 for days in the winter time its no joke...

 

[go_deep]

Laramie, from someone who lives in Cheyenne. Most days its not a 2 hour commute to Denver with traffic, and your not getting to work several days in the winter due to road closures, so plan on using up some of your vacation because you can't get to work.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I would go eastern Colo if I were you.

 

[cnelk]

Did anyone say the wind blows in Wyoming?

 

[Jbehredt]

Driving between Laramie and Cheyenne last week near the big wind farm I had a “does not compute” moment when there was suddenly the entire side of a semi truck visible in front of me. Then it was gone. The poor bastard got blown nearly perpendicular to the road and somehow recovered. White as a ghost when we passed him. That was 30-40 Miles after passing a single car rollover in the median. Red Honda Fit was no match for the wind and rain.

 

[Fatcamp]

You are underestimating the royal PITA that front range commuting has become. It's horrible.

 

[HOT ROD]

Wyoming is where trailers come to rest

 

[Jimss]

I grew up in Casper and Cheyenne.....and went to college in Laramie. You better like the WIND if you decide to live in Wyo. There are definitely perks being a Wyo res for hunting and fishing.

How often will you make the drive to Denver? I know several people that live in Fort Collins that travel to Denver and it's a real grind. As mentioned above there has been a lot of construction and traffic is almost always a challenge between Ft Collins and Denver. The weather in the winter is also challenging. We get around 2 additional months of summer along the Front Range in Colo compaired to Laramie and Cheyenne. Oh yah, did I mention you better like living in the WIND in Wyo?

 

[AZ8]

My sister lives in one of the suburbs of Denver. When I visit, we head up to Fort Collins from time to time to visit family. What a nightmare! I can’t imagine having to drive that stretch every day for work. This coming from a guy that lived in the Phoenix metro area for 30+ years! haha

Northern Colorado has got to be the worst freeway experience for me, ever! My BIL always says that although Phoenix is hot, they know how to build freeways! Lol

If I were you and to keep the wife and kids happy, I’d look into living in the Denver metro area.

 

[hunt1up]

I don't live out there but have been in Laramie, Cheyenne, and CO many times. I live about 1.5 south of Chicago, and I've been in most of the big cities for work, and I think I'd take Chicago I-55 traffic over front range I-25 traffic. Every time I've been on that road it's been terrible. As with most things, too many people ruin everything.

 

[HOT ROD]

One more thing to keep in mind is most residential streets do not get plowed... New neighbors where shoveling there drive way last winter and ask when is our street getting plowed... All I could say is its not getting plowed if it does maybe next week..

 

[Muledeerfanatic]

If you need to ask how bad the roads get then you are in for a reality check
I have the feeling a lot of people moving to Wyoming these days are in for some interesting winter driving
Lots of clueless people out on the roads

 

[TheCougar]

I’ll elaborate… I would be driving to Denver Int’l maybe once per week, at differing times, year round. I would use the toll road around Denver to avoid the city. I’ve seen the road north of Cheyenne during an October snowstorm, and that was by far the scariest drive I’ve ever done. We have looked into the area around Denver as well, but we hate the politics, the crowds, and the hunting “land of milk and honey” is just over the border.

 

[TheCougar]

Laramie, from someone who lives in Cheyenne. Most days its not a 2 hour commute to Denver with traffic, and your not getting to work several days in the winter due to road closures, so plan on using up some of your vacation because you can't get to work.

So it’s not uncommon for the road between Cheyenne and Denver to shut down? What about 85 on the east side to get to Denver Intl?

 

[TheCougar]

If you need to ask how bad the roads get then you are in for a reality check
I have the feeling a lot of people moving to Wyoming these days are in for some interesting winter driving
Lots of clueless people out on the roads

I was that guy last year, from Cheyenne to Casper, on my way to MT. Even at 20mph with my truck loaded down, went sideways 4 times.