Colorado or Wyoming?

[Trr15]

When you WY guys say cold, what temps are you talking about?

I just spent my 8th winter in Cheyenne and every year we have had at least 2-3 weeks (usually not in a row), where the temp doesnt get above 0. Last winter we had several days where the temps were -20 w/windchills of -40 and lower.

 

[30338]

We are very established here in Colorado with work so it is difficult to move. If starting over, I'd take Wyoming and their more conservative leanings over Colorado. Lot of people in the front range and more coming.

 

[ishootdasmallones]

I live in a town North of the Springs and we like it alot. Denver is Awful, the Springs is only slightly better. You have a choice between liberals, high cost of living, mountains right in your back door, and tons of recreation, or Conservative, cheap living, and plains. I live in Monument, and even though its a bit more busy than I would like, I have mountains behind my house that I fish and deer hunt that involve a 3 minute drive to the trail head. I would pick the Springs just for the recreation. Check out Monument, Palmer Lake, and Larkspur.

 

[JWP58]

We are very established here in Colorado with work so it is difficult to move. If starting over, I'd take Wyoming and their more conservative leanings over Colorado. Lot of people in the front range and more coming.

Im beginning to wonder if there is a difference.

 

[307]

That's because Cheyenne is just northern Front Range. The rest of Wyoming is a much more conservative/traditional place (except Jackson which is REALLY a different world, but in other ways).

 

[HOT ROD]

I don't want to hijack this thread. What can any one tell me about Casper Wyoming.... I have had a couple interviews for a position there... Give me the good, bad, and ugly. And the hunting of coarse....

 

[mudlickman]

What is the town of Fountain like?

 

[crumy]

I pm's the OP with my cell because I lived in Laramie for the last 5 years. And if anyone else wants to talk about Wy just pm me and I will give you my number. this is long but just a brain dump.

Someone said Cheyenne they don't believe Cheyenne is near any hunting.... That would be wrong. but 80% of the Antelope population lives within 150 miles of Cheyenne. The famed unit 7 is just north of Cheyenne (like 30 miles north) and that is nothing once you lived in Wyoming. There is plenty of hunting all over the place. The Snowies are about a 90 minute drive away.

I moved from Columbus, Ohio to Utah for 3 years and then to Laramie (50 miles West of Cheyenne) for 5 years and 1 month.

Here are some general observations
No state income tax.. Great, but make sure you are paying enough in federal due to the lower tax payments.
During the month of July and August, summer was great. In Laramie, you will appreciate 65 degrees and up. It does feel warm and you will probably go around in short sleeves. It is warmer in some areas and colder in others. Cheyenne usually seemed a littler warmer. Fort Collins was normally 10+ warmer during the winter or "spring"
Snow is like powder during Sept-Feb. Mar - May it is wet heavy snow as that is where the years water comes from
Temperature is relative. It is very dry there, so 45 in a humid area, feels colder than 20 degree in Laramie.
Very close to mountains and "middle of nowhere" no matter where you live
Hunting is great. OTC tags and lottery draw on limited elk and deer tags
Cheaper cost of living is debatable. Gas - definitely cheaper. Water and Electric - WAY more expensive. Access to good medical care - sporadic.
Cost of housing varies greatly. In Laramie, it is OUTRAGEOUS due to lack of developments, as you might know them. Lots of general contractors, but housing is 135 - 150 a square with much older houses. Check out laramiemls.com for realestate there. Cheyenne is a little cheaper
Laramie is very Liberal due to university while others will say it is very conservative. Sort of depends in my opinion.
The council in Laramie work very hard and not having it grow while others want it to grow.. Interesting culture from the outside looking in.
If I had the choice I would not use a doctor in Laramie. and I didn't. My dentist was in Utah, scheduled around my business trips. Went to a general physician in Fort Collins so did my wife and son. Eye doctor - Fort Collins. Not saying their are not good doctors in Wyoming.. Just saying I didn't get a warm and fuzzy.
The three largest cities in Wyoming - Cheyenne - 60k, Casper - 55k, Laramie 30k
Cheyenne works hard to hold on to the "West" feel and also tries to be a city... But it is more like an Industrial area. Not a good or bad thing, but definitely not a City city.. Refineries, Airforce base, and Guard base, rail yard prominent in middle of town. Downtown full of very old buildings.
The people there are a mix. Some really good people that make you feel welcome and some that don’t want you in their state. Cheyenne and Laramie to me are more of a transient towns due to the university and base where other cities are where people stay longer period of times.
When we wanted to go to a city, we drove to Fort Collins, which is about 75 minutes away. We would spend the day there on a Saturday.. Get up early and come back late.
Our lives changed a lot moving from Draper, Utah to Laramie, Wyoming. Socially, we stopped hanging out with people because it just didn’t happen. People kept to themselves a lot. Due to the weather, social activity was mainly in bars or at the football game. Either way, a lot of drinking. I am not a big drinker. And like I said before, people just kept to themselves a lot.

My son never had a school snow day.. -27 before windchill.. going to school. 2 foot of snow… going to school




Overall I liked it there. I know some of the stuff above may seem like I am bashing. No, I am just being honest. But the most important question is “Why did I leave”. Well I just left in May of this year, 2014. I get that question a lot from people in Ohio that know I like to hunt and outdoors, and others who have this ideal about living out West.

So hear it goes..

Schools sucked. My son will be going into 10[SUP]th[/SUP] grade. He started going to school in 5[SUP]th[/SUP] there so I have a decent view on the program. At least in Laramie.. Overall it sucked. Some good, but overall bad. Bad teachers, bad student/parents. Very rough (socially kids) My son never really fit in because it is very tight clicky area. He had some friends, but they were the people who moved in, and they would move away. No real good friendships.

We never really felt at home in Laramie. It was more of a place that we were living at that time. So when we decided to go there wasn’t much of a thought. He was more than ready to go, and we did not have any ties that couldn’t be broken quickly.

Easy decision. When we decided to leave, I wanted to move to Colorado. So did everyone else. Had a couple of good opportunities come up in Denver, but then the Ohio one came up and that is where our family is, so that won out. Overall we were gone 8 years almost to the day.

Would I move back to Laramie? Probably not if I had a family. If it was just me, yes. I Loved the hunting and stuff, but never had any good friends there. Colorado would be my choice and that is saying a lot because while not very political, I don’t agree with a lot of stuff that is going on in Colorado.

There are drugs everywhere, but seemed to be problems with meth and stuff in Casper, Rawlins, and other places. Yea..I know there is more going on in bigger cities, but per capita, I think it is worse. At least more visible.



I love the West. The weather is nicer and the population is more spread. I would choose Colorado for its mountains and outdoor activities and proximity to “city stuff”.
I would choose Wyoming if I was just wanting to work, get paid, and go hunt/fish. Otherwise, not much else to do..

 

[JWP58]

I can attest to the drinking. Now maybe its because I grew up in the bible belt, but these folks up here drink like they're fish lol!

Of course they have the same problem with dope, just like every other city (meth, heroine, weed, molly, etc) but alcohol is the overwhelming issue in the town, and state.

Oh ya, homeless people too. Turns out if you have a free shelter for them and tons of handouts, the word gets around and they flock here "like the salmon of Capistrano"


The hunting is good. But if you aren't into archery, get into it. If you like deer hunting, NE is right next door and KS isn't far (plus you could just hunt in state up in the black hills for WT and further west for Muleys). Elk is a no brainer (I hope I hit the lotto next year on unit 22). Its easier to draw a Bighorn tag I would think (trophy quality isn't like MT or CO though). Waterfowl is great (just like CO). Predator hunting is like a family pastime. Upland...no comment.

 

[crumy]

Someone's smoking the crack pipe. Resident elk tags are $46 in CO. If you can get NR elk tags in WY for cheaper than that........buy all you can.

Resident in WY was like $52 plus conversations stamp. non-res is around $535 I believe. I think that is more expensive than crack but just as addicting.

 

[crumy]

Elk is a no brainer (I hope I hit the lotto next year on unit 22). .

Made me laugh... I think you have better odds winning the lottery.... twice.... I tried that game a couple of years and just started putting for areas around yellowstone. Now my wife and son drew 11 their first year, then she drew a limited deer the next year.... So now, she enters to wind the gear giveaways for me

 

[Forestryguy]

I pm's the OP with my cell because I lived in Laramie for the last 5 years. And if anyone else wants to talk about Wy just pm me and I will give you my number. this is long but just a brain dump.

Someone said Cheyenne they don't believe Cheyenne is near any hunting.... That would be wrong. but 80% of the Antelope population lives within 150 miles of Cheyenne. The famed unit 7 is just north of Cheyenne (like 30 miles north) and that is nothing once you lived in Wyoming. There is plenty of hunting all over the place. The Snowies are about a 90 minute drive away.

I moved from Columbus, Ohio to Utah for 3 years and then to Laramie (50 miles West of Cheyenne) for 5 years and 1 month.

Here are some general observations
No state income tax.. Great, but make sure you are paying enough in federal due to the lower tax payments.
During the month of July and August, summer was great. In Laramie, you will appreciate 65 degrees and up. It does feel warm and you will probably go around in short sleeves. It is warmer in some areas and colder in others. Cheyenne usually seemed a littler warmer. Fort Collins was normally 10+ warmer during the winter or "spring"
Snow is like powder during Sept-Feb. Mar - May it is wet heavy snow as that is where the years water comes from
Temperature is relative. It is very dry there, so 45 in a humid area, feels colder than 20 degree in Laramie.
Very close to mountains and "middle of nowhere" no matter where you live
Hunting is great. OTC tags and lottery draw on limited elk and deer tags
Cheaper cost of living is debatable. Gas - definitely cheaper. Water and Electric - WAY more expensive. Access to good medical care - sporadic.
Cost of housing varies greatly. In Laramie, it is OUTRAGEOUS due to lack of developments, as you might know them. Lots of general contractors, but housing is 135 - 150 a square with much older houses. Check out laramiemls.com for realestate there. Cheyenne is a little cheaper
Laramie is very Liberal due to university while others will say it is very conservative. Sort of depends in my opinion.
The council in Laramie work very hard and not having it grow while others want it to grow.. Interesting culture from the outside looking in.
If I had the choice I would not use a doctor in Laramie. and I didn't. My dentist was in Utah, scheduled around my business trips. Went to a general physician in Fort Collins so did my wife and son. Eye doctor - Fort Collins. Not saying their are not good doctors in Wyoming.. Just saying I didn't get a warm and fuzzy.
The three largest cities in Wyoming - Cheyenne - 60k, Casper - 55k, Laramie 30k
Cheyenne works hard to hold on to the "West" feel and also tries to be a city... But it is more like an Industrial area. Not a good or bad thing, but definitely not a City city.. Refineries, Airforce base, and Guard base, rail yard prominent in middle of town. Downtown full of very old buildings.
The people there are a mix. Some really good people that make you feel welcome and some that don’t want you in their state. Cheyenne and Laramie to me are more of a transient towns due to the university and base where other cities are where people stay longer period of times.
When we wanted to go to a city, we drove to Fort Collins, which is about 75 minutes away. We would spend the day there on a Saturday.. Get up early and come back late.
Our lives changed a lot moving from Draper, Utah to Laramie, Wyoming. Socially, we stopped hanging out with people because it just didn’t happen. People kept to themselves a lot. Due to the weather, social activity was mainly in bars or at the football game. Either way, a lot of drinking. I am not a big drinker. And like I said before, people just kept to themselves a lot.

My son never had a school snow day.. -27 before windchill.. going to school. 2 foot of snow… going to school




Overall I liked it there. I know some of the stuff above may seem like I am bashing. No, I am just being honest. But the most important question is “Why did I leave”. Well I just left in May of this year, 2014. I get that question a lot from people in Ohio that know I like to hunt and outdoors, and others who have this ideal about living out West.

So hear it goes..

Schools sucked. My son will be going into 10[SUP]th[/SUP] grade. He started going to school in 5[SUP]th[/SUP] there so I have a decent view on the program. At least in Laramie.. Overall it sucked. Some good, but overall bad. Bad teachers, bad student/parents. Very rough (socially kids) My son never really fit in because it is very tight clicky area. He had some friends, but they were the people who moved in, and they would move away. No real good friendships.

We never really felt at home in Laramie. It was more of a place that we were living at that time. So when we decided to go there wasn’t much of a thought. He was more than ready to go, and we did not have any ties that couldn’t be broken quickly.

Easy decision. When we decided to leave, I wanted to move to Colorado. So did everyone else. Had a couple of good opportunities come up in Denver, but then the Ohio one came up and that is where our family is, so that won out. Overall we were gone 8 years almost to the day.

Would I move back to Laramie? Probably not if I had a family. If it was just me, yes. I Loved the hunting and stuff, but never had any good friends there. Colorado would be my choice and that is saying a lot because while not very political, I don’t agree with a lot of stuff that is going on in Colorado.

There are drugs everywhere, but seemed to be problems with meth and stuff in Casper, Rawlins, and other places. Yea..I know there is more going on in bigger cities, but per capita, I think it is worse. At least more visible.



I love the West. The weather is nicer and the population is more spread. I would choose Colorado for its mountains and outdoor activities and proximity to “city stuff”.
I would choose Wyoming if I was just wanting to work, get paid, and go hunt/fish. Otherwise, not much else to do..

That is more of what I needed to find out about. I would be fine living in WY. It is almost like the NE corner of Iowa, where I am at now, from the sounds of it. I will just have to find a higher paying job to keep in line with what I make now after taxes, in CO. The girlfriend is more into going out socially and her business as a hairdresser will probably do better there.

 

[Rucker61]

When you WY guys say cold, what temps are you talking about? I just visited family in Ft. Collins, CO and they were saying it got cold in the winter there. To them cold was +20, for me and the girlfriend cold is highs in the teens and -30 to -50 at night in Iowa and Wisconsin.

Is the weather similar in Southern WY as it is in the FT. Collins area?

I was also told that a non-resident elk tag in WY is cheaper than a Res. tag in Co. Is that true?

Fort Collins is a medium commute to Cheyenne, and we have excellent schools. We don't get the wind that Cheyenne does or the rain/tornadoes that east of I-25 does. FTC is kind of in a banana belt; winter will pound Cheyenne and Denver and we'll get a couple of inches. For me, if its 32 but the sun is out (nearly always) and there's no wind, that's just long sleeve weather. It's been -10 for a week, but not in a couple of years. If you have a good 4WD you should be good to go for the commute. FTC to Cheyenne isn't uncommon. Housing is starting to get expensive, though. We rule on breweries, too.

 

[5MilesBack]

Housing is starting to get expensive, though.

Starting? That started in the early/mid 90's when CA moved in up there. Then those years that Money and outdoor magazines ranked FC one of the top places to live in the country didn't help that either. When I was in college there in the mid 80's, a buddy's dad came out and bought a 4Br 3Ba 3000+ square foot house for $76k so his son could live there for free for four years, while renting out the other rooms. Another buddy bought a house on a lake between FC and Loveland for $150k in 1987 after he graduated. Heck of a house too, and only another 2-3 houses within 1/4 mile of his. Now that whole area is chocker-blocked with homes and condos. Ya, it's absolutely expensive these days.

 

[mudlickman]

Thanks for all the help guys! We are going with the Cheyenne job and living in or around Fort Collins. Most likely Wellington. If anyone wants to share some info on anything to that area(parts of town to avoid, sporting goods stores, archery ranges, etc...) or wants to go hunting with a CO new guy, please send me a pm.

 

[crumy]

I think great choice. Sportsman warehouse. Bass pro two cabaelas within an hour of you. Go to Estes park.


Rokslide. Not just a hunting forum. Also the place to go for fashion, real estate and grooming tips and tricks. Lol.

 

[HCarcher]

Purely talking hunting between the two i would say the springs. Cheyenne has tons of private around it. Some access for sure but once you get into the rockies in colorado its typically public up higher. Hunting in Colorado will give you more hunting opportunities close to home. Much better chances at moose, sheep, goat, Has better Deer. Wyoming has bigger bulls but its much harder to get a tag in the high demand areas. Colorado's OTC elk tags are amazing and you can always count on having 2 elk tags a season. if you know the spots wyoming will produce animals but colorado has more consistent opportunities to get a field.

 

[mudlickman]

Found a house to rent in Wellington to help the commute a bit to work..

 

[wyosteve]

Congrats Mudlick--Wellington is a nice town. If you need anything once you arrive just shoot me a pm.

 

[Trr15]

Good choice. Wellington is a nice town and a relatively short commute to Cheyenne.