Fort Collins vs Southern WY

Joined
Jun 15, 2017
Messages
2,369
Location
San Antonio
This is the truth… I stopped for gas at exit 12 off i25 in Cheyenne at like 1 am on my way back from Casper. A guy approached me as I pumped gas and sold me a laptop for 20$, had some story about trying to make it somewhere and need gas.
They usually have an empty gas can in hand.
Once I had swiped my card already and offered to fill up the gas can, dude was all confused and walked away.
 
OP
Fever Buck
Joined
Jun 21, 2020
Messages
790
All a commute does is take time away from your family. Not worth it. Plus the inherent dangers of driving that much daily. Keep it simple and move to Cheyenne
This is how I’m personally leaning after talking with a few folks here on Rokslide. Think I’ll try to rent for a few months and decide if it’s the right fit. If it’s not, north Fort Collins is where we’ll end up.
All a commute does is take time away from your family. Not worth it. Plus the inherent dangers of driving that much daily. Keep it simple and move to Cheyenne
 
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
3,550
Location
Western Iowa
On the wind piece, I just remembered heading west across 80 a few years back and hitting 85mph winds just east of Cheyenne. They were so strong the constant pounding on my fiberglass bed cover backed a screw out of the latch and we almost lost the whole thing. Fortunately we were able to pull off and into a truck stop in Cheyenne and jerry rig it down for the remainder fo the trip.

In the early 2000s we were headed home across 80 and the weather man forecasted a dusting to a couple inches of snow near Elk Mountain. To make a long story short, the wind came up and we got caught in a blizzard. We finally made it to Cheyenne several hours later, and the only way we knew if we were on the road or not was by getting so close behind a semi that we could see the clearance lights on the back of his trailer. That was the most disorienting and terrifying drive of my life. We got checked into LaQuinta in Cheyenne, and the interstate was promply closed all the way to North Platte for a couple days. When we got back on the road, 80 looked like a junkyard until we were a ways into NE with cars in the ditches and median everywhere. The winter storms in that part of WY are no joke.
 
Joined
Jun 15, 2017
Messages
2,369
Location
San Antonio
On the wind piece, I just remembered heading west across 80 a few years back and hitting 85mph winds just east of Cheyenne. They were so strong the constant pounding on my fiberglass bed cover backed a screw out of the latch and we almost lost the whole thing. Fortunately we were able to pull off and into a truck stop in Cheyenne and jerry rig it down for the remainder fo the trip.

In the early 2000s we were headed home across 80 and the weather man forecasted a dusting to a couple inches of snow near Elk Mountain. To make a long story short, the wind came up and we got caught in a blizzard. We finally made it to Cheyenne several hours later, and the only way we knew if we were on the road or not was by getting so close behind a semi that we could see the clearance lights on the back of his trailer. That was the most disorienting and terrifying drive of my life. We got checked into LaQuinta in Cheyenne, and the interstate was promply closed all the way to North Platte for a couple days. When we got back on the road, 80 looked like a junkyard until we were a ways into NE with cars in the ditches and median everywhere. The winter storms in that part of WY are no joke.
That i80 stretch is definitely a mofo sometimes. We were cruising on pretty mild snowy conditions which I would consider decent driving for out there, about 70 mph smoothly down the highway and slowly passing a truck pulling a camper. Wind kicked up a good gust and blew that truck and trailer combo into a jackknife at 70mph. This dude slid in jackknife position for quite a ways then snapped back straight and kept on going like nothing happened. Watching him in the rearview mirror further down the road it sort of happened again on a smaller scale, just a little kick out and back straight. We usually took Happy Jack when it got bad but I don't know how much better it was and you still had to pop out on i80 at the worst part.
 

TaperPin

WKR
Joined
Jul 12, 2023
Messages
3,105
Learning to drive in high winds is a valuable skill for the whole family to have, just like driving on icy roads, blowing snow, or really heavy rain - defensive driving to avoid people that don’t know how to drive is the most important part. Identifying and avoiding unnecessary risk solves 95% of traffic accidents.

Empty Box trucks, RVs, empty small enclosed trailers, and empty semi trailers will blow over - eventually almost everyone in Wyoming has watched it happen. Simply pay attention to what the wind is doing to those vehicles and stay away from the down-wind danger zone as much as possible and anticipate a car on ice may get blown hard enough to slide into your lane so be alert and don’t crowd the center line.

I’d still feel safer driving in the wind than rush hour in any larger city - Wyoming insurance rates are rediculously low, so it must be a real thing. Lol
 

KurtR

WKR
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
3,933
Location
South Dakota
Going out snowmobiling some years back we were between Cheyenne and Larmie and i woke up to see a semi flip on its side right in front of us. The wind was bad but nothing growing up in Sodak that would scare me.
 

gman82001

WKR
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
348
Yeah I’m not sure what will kill me first when I move there, the wind or the meth heads. 🤷🏻‍♂️
I think there’s plenty of people trying to justify living in a blue state they won’t leave by saying the red state big city is a shit hole. I’ll take the wind and meth heads I’ve never once interacted with over the leftist political bullshit any day
 

Mojave

WKR
Joined
Jun 13, 2019
Messages
2,252
My plan is to live there long term. It’s my favorite state, just had heard that Cheyenne is not the spot. Serious non-gate keeping opinions would be helpful.
No one in any Western State with low population, good politics and good hunting wants anyone else to move there.

If you compare the number of meth heads in a place like Cheyenne, to a place like Las Cruces (similar size) and both on the I-25. I don't think that Cheyenne can hold a candle to it.

Wyoming has a lot of sucky towns. Meth can be a problem anywhere. Riverton has a hell of a problem right now.
 

Wyo_hntr

WKR
Joined
Oct 20, 2023
Messages
1,168
Location
Wy
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These lovely urban campers aren't real. A figment of my imagination. Definitely don't use illegal substances. Those don't exist in Cheyenne.
 

gman82001

WKR
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
348
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These lovely urban campers aren't real. A figment of my imagination. Definitely don't use illegal substances. Those don't exist in Cheyenne.
If op is deciding to live in Cheyenne or ft Collins I highly doubt his top choice of where to buy a home is going to be next to Martin Luther King park.

He didn't say he had a job offer in Sheridan or Pinedale I’m not sure where your Wyoming utopia of a big enough city to have a well paying job and zero homeless or drug addicts would be but as far as I know my wife and I do well for ourselves and both girls made it through school alive and not slumming it on the streets for crack.

Trust me I wish I had pine trees and a mountain range out my back door but as far as I can see if you have a pine tree and a mountain within walking distance the liberals flock there and ruin it with their politics.

Like I say I’ll take my Prarie grass and wind over the bullshit politics happening south of here.
 
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