Guidance on My Family’s Long Term Move

[Fever Buck]

Grand Junction. In less than a decade, if Colorado goes to big game hunting by draw permit only, the hunting will improve dramatically.

I sure hope so. Just don’t know if it’s worth waiting 10 years to see.

 

[downthepipe]

I think you should be looking at southern Idaho. Direct flights from Boise to Denver and Atlanta. If you want rural try hagerman, gooding, Glenn’s ferry which are SE of Boise, or west of Boise look at Payette, Parma, Marsing, Homedale, Melba areas. There are a lot of engineering jobs around. Hydroelectric everywhere. Utilities galore.

 

[TaperPin]

I’m an electrical engineer at a power company. Hoping I’ll be able to swing working at one of the local electric utility companies.

You’ll do fine once something opens up.

Local power jobs can be one of those positions that might not open up very often in some areas. If Bill Gates goes ahead with the nuclear power plant in Western Wyoming that would be a nice area. The mule deer have great genetics, there are a lot of elk and if the winters will let up for a few years the antelope have decent size.

Luckily, there are a number of coal fired power plants scattered around - just about anywhere there’s a coal mine there seems to be a power plant. Traditionally, the mines and power plants have deeper pockets than local distribution co-ops. Even mines without coal use a lot of power and employ EE types in some weird spots.

I know one EE who has done quite well working for a sugar beat processor, managing the motors and high voltage side of the business.

The explosion in wind power is interesting. When it all started the crews that put them up and then maintained them would come up out of Colorado - I have no idea now.

Then there’s a number of hydro plants - I have no idea who runs those.

When we joke about some towns in southern WY having high winds, these places regularly have over turned semi trucks - if you can’t avoid a windy place, definitely listen to the locals as to where the better parts to live are. There are new housing developments built in really poor locations - they are being sold to out of state buyers who don’t know how bad the area is.

 

[Fever Buck]

You’ll do fine once something opens up.

Local power jobs can be one of those positions that might not open up very often in some areas. If Bill Gates goes ahead with the nuclear power plant in Western Wyoming that would be a nice area. The mule deer have great genetics, there are a lot of elk and if the winters will let up for a few years the antelope have decent size.

Luckily, there are a number of coal fired power plants scattered around - just about anywhere there’s a coal mine there seems to be a power plant. Traditionally, the mines and power plants have deeper pockets than local distribution co-ops. Even mines without coal use a lot of power and employ EE types in some weird spots.

I know one EE who has done quite well working for a sugar beat processor, managing the motors and high voltage side of the business.

The explosion in wind power is interesting. When it all started the crews that put them up and then maintained them would come up out of Colorado - I have no idea now.

Then there’s a number of hydro plants - I have no idea who runs those.

When we joke about some towns in southern WY having high winds, these places regularly have over turned semi trucks - if you can’t avoid a windy place, definitely listen to the locals as to where the better parts to live are. There are new housing developments built in really poor locations - they are being sold to out of state buyers who don’t know how bad the area is.

That’s good to know. I’ve looked at some of the power jobs in Wyoming but if it’s going to be a larger power provider I’d prefer to take a management role since. I do want to try my best to find some smaller company with good benefits though. They can surprisingly pay pretty well sometimes.

 

[Fever Buck]

I think you should be looking at southern Idaho. Direct flights from Boise to Denver and Atlanta. If you want rural try hagerman, gooding, Glenn’s ferry which are SE of Boise, or west of Boise look at Payette, Parma, Marsing, Homedale, Melba areas. There are a lot of engineering jobs around. Hydroelectric everywhere. Utilities galore.

I’d looked at Boise as well but it seemed like Idaho power was the only utility company out that way. Would you mind naming some others to look at in the area?

 

[TaperPin]

That’s good to know. I’ve looked at some of the power jobs in Wyoming but if it’s going to be a larger power provider I’d prefer to take a management role since. I do want to try my best to find some smaller company with good benefits though. They can surprisingly pay pretty well sometimes.

I was in Boise for 7 years and it’s a nice town - there‘s a huge influx of businesses and people so prices are high, but a good clean town with good schools. You do have to travel a bit for hunting and fishing, but the mountain biking trails that lead out of town are really nice, and in a good snow year the ski resort is a fun place. There are a lot of inexpensive flights to Denver, but it’s a two day drive.

What Wyoming has a lot of are pretty generous hunting seasons for residents and there’s a lot of overlap, not to mention pretty liberal additional cow elk tags around Jackson in a late season. We’ve literally hunted elk first thing in the morning, taken a nice antelope mid day, and hunted spot and stalk mulies in the foot hills till dark, and repeated it the next day.

 

[Phaseolus]

I sure hope so. Just don’t know if it’s worth waiting 10 years to see.

It is not bad now here.

 

[JFK]

Area around Casper Wy isn’t too bad. Not as glamorous as some of the places you listed, but a lot to do outdoors and a decent size town with services.

 

[Fever Buck]

Area around Casper Wy isn’t too bad. Not as glamorous as some of the places you listed, but a lot to do outdoors and a decent size town with services.

Thanks for the suggestion. How is the wind in Casper?

 

[Ralphie]

Thanks for the suggestion. How is the wind in Casper?

Significant, on a good day. Good days are rare.

 

[Fever Buck]

Significant, on a good day. Good days are rare.

That’s a bummer. Wyoming is such a great state. Just don’t think I can deal with the wind in most of it.

 

[jmez]

If I were moving to WY I'd look pretty hard at Buffalo.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

 

[Touchdown88]

Look at Preston, ID. It's southern Idaho amd near a good sized community in Logan, UT. Good healthcare. And the SLC airport is under 2 hours away.

 

[Fever Buck]

If I were moving to WY I'd look pretty hard at Buffalo.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

Yeah I’ve looked. Just hard to find power jobs out that way. Thanks for the tip.

 

[jmez]

Gillette is only about an hour straight down the interstate. Energy capital of the state.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

 

[COelk89]

The state politics may not align with yours but we have some great towns with pretty good hospitals and local values that still align with yours on my side of the divide. I would not go to GJ if someone bought my house for me...bleh.

 

[black dawg]

4) Bozeman - I do worry about local angst against outsiders that move to Montana. I can deal with people being mean/rude to me but don’t want people to be ugly to my wife and kids.

5) Missoula - beautiful area but same worry about local angst.

Pretty sad that these areas have a reputation for that....
Have never seen anything other than facebook comments of people being rude

Funny though that the ones that bark the loudest have moved here in the last 10-20 years.....

 

[calfroper81]

I think Montana would be a great place to live.

 

[Yoder]

I just got back from Bozeman. I saw 1 bedroom condos selling for over $400k. You might be able to pick up a 3 bedroom house for $600k on 1/3 acre. What a bargain. Healthcare doesn't seem great. Our friend has been waiting over six months to get in to see a dermatologist. Her appointment is in January. The entire area is being built up so fast it's crazy. You would think they struck gold nearby. It's really a shame. It's such an amazing place. I would have loved to live there 20 years ago.

 

[COelk89]

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/0...sing-causes-growing-pains-for-lincoln-county/