Real talk. Family talk. Life decision talk.

[dtrkyman]

Ya gotta jump in to swim!

As said there is always the option to move anywhere technically, might be hard on the kids!

 

[S.Clancy]

Indeed. But as a waterfowl guide that works 58-62 days strait in all weather conditions....I feel as though I am somewhat prepared. Not to mention, I grew up spitting firewood lol

Usually when people talk about winter in CO they like skiing. Unless you can afford living in Jackson, there really isn't any skiing to speak of in WY. There is a lot of wind tho.

I would almost suggest trying out SE Alaska, better pay, great skiing, and all the perks of being an AK resident. It does rain a lot tho.

 

[WildBoose]

Hey. You’re the one who said spitting firewood.

Hey! You’re the one who responded with a comment that had zero value.

 

[Harvey_NW]

Indeed. But as a waterfowl guide that works 58-62 days strait in all weather conditions....I feel as though I am somewhat prepared. Not to mention, I grew up spitting firewood lol

-60° with wind chill is something you can't really prepare for until you've experienced it. There's a reason why Stormy Kromers and silk sashes are so popular in Montana and Wyoming. Couple of my dad's cows don't have ears because they froze off, lol.

My wife and I are in a similar situation, we live in the PNW but I'm disgusted with WA politics so it's time to relocate and contribute to a like minded community. All I can say is orchestrate a strategic plan and keep it as stress free as possible.

 

[KenLee]

Move.
Just be sure to be prepared for winter lasting a looong time compared to Kentucky.

This pic was taken March 2nd this year at my Wyoming place.


View attachment 910335

Yeah for me, that would be a big no, but I’m old.

 

[WildBoose]

-60° with wind chill is something you can't really prepare for until you've experienced it. There's a reason why Stormy Kromers and silk sashes are so popular in Montana and Wyoming. Couple of my dad's cows don't have ears because they froze off, lol.

My wife and I are in a similar situation, we live in the PNW but I'm disgusted with WA politics so it's time to relocate and contribute to a like minded community. All I can say is orchestrate a strategic plan and keep it as stress free as possible.

Indeed it would be a cultural shock, weather wise.

But in my honest opinion, that shouldn’t be the limiting factor.
^^^ Coming from a mild climated dude^^^

 

[LCguy]

When making hard decisions, I like to remember this quote from one of my favorite novels, Provinces of NIght by William Gay

"No move is the wrong move."

"What?"

"Sometimes any move at all is better than nothing. If you're right, you're one up. If you're wrong, you start over."

 

[IDVortex]

I used to spit firewood too.

And now we have gas for stoves, or firewood processing machines. Only time I swing a ax is at a camp.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Being I moved west after college myself I favor it. BUT I will point out a reality you will need to deal with since you mentioned kids and a wife who isn't enthusiastic about it but willing. Is she really close with family? If so be ready to deal with emotions about being far from family forever. Be ready to travel back so your kid sees their family/grand parents. Some family will be more supportive and come visit also, some won't ever visit and only guilt trip you that you live so far away and aren't around much. Etc.

 

[WildBoose]

Being I moved west after college myself I favor it. BUT I will point out a reality you will need to deal with since you mentioned kids and a wife who isn't enthusiastic about it but willing. Is she really close with family? If so be ready to deal with emotions about being far from family forever. Be ready to travel back so your kid sees their family/grand parents. Some family will be more supportive and come visit also, some won't ever visit and only guilt trip you that you live so far away and aren't around much. Etc.

I have 1 brother, who lives 12 hours away currently.
My dad died when I was 22 (35 now)
And my wife nor I are real keen on her parents lol
Other than that, no family. My mother whom my wife is extremely close with is moving with us (with her own space in the house)

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I have 1 brother, who lives 12 hours away currently.
My dad died when I was 22 (35 now)
And my wife nor I are real keen on her parents lol
Other than that, no family. My mother whom my wife is extremely close with is moving with us (with her own space in the house)

That removes/shortens a big hurdle.

My buddy who also moved after college out west doesn't get much pressure cause his inlaws moved out west too (1.5hrs away so around but not on top of them). Other folks, esp. once the kids are in the picture, start getting a lot of heat to be closer to family if their partner is close with family back home.

 

[go_deep]

If you want it to work, I would match the town your going to live in to the amenities your wife wants, plus a little. If this move is all about you, it'll fall flat on its face.
If your going to be guiding, I'd go where there's a big window for guiding, that would mean needing to guide long big game seasons and a big window for fishing, so there needs to be a lot of fishing around, and people that are willing to pay for it.

 

[loganwayne]

with your wife being in medical field im assuming the best pay is at hospitals in bigger cities. How does that effect your ability to find a job as a guide? Is she going to be okay with you being out at a guide camp for several weeks on end? im assuming you are home every night with current guide gig.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Yeah bro, the west is like totally “free” and stuff….

 

[svivian]

Well since no one has asked.... If your wife was originally from CO what is her reasoning for not wanting to move out west?

 

[Rock63]

We were a close family (both sides) when we were your age and wanted to raise our children around them so I didn’t pursue moving west. Otherwise, I would have went in a minute.

 

[P Carter]

Go - but make sure she's onboard with the specific town or location. "Out west" is pretty vague - there are great places to live and raise a family; terrible places to live and raise a family; and lots in between. Be deliberative and make sure you're aligned on the specifics.

 

[Mojave]

There is a bit of a callus on rokslide or any other outdoors forum where someone wants someone else (all of these people are grown ass men (in theory), to tell them it is ok to leave home and move West.

I am from Wyoming, and I want to move back there and I get that. But I am currently overseas doing military stuff, and I will return some day. It's my home and I have family there. This is a huge thing, Wyoming people are not friendly to each other and even more not friendly to anyone who is not from Wyoming. Most westerners are the same way.

The most recent version of the Unknown Munitions podcast had a similar piece of wisdom.

Where the guy that owns 6th Day Arrows basically said, Casper is kind of ok and I live in Wyoming because of the opportunity to hunt. He moved from Alabama and was a successful business owner in his 50's. So not the same thing at all.

She is going to have concerns.

1. Will she make friends? Probably, my daughter is a nurse and has moved many times and all her little girlfriends are from her work.

2. Does it suck to not live near family? 100%. We are 10,000 miles away in Germany on our 3rd overseas assignment. We love Europe and I have killed a ton of stuff, but that doesn't make it worth it to be away from family.

3. Can you afford to live in Wyoming? I will answer this with this thought. I was looking for a place to buy in the bighorn valley near Lovell yesterday. A town of 800 people. $500,000 bought decent house with 4 bedrooms in town made 15 years ago. Casper has a bigger market, Sheridan has a more expensive market. You could probably live on the I-80 corridor in the prison town or closer to Utah and do a lot better housing wise. My home town or Riverton sucks, and it is cheaper. Lander is more expensive, as it is one of the nicer towns in Wyoming. Cheyenne sucks, the wind blows as much as Casper, and it is closer to Colorado. The only positive attiribute of Cheyenne is that half my family lives there (the part that doesn't live in Casper or Riverton) and it is in Wyoming so you can get most of the tags OTC vice living in Fort Collins and wishing you drew a tag in Wyoming.

4. Will you make friends? Maybe, I would not expect anyone to bring you into their hunting fold for a very long time.

5. I don't know anything about guiding for ducks, but I guide antelope part time. Even as an outfitter I would have to have a real job. What are you going to do for a real job? My nephew is a duck guide in Riverton, and he scraps together a living driving heavy equipment the rest of the year. I worked with a lot of guys that had a guide license when I was in New Mexico. None of them were full time guides. They all had real jobs 300 days a year.

 

[cnelk]

“This is a huge thing, Wyoming people are not friendly to each other and even more not friendly to anyone who is not from Wyoming. Most westerners are the same way.”

@Mojave
No truer words spoken

 

[mntnguide]

Have you ever hunted the west? Outfitters arent going to pay someone with little to zero western experience much, cause you dont bring much to the table. Have you been around horses and packing? cause thats what the majority of guiding in the western part of the state revolves around. Very hard to make an actual living guiding full time around here unless you own the business. . As stated by others, You are underestimating the extent of a WY winter. I can ride my snowmobile 8 months of the year most years if i want to. And even as a big backcountry rider, i get damn sick of winter each year. I live where the wind doesnt blow much thankfully, but i couldnt imagine dealing with the other 90%+ of the state where it does nothing but blow, and blow harder.

I guided backcountry wilderness type hunts for a decade, taught for a guide/packing school in montana for 5 summers, basically did everything i could to make it a "full-time" job...Then i got smart and realized how stupid that was, went to trade school, and now make more in a couple months than i use to in a full year. And get to hunt for myself as much as I want. If your dream is to move west, go for it, only one way to find out, but dont expect guiding to pay a mortgage or even rent in most the popular regions out west. I had a well known outfitter here in western WY ask me to run one of his main camps for him this fall, I thought about it, i could make it work around my actual job, but ultimately, id rather hunt for myself anymore than deal with babysitting others. I did that for 10 years, and it gets old.