Real talk. Family talk. Life decision talk.

[Rich M]

What places have you researched for her work, your work, education for yer kid, expenses, etc.?? Once you get that far, then talk with wife and see what she likes. You want to hunt and run around the mtns while wife is working and taking care of kid(s) at home most of the time, so make it doable for them and maybe it will work out.

Bottom line - take care of that wife, if she leaves you, you aint gonna find another one near as good.

 

[Lionheart]

Do it. I’m pushing 70 now and never did it. I regret it. Some of us are born with “yondering” gene and “don’t fence me in” heart. Don’t listen to the naysayers and locals who just want it all to themselves. Their families did what you are contemplating…they just did it before you did.
My best friend in the world was Roy Mathis…rancher owner in Sybille creek valley.
Friendliest man you ever knew…but tolerated no bullshit.
My kind of man.
Lots of assholes in the world…east and west.
Lots of good folks too.
Just remember..,to have friends you must be one.

 

[307]

Pay sucks in WY. My wife took at 18 dollar an hour pay cut (RN) when we moved from WA.

Sent from my Pixel 8a using Tapatalk

Big city to small town or similar size town in both states?

As far as nursing salaries, the pendulum was bound to swing back in after the COVID surge. Wouldn’t be surprised if recent legislation pushes salaries down further as healthcare adjusts to the changes.

 

[xsn10s]

My employer's wife is a pharmacist. When they moved back to our small town the government paid off much, if not all of her student loans because we live in a rural area. That might be something to look into if you move to a rural area. Medical professionals are very needed in some rural areas.

 

[Hnthrdr]

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.

This is probably the best advice you can get.

Guiding big game out west and waterfowl is apples to peas. A handful of buddies used to guide birds, they would have shotguns and shoot some during the day. With big game you are doing a lot of hand holding and baby sitting and not really getting to hunt for yourself at all…

 

[Big_wals]

LMAO

Don't believe everything this guy posts about Wyoming.
Folks are friendly and accepting if you don't try to change things or keep telling how you do where you're from.

Our local hardware store has this laminated to the counter. This isn’t necessarily directed at the OP, but anyone moving to a new place should take it into consideration. It’s why many small town Westerners aren’t as friendly as they used to be.

 

[KurtR]

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

Just go is what i would say. But i would rather be a waterfowl guide and live in the heart of retriever training country if my wife would move.

 

[Big_wals]

But to the OP, move out here dude! It’s not going to get any easier to move as kids get older and you get more tied down where you’re at. If your wife is supportive but not necessarily enthusiastic about it, I would maybe look somewhere else other than Wyoming, just because of the winter. Or try and find an area of the state that isn’t as windy. As someone thats loves winter and loves cold weather, there is a huge difference between cold weather, and windy, cold weather……

 

[Mojave]

Sugar momma isn't all it's cracked up to be. Every couple that I know that had a "sugar momma" is divorced.

Yep!

Buddy was a trophy husband in Australia. He is a gunsmith and she was a Pharmacist. She made $200,000 AUD and he makes $50,000. His saving grace was he is a 5th dan Taekwondo black belt. She looked like a very short petite Hollywood actress.

Didn't save their marriage, she left him for a dude that was 10 years older and made a lot more money.

Not before sleeping with half of Canberra. He caught her in bed with 3 dudes.

No kids though, so there is that.

 

[digger]

Never be afraid to reinvent yourself,,

 

[Mojave]

View attachment 910500

Our local hardware store has this laminated to the counter. This isn’t necessarily directed at the OP, but anyone moving to a new place should take it into consideration. It’s why many small town Westerners aren’t as friendly as they used to be.

There was a guy when I was in high school that worked at Rocky Mountain Sports in Casper. He bitched about Wyoming every day about how cold it was compared to Missouri. Guy was in his 70's, and my father was in his 50's. My dad told him that came to Wyoming in the 1960's, and he wasn't moving back to Texas because of people like him.

I think most people are ok, we got a lot of weirdos after Katrina. We got more after the solar eclipse.

Idaho got butt raped by Covid. Compared to every other Western state. They were busted at the seems for a while.

Generally though, outside of Jackson, Boise, Bozeman, Missoula and Kalispel we generally keep the riff riff out in a few cold winters. Most people are shocked when they have to spend twice or three times the cost on something they used to get in their area.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

These threads are all the same. Every time.

 

[Mojave]

 

[WildBoose]

Good friend of mine lives in Montana, 62yrs old. Been there all his life. He came duck hunting with me last year and said he was the coldest he’s even been lol. Humidity, if you know you know. If you don’t……then you have no idea

 

[svivian]

We've been suckered boys and girls... OP just wants to talk about how tough he is and how good he is at splitting wood.

Hasnt answered any of the pertinent questions asked in the thread but boy he likes to defend himself if questioned about toughness.

 

[ProStaffSteve]

We've been suckered boys and girls... OP just wants to talk about how tough he is and how good he is at splitting wood.

Hasnt answered any of the pertinent questions asked in the thread but boy he likes to defend himself if questioned about toughness.

Your profile pic , only seen those damn things on LinkedIn. You did it right!

 

[LongWayAround]

There's only a few places to really live in Wyoming, it's a big state but there's only a couple of population centers. Everyone that I have ever talked to might love their area (Casper, Sheridan, etc), but that little area becomes your bubble because everywhere else is a multi-hour drive.

Waterfowl can be really good (I hear), but it's very pocketed.

Colorado would offer a lot more guiding opportunities for waterfowl. (Not that I'm promoting the system around here)

Winter in Colorado is a lot nicer and there's probably more money to be made if you're not into oil field work.

I moved here 12 years ago or so and love it, but there are definitely trade offs.

If your wife doesn't care about hunting opportunities, she's probably going to hate it.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

We've been suckered boys and girls... OP just wants to talk about how tough he is and how good he is at splitting wood.

Yeah it almost sounds like something a self proclaimed mountain man would do.

I’m a self proclaimed mountain man

Oh that's right.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I've considered this and been conducting periodic research over time. I've also been to WY many times during every part of the year. I've worked, hunted, and vacationed in WY, and at some point I'd like to put up a tiny house or camper somewhere. The hardest part is deciding where and what you're willing to sacrifice. The southern 1/3 is sage country other than the mountain ranges, and the wind is a legitimate consideration. You know those days when you just get beat up by the wind and just don't want to be outside? It's like that a lot down south. The same can be said for other parts of the state, but the scenery can be better and blunt the annoyance to a degree.

In the south, the Saratoga area is beautiful and Medicine Bow is pretty awesome. However, you have to drive quite a ways in this part of the state to find similar country.

"Normal" population centers include Cheyenne, Casper, and Gillette, all with around 70kish people and all the amenities and problems of medium sized cities. The Sheridan area is booming, and while it is a very attractive area, the cost of living is insane. Cody is awesome due to its proximity to the park and hunting, but these same attributes have driven up costs tremendously. Jackson is a luxury ski town akin to Vail or Aspen, and again, the cost of living is to be expected.

If these cities are a no-go for you, then a guy really has to start sharpening the pencil with his spouse about what the must-haves and nice-to-haves are. There are going to be significant trade-offs, and you're going to have to lean into her needs 1) as the primary breadwinner and 2) because she's your wife and you want her to be happy. If you guys depend on her income, you need to make sure you're living somewhere that supports her career and hopefully advancement. At the same time, you need to be in proximity to guiding opportunities that won't take you away from home for weeks at a time. There are many a cowboy that would love nothing better than to seduce a southern bell once removed from CO.

I've been on two guided elk hunting trips. One in MT and the other in WY. The outfitter in MT guided from Sep through end of big game season and off and on in the spring for bear and maybe lion hunts. During the summer he runs trout and sight-seeing camps. However, he is a plumber by trade and fills in the downtime with local jobs. ALL of his guides were either current or previous rodeo junkies that knew a trade, and very often it was plumbing or welding.

The guide I hunted with in WY is a horse trainer and trader throughout the year.

Anyways, good luck to you, and I hope it all works out. Just take your time and make sure you have a detailed strategy and dug deep into your hearts and souls as a couple. In the beginning you are all each other will have, and you have got to be aligned, not just looking to make the other happy, before you move west.

 

[IDVortex]

Move out to CA, great bear hunting, still have Elk, (multiple species) black tail up north, etc. Your wife will have the beach.