Tell me why I shouldn't move to wyoming...

[TaperPin]

Moving to Wyoming is like wanting to date a gal with a temper - chit chat online for a year, spend every other weekend together, learn everything about her, listen to her favorite songs, even get her name tattooed on your neck, but until actually living with her when she’s not on best behavior, there’s no way to know if it’s the right flavor of crazy for you. Lol

 

[*zap*]

won't be far behind you

Carpool

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Moving to Wyoming is like wanting to date a gal with a temper - you can chit chat online for a year, spend every other weekend together, learn everything about her, even get her name tattooed on your neck, but until you actually live with her when she’s not on best behavior, you can’t really know if it’s the right flavor of crazy for you. Lol

I think that can be applied to about anywhere...but I totally get your point, hence the extensive research and travels. I love what I've seen and experienced of Wyoming so far...but i dont love anything enough for a neck tatoo You are correct though and I fully understand that you don't know what any place is truly like unti you live there full time. We expect a learning/adaptation period wherever we may go.
Winters will be a change I'm well aware of. We fare better in cold than the heat and humidity of the midwest. I know how to layer and stay warm...can only take so much off to stay cool in public though.
I'm aware no place is paradise in this life, we're just looking for a place that may suite us a bit better

 

[manitou1]

The fires were brutal this year. I bet half a million acres burned within 50 miles of Sheridan. This was a scorcher of a summer/fall, which was a drastic change from last summer when it was cool and wet. Last winter was great, but the winter of '22/'23 seemed to last 7 months. It felt like we were in Alaska.

In the 4 years I've lived here, I've come to realize that Wyoming is a glorious place with few people largely because of how extreme and unpredictable the weather is. It's very different from anywhere else I've lived (WA, OR, ID, IL, NH). Luckily, my wife handles WY weather better than I do, but I guarantee you it ain't for everyone.

Almost a million acres in total for WY.
The fire next to our place was the largest prairie fire in WY history.
The forest fires were the largest in WY history too.

 

[Blandry]

Pfft... we get 65 mph winds here outside Buffalo and some reach 85 mph+. 40 is a gentle breeze, lol.

Wind is the hardest part of dealing with WY for me. 40-65 mph winds for a week straight can be maddening.

Re-shingled parts of our roof on our NEW house six times in 2021-2022. Also had to replace facia about five times.

The wind outside of rock springs blew the fenders off of my jeep once. I couldn't believe it.

 

[Mojave]

I am a native Wyomingite (yes that is what we are called for some reason). 2nd Generation on one side and 1st generation on another, not that it matters.

Wyoming is freaking hard.

We usually have jobs, lots of jobs. Some pay some don't. I last left in 2000 and finished out my 20 years in the military. I always look for jobs I'd be willing to do there. Some times I get an interview, and sometimes not. I have worked for about 5 different federal agencies and Wyoming is a tough nut to crack.

Things are expensive in Wyoming. Not as bad as Montana in most places. Of course make a circle around Yellowstone or Jackson and triple the price. Get within 80 miles of Jackson and multiply the price by 10.

Because of the constant ebb and flow of immigration into Wyoming, I don't think it has much of its own defined culture as remote areas of Montana, Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon or Idaho does. I don't mean non-American immigrants.

Wyoming got a lot of people after Hurricane Katrina. The oilfield booms and bust keep a pretty cyclic group coming and going from Texas. I have been told that the solar eclipse a few years ago during covid, was an absolute train wreck for immigration into Wyoming.

I went to all of elementary and juniper high in Wyoming and went to High school in Wyoming and Montana. 2 years in each state. The number of people I still know in Wyoming who live in Wyoming is pretty small.

I bet 7/8ths my graduating class still lives in Deer Lodge, Helena, Missoula, Livingston or Kalispel.

Wyoming has a lot more problems with drifter crime than Montana does. More rampant drug use, more everything bad.

People will tell you about the winters. They do shake up the migration of people pretty well.

The wind is the worst though. Especially in Casper and Cheyenne. Especially in February and march at 8 or 9 degrees. Plus a -30 or 40 wind chill.

I had a job interview in Miles City Montana last week. I thought that might be a good deal, but every house less than 20 years old was $500,000. 1940's houses that should be $80,000 are $350,000. Nothing new built in years. I ended up talking to a realtor, and calling them and telling them I didn't want the job.

 

[IDVortex]

It's no California, so no nice beaches, warmth. So I'd suggest Cali. You can hunt all 3 different breeds of elk, muley deer, black tail. They have good bear hunting, and fewer hunters.

 

[StuckInTheEast]

It's no California, so no nice beaches, warmth. So I'd suggest Cali. You can hunt all 3 different breeds of elk, muley deer, black tail. They have good bear hunting, and fewer hunters.

California is a beautiful state in many areas just too many people crammed into it and WAY too many on the extreme left in the metro areas that control the politics. I'll pass on Cali...have some family there, that state does weird things to peoples minds in general.

 

[Snowwolfe]

California is a beautiful state in many areas just too many people crammed into it and WAY too many on the extreme left in the metro areas that control the politics. I'll pass on Cali...have some family there, that state does weird things to peoples minds in general.

Are you moving to WY?

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Are you moving to WY?

TBD...was hoping to make a winter trip out to sheridan area to look at bit closer and get a small taste of winter weather but work and some unexpected health issues with parents has halted that plan till spring.
We did look at a few homes while in sheridan this fall. None really checked the boxes and you can't tell sh$t from listing photos but we did get a lay of the land and idea of some more specific spots around Sherdidan, Dayton, Ranchester areas to focus on. That elk fire was a brute. Couldn't get into the mountains...or really even see them from town. Will be curious to see how things look in the spring there. We dealt with the smoke for a week just fine. Short of it forcing me to wear glasses vs contacts a few days it wasn't a deal breaker...and its certainly not going to be that bad every year.
Will be out in the spring/summer to check out a few more areas and back to hunt in fall so long as current tag plan works out. We like the Sheridan area on up to the MT boarder for sure.
That area makes more sense for kids and housing and central enough to get about anywhere we'd want to explore or vacation in a reasonable days drive. I'd like to spend some time in duboise, Lander and Powell when we go out spring or summer of 2025. We've pretty well ruled out cody or anywhere near Jackson as we don't have interest in heavy tourists presence or the overly inflated real estate prices there. I don't know that duboise would fit the bill, but I'd still like to see that area just to explore it.
My wife and I taunt each other about pulling the plug and just going frequently...but it gets a bit more serious and less of a joke everytime. Presently just working, saving, investing and waiting for the right opportunity to present itself.
Until then we'll just spend as much time out there as we can and see as much if the state as we can.

 

[Mojave]

The Jackson billionaires ran the millionaires out of Jackson to Sheridan.

Cody never had the same appeal and I still don't know why. I prefer Cody to most of Wyoming. Less meth than central and southern Wyoming.

 

[FAAFO]

The Jackson billionaires ran the millionaires out of Jackson to Sheridan.

Do you believe what you type? No one has left Jackson for Sheridan.

Billionaires pushing out millionaires?

 

[wyosam]

The fires were brutal this year. I bet half a million acres burned within 50 miles of Sheridan. This was a scorcher of a summer/fall, which was a drastic change from last summer when it was cool and wet. Last winter was great, but the winter of '22/'23 seemed to last 7 months. It felt like we were in Alaska.

In the 4 years I've lived here, I've come to realize that Wyoming is a glorious place with few people largely because of how extreme and unpredictable the weather is. It's very different from anywhere else I've lived (WA, OR, ID, IL, NH). Luckily, my wife handles WY weather better than I do, but I guarantee you it ain't for everyone.

Ha! I moved from Wyoming to Alaska for milder weather. Winters here (in south central AK anyway) are a piece of cake.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[StuckInTheEast]

The Jackson billionaires ran the millionaires out of Jackson to Sheridan.

Cody never had the same appeal and I still don't know why. I prefer Cody to most of Wyoming. Less meth than central and southern Wyoming.

I've heard and read this "Billionaires pushing out the Millionaires" bit countless times last few years in various places online and first hand from residents on our travels in MT, WY and Idaho.
I'm sure there is truth to it in some places but this is the first time I've seen it applied to Sheridan...typically it's brought up when folks talk about places like Alpine, Star Valley, Hoback, even Cody for that matter or over in Victor or Swan valley in Idaho or up in various places outside Bozeman and Kalispell in MT...and the realestate prices would much more support that comment in those areas...but Sheridan? Not really. There are multi-million dollar listings in most any modest sized town/city in the American west with any kind of view or potential tourist draw so sure, there are a few around Sheridan but that area is nothing like the others I mentioned and I've been through them all and had a eye on the realestate markets in all of them as well.
You get alot more for your money east of the Bighorns than the places listed above but you dont get the same views or proximity to the parks or Jackson area there...not that it isn't overpriced, but what isn't these days?

We like the cody area, just not real interested in Cody itself or any place on the main drag into Yellowstone, just too much tourist traffic. Going a bit north and/or east to Powell or Greybull may be an option, both areas on our short list to put boots on the ground and have seen some listings that caught our attention.

In a few areas there is a possibility of buying a second home and putting it up as an STR when we aren't there for few years depending on how things pan out here in the next year, but the Zoning and STR statutes in Cody don't support that idea either and depending on if Park county decides to follow Teton County's lead in regard to STR regulations that may rule out Powell as well if we were to go that route.

As I've said a few times, there is alot to consider and the situation is very dynamic presently. I wish I had the freedom and flexibility to just pack up and go as so many have suggested...its just not that simple presently, but that may change over the next year as certain things fall into place.

I certainly appreciate all the input of all kinds folks, never thought there would be this much response to this post.