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

[StupidLightweight]

I love Wyoming. We live here because my wife picked this over Alaska. In hindsight, she was right. However, I also understand why there's only 587,000 people. It ain't cheap to live here, and winters can last half the year. With two small kiddos, it's hard to do much outside when it's snowy and sub-zero.

 

[Flack]

...If its priced reasonable/logically it goes fast. Its hard to get a realtor to take you seriously when your from out of state apparently as well. Even if your preapproved, ready to spend a few grand to fly out for long weekend to tour houses and make offers and sign buyer agent agreement.

Why not rent? It will get you out there and give you time and proximity to figure something out. Also, if it doesn't work out you don't have a bunch of sunk costs in closing fees etc. and money tied up in any fixes etc. Just a quick zillow search, 5 month rental to get things figure out and looks super comfortable, and way less than a mortgage on what you are looking to spend: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/630-S-2nd-St-Lander-WY-82520/111021198_zpid/

After the real estate bid didn't pan out I really got to thinking about the work side... There's no way in hell I could ever go back to a dealership environment. Staying in auto repair out there would just be trading misery for misery with a better view and more/different recreation opportunities...with alot lower pay. That just doesn't feel conducive to the plan of enjoying life more.

So the search continues. Trying to shift my gears a bit more towards finding myself career wise and figuring out how to lateral current skills/experience to something available out there that's NOT in the retail auto repair industry or requires dealing with the general public in any way.

I've been in the same boat, I've done four career changes including returning to school... Here's the thing: work generally kinda sucks. Thats why they pay you to do it.

While I like my current career and job well enough for a career and job... if they weren't paying me, I'd be doing something else with my time. I've found that career changes can be great for getting you more pay if the career you're in has a low ceiling and you are strategic about it. But if you're in a miserable situation because of the actual job and pay is not the issue, that can usually be fixed by just getting a better employer. Good luck and I hope you find a situation you are happier with.

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Why do you think they house was over priced? Comp sales in the area dictate the value of the home. I burned some bridges on some real-estate in Cody because I thought the houses were over priced. That was 5 years ago and the prices haven't come down..that was just the new price for the area.

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They do dictate value...they dont dictate listing price. People are free to try to sell for whatever they want or think they can get. That doesn't mean they have a clue about what its actually worth. Most realtors wont push back or give much advise price wise, they just run with what the seller wants to list for or they are out of touch themselves and need to take some appraisal based continuing Education courses.
I think its overpriced because its been on market as long as it has and we were first offer made on it. It also lacked from other sales in last 6 months forvthe price range it was in.
Its got mechanical /electrical/well issues, exterior of was never finished. Lots of missing exterior finishing/trim components and very half ass finishing in other places. All flooring needed replaced, basement unfinished and what finishing was started needed redone. It was rough. The fact it was on market over 200 days with no offers speaks to my evaluation as well.

The one we didn't offer on was lacking a few finishing details but otherwise solid. If it had a basement and larger outbuilding and the water/well rights/agreement were in order and in writing we may have tried on that one. Even with those things it would have been 100k overpriced. Its still on market after about a year as well.
There are alot of places in tge mountain west that people own as second homes and dont NEED to sell. Ive seen them sit for years with no or minimal price changes or get taken off market for few months then relist for the same or slightly lower price. Its an odd market. Seems alot of stuff priced right sells quick, often before listings hit the public. Likeky brokerage in-house deals with buyers agents have had in their pocket waiting for the right thing to come along.
Thing about pricing homes is you often get one shot to get it right. Shoot way to high and it'll sit, and the longer it sits the worse it looks to potential buyers and the fewer and lower offers you'll get if any. Not ALWAYS the case, but often.
Many listing have had price reductions in that area last few months, a few sold, many havent.

I regard to @go_deep comment...thats partially true in the fact that I dont want it bad enough to put my family's finacial well being in jeopardy to make it happen or settle for housing that doesn't suite our needs and wants.
I wont lie though, Im pretty tired in general at this point. I may no want it bad enough right now. May need to regroup and reevaluate somethings in 2026.
Helena is still on the list and may just go spend a week with the family there this year to see how that feels.
Montana definitely has alot more to offer job wise. I hear they could use some more red votes as well.
To be continued.

 

[grfox92]

They do dictate value...they dont dictate listing price. People are free to try to sell for whatever they want or think they can get. That doesn't mean they have a clue about what its actually worth. Most realtors wont push back or give much advise price wise, they just run with what the seller wants to list for or they are out of touch themselves and need to take some appraisal based continuing Education courses.
I think its overpriced because its been on market as long as it has and we were first offer made on it. It also lacked from other sales in last 6 months forvthe price range it was in.
Its got mechanical /electrical/well issues, exterior of was never finished. Lots of missing exterior finishing/trim components and very half ass finishing in other places. All flooring needed replaced, basement unfinished and what finishing was started needed redone. It was rough. The fact it was on market over 200 days with no offers speaks to my evaluation as well.

The one we didn't offer on was lacking a few finishing details but otherwise solid. If it had a basement and larger outbuilding and the water/well rights/agreement were in order and in writing we may have tried on that one. Even with those things it would have been 100k overpriced. Its still on market after about a year as well.
There are alot of places in tge mountain west that people own as second homes and dont NEED to sell. Ive seen them sit for years with no or minimal price changes or get taken off market for few months then relist for the same or slightly lower price. Its an odd market. Seems alot of stuff priced right sells quick, often before listings hit the public. Likeky brokerage in-house deals with buyers agents have had in their pocket waiting for the right thing to come along.
Thing about pricing homes is you often get one shot to get it right. Shoot way to high and it'll sit, and the longer it sits the worse it looks to potential buyers and the fewer and lower offers you'll get if any. Not ALWAYS the case, but often.
Many listing have had price reductions in that area last few months, a few sold, many havent.

I regard to @go_deep comment...thats partially true in the fact that I dont want it bad enough to put my family's finacial well being in jeopardy to make it happen or settle for housing that doesn't suite our needs and wants.
I wont lie though, Im pretty tired in general at this point. I may no want it bad enough right now. May need to regroup and reevaluate somethings in 2026.
Helena is still on the list and may just go spend a week with the family there this year to see how that feels.
Montana definitely has alot more to offer job wise. I hear they could use some more red votes as well.
To be continued.

That all sounds solid. I wasn't doubting it, just wanted to make sure you weren't underestimating the market itself as some people often do. Thinking prices will come back down and they never do. But it sounds like in this case you were correct.

A lot of realtors around me won't let sellers ask dumb prices for their stuff because it makes them look bad. It seems like a lot of the time when something is overpriced it's a newer or desperate realtor.

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[StuckInTheEast]

That all sounds solid. I wasn't doubting it, just wanted to make sure you weren't underestimating the market itself as some people often do. Thinking prices will come back down and they never do. But it sounds like in this case you were correct.

A lot of realtors around me won't let sellers ask dumb prices for their stuff because it makes them look bad. It seems like a lot of the time when something is overpriced it's a newer or desperate realtor.

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Read a statistic somewhere earlier this year that 74% of realtors didn't close a sale in last 12 months...wanna say that was from sometime in 2024-same time 2025.
There is alot more going into that stat than what you see at face value...but it still says alot about how many are hurting to close and perhaps ignoring some guidelines/better judgement in the process.

 

[Flack]

Montana definitely has alot more to offer job wise. I hear they could use some more red votes as well.
To be continued.

Something to consider and check is if your wife’s employer will allow her to continue working remotely for them if you establish residence in Montana (if you haven’t already). It’s the only state that’s not at-will and some companies won’t let you stay employed if you move there (my current and previous employers, for example).

 

[Jethro]

When it's priced right, real estate in Wyoming sells very fast.

That’s 100% true. We looked at couple dozen houses from February till September. The house we ended up buying, we were making an offer at almost same time the seller was signing contract to list it. Our offer was accepted 2-3 days before the listing hit Zillow.

Houses that I felt didn’t live up to the asking price are still for sale

 

[wyosam]

That’s 100% true. We looked at couple dozen houses from February till September. The house we ended up buying, we were making an offer at almost same time the seller was signing contract to list it. Our offer was accepted 2-3 days before the listing hit Zillow.

Houses that I felt didn’t live up to the asking price are still for sale

Good properties priced right are like that in a lot of places. When we left Wyoming to move to AK, the place we bought was that way. We got really lucky with timing. Our main home in WY took a month or so to sell, which meant we were priced a little high. We had very few comps to work with for pricing. Our cabin/2nd place we sold by owner pretty quickly (was never really listed. Just let friends know we were selling). Miss having a place down there, but the equity put in a decent ocean boat, so it was a good trade.


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[Hnthrdr]

Read a statistic somewhere earlier this year that 74% of realtors didn't close a sale in last 12 months...wanna say that was from sometime in 2024-same time 2025.
There is alot more going into that stat than what you see at face value...but it still says alot about how many are hurting to close and perhaps ignoring some guidelines/better judgement in the process.

Yeah… doesn’t make a lick of sense for them them to keep prices high then… if anything they would be begging sellers to lower prices so they can make a quick sale. Properties you described are likely owned outright or in a situation where there doesn’t need to be a sale, they are fishing

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Something to consider and check is if your wife’s employer will allow her to continue working remotely for them if you establish residence in Montana (if you haven’t already). It’s the only state that’s not at-will and some companies won’t let you stay employed if you move there (my current and previous employers, for example).

Interesting tid bit not yet considered...she's got a reminder set to reach out to HR tomorrow. Good input, thank you.

 

[StuckInTheEast]

That’s 100% true. We looked at couple dozen houses from February till September. The house we ended up buying, we were making an offer at almost same time the seller was signing contract to list it. Our offer was accepted 2-3 days before the listing hit Zillow.

Houses that I felt didn’t live up to the asking price are still for sale

Extremely accurate...every one that we felt that way about is still on market.

 

[StuckInTheEast]

Yeah… doesn’t make a lick of sense for them them to keep prices high then… if anything they would be begging sellers to lower prices so they can make a quick sale. Properties you described are likely owned outright or in a situation where there doesn’t need to be a sale, they are fishing

Exactly the case as far as owned outright and fishing goes. I know that for a fact on a few of them.
I think perhaps the realtors know the place is owned outright and know its listed way high but are just figuring same as the seller that the right sucker might come along and figures, screw it, Ill take the listing, maybe get lucky. Listings are the easy money after all.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Exactly the case as far as owned outright and fishing goes. I know that for a fact on a few of them.
I think perhaps the realtors know the place is owned outright and know its listed way high but are just figuring same as the seller that the right sucker might come along and figures, screw it, Ill take the listing, maybe get lucky. Listings are the easy money after all.

Yep, especially if the seller isn’t expecting a fast sale, just take pics with your iPhone and let it ride haha.

 

[manitou1]

So a few other threads reminded me I havent updated this in awhile...so hear goes.
Long of it short, 2025 resulted in 3 trips to Wyoming.
1st: vacation/location scouting
2nd:house hunting, finacial preapproval and putting in offer, job interview.
3rd: drowning my sorrows of striking out on homes/jobs through a soggy antelope hunt with my Dad abd oldest son.

We really tried to make Lander home last few months. Liked it on vacation, alot. Looked at couple houses while passing through, kids loved the area, wife did to.
Got with a realtor, local lender, reached out to couple potential employers and flew back out a month after first vacation to go through few houses, sit down with potential employer and
lender. Ended up making what we felt was a very solid offer on a home that definitely didn't check all the boxes, but would work for sure and coukd afford it as a second home for few years if need be no problem.
Work was going to be no issue to find staying in same field. I could walk into any auto repair shop in the country and get a job. Had the offer gone through, that's what Id have done. Possibly at dealer I spoke with, possibly independent.
Offer on house did not go through, the counter was actually higher than initial asking because they dropped out the buyer agent commission...their math wasn't mathing and house needed ALOT of work and been listed near a year...they wouldn't budge, it's still on market. I refuse to overpay by what they are asking. The other house we really liked we didn't even offer on because asking and market value based on comp sales was so far off we figured we'd just insult them making reasonable offer. It lacked in storage and sq. footage as well...over $200k over priced. Its come down a touch since and changed selling agencies...still on market, been listed near a year. Just out to lunch on price.
Came to the conclusion most anything that stays on market out there is that way. People that dont NEED to sell and just hoping for the right sucker to cone along and overpay. If its priced reasonable/logically it goes fast.
Its hard to get a realtor to take you seriously when your from out of state apparently as well. Even if your preapproved, ready to spend a few grand to fly out for long weekend to tour houses and make offers and sign buyer agent agreement. I liked the realtor on the front side, no gripes other than after first offer didn't fly we pretty much got ghosted for 4 months then a random check in. I cant say that surprises me. Ive been in realestate, as has my wife, the good ones that are ontop of it and really trying to do it right are few and far between. Probably wont renew that buyer contract.
After the real estate bid didn't pan out I really got to thinking about the work side... There's no way in hell I could ever go back to a dealership environment. Staying in auto repair out there would just be trading misery for misery with a better view and more/different recreation opportunities...with alot lower pay. That just doesn't feel conducive to the plan of enjoying life more.

So the search continues. Trying to shift my gears a bit more towards finding myself career wise and figuring out how to lateral current skills/experience to something available out there that's NOT in the retail auto repair industry or requires dealing with the general public in any way.
On a side note, it appears that minus the crazy wind, Wyoming misplaced its weather in the midwest here lately. I gotta say, I like this colder stuff. rather deal with frozen ground than never ending mud, slush and overcast skies for 6 months out of the year we typically have here Nov-April. Im sure they cold will cone out there, but sure seems it's been mild fall/winter thus far.

Ill update this should anything substantial change in the coming months.

The mildest I’ve seen here in years.

Our nasty months are Jan through June. Snow, sleet, mud, rain, 65-85 mph winds, more snow, more freeze, then more mud, etc. Throw in some weeks of -30 temps with 60 mph winds and it can be maddening.

The real estate market here is what it is. You have Californians selling their 1100 sq ft, fifty year old ranch homes for $2.5 million and they come out here and compete with others… paying cash, and over asking price.

It is a rarity to see anybody negotiate down on price here.

Lastly, we now go back East to hunt. It has gotten so hard to draw a decent tag… and the race for public land animals is embarrassingly competitive, displaying the worst in human character.

I hope this makes you feel better. It is true.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

The further east you go, the worse they get. The mosquito is the state bird.

You've never been to the upper midwest (WI,MN,MI). They are not our state birds, yet our state pterodactyls.

WY is still cheaper than many areas of the west. If we sold our house right now near Seattle we could buy a bigger house on 10 times as much property in WY.