Evanston, WY- tell me about it!!!!

[jadednae]

I have lived in Evanston since 2002. I have found there are good people here, but like any small town, it has it's problems. I am disappointed in the school system, but as for life in general, it depends on who you associate with. I, personally, have not noticed this "little SLC" or "mormon run" perspective. I find most people here to be down-home friendly. The meth is a growing problem as it is in most places these days, crime I have had direct experience with and been very frustrated, there is not enough for teens to do and a general lack of supervision - not all parents, just several I have experienced! Not much different than other places except it is slower paced, laid back atmosphere, everything is accessible, convenient. Having lived in several states, I don't think the weather all that bad considering it is such a high elevation. It is BETTER than Casper or Rawlins for winter, nicer than UT in the summer, and generally not that bad to deal with. The housing is a problem lately, but they are building lots more! The cost of housing went sky high last year and has not come down. There is plenty of work here, hard to find general labor as it is hard to find an affordable place to live on minimum wages. If you are young and single, a bigger town is a better option. Now, with gas prices, it has become a much smaller "pond to fish in" LOL! So, in summary, life if what you make it and until you experience E-town for yourself, you won't know, depends on what you want in life. Good luck.

[apgc34]

My fiance and I are thinking of relocating to Evanston, Wyoming. We currently live in Kansas City - a big city that is exponentially growing by the day. The traffic is getting terrible, there is gunfire at least once a week in our neighborhood, there aren't may outdoor activities to do, and our weather sucks as well: today is close to 100% with 80% humidity and smog. The winter brings freezing temperatures, wind, more humidity for a nice, damp cold, and ice. I read all the posts on this thread and I actually think Evanston sounds like it might be an improvement. At least we would be able to see the stars again.

I am worried, though, about being able to find work. I just graduated from law school and am taking the bar exam next week. My fiance owns his own business doing ornamental iron work (basically making beautiful hand railings and iron accents in homes). We bought 35-acres in a new subdivision that's being created about 16 miles southeast of Evanston and want to build our dream home on it. We love the mountain views, the elk, moose, and bison roaming around in the government land surrounding the property...after reading these posts, its apparent I'm going to have to trade in my Corolla for something that can get around in the winter!

Does anyone have any advice on how to find work in the area for our skill sets? If there is a bit of a housing and land boom going on out there, what are all the people moving there doing for work?

Thanks!

[jadednae]

Yes, Evanston would be a big improvement over where you live now. The people moving here work in UT and commute, or work in the oilfield. They are building a new refinery in Opal and more wind turbines. But this will end soon and I expect many people will leave the area. Those from UT stay because it is cheaper to live here and do the hour commute. Presently, there is a housing shortage and long waiting lists on apartments, but they have been building many townhouses, apartments, and homes and something will open up eventually, but prices are high right now.
There are tons of minimum wage jobs and Walmart and the State Hospital hire a lot of the locals. In your field, I have no idea. We do have a job service, several law firms/lawyers you could contact from the yellow pages, and wyomingjobs.com may be helpful. Our local newspaper is www.unitacountyherald.com [2]
Yep, living that far out of town, a 4WD would be a good idea, and with gas prices they are cheaper now. They are really good about plowing in town, but we actually got 3 snow days that shut the town down last winter. Not so bad, eh? Good Luck!

[hrwy]

My family has been through Evanston many,many times traveling through. This is a very nice low key town. Their downtown is really cute! We have considered moving there before b/c we were so impressed!

[arizona sunset]

The drive from Evanston to SLC is when of the most beautiful drives!!! Put Rock Springs in with that. I think I would enjoy the morning commute down, rather than the evening commute up though. lol! In either case, Evanston seemed like a nice, quaint mountain town, that literally sits in the mountains! Or is it the side of a mountain? Very much western feeling, and the wind turbines in the distance were interesting to watch from afar. Not tons to do or see, but I think it would be a nice little town to maybe retire too. The people that I met where very friendly. The whole time though, both the locals and residents on the east side of the state, made it very clear that I should never venture into the city during the winter. I understand why, but the way they said it just made me think of huge town reliving scenes from the Shining over and over again!

[apgc34]

Thanks so much for the responses! It is interesting to know so many people work in Salt Lake! What is the average cost to rent and what the is average cost of buying a home? What caused the increase in home prices? I find that intriguing because everywhere else, prices have dropped!

[vic zander]

Looking for a good local attorney and accountant - we plan to open a business and will need office workers what is the going rate for bookkepper or office manager person