Can someone please describe Torrington, WY? (Cheyenne, Laramie: sale, crime rate, houses)

[orianak]

My family is planning on moving to Torrington in spring/ early summer. Can anyone tell me anything about it? From what I've gathered it's a small town, quiet....that's all I know. My husband and I have a 4 year old daughter, is there stuff for kids to do? (Parks, kid friendly museums, theaters, etc)
I read that a new prison was just built there....how is that affecting things overall? What's the crime rate like? Is is really a good place to live?
Any feed back would be really appreciated! Thank you!

[branDcalf]

I lived there for 22 mos. and a daughter lived there for more than 2 years.

The primary businesses are the prison, school/college, hospital, sale barn and feedlots, and the sugar beet plant. The cattle and beet plant add distinct aromas to the town. It bothers some people, but not others. Crime has not increased with the opening of the prison, to my knowledge, but there is some crime. There is a movie theater, a historical museum, nice parks (one with a pool). School is important, as are school and the junior college's sports.

It's about 80 miles north of Cheyenne, WY and 35 miles west of Scottsbluff, NE (where there is a zoo!). One of the local groceries has a fantastic meat department and makes the best darn bacon on the planet, IMO.

Torrington has a really good county fair. It gets more rain and has better soil for gardening than many other parts of Wyoming.

You are relatively close to the Black Hills and a couple resevoirs in the neighboring county also provide opportunities for recreation.

[jody_wy]

they have a really good sports program beating SV out of a few football and basket ball championships... but we kick thier butt in wrestling.....

[sunsprit]

If you are concerned about climate details, this is in a windy prairie area that is also a "hail belt" locale.

IMO, Torrington housing is better sited on the SE side of town in the foothills area where you can take advantage of the topography for more wind protection on acreage parcels instead of lots in town.

[sixofone]

Originally Posted by orianak

My family is planning on moving to Torrington in spring/ early summer. Can anyone tell me anything about it? From what I've gathered it's a small town, quiet....that's all I know. My husband and I have a 4 year old daughter, is there stuff for kids to do? (Parks, kid friendly museums, theaters, etc)
I read that a new prison was just built there....how is that affecting things overall? What's the crime rate like? Is is really a good place to live?
Any feed back would be really appreciated! Thank you!

BranDcalf gives a good description, but I'll try to add my 2 cents worth.

1. Things for kids-- There are the usual kids sports' leagues (e.g., baseball softball, soccer, etc.), plus a summer competitive swim team. There's also rodeo-related kids' sports out at the Pavilion, starting with ranch rodeo and mutton busting for the little ones. The labrary has an active "story-time" program for the kids as well. For the artistic there is a dance troupe and a Little Theatre group, each of which puts on several shows a year. Complete details on all activities are available from the Goshen County Recreation Office, located down-town on 21st Ave between Main and "A".

2. Crime-- I was concerned when the prison opened, but so far things seem to be going quite well. The Torrington Telegram publishes the entire weekly police blotter and the "crimes" are generally so minor that they wouldn't be noticed in most cities (mostly speeding tickets). The worst crime I recall last year was a burglary that had the whole town abuzz. Turns out two kids broke into their teacher's home and took 4 Denver Broncos tickets and a jar of loose change. They were soon caught.

Chief Janes also took a lot of kidding when his officers caught a would-be burglar in the act and then took their eyes off the hand-cuffed prisoner long enough to let him flee. The escapee was re-apprehended days later and charged with (among other things) stealing the city's hand-cuffs.

Overall, most houses are still unlocked at night, and on cold days it's common to see cars parked with the engine still running while the owner shops. I've never heard of one of these cars being stolen.

3. Weather-- Sunsprit is right about the wind, although it's not nearly as windy here as in Cheyenne. It's just something you get used to. As for the hail, for some reason it seems to skirt us and hit over in Lingle or Veteran. I haven't seen anything larger than quarter-sized in town, and that was only a couple of times.

4. Schools (though you didn't ask)-- New buildings for elementary and middle schools, plus very small class sizes with 11:1 Student:teacher ratios. Lincoln Elementary is on probation for low test scores, but with such small classes it only takes a few low scorers to bring the rest down.

To give you a hint of school sizes, there are 3 high schools in Goshen County -- Torrington High is the "big" school (375 kids in grades 9-12) While Southeast High and Lingle-Ft Laramie High have less than 100 students each. The middle and elementary schools are proportionately sized. If your daughter is even a little athletic, you can look forward to watching her play year-round.


Welcome to Torrington!!

[jody_wy]

Platte County 4-H , has a good trap team for shooting sports too