Calif. To Casper Wyoming (Sheridan, Cody: house, good schools, income)

[transplant951]

I'm Moving For Work Related Reasons But Also Need To Save My Life.
So. Cal Has Come To An End For Me, I've Lived Here All My Life And It's Way To Over Booked.
I Finally Found A Good Job With Beney's.casper I Beleive Is The Spot For My Family. Kid's 19 And 14 Really Don't Care Where They Lay Their Heads, So They Made Their Dad's Job A Little Easier. So The Questions Are This. Are There Plenty Of Horse's For My Daughter, And Hockey Team's For My Son, And For The Love Of My Life, My Wife Needs Good Schools And A Quality Health Care System, I. E Emergency Care.
And For Me. To Smell Fresh Cut Grass, Fish,dirt Bike Ride And Not Spend Every Dime I Make Just To Live, Small Church And That Little Ma And Pop Dinner. I Know I'll Be Leaving Sunny Weather And Smog, But Please Tell Me That You Don't Get Very Much Snow.

[jdavid93225]

Well, I don't live in Wyoming (yet), but I've heard nothing but good things about schools all around the state. Since much of their funding is tied to the extractive industries (gas, oil, and coal extraction), they are very well funded.

Wyoming is the "Cowboy" state, and as such, should afford many opportunities for your daughter to be around horses to her heart's content.

I can't say much about hockey for your son, though. I imagine that if you can play hockey anywhere in Wyoming, Casper's about as likely a place as any. I would be pretty surprised if you can't find a place for him to play hockey.

As for medical care, I'm certain that Casper has that covered. It is one of the two largest cities in Wyoming, with a population around 50,000. I haven't heard anything specifically about Casper, but I've heard good things about many of the smaller cities and towns in Wyoming, and most of what I've heard is very good. I don't think you would have anything to worry about in that regard.

As for your desires, there are lots of outdoor activities to enjoy in Wyoming, depending upon your willingness to contend with the weather. Summer is gorgeous in Wyoming, but can be pretty short sometimes. For dirt bike riding and fishing, you should be able to enjoy those activities for at least half the year. As for the small church and the mom-and-pop diner, you can find these things all over Wyoming, and Casper's no exception.

The weather is probably the biggest area of concern that you will have. The winters can be long and brutal, especially compared to SoCal. Wyoming is also known to be very windy. The wind there will not be warm like the Santa Anas in SoCal. The amount of snow can also vary from year to year, but isn't usually much of a problem, except in snowdrifts, because the wind blows most of it to Nebraska.

Well this is my take on the questions you asked, but not being a Casper local, I think that there will be others that can answer your questions better than I did. Most of my info comes from what I've read from others on this forum, and from my own experiences in Wyoming when I've traveled there. Now I'll let someone else have their turn.

[AMCental Mortgage]

hi me and my husband moved here 6 yrs ago john is from cal we love it next week starts in house hockey so call the casper ice rink 235-8484. travel is just starting what age are your kids mine are 8 and 11 brennin is the travel peewee goalie welcome to casper

[molon labe]

You'll definitely enjoy Casper! People who live in places like Sheridan and Cody don't seem to think it's all that (if you spend a little time in one of those two places you'll see why), but coming from SoCal you'll fall in love with the place. The Platte's beautiful, Casper Mountain provides some very close-by recreation, their economy is good, and there's still quite a bit of land available outside town.

[ElkHunter]

Just wanted to clarify something somebody said. They said that schools are funded from extractive funding of "oil, coal, methane, etc...". They are not. Those industries give nothing to the schools. Schools are funded elsewhere. But they are well funded and don't lack for much.

[Engineer88]

jgussler, Wyoming schools are in fact funded indirectly by extractive industries - taxation. If you're from Sheridan, you will probably recall voting last year on a state constitutional amendment which allows the state to receive excess property taxes from mineral-rich counties and distribute it to those counties less blessed with mineral resources.

Implementation of the amendment is still in the works. You can read about it here:

Bankers oppose schools bill (http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/10/11/news/wyoming/78807db392d7ec9f8725736f0082ed40.txt - broken link)

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Engineer88

jgussler, Wyoming schools are in fact funded indirectly by extractive industries - taxation. If you're from Sheridan, you will probably recall voting last year on a state constitutional amendment which allows the state to receive excess property taxes from mineral-rich counties and distribute it to those counties less blessed with mineral resources.

Implementation of the amendment is still in the works. You can read about it here:

Bankers oppose schools bill (http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/10/11/news/wyoming/78807db392d7ec9f8725736f0082ed40.txt - broken link)

Maybe the state is just forgetting to put it on my Property tax statement. Which I highly doubt. Also, there is no State Income tax so it can't come from there.

I'll see if I can find the "Schools Act of 1920" when they set aside 55% of the state land to run the schools. That releaves the home owner.

But yes, there is residual money coming out of the energy business for the schools. But not the people.

[Engineer88]

Originally Posted by jgussler

Maybe the state is just forgetting to put it on my Property tax statement. Which I highly doubt. Also, there is no State Income tax so it can't come from there.

I'll see if I can find the "Schools Act of 1920" when they set aside 55% of the state land to run the schools. That releaves the home owner.

But yes, there is residual money coming out of the energy business for the schools. But not the people.

Counties tax the mines/wells through property taxes. The state constitutional amendment which passed last year allows the state to collect excess property taxes from specific mineral rich counties - five of them I believe, including Campbell - and distribute those monies to other counties, including Sheridan and Johnson, for school funding. The link I included with my previous post was about the fight over how the amendment is being implemented.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Engineer88

Counties tax the mines/wells through property taxes. The state constitutional amendment which passed last year allows the state to collect excess property taxes from specific mineral rich counties - five of them I believe, including Campbell - and distribute those monies to other counties, including Sheridan and Johnson, for school funding. The link I included with my previous post was about the fight over how the amendment is being implemented.

I missed that one cause it didn't effect us yet. I stand corrected.

[The Man Room]

You wouldn't like it here. The wind blows in excess of 60 MPH more often than hurricanes hit the gulf coast. Often for days on end. One can expect temperatures to drop to 10-30 below zero any time between October and March. Snowfall while these winds are blowing can create blinding blizzards that will cease travel for long periods on all roads, including our major interstates (I25 and I80.) Blizzards often are worst in early spring. Oil, Gas, Coal and Ranching is big business in Wyoming. This is definetely Blue Collar Country, no big city events or attitudes.