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Hi all. I live in Alaska and love it here. However, I feel like it costs a lot of time and money to get to visit my family. I just wish I could see my grown kids on long weekends--something so much more possible if I were living in the lower 48, where plane tickets are cheap and drives are shorter.
I was thinking of moving to Cody or some other town in Wyoming when my contract up here expires. I saw a job opening in my field in Cody, and was shocked to see similar wages and a much lower cost of living. Is there anyone here who moved from Alaska to Wyoming? Did you like it? I keep reading warnings about the weather, but every time I've checked, it's been colder and windier locally (Palmer gets some crazy wind), and I'm sure it's darker. It seems like Wyoming gets more blizzards, though I'm assuming they plow the town streets vigorously like we do up here, and that people watch the weather before traveling on lonely roads between towns. I have a Toyota Corolla with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 tires--would that work if my job had me driving between towns? I mostly drive between Palmer and Wasilla in the winter, with occasional trips to Anchorage, so I know about driving in snow, but that's all pretty flat, urban driving.
Anyway . . . it's just something I'm considering. It seems like I could afford to buy a house in Wyoming, whereas here between kids in college and the high cost of living, that doesn't seem as possible. . .
Blizzards. The Southern end of the state gets far more Blizzard condition storms. Cheyenne, Laramie seem to get more then the rest, however, Rock Springs to Evanston holds a close second.
Cody is a decent enough town and located in a very pretty area. Blizzard Conditions are a lot less frequent. Sheridan, Buffalo, get very few, but you will find the cost of living in Sheridan, a little higher.
There are a lot of absolutely beautiful areas in Wyoming, but like anywhere else, there is always a hitch. The pretty areas are going to cost more, even though they don't have the jobs to support it.
Hi all. I live in Alaska and love it here. However, I feel like it costs a lot of time and money to get to visit my family. I just wish I could see my grown kids on long weekends--something so much more possible if I were living in the lower 48, where plane tickets are cheap and drives are shorter.
I was thinking of moving to Cody or some other town in Wyoming when my contract up here expires. I saw a job opening in my field in Cody, and was shocked to see similar wages and a much lower cost of living. Is there anyone here who moved from Alaska to Wyoming? Did you like it? I keep reading warnings about the weather, but every time I've checked, it's been colder and windier locally (Palmer gets some crazy wind), and I'm sure it's darker. It seems like Wyoming gets more blizzards, though I'm assuming they plow the town streets vigorously like we do up here, and that people watch the weather before traveling on lonely roads between towns. I have a Toyota Corolla with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 tires--would that work if my job had me driving between towns? I mostly drive between Palmer and Wasilla in the winter, with occasional trips to Anchorage, so I know about driving in snow, but that's all pretty flat, urban driving.
Anyway . . . it's just something I'm considering. It seems like I could afford to buy a house in Wyoming, whereas here between kids in college and the high cost of living, that doesn't seem as possible. . .
Any info greatly appreciated.
The wife and I have travelled extensively in Wyoming, although we are NOT natives and have never visited Alaska. Elkhunter can give a lot more info on the area. Wyoming is not going to be colder than Alaska, but it may be a lot windier at times--and I mean WINDY--as in overturning 18-wheel vehicles occasionally.
There are plenty of roads that sometimes get closed in Wyoming in the winter--even the interstates--- mostly not because of the amount of snow, but for the whiteout conditions caused by the high winds. If travelling through Wyoming in the winter, make sure you have blankets, food, water, and my favorite cold winter emergency package-- Little Hotties hand warmers! You can put'em in your boots, too!
Cody seems like a terrific little town, and although expensive for folks like us living in Dallas, it would be very inexpensive for someone coming from Alaska, mostly because virtually all your consumables must be shipped into Alaska. However, realize that Cody is 1 1/2 - 2 hrs away from the nearest freeway, and all that travel is over two lane roads. Folks living in Wyoming think nothing of driving a hundred miles to do major shopping, or go to a dentist, or a myriad of other things they need to do and can't find in a small town like Cody or even Sheridan. The largest two cities in the whole state are Casper and Cheyenne and they run 55,000 to 60,000 people. Trips to Billings, Montana in the north, or Ft. Collins, Colorado in the south are not uncommon.
And the nice thing about Wyoming for you is that, just like Alaska, it has no state income tax!
We have a regular to this board who just recently moved from Alaska to Cody, I believe with a short stop between.
I was in much your situation 42 years ago -- happy in Anchorage, but it seemed it was going to take all our savings to make a trip back to the lower 48 once a year so the grandparents could see their new grandkids. I was offered a job in Gillette but turned it down, then took a job in Iowa for a few months. Come early spring I went fishing -- ugh. I couldn't see the bottom unless the water was less than 2 inches deep. About that time I got a call back from Gillette. The pot was sweetened for the job. I jumped on it.
There have been times I've missed Alaska. Many times. I've thought of moving back a few times. But I've been here nearly 42 years now and won't be moving anywhere north. I've taken a couple Alaska vacations and will likely take another couple, but that's enough.
Anchorage has gotten WAAAAAAY too cosmo since I left in 1970. I much prefer the less dense population of Wyoming. I also like the sun in the winter. It makes it feel MUCH warmer! I do miss the midnight sun, but other than that Wyoming offers much of what Alaska does without the isolation factor.
Gillette is on the high plains of NE Wyoming. The elevation and winds aren't as high here as they get in southern Wyoming, but compared to Anchorage the winds are horrible! Still, we might get a couple "blizzards" each winter. If we're lucky they're bad enough that we're snowed in for a day.
When I got my second offer for the job in Gillette, I was given my choice of a couple other places in Wyoming, one of them being Cody. I considered it seriously but decided against it because of the tourism aspect. I'm not sorry I picked Gillette, but tourism isn't as bad in Cody as I thought it would be. I became a partner/vp in a couple Cody businesses and made quite a few trips there over the years. It's a nice town -- one of the nicer towns in Wyoming. My guess is that you'd like it.
We live in Meadow Lakes and prior to that in the bush just south of Tok. Been in Ak 47yrs and will hopefully be moving to the greater Cody area in late May (we will be trailering our horses, so we want to make sure the Alcan is good through Canada). The long dark winters, the wet cloudy skies of summer and population boom in the MatSu, has finally taken its toll on us. We look forward to the 300 sunny days and "short" winter and scattered small towns.
Don't let the horror tales of the wind in Wyoming get to you, they haven't driven Tok thru Delta heading to Fairbanks at -45f and winds gusting over 80mph with windchill in the -100 range, vis down to 100ft (maybe)......and dodging moose and buffalo at the same time!
Even though Wyoming(apprx 93,000sqmi) is 5 1/2 times smaller than Ak (563,000sqmi) with the population being apprx 660,000Ak vs 530,000(est)Wy, you CAN DRIVE to places! We certainly can't do that here in Ak.
Hi all. I live in Alaska and love it here. However, I feel like it costs a lot of time and money to get to visit my family. I just wish I could see my grown kids on long weekends--something so much more possible if I were living in the lower 48, where plane tickets are cheap and drives are shorter.
I was thinking of moving to Cody or some other town in Wyoming when my contract up here expires. I saw a job opening in my field in Cody, and was shocked to see similar wages and a much lower cost of living. Is there anyone here who moved from Alaska to Wyoming? Did you like it? I keep reading warnings about the weather, but every time I've checked, it's been colder and windier locally (Palmer gets some crazy wind), and I'm sure it's darker. It seems like Wyoming gets more blizzards, though I'm assuming they plow the town streets vigorously like we do up here, and that people watch the weather before traveling on lonely roads between towns. I have a Toyota Corolla with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 tires--would that work if my job had me driving between towns? I mostly drive between Palmer and Wasilla in the winter, with occasional trips to Anchorage, so I know about driving in snow, but that's all pretty flat, urban driving.
Anyway . . . it's just something I'm considering. It seems like I could afford to buy a house in Wyoming, whereas here between kids in college and the high cost of living, that doesn't seem as possible. . .
Any info greatly appreciated.
Hi. I lived in Juneau and now live in Cody.
Cody is a small town of about 9500 or so, and is at an elevation of just over 5000 feet. It is located in a large basin and is surrounded by mountains. The Shoshone National Forest (which is gorgeous) is not far outside of town and leads directly to Yellowstone National Park which is about 52 miles away.
The town depends greatly on tourism and is busy through the summer, but is almost dead through the winter. A good number of stores close for the winter. There is a Wal-mart and K-mart, a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Subway, Wendys. I think that's about it for chain stores and restaurants. The rest are all mom and pop small businesses. If shopping and eating out are priorities for you the pickings are honestly pretty slim here.
People are very quiet here, life is very quiet here, folks are predominantly very conservative. They (generally) believe in small government, gun rights, like their privacy. They are good people for the most part.
Schools here are clean and safe and have a good reputation. There is an awesome public recreation center as well as a public arena.
During the summer there are rodeos every night of the week, the street beside the Irma Hotel is closed off for "gun fights" for the tourists. Also during the summer they have weekly concerts in one of the downtown parks and there are many other special events throughout the summer, and less but still regular special events through the rest of the year.
Outdoor recreation is phenominal - a small public ski place about 45 miles outside of town, trails and mountains to explore everywhere, hunting, fishing, boating, wild animals to view (elk, big horn sheep, mule deer, black bear and grizzly bear, mountain lions, antelope - we have all of those and the herd animals come down out of the mountains through the winter and graze often beside the road heading out towards Yellowstone. Thousands of acres of BLM public lands. If you like outdoor stuff there is much to do here.
Towns are all small in Wyoming and separated by very long distances. Just over 500,000 people in the entire state. The wind can be strong. Sometimes very strong. Homes prices (by my Tennessee standards) are high. The lousy economy has only just begun to (barely) impact home prices, but they are very slowly beginning to drop (again just barely, but drop none-the-less).
We like it here very much. Clean town - solid infrastructure - no "ghettos" in the typical sense of the word to speak of.
Thank you, everyone, for all the information! So is it constantly windy most places in Wyoming, or sporadically windy? Here in Palmer, we get some extreme wind. Last week we had to evacuate several houses because of a fire caused by power lines that were knocked down. Gusts were to 80mph, and the regular wind was 25-50 mph. After driving by a traffic signal that had fallen to the ground, I had to admit, many parts of the country would have closed up shop for that kind of wind, but here it was just Thursday. On the other hand, there isn't any wind at all today, and being constantly windy would be a different issue from really windy about 25% of the time.
TruHivernant--you hit the nail on the head about being able to drive places from Wyoming. I'm thinking it's the state that has the advantages of Alaska (rugged beauty, not too many people, no income tax, fishing) but not so isolated. I would love to be able to fly my college age kids in for long weekends, or even just Thanksgiving. Living up here, that's not possible, and it seems like any trip I plan gets expensive because airfare is so high.
Cody is a small town of about 9500 or so, and is at an elevation of just over 5000 feet. It is located in a large basin and is surrounded by mountains. The Shoshone National Forest (which is gorgeous) is not far outside of town and leads directly to Yellowstone National Park which is about 52 miles away.
The town depends greatly on tourism and is busy through the summer, but is almost dead through the winter. A good number of stores close for the winter. There is a Wal-mart and K-mart, a Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Subway, Wendys. I think that's about it for chain stores and restaurants. The rest are all mom and pop small businesses. If shopping and eating out are priorities for you the pickings are honestly pretty slim here.
People are very quiet here, life is very quiet here, folks are predominantly very conservative. They (generally) believe in small government, gun rights, like their privacy. They are good people for the most part.
Schools here are clean and safe and have a good reputation. There is an awesome public recreation center as well as a public arena.
During the summer there are rodeos every night of the week, the street beside the Irma Hotel is closed off for "gun fights" for the tourists. Also during the summer they have weekly concerts in one of the downtown parks and there are many other special events throughout the summer, and less but still regular special events through the rest of the year.
Outdoor recreation is phenominal - a small public ski place about 45 miles outside of town, trails and mountains to explore everywhere, hunting, fishing, boating, wild animals to view (elk, big horn sheep, mule deer, black bear and grizzly bear, mountain lions, antelope - we have all of those and the herd animals come down out of the mountains through the winter and graze often beside the road heading out towards Yellowstone. Thousands of acres of BLM public lands. If you like outdoor stuff there is much to do here.
Towns are all small in Wyoming and separated by very long distances. Just over 500,000 people in the entire state. The wind can be strong. Sometimes very strong. Homes prices (by my Tennessee standards) are high. The lousy economy has only just begun to (barely) impact home prices, but they are very slowly beginning to drop (again just barely, but drop none-the-less).
We like it here very much. Clean town - solid infrastructure - no "ghettos" in the typical sense of the word to speak of.
Just wanted to add a thank you for all this information. I really value outdoor activities (you'd never guess it by looking at me--I'm chubby and middle aged, but I love to fish and/or tend a campfire). One thing I absolutely love living in Palmer is the scenery--fabulous, million dollar views of the mountains right from my kitchen window. The appeal of Cody over the rest of Wyoming for me was the closeness of Yellowstone. I looked into Jackson, but I couldn't afford to live there on my salary (I'm a speech therapist. I could work in a school, a nursing home, a hospital, a clinic--lots of opportunities, but none would make Jackson affordable, and I wouldn't want a 30+ minute commute from another town.
So is it constantly windy most places in Wyoming...?
Nope. Sometimes it stops. And we all fall over.
Okay, seriously... no, it's not always windy. In fact, Cody and Palmer are pretty close in their wind speed averages, 7.0 mph vs. 7.4 mph. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/westwind.final.html (I see from this that Anchorage is about the same. I guess memories play tricks on us, because I don't recall much wind at all in Anchorage.)
Please be aware, since you've mentioned cheap airline fares a couple times, that fares from small airports are NOT cheap. While Cody is served by commuter lines, to get cheap fares you'd probably drive to Billings, MT, and even there it's not as cheap as from metro airports. We don't fly commercially much, but when we do (from Gillette), it often costs us more to get to Denver (350 miles) than from there to anywhere else in the country. We'll often check fares from Denver, Billings, Rapid City, Casper and Gillette, then look at the time and total expenses (hotel room, car expense, parking, etc) before we decide.
Okay, seriously... no, it's not always windy. In fact, Cody and Palmer are pretty close in their wind speed averages, 7.0 mph vs. 7.4 mph. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/westwind.final.html (I see from this that Anchorage is about the same. I guess memories play tricks on us, because I don't recall much wind at all in Anchorage.)
Please be aware, since you've mentioned cheap airline fares a couple times, that fares from small airports are NOT cheap. While Cody is served by commuter lines, to get cheap fares you'd probably drive to Billings, MT, and even there it's not as cheap as from metro airports. We don't fly commercially much, but when we do (from Gillette), it often costs us more to get to Denver (350 miles) than from there to anywhere else in the country. We'll often check fares from Denver, Billings, Rapid City, Casper and Gillette, then look at the time and total expenses (hotel room, car expense, parking, etc) before we decide.
You can check for yourself online.
Thank you. When I was thinking of cheap airfare, I was looking at the drive from Cheyenne to Denver (I'm looking at all of Wyoming--Cody is appealing because it seems like Palmer to me.) Billings, Denver, wherever--it would be cheaper than flying to or from Anchorage at high season. Our Christmas tickets to Vegas--which should be cheap because Vegas is a common destination--were $1400 per person. It was cheaper to send my son to Japan than for me to get home for Christmas.
Interesting on those windspeeds. I guess perception isn't always reality--it seems so windy here, though of course, it's rarely 7 mph winds. It's either not windy at all, or really, really windy. I think Anchorage seems less windy, too, though maybe it's just more constantly mildly windy than one extreme or the other.
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Don't live there, but---
