Yellowstone maybe? (Casper, Sheridan, Riverton: real estate, living in, price)

[calicocutie]

I've posted on the General U. S. thread and didn't receive any replies so I'm trying here and also MT and ID. We are looking into moving to one of those states near to Yellowstone Nat'l Park. We are hoping to find a small(2500 or so) town that is friendly and safe. If it had a good bookstore or library that would be a plus. One with an old-fashioned Main St. would be nice, too. Cold weather and snow don't bother us--we love it! Being near(one hour or so) to a Va hospital would be good. We also like to volunteer in our community--currently we do volunteer for the Red Cross and also at our local hospital. If anyone could recommend such a place that meets our criteria that would be great. Thank you in advance I hope our want list isn't too unrealistic.

[calicocutie]

Let's go as high as 5000 people. Any higher and you get lost in the crowd.

[jdavid93225]

Though I've been to that part of Wyoming, as well as the neighboring parts of Idaho and Montana, I can't give many recommendations for places to live that meet your criteria. I was thinking about suggesting Cody or the surrounding towns. A search of the forum should turn up some info on that area. Cody itself is probably too big for your criteria, though, so you'd want one of the surrounding towns. Many of the towns in Wyoming have old-fashioned main streets. Check out the links below to view webcams of some of these towns.

Other areas to check out would be the Star Valley/Alpine area on the Wyoming/Idaho border. You can also check out Ashton, Idaho. Another place I've been that would probably be worth checking out is Red Lodge, Montana.

Billings, Montana is only about 50 miles from Red Lodge, and is the most likely place to find a VA hospital in the area. There may be one in Idaho Falls or Pocatello, Idaho, which are not too far from Ashton. As for Cody, I don't know if there is one there, but I doubt it. It's possible that there's one in Casper, but I don't know. If not, Billings would be the next likely place.

I can't comment on Bookstores or Libraries, though, since I haven't been to any of them in the places I've mentioned. I mentioned the places I did primarily because of their proximity to Yellowstone National Park. There are a few other places that are also close to the park, but I have never visited them, so I can't really comment about them. Good luck in your search.

I hope that this information is at least a little bit helpful to you.

Here are the webcam links:

Wyoming Weather Cams, north dakota, colorado, montana, south dakota, weather forecasts,weather instruments, wind, snow, mountains, pictures, cameras (this one also has links to other states)
Wyoming Department of Transportation Travel Information Service - Web Cameras (this site has webcam images in some of Wyoming's small towns)

[Wyomiles]

May I ask why you need to be near Yellowstone ? There are lots of nice small towns in Wyoming a bit further from Yellowstone.

[calicocutie]

I guess I should have been clearer on the proximity to Yellowstone. I certainly don't want to walk out my front door and be in the park, but close to me is a couple of hours away. I haven't had time to check out the places mentioned so I don't know just how close they are to Yellowstone. I guess my main concern would be to be near a VA hospital. Thanks for your replies.

[jazzlover]

There is a VA hospital in Sheridan, Wyoming. I really like Sheridan as a town, though the real estate there is getting somewhat pricey. It's somewhat of a drive to Yellowstone, but the drive over the Big Horns on the way is spectacular in its own right. Sheridan is also only about 2 hours from Billings, Montana, if one needs the "amenities" of a bigger city.

Thermopolis, Worland, Powell, Lovell, Lander, Riverton, or Cody might also be possibilities, but no VA nearby. Greybull might also be nice, but may be smaller than what you want.

[MRVphotog]

The only place that meets your preferences, sort of, is the Montana VA in Ft Harrison.
Facilities in Montana - Facilities Locator & Directory

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

There is a VA hospital in Sheridan, Wyoming. I really like Sheridan as a town, though the real estate there is getting somewhat pricey. It's somewhat of a drive to Yellowstone, but the drive over the Big Horns on the way is spectacular in its own right. Sheridan is also only about 2 hours from Billings, Montana, if one needs the "amenities" of a bigger city.

Thermopolis, Worland, Powell, Lovell, Lander, Riverton, or Cody might also be possibilities, but no VA nearby. Greybull might also be nice, but may be smaller than what you want.

With the VA hospital in Sheridan, I think this should be the area to investigate. Both Sheridan and Buffalo are bigger than what you are looking for, but you can look at some of the other smaller communities that are within a short driving distance of Yellowstone. Some suggestions would be Kaycee, Greybull (mentioned above), Banner, Story, or Tensleep. Most of these places are located between Yellowstone and Sheridan. These places appear on most maps of Wyoming, so they should be pretty easy to find. There are also some other small towns in the same areas, as well as a couple bigger ones, like Worland and Basin.


After following MRVPhotog's link, it appears there isn't really any other VA hospital close to Yellowstone, with the possible exception of Ft. Harrison, MT (several hours to the north). If choosing to be close to this facility, you'd want to look in Montana, probably somewhere between Bozeman and Deer Lodge, or to the south near Dillon or Ennis. I think (from looking on the map) that these areas would be well located between Yellowstone to the South, and the Ft. Harrison VA facility to the north (near Helena).

[jazzlover]

If you are concerned about being able to get to the VA Hospital readily when you need it, living in Sheridan, Buffalo, or Kaycee (Kaycee is VERY small, though) would probably be preferable to towns in the Big Horn Basin--even though Sheridan and Buffalo are some distance from Yellowstone. Though the Big Horn Basin is not that far from Sheridan, the routes between the basin and Sheridan are over the Big Horn Mountains. That drive can often be a dicey proposition in winter. Also, the Sheridan/Buffalo area gets a little more precipitation and is somewhat greener than the Big Horn Basin. Just some food for thought . . .

[calicocutie]

Thanks to all who replied. I will check into these locations. we wouldn't be making the move for a couple of years yet, but we feel it's good to check out areas well in advance to get the right perspective. This forum is great because you can hear from people who live in the area rather than just googling a place and taking what it says as truth. Thanks, again.