Housing and Misc in Rawlins (Casper: apartments, rentals, dorms)

[polarbear]

I'm thinking of accepting a job offer in Rawlins, WY and I was just wondering if I could get some help with housing and whatnot. I've been calling around to some of the apartments in town and can't seem to find many places that don't require year long leashes. I'd be there for at least 4 months and as long as I don't screwup on the job I'd probably spend another 2 years or so there. Any one have any leads that you could point me to? Also, there's not much info on what's available in town by way of services and whatnot. Is Bresnan the only service provider in town and how reliable are their services? I once used Bresnan and I would often get disconnected from the internet for no reason. Is there another market other than the City Market and how are prices? I have a Subaru that's still under warranty, would I have to go to Casper for tune ups or is there at least a service shop in town? What do people do for entertainment? Also, one of the Rawlins threads mentioned a higher cancer rate in that area, why?

Any help with these questions would be appreciated along with any other thoughts that you guys might have. Thanks in advance.

[polarbear]

A few more things. How's the fishing near Rawlins? I've read that there's decent walleye fishing in the nearby reservoirs, but what about trout? I saw that Seminoe Rd is marked as "other road" on my map, but I want to know if it's paved. How often do the roads near Rawlins close? I saw quite a few "Road closed if lights are flashing, turn back to..." signs all over Wyoming and I'd just like to know how often they actually close roads.

Again, thanks.

[Earniefan]

Just curious, where would you be moving from?

[polarbear]

Kalispell, MT

[laramiern]

I too am in a similiar situation. I'm heading there the 27th for 3 months (traveling nurse). I am a bit more fortunate though, they do have dormitory style housing for me. Don't really enjoy and never enjoyed it in college. Anyway once I get there, I'll scoop it out and let you know more info. I do know they have a 4 theater movie plaza. I think the only grocery store is City Market. They have an Alco (if you don't know what that is, it's like Pamida). I did hear that south of town the fishing is excellent. They also have a golf course. Like I said I'll check it out more and get back to you.

[JMay]

You wouldn't happen to be start working at the prison would you?

[polarbear]

JMay, no, the job offer isn't from the prison. I don't really want to say were the offer is from since I'm kind of seesawing on the decision whether or not to accept and move down there.


laramiern, thanks for the info. Hope the dorms are better than the ones from college.

[DessertRat]

I'm not so familiar with Rawlins, but to find out what businesses are in the area, just check on a site like yellowpages.com It lists more than one place to get groceries there. You can check it for apartments too. It lists Bitter Creek, Forrest Ridge, Mps Rentals, etc. Even if they normally require a year-long lease, it might be possible to explain your employment situation with the landlord and work something else out.

Also, contact your potential employer(s) and local (Rawlins) organizations like the Chamber of Commerce for more information. (Call them on the phone rather than emailing, as a lot of people just ignore email.) Don't be afraid to ask realtors or other folks at local businesses about short-term rentals and other info either. Some people may not be friendly or helpful when you contact them, but who cares? Just thank them for the time they gave you and contact someone else. Some folks will be friendly and helpful. Tell the realtor that if things work out for you there short term, you'll use them to find a more permanent home. You can find realtors and plenty of other info just by taking some time to do web searches. If you're not very experienced at that, search first for tips on doing web searches. When you're serious about something like this, you need to approach it just like you would a job.

As for the Internet and cable, get DirecTV or the Dish Network. You won't have any problems with that.

Higher cancer rates, if that's true (you should require research references from reliable academic sources to buy it), wouldn't be easy to pin on particular facts . . . it could very well just be a factor of chance.

[Earniefan]

polarbear - Had I had water in my mouth I would have spit it all over my keyboard when I read that you're considering moving from Kalispell to Rawlins. Are you nuts??!!! Sorry, I just don't have any other reaction to that, I can't imagine leaving a beautiful area like the one you live in to move to a place like Rawlins. Talk about a shock to the system, I would stay where you are or find a more suitable place to move to.

[polarbear]

Well, northern Montana gets kinda boring after 15 years, and the job offer in Rawlins is a career position and I'd move away again after a few years.