Teachers looking to relocate (Buffalo: place to live, money, area)

[sunsprit]

Wyoming_Medic nails it again.

This is what I've been saying on this forum for years ... and taken to task for so many times by so many folk who have this disneyized perception of what awaits in WY. They've set themselves up for failure before they've ever moved here. The dreams rarely match the realities of life/economics/entertainment/shopping/housing here.

Most of Wyoming is an acquired taste. The economics, recreation opportunities, and aspects of survival here are far removed from what most of the USA experiences, especially riparian area states at lower elevations where higher population densities justify the shopping, medical, services, entertainment, pro sports, ready access to so many goods and services that folk "take for granted" as normal aspects of living. Being out there "in the sticks" of rural areas is cheaper because it's remote from the cities ... as opposed to living in WY where "rural" is frequently far more expensive because of it's remoteness to the economic density activity.

Cheyenne is but a prime example of this situation. It's all about finding the balance of wants/needs and compromises that are acceptable to the newcomer. And it's why so much of Wyoming sees the "two and gone" syndrome of folk moving here ... the realities of climate, wind, water, soil, entertainment, shopping, access to needed services, restaurants, housing, and all the minutiae of life are so very different than what folk "assume" will be here based upon their experiences living somewhere else.

Had it not been for the need to have ready access to the Front Range of Colorado where most of my 5-state manufacturer's rep product line territory sales were located in combination with finding an affordable ranch/farm with good water rights in the Cheyenne area ... I'd not have moved here. That, coupled with the need to have access to my Colorado mountain rental properties for maintenance & prop management which was a substantial portion of my income as I approached retirement years. Otherwise, I'd have been in the Buffalo/Sheridan/Powell area in a heartbeat ... even if it had cost me more to move there at the time. Or the Star Valley area. Or Lander. Or in the Black Hills area. But even with my own aircraft, these locales were simply too remote for my needs at the time I bought here ... decades later, the parameters have changed. With winding down my rep biz and starting to cash out my Colorado rental properties for passive investments ... other locales in Wyoming would meet my fancy a lot better. But we're here, it's paid for, and we like it. Wouldn't move again unless it was to a farm/ranch in one of our preferred WY locales ... as long as we have our health and ability to run this place or another like it, we're here for the duration. I've got neighbors that are still farming into their 90's ... a good role model for us. Time will tell.

[zachw56]

Thank you everyone for the informative answers. I'm definitely thinking Wyoming is not for us. This has been really helpful. I'll keep doing research, and do some pondering but yeah the comments have been pretty eye-opening. Thanks for your help.




Zach

[AlisonA]

Sunsprit, you are right-on regarding the food quality and choices. It's forced me to become a MUCH better cook, and my husband to grow much of our own vegetables and herbs in the greenhouse. We would honestly rather eat at home and wash our dishes than go to even the "best" restaurants in town. More than anything, I miss high quality sea food

Also, we've talked to approximately 10 people over the past few years who moved to the Sheridan-Buffalo area with teaching degrees and varying years of experience. EVERY SINGLE ONE of them has complained that unless you know someone, you simply WILL NOT be hired as a teacher in these school districts. Another one of our friends is a teacher and was hired about four years after she arrived here. She confirms that this is absolutely true, and that she only got her job because she became friends with someone "inside" and that person put in a good word for her...for FOUR consecutive years till the district finally hired her. Mind you, they weren't giving the job to less qualified locals, either; they were just letting the position sit vacant.

Finally, the real estate situation... Sheridan and Buffalo are basically like closely-held corporations, with the local realtors and a few property owners holding all the stock. Rental and sale prices are kept artificially high because they just won't sell or rent unless you pay their outrageous prices. They can afford to let the property sit there while they wait you out.

I feel so sorry for those who move here, buy a house at that artificially high price (perhaps unaware that it's been sitting on the market for 3+ years), and then get transferred out and have to try to sell the place. They are either locked in to selling high due to their mortgage, or face losing all the equity they invested in order to get out from under the place. Honestly, there are houses listed here (and occasionally selling) that should be at least 30% lower in price. And all of them, with very rare exceptions, need serious updating and remodeling of their funky floor plans.

Now, I love Wyoming and love living here, but those are some of the realities one has to consider before moving here: don't come without a job or independent source of income; be prepared to struggle with the housing market; and be ready to cook your own food or live with very, very limited and low quality outside dining choices.

[Froggie Legs]

Originally Posted by jody_wy

but I bet there 20 or more applications for every opening.

At least. I think my aunt told me there were over 200 applicants for one position in Lander a couple years ago.

Guess I am lucky, as I've had 3 interviews in Wyoming. One in person, one phone, one Skype, but no job. I came in "second" on one of the positions, but honestly it is a challenge to get a job there. Now I'm employed and doing alright in my home state, but still have dreams of moving back to Wyoming some day.
Good luck!

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by zachw56

Hello everybody,


Excuse me if I sound "out of my element" or anything.


So I'm currently in my 3rd year of teaching special education in a low-income suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. I've lived in and around SLC for my entire life. I live with my wife and pets. She is currently working on a bachelors degree from WGU in elementary education. Basically, once she graduates, we'll both be teachers. As I've been teaching, I've been fed up with the situation in Utah. Our salaries aren't great compared to other states and I teach special education classes with 20+ kids and one with 25. If you didn't know 20 kids in a special ed resource class is pretty crazy. I feel slightly abused and we have a legislature that really doesn't support us. Basically, with us both going to be teachers we've been considering relocating to a state that supports teachers and provides a little better salaries. From what I understand, Wyoming is one of the best. In fact, with my masters degree I could get a 20k raise in Cheyenne right now. So basically that's where I need your help. If we move anywhere, we've zeroed in on Cheyenne though we've never been there. What's attracted us is the moderately sized population, (small is good but not TOO small), higher salaries, more schools and potentially more jobs, and closeness to bigger cities if we need more amenities. My wife and I are complete homebodies so we don't need tons of big city attractions though we would love local and Chain restaurants to eat at. Does Cheyenne have a selection of restaurants? Another question, is I know the winters are brutal. We wouldn't be outside much during the winter, but know they can be tough to handle. Does the wind and dryness make winter insanely worse than a Northern Utah winter? I'm almost positive we could handle it, though I'd like to know what you experts think. Part of every salt lake winter is disgusting pollution and inversion. We'd be so excited to escape that. Lastly, is there anything I should know about the school system? Is part of it too good to be true or is it really that much better? Or is there any other locations in Wyoming that you could recommend? I read that Wyoming has a 16 student limit per class. Is that still in effect? If so, that is UNHEARD OF in Utah. Utah general ed classes regularly have 40+ students. It's insane.



Tl;dr we want to move from SLC to Cheyenne to teach school. I'd get a 20k raise right away with smaller classes. Are there local/chain restaurants to choose from? Are winters really horrible compared to Utah? What else should I know about the school systems before pursuing? Are there other similarly sized towns in WY that might be a better fit?




Thanks so much for your help!

Be aware that Wyoming is very competitive. Many of the small towns are VERY clannish and will only hire people from there. I also found there to be little sense of community. It's every man for himself. The state is nice in that there are outdoor activities and the teacher salaries generally keep up with the cost of living. Best of luck to you!

[jody_wy]

Originally Posted by NDak15

Be aware that Wyoming is very competitive. Many of the small towns are VERY clannish and will only hire people from there. I also found there to be little sense of community. It's every man for himself. The state is nice in that there are outdoor activities and the teacher salaries generally keep up with the cost of living. Best of luck to you!

Gee you not in my community, Day after my son got killed . I had windrows of hay ready to bale on steep hill sides. When we got home late that day it was in my hay shed. There was more hay cut. Then the cards from around the State ... they filled 2 apple boxes.
I could go on about thing done in this community and around the State for one neighbors....

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by jody_wy

Gee you not in my community, Day after my son got killed . I had windrows of hay ready to bale on steep hill sides. When we got home late that day it was in my hay shed. There was more hay cut. Then the cards from around the State ... they filled 2 apple boxes.
I could go on about thing done in this community and around the State for one neighbors....

Sorry to hear about your son. My experience was quite different. I had a flood in my apartment while I was on vacation and had virtually no help moving things out, my landlords acted put upon when I asked to stay in a vacant apartment for two weeks before I moved, I had little help with my move, and when I tried to network around the state looking for jobs I had a lot of people outright refuse to help at all. Glad to hear your experience is better.

[Happy in Wyoming]

Originally Posted by NDak15

Sorry to hear about your son. My experience was quite different. I had a flood in my apartment while I was on vacation and had virtually no help moving things out, my landlords acted put upon when I asked to stay in a vacant apartment for two weeks before I moved, I had little help with my move, and when I tried to network around the state looking for jobs I had a lot of people outright refuse to help at all. Glad to hear your experience is better.

How can you seriously compare the two?

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming

How can you seriously compare the two?

I'm not going to get into a personal argument with you, and while I will agree, the case Jody mentioned is certainly more severe, I think my examples do show a lack of a sense of community.

[jody_wy]

Originally Posted by NDak15

I'm not going to get into a personal argument with you, and while I will agree, the case Jody mentioned is certainly more severe, I think my examples do show a lack of a sense of community.

and church want to help my daughter and SIL go around and gather their stuff (in storage all over the place) and help them move into their new house...