Is Wyoming that bad? (Gillette, Sheridan: job, new home, oil)

[snowman0u812]

i am living in minneapolis and am from a small town in massachusetts. i didnt mind the city when i 1st got out of the service in 2001, but now that i have 2 little ones i am looking to get out. my co-worker suggested gillette because of growth and opportunity. but after taking a few days of research and reading these posts, it seems to me like there are either alot of disgruntled people from gillette, or is it really that bad?

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by snowman0u812

i am living in minneapolis and am from a small town in massachusetts. i didnt mind the city when i 1st got out of the service in 2001, but now that i have 2 little ones i am looking to get out. my co-worker suggested gillette because of growth and opportunity. but after taking a few days of research and reading these posts, it seems to me like there are either alot of disgruntled people from gillette, or is it really that bad?

The only people that have said anything negative about Gillette is the fact that there is so much going on, there's no housing available.

What did you gleen from reading that makes you think it's so bad?

[j1n]

Originally Posted by snowman0u812

i am living in minneapolis and am from a small town in massachusetts. i didnt mind the city when i 1st got out of the service in 2001, but now that i have 2 little ones i am looking to get out. my co-worker suggested gillette because of growth and opportunity. but after taking a few days of research and reading these posts, it seems to me like there are either alot of disgruntled people from gillette, or is it really that bad?

hey snowman...
I was out in WY last summer (drove out there from a friend's place in Woodbury, MN, ironically). It's a pretty great place. I think it's definitely one of those places that sparks an emotion in folks. In some, that might be a negative one. For me, it was one of the greatest places I'd ever been! Pack the fam up and drive out. Check it out for a bit, and form some personal opinions of Gillette (and WY). It's waaaaay different than MN!!

[tamir]

It's like anything in life, you have to decide for yourself. You can find good and bad in everything, its all in your attitude. I wouldn't go back to Minnesota if my life depended on it. I know, I know, bad attitude.

[wolfcreekgal]

I moved to Sheridan from Illinois 6 months ago and people here are ruder than anywhere I have ever been in my life! My husband is from Wyoming and now I know why he's so hard to live with.
The only nice people I've met are from another state and have been here about as long as I have and don't care for it either.
Where are all those "friendly" westerners I was told about prior to this move? Have they all left?

[ElkHunter]

I don't know what circle your running in. Or even if you've gotten out of the house. But I haven't encountered any of the rudeness you talk about.

Your statement was rather general and broad. Are you talking the people in the stores that work there, or the people that visit there, or who? Everybody?

[j1n]

Originally Posted by wolfcreekgal

I moved to Sheridan from Illinois 6 months ago and people here are ruder than anywhere I have ever been in my life! My husband is from Wyoming and now I know why he's so hard to live with.
The only nice people I've met are from another state and have been here about as long as I have and don't care for it either.
Where are all those "friendly" westerners I was told about prior to this move? Have they all left?

Maybe what you are finding is that people are more real than anywhere you've ever been. I think that you will find that folks who are used to a little more of a hard life...folks who deal with physical extremes...are less likely to mince words, and will tell you what they honestly think.

Awhile ago, someone gave me a really good piece of advice..."you get what you give". So if you give some kindness and respect, and don't receive it back...then you move on, righteous in your motives. And find some good folks to interact with. They are everywhere.

[navyvet79]

Originally Posted by wolfcreekgal

I moved to Sheridan from Illinois 6 months ago and people here are ruder than anywhere I have ever been in my life! My husband is from Wyoming and now I know why he's so hard to live with.
The only nice people I've met are from another state and have been here about as long as I have and don't care for it either.
Where are all those "friendly" westerners I was told about prior to this move? Have they all left?

We moved here 6 months ago too, but our opinion so far is completely different from yours. People were pretty friendly back in Texas, but back there I was never invited over to someone's house for dinner. I've met people who invited my family on camping trips, fishing trips, hunting trips. One guy wants me to come over to his land once I get my rifle so we can hunt some deer off his balcony - a complete stranger a few months ago! We've met folks in Sheridan, Story, Buffalo and Gillette...here they are down to earth and will give you the shirt off their backs if you needed it.

[emeraldsky]

Hey snowman, I live in Gillette with my little family, and all 3 of us are really glad we moved here.

I know what you're saying about leaving the bigger city. To me, this feels like just the right size, with some room to grow. Not too big (far from that), but not too small either. I've lived in the too big and the too small.

Though it is on the smaller hometown feel kind of side. You do run into people you know in the grocery store. Which is cool for me (unless it's a bad hair day). And people wave to you when you walk or while you're driving.

Here's some of what we like about Gillette...

Friendly people.

Room to roam. Fresh air and nice parks. Okay, so Wyoming is more like one big park. If you like the outdoors, it's a great state to be in.

Not much traffic. I know some people get bothered about the congestion on 59, but compared to what I've seen in other states, it's really just a small bump in the flow of things, and they'll be widening it soon. We walk to work/school/park most days. Love to get out when we can. It's a good place to walk.

Awesome library. They certainly have the money to put towards it. Great resources available. The children's section is really top-notch. And in the big cities you might be waiting on hold for a newly released book/movie for months... It's about a week or two here. I wanted to see the new Bourne Identity movie, put it on hold right after it was released onto dvd. I couldn't believe it was available by the end of the week! Lots of resources matched to a handful of people means great availability.

The teenage area makes me laugh though. My son (only 9) thinks it's cool, and after seeing it had that starry eyed look (imagining himself as a teen I guess). They have all the YA fiction books down there with video game consuls and munchies and all. The only thing is I really love the YA books, so instead of wandering into teenage zone and being accousted by a kind librarian asking me what she can help me with since clearly I'm in the wrong place, I just put the books on hold now instead. (sigh...)

They're building a new rec center soon. And the one they have now is a busy place. Even the school children take field trips over there for kickboxing classes and such.

I'm impressed by the school resources. My son is taught by both teachers in his particular grade for different subjects (I think most children like to have a variety of teachers). And every child goes to an enrichment class targeted to their needs, which I think is great. From what I've seen, based on the school my son's at, it's a busy, active place with lots of good things going on for the children.

I've found plenty of great customer service. I like what tamir said about attitude. And j1n about receiving what you give. You'll find a lot of friendliness and helpfulness if that's what you bring. And we always notice what we look for in life too.

Work life seems less stressful. I can't speak for everyone's job of course, but for my husband at least. He is one less-stressed happy guy, which is why we moved here in the first place. But if the people he works with are any indication of Wyoming work life in general, people are much more laid back. My husband went from a bit of a cut throat bottom-line-is-always-the-money kind of place in CO to having his boss here turn off the lights at exactly 5pm and tell him to go home (his 1st week on the job, breaking him in I guess). Love that.

In addition to having a WalMart, we'll be getting a brand new Target here soon. Those are pretty much the only places I ever shopped even when I was in the big city.

And the housing market is far from hopeless. There's more on the market than there was a year ago, 4 times more is what I've heard. Lots more to choose from, homes sitting longer, and we saw prices drop more into the reasonable range when we were looking. New homes are being built in good price ranges. Renting is a little trickier though. Not as much available to rent.

The weather is on the dry side, so don't be sad at your wife if she buys a lot of lotion. I try to put some on my young son every now and then too, but he's usually running away from me when he sees the lotion come out (and it doesn't help that my husband is in the background saying "don't girlify him!") though I did catch my husband the other day putting my Oil of Olay on his own dry face. Hehe.

Oh, and I haven't had any sales people knock on my door at all. Had one just about every week or so in Colorado Springs it seemed. And some were pretty scary.

[navyvet79]

Originally Posted by emeraldsky

In addition to having a WalMart, we'll be getting a brand new Target here soon. Those are pretty much the only places I ever shopped even when I was in the big city.

Gillette is getting a Target??? When & where???