Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It saddens me a little to read these accounts of Wyomingites being so cruel, and I can't help but wonder where this all took place. I moved to Gillette 46 years ago from Kansas/Iowa/Texas/Alaska. A year after arriving, someone (a native son) asked me how long I'd lived here. When I told him it had been a year, he replied that in Gillette, a year makes you a native.
Gillette is probably a little more welcoming than most Wyoming towns, because a true adult native is a little rare around here due to all the growth. When I moved here the population was just over 7K; it's now 31K. Most of us moved here from somewhere at some time, so the "outsiders" outnumber the natives, at least if we're talking about adults.
I've never felt anything but welcome in Gillette. It might be because, back then, I was a joiner -- Jaycees, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Hospital Advisory board, founding member of a couple charitable organizations, etc., etc. I overdid it a bit and eventually got burned out with meetings most nights, but I can't imagine anyone not being welcome if they truly work to become active members of the community AND are decent neighbors. The thing is, however, I also feel that would be true in most all of Wyoming's towns.
Sure, old high school buddies are likely to remain on your best-friends list if they stay in town, but there's usually room for new friends who share similar interests. Small communities rely on volunteers for various activities, so it's easy enough to volunteer; local clubs of all kinds are usually actively seeking new members, so newcomers are more than welcome to join in and meet others. If you can't find friends through your job nor through local civic organizations, church, schools, etc., something else is lacking. I don't know what that is, but you (generic you) might want to look inward.
It saddens me a little to read these accounts of Wyomingites being so cruel, and I can't help but wonder where this all took place. I moved to Gillette 46 years ago from Kansas/Iowa/Texas/Alaska. A year after arriving, someone (a native son) asked me how long I'd lived here. When I told him it had been a year, he replied that in Gillette, a year makes you a native.
Gillette is probably a little more welcoming than most Wyoming towns, because a true adult native is a little rare around here due to all the growth. When I moved here the population was just over 7K; it's now 31K. Most of us moved here from somewhere at some time, so the "outsiders" outnumber the natives, at least if we're talking about adults.
I've never felt anything but welcome in Gillette. It might be because, back then, I was a joiner -- Jaycees, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Hospital Advisory board, founding member of a couple charitable organizations, etc., etc. I overdid it a bit and eventually got burned out with meetings most nights, but I can't imagine anyone not being welcome if they truly work to become active members of the community AND are decent neighbors. The thing is, however, I also feel that would be true in most all of Wyoming's towns.
Sure, old high school buddies are likely to remain on your best-friends list if they stay in town, but there's usually room for new friends who share similar interests. Small communities rely on volunteers for various activities, so it's easy enough to volunteer; local clubs of all kinds are usually actively seeking new members, so newcomers are more than welcome to join in and meet others. If you can't find friends through your job nor through local civic organizations, church, schools, etc., something else is lacking. I don't know what that is, but you (generic you) might want to look inward.
I dont have too many friends myself and had many of the same experiences my sister and employees had. Ive been in Wyoming for 70 years. It dosent really matter thou because the main difference is that I am not like most Wyomingites and most people for that matter.. But for me it isnt a problem. I always have other things to do. If someone dosent want to talk with me, then so be it. Not a problem for me. Their loss.
I have a house in Gillette. Used to live there from time to time when Gas was high. But even a book store cant survive in Gillette. The only one is now a pet store. Not really much for the average person to do in Gillette.
But most people are not like me. They need other people around.
It saddens me a little to read these accounts of Wyomingites being so cruel, and I can't help but wonder where this all took place. I moved to Gillette 46 years ago from Kansas/Iowa/Texas/Alaska. A year after arriving, someone (a native son) asked me how long I'd lived here. When I told him it had been a year, he replied that in Gillette, a year makes you a native.
Gillette is probably a little more welcoming than most Wyoming towns, because a true adult native is a little rare around here due to all the growth. When I moved here the population was just over 7K; it's now 31K. Most of us moved here from somewhere at some time, so the "outsiders" outnumber the natives, at least if we're talking about adults.
I've never felt anything but welcome in Gillette. It might be because, back then, I was a joiner -- Jaycees, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Hospital Advisory board, founding member of a couple charitable organizations, etc., etc. I overdid it a bit and eventually got burned out with meetings most nights, but I can't imagine anyone not being welcome if they truly work to become active members of the community AND are decent neighbors. The thing is, however, I also feel that would be true in most all of Wyoming's towns.
Sure, old high school buddies are likely to remain on your best-friends list if they stay in town, but there's usually room for new friends who share similar interests. Small communities rely on volunteers for various activities, so it's easy enough to volunteer; local clubs of all kinds are usually actively seeking new members, so newcomers are more than welcome to join in and meet others. If you can't find friends through your job nor through local civic organizations, church, schools, etc., something else is lacking. I don't know what that is, but you (generic you) might want to look inward.
I attempted to be a joiner, the only problem was that there aren't many joiners these days. While I was in Lions Club the members for the most part were much older and there was still that standoffish clannish mentality. And on the subject of clubs, I don't think people join clubs much these days. People also don't go to church much these days and while I did go, I still ran into the problem of most churchgoers being much much older than me.
It seems to me that the general belief in Wyoming was that you moved back to your hometown after college and fell right back in with your high school friends and therefore stuck with your high school clique.
we've got two posters here who relate some bad experiences in Wyoming. Sad to read of their experiences, but ...
OTOH, we've got hundreds (if not thousands) of posts in the Wyoming forum describing an entirely different situation ... folks who live here or folks who've had good experiences with Wyoming but had to leave for various reasons and want to move back.
OHNot4ME ... I suggest you read back some years and see those favorable posts. ElkHunter had a lot of positive anecdotes and many of his threads had other folk chiming in with similar experiences.
ElkHunter had some really good stories ... such as when he saw folk parked, hunting near where he was at one day. He saw they'd left the lights on their vehicle and as the day wore on, the lights were getting dim. He got a jumper battery and cables, headed down to them on his ATV, and jumped their vehicle when they were ready to head out. Didn't know who they were or that they would need help, but figured he could be of assistance and was pro-active about doing so. Or you could read about the assistance Jody has gotten from his neighbors when family tragedy took him away from his farming ... and that's not an uncommon story, I've personally done the same for neighbors who have had to be away at harvest time due to family emergencies. Or another elderly neighbor who has stroked out and cannot maintain his place anymore ... I've had several times I was clearing my driveway snow and had the tractor fired up, figured I'd go that mile and clear their driveway. Only to find the tracks from another neighbor who'd gotten there before me to clear that driveway all the way to their garage. Similarly, we've all gone to their place to bush hog the road frontage when it was getting overgrown.
Or the times when we've assisted with lost/stray livestock. Or stopped when a neighbor had run off the road in a snowstorm and was needing help to get back on the road.
Yes, I've encountered a lot of Wyoming folk whose lives and daily activities center closely around their church group. Some of them simply don't have time to spare from their devotions, close-knit family, and circle of brethren for business/social/entertaining purposes. They're typically not actively trying to be anti-social to outsiders, but the nature of their observances and commitments has them, their families, and their close circle not having routine time for anybody else. Yet these are typically the first people who will be of assistance in meaningful ways should an emergency strike a neighbor whether or not they're part of their church community. I've watched these folk respond to floods, fires, and other distress emergency situations at their own expense and substantial labor for months on end. Some of them even moved their camping trailers down to Colorado to live there for a month while they cleaned up ... with their donated labor, fuel, and heavy equipment ... after a tornado struck a northern colorado town with devastating results. They fed the now homeless people, helped clear the damaged houses and assisted in rebuilding them. Taking their time and resources away from their own commitments, and never asked a penny for doing so.
Generally speaking, many of the posts you'll read mention that the good people of Wyoming was a prime factor in why they'd want to live here.
we've got two posters here who relate some bad experiences in Wyoming. Sad to read of their experiences, but ...
OTOH, we've got hundreds (if not thousands) of posts in the Wyoming forum describing an entirely different situation ... folks who live here or folks who've had good experiences with Wyoming but had to leave for various reasons and want to move back.
OHNot4ME ... I suggest you read back some years and see those favorable posts. ElkHunter had a lot of positive anecdotes and many of his threads had other folk chiming in with similar experiences.
ElkHunter had some really good stories ... such as when he saw folk parked, hunting near where he was at one day. He saw they'd left the lights on their vehicle and as the day wore on, the lights were getting dim. He got a jumper battery and cables, headed down to them on his ATV, and jumped their vehicle when they were ready to head out. Didn't know who they were or that they would need help, but figured he could be of assistance and was pro-active about doing so. Or you could read about the assistance Jody has gotten from his neighbors when family tragedy took him away from his farming ... and that's not an uncommon story, I've personally done the same for neighbors who have had to be away at harvest time due to family emergencies. Or another elderly neighbor who has stroked out and cannot maintain his place anymore ... I've had several times I was clearing my driveway snow and had the tractor fired up, figured I'd go that mile and clear their driveway. Only to find the tracks from another neighbor who'd gotten there before me to clear that driveway all the way to their garage. Similarly, we've all gone to their place to bush hog the road frontage when it was getting overgrown.
Or the times when we've assisted with lost/stray livestock. Or stopped when a neighbor had run off the road in a snowstorm and was needing help to get back on the road.
Yes, I've encountered a lot of Wyoming folk whose lives and daily activities center closely around their church group. Some of them simply don't have time to spare from their devotions, close-knit family, and circle of brethren for business/social/entertaining purposes. They're typically not actively trying to be anti-social to outsiders, but the nature of their observances and commitments has them, their families, and their close circle not having routine time for anybody else. Yet these are typically the first people who will be of assistance in meaningful ways should an emergency strike a neighbor whether or not they're part of their church community. I've watched these folk respond to floods, fires, and other distress emergency situations at their own expense and substantial labor for months on end. Some of them even moved their camping trailers down to Colorado to live there for a month while they cleaned up ... with their donated labor, fuel, and heavy equipment ... after a tornado struck a northern colorado town with devastating results. They fed the now homeless people, helped clear the damaged houses and assisted in rebuilding them. Taking their time and resources away from their own commitments, and never asked a penny for doing so.
Generally speaking, many of the posts you'll read mention that the good people of Wyoming was a prime factor in why they'd want to live here.
The beauty of his site is that anyone who posts gets to see various people's experiences and can hopefully help somewhat make an informed decision. It's also nice that for the most part this site has civil discussions.
Thank you for your kind and considered responses. I have also received a few direct messages that have been very warm and helpful.
After reading everyone's remarks these past few days, I am confident once again that WY and I will be a good fit. Can't wait to get there to do some "boots on the ground" exploring. Would go today but am worried that, if I like it too well, I may not return to OH, and my young men (ages 18 and 21 and home for the summer) might miss me. In a few more years, however, all bets will be off! Until then, I will continue to lurk and perhaps occasionally post a question or two from the shadows.
I must say that I really enjoy this group - the opportunity to exchange posts with real people who generously take the time to share real experiences and real opinions (divergent though they may sometimes be) is invaluable to someone like me who is considering a big move and a big life change.
Thank you for your kind and considered responses. I have also received a few direct messages that have been very warm and helpful.
After reading everyone's remarks these past few days, I am confident once again that WY and I will be a good fit. Can't wait to get there to do some "boots on the ground" exploring. Would go today but am worried that, if I like it too well, I may not return to OH, and my young men (ages 18 and 21 and home for the summer) might miss me. In a few more years, however, all bets will be off! Until then, I will continue to lurk and perhaps occasionally post a question or two from the shadows.
I must say that I really enjoy this group - the opportunity to exchange posts with real people who generously take the time to share real experiences and real opinions (divergent though they may sometimes be) is invaluable to someone like me who is considering a big move and a big life change.
However did we manage before C-D forums? :-)
Are you sure you don't want to consider North Dakota instead? I wish you the best of luck whatever you decide.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wish you the best of luck whatever you decide. 
