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Hi all, I’ve followed this forum for a long time and have enjoyed reading all about this state, especially from all the characters on here. Please continue to keep thorwing in your two cents whenever you can, it is greatly enjoyed by the rest of us.
So a quick rundown, my wife and I have spent most of our adult lives in Alaska. We moved about 2.5 years ago. We were in NE Tennessee for almost two years and after sometime past I realized that I missed the west, the freedom, the space, and mostly not having to worry about being on someone’s land everytime you want to hike, ride, or hunt.
I’ve always kept my eye on WY, Western WY, ever since I left College in Eastern ID. I spent lots of time in Star Valley, Teton Co, and Yellowstone. Such a special place leaves an lasting impression on one and I’ve always kept it in the back of my mind to look for opportunities to return there. Well, now I’ve finally got the chance. It come at a cost, I had to live in Casper for at least a year and prove my worth at work but after a great 10 months of production at work, I’m getting the go ahead. The chance isn’t coming a moment too soon either, it’s been a rough year on my wife and 4 year old son. A new place that’s not at all like what you’re used too, the prairie, no trees, and the killer in Casper, the WIND! It’s hard to mentally try to make a home in a place you know you’re leaving as soon as you can but we are getting excited at heading west.
We’re looking at moving to Afton, WY. Yes, we know it’s a mainly LDS community but we are LDS, albeit east coast Mormons. That means we don’t mind cursing, laughing at dirty jokes, and consider ourselves Baptist that wear funny underwear. A lot different that the Utah crowd. I know good jobs are hard to find and luckily I’ve got an excellent job with one of the federal agencies here in WY.
So some of the good, the bad, and the ugly I’m looking for here is are winters like Alaska, does the snow drop at Halloween and then it’s basically an everyday thing until April? Do they maintain the roads to Idaho Falls and Salt Lake City well? Is there wind anything remotely close to what we get here in the eastern part of the state? Any other pros and cons would be greatly appreciated.
The reason we chose Afton is because it’s a place where the environment is truly inspiring, great schools, very safe and low crime, big enough to feel like a community but not too big where you don’t know what’s going on, and a great resource for all things outdoors, we love to hike, Camp, fish, and I’m a huge hunter. So, again, I’d appreciate any experience you all have had here and what you can tell me about how on point you think I am or what pitfalls you think im missing, thanks!!!
Last edited by jcsnoball; 10-22-2017 at 11:19 PM..
Reason: Misspelling
I've been around Wyoming for 36 years. Used to travel through before that.
I haven't seen a single winter where it was below freezing every day between Halloween and April. There is good data on the data page of this site. Including wind speeds. Casper, the town, sure is a windy spot. One of the windier, IMO.
That said, I have seen snow in every month of the year, but it doesn't last long during the non-winter months. And the highway crews are phenomenal here. I'm amazed they can keep the roads open and in as good of shape as they do. There will definitely be days you can't get where you want to, but those days are infrequent. I still keep stocked up on groceries, though. And, I make sure I have an alternate source of heat in case of power outages. I've lived in parts of the state where those were fairly frequent.
So for whatever reasons, you don't seem too terribly inclined to trust the advice of any of your Federal 'counterparts' in the extreme Western part of Wyoming ? ?
God knows, they DO exist out there (thx to all the 'enviro-natzis' moving in) and if you're already Fed-connected I can't see why they would'nt fall all over themselves in an effort to make you feel right at home...
....Sooooo....just let your fingers (or scrolling-wheel) do the walking.
Otherwise, I see Afton as being a carbon-clone of most typical semi-sleepy/semi-active mix of country & urban-sprawl...it being relatively close to the 'Ultra-Elite Caldera' of Jackson, the lower-income (upper to mid) middle-class diaspora tend to congregate there. Changing slowly, but changing nonetheless.
High-desert/mountain-valley climate = 'anybodys guess' how good or bad the winters will (or won't) be.
Subaru/GMC awd or a good sturdy 4wd pickup should suffice...but you do what you gotta do...
Personally ? If it were me...given the ongoing earthquake-swarms over in Soda Springs...I'd avoid setting up house and home in that region. Something is 'afoot'; can't quite put my finger on it, but Mother-Earth is definately becoming more & more active it seems...worldwide...
...but hey...we humans are mere 'insects' along for the ride on this ball of confusion hurtling through space, in 'tow' behind that big bright thing in the sky.
Enjoy your move. Kindof sounds like you've got your mind made up, and I seriously doubt any amount of snow, slush or mud 'scares' you...lol
Hello! We don't live in Afton, but do we live 20 minutes away in the Lower Valley of Star Valley, and we are frequently in Afton, plus my daughter goes to school at Star Valley Middle school. We moved to Star Valley last November, so I am not an authority on Afton or Star Valley, but I'll share what I know.
The schools here are excellent. I have one child in Etna Elementary and the other at Star Valley Middle and I am so very happy with both schools. The kids are getting a great education, they have so many great activities and field trips here, plus I love how small the schools are so the kids get a lot of one-on-one attention.
The weather this past winter was harsh, but we made it through with no problems and were from the non-snowy part of California. So I feel like if we could handle it, you'll do just fine.
The snow fell and stuck the weekend after Thanksgiving, and it stayed snowy on the roads until March. Then it snowed off and on until May. As for transportation, they only closed the road to Jackson maybe 3 times the whole winter, and I am not sure they officially ever closed the road to Idaho Falls. There was a day or two they advised people to stay home, but they are really good about plowing the roads during the days, at least on the Wyoming side. As for the wind, we're sort of buffered here because of the mountains, so we don't get the massive high winds like the other parts of Wyoming. The wind isn't bad at all, it gets a little windy in the afternoons/evenings, but nothing too crazy.
Afton is a nice little town. That's where the majority of the restaurants, stores, and businesses are. It's where the hospital is which is a plus and I've been very happy with the care and hospitality I've received at the hospital. The town has a great community feel, and even though we are not LDS we have found good friends in the valley both LDS, and not.
There's just something special about Star Valley, I think you have felt it too and that's why your drawn to live here. I wish you all the best and I hope you are as happy in Afton as we are.
Everyone I know from Star Valley got there via Utah. I really don't like the generalizations of "Utah Mormons" vs "East-coast Mormons." The stereotypes really have no value whatsoever. They are not based in any present-day reality.
Everyone I know from Star Valley got there via Utah. I really don't like the generalizations of "Utah Mormons" vs "East-coast Mormons." The stereotypes really have no value whatsoever. They are not based in any present-day reality.
Such may be your experience, but these stereotypes come from what one sees happening in various locales ...
I'm not LDS ... but have friends who are, several couples ...
and they have encountered the "I'm a better LDS than you" attitude in towns around Wyoming.
Born and raised as observant and active members in good standing in the same faith, they were discriminated against because they weren't "Mormon enough". They might just as well have not been LDS members as far as how they were treated by their brethren and the local "good 'ol boy" network.
Had I seen this happen once in one small Wyoming town, I'd say it was an isolated incident. But I've seen it repeated a few more times with different families in several Wyoming towns, so it takes on a different perspective.
For me ... and these LDS friends ... those generalizations apparently have some validity in Wyoming communities even in the present days.
Lest folk on this forum think I'm singling out this group ... I'll add that I have seen similar treatment among folk here in other religious based affiliations, even when they're a minority of the local population. It appears to this outsider that these groups are very intolerant of folk who they perceive don't practice their religion to the same degree and observances.
Even in distress situations where my professional services have been called upon, it's not been entirely unusual for the "elders" to treat me as non-existent ... with no acknowledgement of my presence even while requiring my work product. Our communication has been entirely through a more tolerant member of their group who relayed both sides of a conversation between my client and me while we were all standing face-to-face. Typically, these are situations where a family in transit is having car troubles and they need to have the vehicle repaired so they can continue on with their trip. I've had this happen enough times where I'm used to dealing with it now, but the first few times were rather awkward for me when I was "invisible" to my client and had no recognition or acknowledgement that I was speaking to them about matters of their concern. Nor would they speak to me, they directed their questions about the needed car repairs to a third person who then relayed the statements to me even though we were all face-to-face.
Such may be your experience, but these stereotypes come from what one sees happening in various locales ...
I'm not LDS ... but have friends who are, several couples ...
and they have encountered the "I'm a better LDS than you" attitude in towns around Wyoming.
Born and raised as observant and active members in good standing in the same faith, they were discriminated against because they weren't "Mormon enough". They might just as well have not been LDS members as far as how they were treated by their brethren and the local "good 'ol boy" network.
This is called paranoia and magnification.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsprit
Had I seen this happen once in one small Wyoming town, I'd say it was an isolated incident. But I've seen it repeated a few more times with different families in several Wyoming towns, so it takes on a different perspective.
For me ... and these LDS friends ... those generalizations apparently have some validity in Wyoming communities even in the present days.
Lest folk on this forum think I'm singling out this group ... I'll add that I have seen similar treatment among folk here in other religious based affiliations, even when they're a minority of the local population. It appears to this outsider that these groups are very intolerant of folk who they perceive don't practice their religion to the same degree and observances.
Even in distress situations where my professional services have been called upon, it's not been entirely unusual for the "elders" to treat me as non-existent ... with no acknowledgement of my presence even while requiring my work product. Our communication has been entirely through a more tolerant member of their group who relayed both sides of a conversation between my client and me while we were all standing face-to-face. Typically, these are situations where a family in transit is having car troubles and they need to have the vehicle repaired so they can continue on with their trip. I've had this happen enough times where I'm used to dealing with it now, but the first few times were rather awkward for me when I was "invisible" to my client and had no recognition or acknowledgement that I was speaking to them about matters of their concern. Nor would they speak to me, they directed their questions about the needed car repairs to a third person who then relayed the statements to me even though we were all face-to-face.
I have no idea what "elders" you are talking about. Further, many of the criticisms of Latter-day Saints share remarkable similarities to the still all too common antisemitic statements that plague the internet.
To the OP: Do your Mormonism your own way, and move to Star Valley if you wish.
To the OP: the overall 'tenor/tone' of that last (most recent post) just above mine speaks VOLUMES, right there.
Tread carefully, because THAT is what you'll be experiencing IF you step on the wrong toes or even 'blink' the wrong way, out here; bear in mind this advice is coming from a non-practicing (born & raised) Roman-Catholic who does not EVER impress my own belief-system upon anyone else.
If you don't 'fit in'...eventually they'll find a way to 'freeze you out'. It happens. DAILY.
And they don't miss a minute of sleep over it, at the end of the day.
POPULATION CONTROL. Plain and simple.
They NEVER lose sight of what propelled thier fore-fathers out west, and they won't have it out here, if they have anything to say about it.
Part of me fully agrees with the mind-set & the logic behind the 'anymosity'...and (whether for better or worse) my continued survival depends on my ability to find gainful employment with the vast majority of the Mormon land-owners...so I have little choice but to play-along...
...and the other part of me ALSO does'nt like the population-growth...for reasons I've gone on public-record here on CDC and elsewhere...and 'oft been chastised for.
Last edited by Ltdumbear; 10-24-2017 at 08:26 AM..
You can take this discussion into the low levels of name calling all you want ... But I have two observations, personally seen here in Wyoming and previously reported at length on C-D forums:
1) my friends that are LDS that have been subjected to the treatment I mentioned by their brethren are real experiences. They were actively discriminated against in local jobs, their children weren't invited to local events with their classmates, and so forth. The economic and social events lead them to seek employment elsewhere. As I mentioned, this happened not once, but several times in the experiences of my friends.
2) I was a manufacturer's rep traveling the UT/WY/SD/CO territory for an industrial manufacturer for 20 years. I personally experienced me and my products being politely declined at the reception desks of many contractors, architects, and design-build firms. I could hear my literature hitting the circular file before I even was a few paces from the front desk on my way out the door.
Yet after a couple hundred sales calls in the region, I finally was given an opportunity to take on, BID,
and complete an emergency project at a Bishop's Storehouse facility in the SLC area. One gentleman there was favorably impressed with my performance and the products, and took me under his wing. Suffice to say that he wore the appropriate clothing, had the lapel pins, tie tack, and belt buckle identifying him as "one of their own". He believed that my unique product line could be of a beneficial use to the facilities and contractors in the region, so he took me under his wing. We cold called on many of the businesses that I'd previously called upon for years without any response.
But with his introduction at the door, usually with a lot of small talk about relatives or acquaintances in common in the LDS church, the receptionists were amenable to his introducing me as a "good guy".
I had many appointments as a result, sometimes with a principal of the company on the spot. With this foundation, I spent over a decade making product presentations (which qualified for current professional education credits) to those companies ... sometimes with over 50 architects/engineers/specifiers/schedulers/planners in attendance. My sales skyrocketed in a territory that previously had $0 sales volume. And we did a lot of work in schools, LDS facilities/warehouses, and commercial buildings.
So don't tell me that there isn't active discrimination against those perceived to be less than the standards of certain LDS folk. I know firsthand of that situation despite what you may think of your brethren.
I have no idea what "elders" you are talking about. Further, many of the criticisms of Latter-day Saints share remarkable similarities to the still all too common antisemitic statements that plague the internet.
"elder" is a status accorded to LDS adult males that have gone through the training and service to the church per their requirements. For example, young men are required to go on a "mission"
for awhile as part of their advancement in their church. There's a formal training center for those entering this phase of their lives, perhaps foreign language training, etc. (As well, many other religions have such formal progression of recognized membership/advancement in their church)
My friend that helped me with LDS contacts spoke frequently about his "mission" as a young man in South America and how he'd stumbled into a remote village where a LDS mission lad had started the conversion process for the locals. They'd been following the prior missionary training for years, but had not been called upon again for a long time. So when my friend arrived on his mission ... on foot ... into this remote village, he had over 80 people waiting for some official LDS recognition of their conversion. My friend received some accolades from the LDS church in view of his large number of new official conversions to the LDS church.
Hiruko, I'm not ignorant of many activities of the LDS church, and if you're read any of my prior threads ... you'd know that I've been complimentary about a lot of their activities, such as aid and assistance in disaster and emergency situations around the world as first responders.
But nowhere here have I condemned the LDS church in any manner similar to what you now accuse me of doing ... descending to antisemitic type criticisms. This is an old "straw man" false tactic for debating ... you put words in my mouth that I didn't say and then attack me for having done so.
Sorry, but I'm not playing into your false assault. And I think you a fool for thinking that I'll not call you out on it.
To the OP: Do your Mormonism your own way, and move to Star Valley if you wish.
I'll agree with that statement.
But I'll add that it's not as simple and straightforward a social and economic situation as Hiruko presents. Indeed, we had a lengthy discussion on C-D on this topic some years ago and a lady poster here ... upon reflection of the actual living circumstances she found herself in as a "good LDS" member ... agreed with me that the social and economic situations there were what I've been saying on this forum.
PS: note LtDumbear's comment above "If you don't 'fit in'...eventually they'll find a way to 'freeze you out'. It happens. DAILY."
I'm not the only person on this forum that sees what's going on in some communities around Wyoming.
Last edited by sunsprit; 10-24-2017 at 09:58 AM..
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