Gillette's Turn! (Casper, Laramie, Sheridan: real estate, rentals, new home)
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As some of you who follow the Wyoming posts know, we have been looking into moving back to Wyoming for the past few months. I'm a special ed teacher who is looking into jobs, but I've been pretty particular about the towns we want to be in. We've checked out a lot of things about Casper & Sheridan and I already know quite a bit about Cody being I was born & raised & lived in the Big Horn Basin for my first 34 years! A lot of our search depends on whether hubby can get a job, and he has the opportunity to transfer with his company to Gillette. Both of us have only been there on a "passing through" basis, and only a few times. We are going to Gillette this weekend to check it out. We have contacted a real estate agent who has been helpful and will show us around on Saturday. What I'd like to hear from locals is ideas on other things to see, places to eat, etc. while we are there. Thanks, emeraldsky, for mentioning Dalbey Park! Tell us anything you think we should know about Gillette......you don't have to mention the weather, landscape, energy boom, etc.....I already know all that. It's the unknowns we are wondering about! Does anyone know any teachers, principals, etc. there? I talked to the special ed director and she seemed really nice. Hopefully I get an opportunity to interview there! Thanks in advance for any scoop you have on Gillette!
Georgia
Hmmm... the "local" perspective on Gillette..... There are a few good restaurants in town, but the rest generally have poor service/food. Prime Rib, Goings (Chop House), Las Margaritas, and Bootlegger's are all generally good to great on service and food. Humphry's is another one, but they're not back up yet after the fire. The problem with the restaurants around here is that the energy industry has taken a lot of the workforce you would generally find in food service.
There's enough shopping here that you don't have to leave for any of your normal daily needs. If you want to hit a mall Rapid or Casper are your two closest choices.
The schools here are excellent, teachers make a fair salary, and sports are huge.
The economy is going strong... will be for the foreseeable future with the demand for energy and the new power plants going in.
The housing market has softened a little bit... there's a lot more inventory than there was this time last year so you'll have more options. My wife works for Century 21, and some of the new homes they're selling are very reasonably priced... their single-family twin homes are starting at $165 and they're nice places. Definitely more reasonable options than you would have had last year.
Tons of activities if you like the outdoors... I'm sure you already know this though. I lived in the Big Horn Basin for a little while myself... I'm definitely more partial to that area. One day when I have the remote source of income to support a ranch over there I'll be out of the Powder River Basin in a heartbeat! For now though, it's a great place to get back into the swing of Wyoming life. It's definitely a HUGE step up from where I've been in CA for the last 10 years.
Did I miss anything?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GEORGIAINMT
As some of you who follow the Wyoming posts know, we have been looking into moving back to Wyoming for the past few months. I'm a special ed teacher who is looking into jobs, but I've been pretty particular about the towns we want to be in. We've checked out a lot of things about Casper & Sheridan and I already know quite a bit about Cody being I was born & raised & lived in the Big Horn Basin for my first 34 years! A lot of our search depends on whether hubby can get a job, and he has the opportunity to transfer with his company to Gillette. Both of us have only been there on a "passing through" basis, and only a few times. We are going to Gillette this weekend to check it out. We have contacted a real estate agent who has been helpful and will show us around on Saturday. What I'd like to hear from locals is ideas on other things to see, places to eat, etc. while we are there. Thanks, emeraldsky, for mentioning Dalbey Park! Tell us anything you think we should know about Gillette......you don't have to mention the weather, landscape, energy boom, etc.....I already know all that. It's the unknowns we are wondering about! Does anyone know any teachers, principals, etc. there? I talked to the special ed director and she seemed really nice. Hopefully I get an opportunity to interview there! Thanks in advance for any scoop you have on Gillette!
Georgia
GREAT reply! Thanks! We'll have to check out one of your suggested eateries. We really are okay at living in a town that has what we need but not a lot of mall shopping, etc. You're right, there are towns close enough for that. We're in Laurel (Billings) now so I'm sure we would come back here often enough to get our fill of shopping and the traffic that goes along with it We do see quite a few WYO County 17 plates up here! If a town has a Walmart, etc. it's good enough for me.
Yes, we do like the outdoors. We have ATV's and are looking forward to being somewhere new to explore and go for day rides. Any info on places the public can go to play in the dirt would be great! I've fished Keyhole so I know that the lake is close by, too. I'd prefer to live a bit closer to the mountains, but the hills are okay. The Big Horns aren't really that far. Where in the BHB did you live? I was raised in the Basin area then lived in Thermop for about 13 years before moving to Billings in '95. There just isn't much for my hubby as far as jobs on that side of the mountain. That's why we're considering Gillette & Casper.
Other than wanting to move back to Wyoming we really do want to better ourselves financially. Teachers make terrible wages here in Montana. I would make an average of $15K a year more in Wyoming! With the way things are getting so high (gas, food, etc.) we need to be able to do more than live paycheck to paycheck. We're not kids anymore so we have to plan for the future. Getting older stinks, huh? Also, my daughter & her family are in Laramie and plan on staying in Wyo once her husband finished college in a year, so it would be nice being closer to them.
Housing doesn't sound too bad there. I'm glad the market has softened some. Seems to be some decent houses available now. Prices seem to be comparable to Billings I'm anxious to see the new developments going into the Remington Estates on the south side of town. It's too bad we already contacted a realtor or we would hook up with your wife!
Thanks again for your help and if you can think of anything else we need to know just type away!
My husband took me to Boss Lodge recently. Very nice atmosphere. Cozy, a nice place for a date, but laid back too. I wouldn't recommend the Golden Corral based on the one time we went last summer. Felt like they didn't want to put the a/c on, and sanitation in food handling seemed questionable, not to mention it wasn't very tasty. I really like Casa del Rey (me gusta comida mexicana), and we probably go to Quiznos a little too often. Very friendly staff and yummy subs. Perkins is nice too. And I like Applebees. I've heard a few people say they had to wait forever for their food, but the 2 times I've been we didn't wait long at all, and I enjoyed the food.
The Rock Museum (Wyoming history and such) is free and in town. Really cool antique items. The library is packed with a ton of great stuff. Because we are not large in number, everything feels accessible (no long waits on materials if any wait at all.) There is a pool and water slide by the rec center, and a free outdoor pool by the Twin Spruce junior high. There is also a skate board park at Lasting Legacy park. And the Camplex has frequent theatrical/musical/comedic performances. There are other things to do, I'm sure, that I have yet to discover. Also, Devil's Tower (I do wish they had a better name for that!) is close by (less than an hour's drive) and has terrific walking trails and rock climbers to watch.) I've also heard of local art classes that I've been wanting to check into...
Good luck making all the transitions and deciding where to go!
We went to Gillette last weekend and looked around. Things have really changed there!~ It's a much prettier town now and has a lot to offer. We met with a real estate agent & looked at some homes so we could get any idea of cost of living.
I am happy to say that I was called this week for an interview on Tuesday. A step closer, perhaps! Even though I don't know if we'll be moving there I still like to get my ducks in a row, just in case.
My next question is about rentals. I know they are hard to come by, but it looks like if we do move there we'll have to rent for awhile. It may be only a couple of months, maybe longer....all depends on how things go with selling our home in Laurel. Can anyone recommend anyone to call re: rentals? I've been watching the newspaper, craigslist and the real estate listings for rentals but any other help would be great. We won't need anything big, fancy, or even that nice at all being it will be temporary. We may leave most of our furniture in Laurel to stage the house to sell it. So even what you may consider a junky place may work for us for awhile. Thanks again for all your help there in Camel Country!
Ooops. I forgot to mention that we have cats, so that might make renting almost impossible. They are inside cats who have been in the family for years and don't cause any problems. Thanks!
We were there last summer and stopped for lunch. Maybe it's just because we have had non-smoking establishments in California for so many years but the smell of cigarette smoke in there was horrid!! Also, the waitress was extremely slow and it was not that busy (only five tables in the non-smoking section). We actually watched her up at the front talking with this guy for pretty much the entire time we were there. Our food got to our table luke-warm so it was not very good. The big thing was the cigarette odor and the fact that we were placed right by the window separating the smoking section. We asked to be moved and were told that there were no other available tables. I honestly think that she just didn't want to be bothered. Maybe it was a fluke but when we go back next month, we won't be stopping there for lunch.
We were there last summer and stopped for lunch. Maybe it's just because we have had non-smoking establishments in California for so many years but the smell of cigarette smoke in there was horrid!! Also, the waitress was extremely slow and it was not that busy (only five tables in the non-smoking section). We actually watched her up at the front talking with this guy for pretty much the entire time we were there. Our food got to our table luke-warm so it was not very good. The big thing was the cigarette odor and the fact that we were placed right by the window separating the smoking section. We asked to be moved and were told that there were no other available tables. I honestly think that she just didn't want to be bothered. Maybe it was a fluke but when we go back next month, we won't be stopping there for lunch.
Isn't the cig factor a great thing in restaurants???? In 1997 on my way home from BC we stopped at a restaurant in Rawlins & a waitress with acrylic claws sat at the sandwich bar smoking the whole time we were there & her cig was HANGING OUT OF HER MOUTH when she served my kids' & my meals - AT OUR TABLE!!!! Yeah, one by one Wyo towns are putting the curb on smoking & I think you will see that hit Gillette eventually too...
GeorgiainMT, what does your husband do - what sort of work would he need in the Big Horn Basin? Powell housing market is pretty strong...and I see ads for spec.ed teachers in the paper for Cody & Powell periodically...
Isn't the cig factor a great thing in restaurants???? In 1997 on my way home from BC we stopped at a restaurant in Rawlins & a waitress with acrylic claws sat at the sandwich bar smoking the whole time we were there & her cig was HANGING OUT OF HER MOUTH when she served my kids' & my meals - AT OUR TABLE!!!! Yeah, one by one Wyo towns are putting the curb on smoking & I think you will see that hit Gillette eventually too...
GeorgiainMT, what does your husband do - what sort of work would he need in the Big Horn Basin? Powell housing market is pretty strong...and I see ads for spec.ed teachers in the paper for Cody & Powell periodically...
Thanks for watching out for me! I have applied in Cody and am waiting to hear when they will be calling for interviews. They were going to wait until school got out. My husband is in the warehouse/delivery field right now. He has lots of warehouse and inventory experience as well as many years of law enforcement background. He thinks he's getting too old (I say he's not at 45) to go back into "playing cop" and chasing bad guys! He has a class B CDL license so can do some driving/delivery work but doesn't want to go over the road and drive the big rigs.
Keep your fingers crossed for me that I am the right person for one of these teaching positions. I am really ready to move back "home" to Wyo! Any info you can send my way is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
45 ain't too old for cops in Cody...and they don't do a lot of running after bad guys. LOL!!! And I wouldn't be surprised if they are hiring currently. Might check w/the city & also Park county sheriff's dept - Scott Steward, who is a good friend of ours - is the sheriff & if you go to Park county page he has an email on there; send a resume' there. His brother is hubby's best friend & was city cop here for 15 or so yrs & now works for Wyo DCI. We could use some good EXPERIENCED cops here. Tends to be sort of a jumping off place for new academy grads. In fact, they will SEND them to the academy after they get the job!!
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. It's the unknowns we are wondering about! Does anyone know any teachers, principals, etc. there? I talked to the special ed director and she seemed really nice. Hopefully I get an opportunity to interview there! Thanks in advance for any scoop you have on Gillette!
