Any Cities By Rock Springs?

[ElkHunter]

Like my dad used to say. Them folks over in Rock Springs are rough. They wear their jeans out, from the inside.

[imbobbbb]

ok there are only about 31,000 people in the immediate rock springs/green river area and next to no one in the whole rest of the county .if i could live arond 40,000 people,[like the op stated] , i guess i could live around 31,000 people.....as everyone here has stated its not exactly the' garden spot of wyoming'.some people do like it though,i have a friend who grew up a beachbum/surfer on the east coast,lived as a beachbum/surfer in california for several years and then just decided in 1980 he was going to move to rock springs with his wife who grew up in santa barbara california and they have lived there ever since and both have told me they have no desire to live anywhere else....and he even has a job where he works outside yearround.they are the exception though...if you dont like it you can always move but i would at least visit first,most people who live in and like wyoming put it low on their list of places they want to move to.its still possible you'd like it though.i would much prefer it to rawlins but thats just me.

[pamcakes9725]

Where did your husband get a job in Rocks Springs? My boyfriend is in the oil business at Baker and Hughes there (I live in New Jersey) talk about a long distance relationship. Please let me know if he took the job and where did u all move to?

[RS_82901]

Just so you know and FYI, Rock Springs is actually a decent place to live. The people living here are making more than the national average. You won't find a driveway with less than 4 vehicles or trucks (no lie!). The folks out here love their "toys." Yes, there is a housing monopoly but that has changed recently. Its kind of ironic that there's all this land out here but that the houses are built together close together. Many people will say that this is a small town and that you don't want to live hear but it is just a marketing scheme to keep the big city folks out because many big city folks coming into the city for work are afraid that its going to be a culture shock and that it will be like "The Hills have eyes" movie where deformed locals kill off the transplants. I would have to classify Rock Springs as a mixed city with old and new. You have the people who have lived here all their lives and then you have the hip new young professional moving in. The people who have lived here all their lives are afraid that the young professionals moving here are going to take the town over and they don't want the town to become like every other city. All of the people that I know here are either from New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, El Paso, Denver, or Salt Lake City. You can tell that its becoming an invasion from the big city folks because they all drive the $80,000 Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Porsche, or Range Rover's around town. Yes, people will be in your business...that's the way small towns operate...there's been to much of a big city invasion that has created shallowness among us all.

Then there's the invasion of the big city rednecks, who have moved their families here for the oil and gas jobs. You will recognized them because they are always dirty looking from working 4 days straight in the hole. But they are the ones laughing all the way to the bank because they're making $90,000 plus. There is also a boom in restaurants and housing. It is true that if you are passing by here that you won't be able to get a hotel room. Because of the price of housing, many of the oil workers prefer to live in the hotels and about 6 or 7 new and upclass hotels have popped up over the last year and you will be lucky to pay $189 or less per room.

Restaurants are very nice for the small town that it is. There are the chain restaurants such as Applebees, IHOPS, Sonics, Quizno's, Pizza Hut, Subway, and Arby's. But there is also a blend of upscale casual dining local brew pubs (3 to be exact) and many mexican eateries and chinese eateries. Try out a sushi place called "Bonsai" if you are ever there. However, there is a catch. Because "dad" is working in the mine bringing in $90,000+, there is really no need for mom or the kids to work. Because of that, there is a shortage of workers in these restaurants and the wait time for your food might be double what it normally is in a big city or someplace else. And because the housing is so expensive, the town can't persuade people to move here to work these jobs because they won't be able to afford it. So if the mom's and kids would work at these jobs, there wouldn't be such a shortage. You will also see this problem at the local Walmart. The lines are super long and it seems like the whole town shops at the same time...so go there at night time or in the early morning, otherwise you'll be watching your ice cream melt in your shopping cart.

That brings us to folks here having extra time on their hands and the crazy drug problem. It is true that the drug problem here is big but its just the same as in every other city. The problem is that people here like to "share" their drug problem with the rest of the town. People in the big city, from where I am from, know how to hide their addiction's and thus you don't really know what's going on behind closed doors. In Rock Springs, people love to show their addictions and portray it as if its cool. One way you will know if someone has an addiction or is recovering is to ask them to smile (I won't say more). In that smile, you will see the aftermath from all those years of drugging themselves.

I was really suprised that this town had a huge mexican/latino population here (then again, I shouldn't have been). I would classify this town as being 75% white and 22% mexican/latino with a small amount of african americans. But the white guys that drive their escalades and hummer's in this town with their spinning rims think they're black so they make up for the small amount of african americans in town. The reason why the town is named 56 nationalities is because of all the individuals that attend the community college here. Because 1 student may represent a country, and seeing as there may be 50 or more students studying here from different countries, that's where the term 56 nationalities comes from. You can't even tell that they are from another nation or geographic settling. But I suppose using that term makes the town sound more diverse than what it really is.

Overall, this town is very nice to live in. Its small, but like I said before, its got the new town feel with all the youg professionals and new restaurants and hosuing coming into town. If you are thinking about moving here, take my opinion to heart. Also, I work here during the week and me and my friends go to Salt Lake City every weekend, which is really nice. I say that to say that you can live in a small town, make great money, and on the weekends you can go play in the big city. I'm having fun and so is everyone else...so come join us!

[J-Fad]

Wow, I am disheartened by all the negative descriptions of the Rock Springs area. True, many will say that they prefer to see the town out their rear view mirrors, but not everyone thinks that way. I personally love the desert and believe it is among the most beautiful of landscapes. Thus, I love the Rock Springs area and do not deem it to be the barren, desolate wasteland that it is made out to be. There are may awesome features within a close distance

As for isolated, I guess it depends on your sense of distance. If you are from the East and used to only driving 20 or 30 minutes to get to the next city then driving 150 or 200 miles may seem like a lot, but if you are used to driving the the two or three hours to get to the next city, then you get used to it and don't think much of it. Being from Rock Springs and making numerous trips to Salt Lake and Laramie, I never thought those drives were really long, but I guess I just have a different sense of distance from most people.

Anyway, there's not much more I can add to RS_82901's great and very informative post, which I thought covered a lot of the basics nicely. However, I would like to make a correction. Rock Springs actually got its nickname "Home to 56 Nationalities" from the many immigrants that came to work in the coal Mines back in the 1870 and 80's. The nickname stuck, but of course I don't believe there are that many different nationalities living there now, but who knows.