Which town would fit my likings? (Sheridan, Cody: to rent, construction, income)

[McCallister]

Hello all. I am looking to maybe move out west within a couple years & was hoping some locals can give me some guidance.

I currently live in Madison, WI. Nice place & all, but I think that I would like to live a slower(not too slow)life. My passion is photography(mainly nature/landscapes), hiking & just the outdoors in general. I have done my share of homework on potential places to live, but sometimes it is hard to really know based off just reading. I bascially want to get an idea which towns have close proximity to scenics, but still have a job opportunity & affordable place to live. I do not mean a burger flipping job, but something more in the area of maybe the $25-30k/year area. Remember I love photography, so I need to have decent income. I think I'm leaning towards the NW, but am open to suggestions. Zeroing in on Cody area, but a couple people said that it is pretty much a retirement place, is this true?

I think Teton county is out of the question because of the prices on everything, but I think I'd want to travel that area the most to see Tetons & yellowstone. I know that I probably do not need to make quite as much as I do now since the cost of living is a little lower(no income tax, etc...), but would like input on what a nice place would cost to rent so I could get an idea.

With this said, what do you think would be a suitable town? I do plan on taking a trip out this year to see first hand, but can't make it to all the places.

Thanks in advance all.

[MHT]

All of WY is scenic. Of course that depends on each person's opinion. You don't say what you do for a living. That will make a difference on where you live. Cody is great. So is Buffalo, Sheridan, Kaycee, the list goes on and on. Your best bet would be to take a trip out and visit.

[McCallister]

Compared to WI yes I'm sure all of WY is scenic, but I know a lot of it is flat mountain desert terrain. I want to live somewhat close(within 1-2 hours) of some nice mountain scenery. I thought Cody would be a good compromise between the Bighorns & the yellowstone area.

I am flexible as to what type of jobas are out their, as long as it isn't any sales/account management type stuff. that is what I do now & hate it. If I ma looking to make in the area of 25-30K/yr, I'm sure it would be some kind of manufacturing work, but do not know what is there in Cody.

[MHT]

Originally Posted by McCallister

Compared to WI yes I'm sure all of WY is scenic, but I know a lot of it is flat mountain desert terrain. I want to live somewhat close(within 1-2 hours) of some nice mountain scenery. I thought Cody would be a good compromise between the Bighorns & the yellowstone area.

I am flexible as to what type of jobas are out their, as long as it isn't any sales/account management type stuff. that is what I do now & hate it. If I ma looking to make in the area of 25-30K/yr, I'm sure it would be some kind of manufacturing work, but do not know what is there in Cody.

A lot of WY is high desert - not necessarily flat though. There are also mountains all through WY. Cody is nice - great in fact, but if you want to live within 1-2 hours of mountain scenery that's pretty much the whole state!

[McCallister]

THanks MHT. I was under the impression that the high dessert area was kinda like driving through Nebraska. Talk about hours of flatness, but nice in it's own way.

How many of you here are origanally from outside of WY? For those of you, can you give me the most important thing you'd consider before moving their besides having a job/weather. I love the seasons change, so I think weather will be actually more pleasent to me than not.

By the way, what's the story about out-a-towners getting suckered into the what I think it was called hunting "jackelope" trick??

[imbobbbb]

almost everywhere in the state is within 2 hours of nice mountain scenery.there really arent many manufacturing jobs in wyoming.cody is very nice but not real cheap and mostly a tourist/retirement town.the 'energy industry'towns{gillette,rocksprings,rawlins,pineda le,casper}are all booming jobwise,but the cost of realestate is booming there too,and the only one most people consider scenic is pinedale.cody,sheridan,lander,buffalo,sundance,new castle,&laramie are all located near some nice scenery.a lot depends on your realestate budget and job skills.

[McCallister]

I have been reading & I hear a lot about the energy boom. What types of energy are we talking about? What are the actual daily duties one would typically do & average pay? One other thing I would like to know, with WY being the least populas state, all this energy craze must be somehow "exported" right or does WY have a ton of new deamnd for energy??

[sunsprit]

The extractive industries are cyclical in jobs/demand.

They include oil, natural gas, coal-bed methane, and coal.

There's also trona mining, for which Wyoming supplies a third of the world's output.

Most of Wyoming's coal is open pit coal mining for the very low sulfer coal which is much "cleaner" than the coal from the Eastern USA.

The coal is used for power plants here to export power on the WAPA grid, or coal is shipped out by rail to adjacent states power plants.

Wyoming is currently looking at building two new large coal fired power plants and expanding current plants. This will cause more "energy boom" jobs to build the facilities, and some permanent jobs to operate them.

The jobs entail the same work as found anywhere in construction, mining, in the "oil patch", or in a coal-fired power plant. All craft trades are needed, from entry level workers to master level craftsmen. And time-keepers, managers, supervisors, foremen, clerks, and general laborers, truck drivers, plant maintenance workers, janitors, painters, welders, pipefitters, electricians, secretaries, receptionists, draftsmen, and so on.

With the increase of workers around the job sites comes an increase in other jobs, such as food service, medical, housing trades, and so on in the area.

Depending upon your skills and the job level you're hired at, pay can range from a low of $10/hour to salaried jobs (degree and experience required) of $100k+ per year.

[McCallister]

THanks. I would like to plan a trip out there in the peak of the spring. What time of year is this usually out there?

[sunsprit]

Try April-May.

Be advised that we can still get a heavy snowfall then which can shut down travel in the region.