Riverton vs Lander (Casper: sale, house, schools)

[Wyoming Bound]

Ok, so I have the opportunity to work in either town. My question is that I'm getting conflicting reports about each area. Kinda like bad talking one from the other. Is there some sort of bad blood between the two towns??

I also heard there is a farming prison in Riverton... Is that a good thing or bad thing for someone with a small child?

[shadowwalker]

The farming prison your referring to is the Honor Farm. It is a place the inmates either from the state prison or county jails work off the end of a sencence. There is no fenced yard so to speak to keep them in. They work in a farm/ranch type atmosphere enjoying the time outdoors and working. Some do get to go into town for limited times. Most have earned the right to do this. A couple of years ago one did kill a nurse. But I have lived in Riverton four times since 1979. Some of the prisoners succom to the pressure of their sentence ending and break out so to speak. Most either steal a vehicle to leave town with,go to the bar and drink until drunk, or hitchike out of the state. I can't remember any ever hurting a resident, other than the nurse, since I first moved there.
As far as a competition between towns. There used to be the usual sports rivalry, or some of the local jerks got into it from time to time. But for the most part everybody gets along.
There usually wasn't much to do in Lander as far as shopping or excitement compared to Riverton. But there isn't much in Riverton compared to places like Casper. So maybe someone else can shed more light on this.

[rkwitty]

I was born in Riverton and my mom came from Lander. There has always been a solid rivalry between the two towns. If one has a new building, the other needs one two. I personally would rather live in Lander because it is next to the mountains and is much prettier. Riverton is out on the high plains. There is more to do in Riverton. However, most people I know from Lander go to Riverton to shop. The two towns aren't that far apart from one another and the drive is very scenic.

MKrone

[RockyMtnr]

Maybe important to note: If you can get a job in either town ... take it! Not much so far as work and/or decent pay, in general.
Lander has a great burger and the DMV.
Riverton, basically, has everything else that you're going to find within 100 miles.
The two towns get hit with slightly different weather patterns too - even though you can almost see one from the other.
There are a couple of shortcuts ... that shave some time off the commute from one to the other as well.

[Wyoming Bound]

Rockymtnr...you said to just take the job, why is that?

[RockyMtnr]

Originally Posted by Wyoming Bound

Rockymtnr...you said to just take the job, why is that?

I know the post is nearby - but I'm going to quote the line for you again - the answer is in the line:
"If you can get a job in either town ... take it! Not much so far as work and/or decent pay".
You can sit on your bulb for months hoping for a job in either town - even in all of Wyoming.
For starters, there are not that many jobs to go around. Wyoming kids have been leaving their hometowns for over a century or more for just that reason. Not sure what you do for a living - but odds are you'll be doing something different if you move to Wyoming. Some of those kids wind up inheriting the family ranch. A few go to Vet school and set-up shop. The occasional one becomes a dentist - but we're talking a serious minority!
Some heavy-equipment operators or oil/gas riggers do okay. Most towns do not have more than a few bookkeeping jobs or clerical jobs. The local compass-factory (Brunton, in Riverton) pays minimum wage ... forever. I believe the K-Mart closed which leaves the WalMart and the Payless shoe store. Teachers have it a little better what with two high-schools and school systems and a Jr. College in Riverton. Burger King and Wendy's hire a lot - hard to get full-time anything in the "Intermountain West".
So, to recap, if you're wanting to move to Fremont county, Wyoming ... and you've got a job offer ... you may not get another if you turn it down.
Oh, incidentally, I never gave the Honor Farm a second thought. There was enough going on with the little bit of "Meth-War" stuff going on - really stands out in a small town. My son also got robbed at gunpoint working the gas/propane station in town ... but that's really fairly normal these days.
I never heard too much bad-mouthing from the two towns. Some folks preferred Lander - and seems they usually had horses - but there's less to do there. Not that there's much more to do in Riverton ... but there is a golf course.
I'd have to say that Riverton is the weirdest "Garage-Sale Town" I've ever seen. They honestly don't start 'til Mem. Day and truly wrap it up on Labor Day and if you haven't hit the sale by noon, they're shut down! Nothing to measure a town by but I found it interesting.

[Wyoming Bound]

my reply did not go thru and I have an appt to attend but I will comment when I return. I'm puzzled by your response.

[tekape]

Originally Posted by Wyoming Bound

Ok, so I have the opportunity to work in either town. My question is that I'm getting conflicting reports about each area. Kinda like bad talking one from the other. Is there some sort of bad blood between the two towns??

I also heard there is a farming prison in Riverton... Is that a good thing or bad thing for someone with a small child?

I've lived in both towns and would prefer Lander. It's prettier and nestled right up to the mountains. Yes, Riverton has more "shopping", if you can call it that....but it's slightly larger and there's more crime. Riverton also sits on the Wind River Indian Reservation, Lander sits on the outskirts. Either would be appropriate to raise a child in, but I like Lander personally. It would really come down to personal preference. You may get to one, and actually like the other....and it wouldn't matter because a lot of people commute (it's less than 30 miles)

[Wyoming Bound]

RockyMtnr: I just read another section with several posts by you that were so insightful and helpful, yet this one, I find ..... standoffish? Like you hate Wyoming or hate those coming here from out of state. Not sure which. I'm just going to take it that ya didn't mean to come off that way but it really hit me the wrong way.
I agree, Tekape, that it will probably be figured out when we get there. We've found this beautiful piece of property in Kinnear that is perfectly priced for us....if it stays that way while we impatiently wait to sell our house here.

[jessame10]

I'm not sure what Rckymtner is talking about as far as shopping...... riverton has both a walmart and kmart. they used to have a payless shoe store but it closed years ago.

Personally I don't think the shopping factor (or lack of) is that big of a deal anymore due to the availability of internet shopping.

And the job situation.....it would depend on what your looking for but there are probably over 100 posted with fremont county job service. The biggest problem in this area is lack of affordable housing.