Crazy to consider moving to Wyoming in the winter (Casper: movers, mobile home)

[septocaine_queen]

My husband and I have this amazing opportunity to move to Gillette for our careers. We currently split our time between San Diego and Las Vegas. I understand and have searched the forums extensively what a huge difference between WY and CA. From what I have read the winters in WY are a little scary but we can and will adapt. If everything works out we might be moving after the new year. We are visiting next week and will be visiting again in Dec (we have to take a Wyoming law and regulations exam for our professional licenses in Casper).

Do people even move before the snow melts? Also will my car (Infiniti G37) be usable in the winter or will I have to park it in the garage until the spring? We are excited about starting this new chapter in our lives. Any advice and tips would be appreciated.

[GEORGIAINMT]

I'll try to answer your questions! Yes, people do move during the winter. It isn't fun, but it is possible! Coming from where there is no snow to the possibility of quite a bit of snow in January the trip itself might be quite treacherous, but not at all undoable. You'd just have to be very careful once you got up into Utah a ways. The nice thing is that you can travel interstate all the way. I've been from Wyoming to Vegas to S. Cal. many times. I'm not saying that the interstates are always good in the winter!!! They can be bad, too, but at least you'd be on well-traveled roads. It could be a long slow trip with a Uhaul (unless you're fortunate enough to be able to hire professional movers), so plan on enough days to get here just in case the weather is bad. Slow and easy and you should be fine. If the roads get too bad, they will be closed. For the most part, it would be beneficial to just travel during the daylight hours. During Jan. it gets dark here by 5:00 and doesn't get light until after 7:30a.m. Even though daytime travel can be a "bugger" with windblowing snow, etc., it is just that much harder after dark. Also, while traveling you would want a good emergency kit along with you in case you get stranded. As far as actually moving in once you get here, it just might take longer and be a slower process (more breaks to "warm up", make sure snow is shoveled out of your way, etc.). But who knows, there may be very little or even no snow on the ground when you move.....it's hard to tell here in Wyoming! I always say "hope for the best but expect the worst" in these situations. So to make this very long answer short....yes, you CAN move during the winter!

As for your car, I am not familiar with the make/model, but in general your average passenger car can get around fine during the winter. "Sports" cars, especially those very low to the ground, have more trouble as they can get high centered on piles of snow. My personal opinion is that you should at least have a front or all-wheel drive vehicle that is rated to drive in icy conditions. I, myself, have a front wheel drive smaller car, but am considering a small 4 wheel drive SUV as we do like to go out of town quite a bit and I'd feel safer in it during the winter. At least with a 4WD you can usually get back on the highway if you slide off! So, if your car is not a sporty one you should be okay as far as for getting around town. The city crews are good about keeping streets as cleared as possible. And one nice thing about Gillette is that with so many people working various shifts, the streets/roads are well traveled 365/24/7. Also, some people like to put on studded snow tires for the winter. Others just use a good all-weather radial and are fine with those.

I hope this has been helpful. I'm sure there are others who have more advice. We just moved to Gillette and love it here!!!! Look for some other posts I've put out there about the town. I've lived in Wyo or Mont all my life so that's why I can attest to winter weather, just in case you're wondering how I know about it if I just moved to Gillette!

I'd love to keep in touch with you and see what you think after you visit here. Keep me posted on how things go!
Georgia

[sunsprit]

In spite of the serious nature of the winter climate, life does ... in fact ... continue throughout the winter in Wyoming. There will be times where the roads are dangerous, or closed, but that's not for the whole winter, only during the height of the storms.

So it is possible to do a move in the winter, although it may be inconvenient at times due to the inclement weather.

However, coming from the climates you're used to, I'd strongly urge you to visit Gillette in the winter before deciding upon this locale.

Your G37 is almost too nice of a car to put on the road during the winter months. Think in terms of rock chips on the paint and glass, plus a lot of horsepower to control on slick roads.
IMO, better to have a "beater" AWD car for the winter ... we use Subie station wagons, which do very well if the roads are at all passable (as does our rural postal delivery driver).

[septocaine_queen]

Yeah, I was worried about the car getting beat up in the winter. I have an 2002 Maxima that I was going to sell but we might keep it now as a beater car. DH has a 4WD albeit another nice car (QX 56) that we can use, but it looks like the maxima might now be the family car. Just bought both cars this year before we were even considering moving.

I love CA and was born and raised here and on paper it looks like the DH and I do really well, but we can't get ahead and with the economy slowing down here and the 2 places we own, one in CA and one in LV not worth what we paid for them, we need to figure something else out. We like that WY has an independent spirit, a quiet beauty, and a booming economy to start anew. It will be different scenery (I can see the ocean from my place now)but I know it will be beautiful and the people that we have talked to have been very helpful. I don't need nightlife been there done that. Shopping, I can do that online or fly into Denver for major stuff. Don't mind shopping at Wal Mart, already do that here, looking forward to snow based activites.

Yes, we will be in Casper in Dec, so we will have a chance to see Wyoming in winter. No disillusionment that it will be 72 and sunny like here.

Is the wind similar to the wind in Las Vegas? It seems to always be windy when I come in to LV.

Georgia,
Please tell me more about your personal experiences with living in Gillette? Where do you shop for food? Is there a health food store in town? Bookstores like Barnes and Noble? I like locally owned places and always make it a point to support local businesses. When we get into town next week we have a meeting with the Economic Development person for Campbell County to talk about what is there in town and the economic future of the area, but I like to hear real opinions not just the pretty ones.

[GEORGIAINMT]

Well, my reply would probably be just about as pretty as the people you're going to be meeting with! We are VERY PLEASED with Gillette. Years ago it was what I'd consider a "yucky" town. The city, townspeople, etc. have really worked to beautify it. People here are very friendly and we have felt like this is "home" ever since we got here. There is a health food store although I have not been to it. There are 4 grocery stores.....Walmart, Albertson's, Smith's, and an independent store. In case you don't have them there, Alb. & Smith's are chains, like Ralph's is in Calif. I usually shop the weekly ads at both of these stores. Both have better meat than Walmart and their ad prices sometimes beat Wally's everyday low price. I do go to WM some, but I try to avoid it because it always takes me too long and I usually end up buying more than just what's on my grocery list!!! I've never been to the independent store as it's on the other side of town. Their weekly ad is in the paper, but it never looks like they have the good deals like the other 2 do. We don't have a Sam's or Costco, but there is Sam's in Casper & Rapid City and Costco in Billings. The book store chain store we have is Hastings. There are also some small local ones. There are quite a few little local shops downtown as well as a few on the "main streets" of town. Lots of little coffee shops, too. Other than Walmart the only "big box" stores we have are Home Depot, Office Depot, & Kmart. There are also chains like Walgreen's Pharmacy, Dollar Tree, Ace Hardware, etc. One thing Gillette is lacking is eating establishments. There aren't a lot of nice sit-down restaurants. We do have a few chains like Perkins, Applebee's, Village Inn. We have most of the usual fast food joints, but some of them can't find enough help to stay open typical hours! The other day we went to Taco Bell and it was closed because the manager didn't show up! One fast food chicken place is closed down altogether and it's new! Gillette is just booming so much and people can make such good wages doing other things that it is very difficult to find help in the food industry. Even at that, fast food places pay much more than they would in most other towns. It's crazy! As for more shopping, a lot of people go to Rapid City (less than 2 hrs away), Casper (2 hrs) or Billings (3 hrs). They can find malls with all the mall type stores plus all the big box stores there. Oh, Gillette does have most of the major car dealerships, although probably not any that do warranty service on your cars, so you may want to keep that in mind. Gillette is continuing to grow every day so who knows what will be coming in next. Having lived in Billings for the past 14 years (and hubby all his life) we like the more relaxed atmosphere here. I was raised in small-town Wyoming so this is more my style. Billings has only 100K people, so is much smaller than what you are used to, but it's big for Wyoming/Montana standards. And like you mentioned, Denver isn't that far if you want to go to an actual "city". Also, Gillette has a very nice complex called the Cam-Plex. It has a theater, arenas, meeting buildings, nice grounds, etc. They do bring some nice shows, concerts, etc. to town considering this being a small town. I have been to SD several times and to LV a lot, so I'm very familiar with where you are coming from. No kidding, it would be quite an adjustment coming here, in many ways! You would just have to have a very open mind and realize beforehand how different things will be. You'd have to adjust to the weather, although having changes of seasons is really nice. The wind isn't like that in LV. The wind I've experienced in LV is a hard, dust blown wind that is very hot!!! Here it isn't that windy during the summer. It hasn't been this early fall, either. Usually just when a storm blows through. During the winter is a different story. Blowing snow can be miserable! But I guess you have to realize it isn't that much different than blowing sand! Depends on whether you prefer roasting or freezing!!!!! The much slower pace here might drive you crazy for awhile, but it sure is nice not having traffic. There are all kinds of outdoor activities within fairly short drives from here. No ocean out your front window, though!!! If you have any more questions, just ask. As you can see, I'm a real talker! Take care.

[septocaine_queen]

Thanks for the info. I actually live a kind of slow life out here. I work about 3 miles from home to work one way, so never use the freeway. I use the freeway to drive the 3 miles to the beach because it is the fastest route. The longest distance I drive is to the airport which is about 35 miles away in downtown San Diego. Not too much excitement just typical laid back so cal beach life. When I am in LV pretty much same since our place is about 20 miles west of the Strip near Red Rock Canyon, it is like anywhere else. Years ago I used to do the long commute, but no more.

How far are the Black Hills from Gillette or is it considered part of the Black Hills?

What areas are considered desirable areas to live?

[GEORGIAINMT]

We aren't far from the Black Hills. You wouldn't consider Gillette part of the Black Hills, but it's close. Actually just across the border into S. Dakota is the Black Hills Natl. Forest (there is a tiny bit of it on the Wyo side). You can go to this link to get more info on the Black Hills area....Black Hills Tourist Info Directory and Guide
It includes a page with a map on it. I'm sure there are other sites, too. It's only about an hour or so east of us. To our west about 90 miles are the Big Horn Mountains...very beautiful but very different than the Black Hills. I spent a lot of time there when I was younger.

As for desireable places to live.....Gillette is an odd town when it comes to neighborhoods. I don't know if it's because most of Gillette has been built since the late 70's, early 80's energy boom or what....but the town is made up of little "pockets" or neighborhoods that each has its own name. For instance, we live in Sleepy Hollow, which is a subdivision a couple of miles from town. Right now I would say the nicest part of town where the nicest, more expensive, new homes are is in the Westover area which is on the western edge of town by the Knob Hill golf course. There is also Western Way, a new sub. called RC Ranch with some upscale homes, as well as many other nice little neighborhoods with very nice homes. You will find that Gillette has a lot of mobile home communities because back during the boom I mentioned earlier as well as this latest boom that is what a lot of people could qualify to buy. The older homes are in the "downtown" area, where there is a mix of nice homes as well as unkempt ones. My suggestion would be to get with a realtor when you come visit so he or she could give you ideas. I have one in mind, but I can't advertise here, so I'll send you a direct message with the website. Keep sending the questions my way!
Georgia

[septocaine_queen]

Thanks for the info, I got your DM.

How is health care and the hospital?

[GEORGIAINMT]

I have heard really good things about the hospital and health care here. I know that it is growing by leaps & bounds. Fortunately, I haven't had to utilize the hospital services other than going to the lab! I did find a great doctor who is not only an internal medicine doctor but also a cardiologist, which seems quite rare. I'll see him for what ails me now and hope that my heart holds out so we don't have to deal with the cardio part

[septocaine_queen]

As long as he is not the town's plumber and the cardiologist.