SE corner of Wyoming: quasi front-range? (Cheyenne, Casper: fit in, construction, school)

[Tex?Il?]

I went to grad school in Laramie and loved it!
However the one thing I always found very interesting, is how many people there always saw Colorado being too different. Too populated and affluent for them to really identify with.

However, having lived there and seeing the rest of Colorado and Wyoming, does anyone think of Laramie and Cheyenne as having a little more in common with the front range of Colorado, given the size of Cheyenne and the proximity to the rest of the front range (Fort Collins) and Laramies relatively cosmopolitan/liberal given the fact that its also a college town,

do you think that these places are sort of like satellite, remote extensions of Colorado front range populated corridor that extends from Pueblo, CO through Fort Collins, and maybe to the aforementioned.

I tend to think so, even though there was a strong Wyoming pride and identity in Laramie, I thought of the rest of the state (as beautiful as it is) as being to remote and rural for my tastes to actually live in. Therefore I think of Laramie and Cheyenne as having more in common with Fort Collins (maybe Fort Collins in the past?)

[lovethewest]

Well, technically the Front Range extends northward and does include Cheyenne. However, I know exactly what you mean. I personally consider Cheyenne and Laramie to be part of the front range. Both towns just seem to fit in with the front range scene. Of course this is just my opinion.

[ElkHunter]

I don't know. I'm not one to "Convieniently put labels on things." I would not consider Cheyenne or Laramie "Front Range". What is front range? I would say it was the area just in front of the Rockies. Not a attitude or political stance.

As far as Laramie being a "Liberal" town. Hell yes, it's a college town. Have you ever seen any college town that wasn't hanging far to the left?

And I certainly wouldn't compare Cheyenne and Laramie with any Colorado town. There's just no comparisons to be had other then weather.

For instance, what's the mean income of the two? What's the city council like? How about jobs to be had? Where's the money come from to run the city?

Cheyenne makes their money by oil, construction, and hard work. What's Fort Collins do? I'd say the number one thing in Fort Collins is realistate.

[Wyomiles]

Two different worlds in my view. Hope it stays that way too !

[Heit]

I totally agree with Wyomiles on this one.

[MRVphotog]

When I was in grad school at UW I too thought Ft Collins was way diferent than Laramie...weatherwise it was very diferent. Considering the strong rivalry between UW and CSU talking about Laramie and Ft Collins as the same is totally crazy.

[Tex?Il?]

I see what you're saying. I guess I was thinking of the Laramie and Cheyenne area as being trasitional. There certainly is the feeling of being less isolated in these areas. Certainly places like Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs no way, theres certainly no comparison there. Those places are more affluent and urbanized.

But places like Greeley and Pueblo? In my opinion those places have more in common with Cheyenne than Cheyenne with any town in Wyoming of 6,000 or fewer people.

Laramie, well I think there is less of a Colorado equivalent, because there is no college town of the size of Laramie, although the northern edge of New Mexico (Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in Cimarron/Raton (there was snow in late March when I was there) at least to me felt a lot like the Med Bows.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by Wyomiles

Two different worlds in my view. Hope it stays that way too !

Originally Posted by Heit

I totally agree with Wyomiles on this one.

Me too!!!!

[jazzlover]

Cheyenne sort of has its feet in both worlds. It is only 45 miles from Fort Collins and the beginning of the very urban Colorado Front Range. A lot of people in Cheyenne shop on the Front Range and a fair number commute there to work. So, in that sense, Cheyenne is definitely within the "sphere of influence" of Colorado's Front Range. On the other hand, Cheyenne is absolutely the governmental and political center of Wyoming, as well as being the state's largest city (though Casper may be about to overtake it again in population), so Cheyenne is very much an integral part of Wyoming.

While Cheyenne is in close physical proximity to the Front Range, geographically speaking, the terrain, climate, flora, and fauna has much more in common with the rest of Wyoming than it does with Colorado.

Probably the biggest difference is culture, though. Cheyenne's culture is much more "Wyoming" than Front Range. Maybe, more correctly, Cheyenne's culture is much more in tune with the rural Rocky Mountain West than it is with the urban Front Range. I have lived in rural Colorado, SE Wyoming, and Colorado's Front Range. Cheyenne and rural Colorado have much more in common with each other than either of those areas do with urban Colorado. Most people just assume that all of Colorado has a culture like the Front Range and that's not true. I hope that Front Range urban culture does not "pollute" Cheyenne, but--in my lifetime--I watched it creep right along with the urban sprawl from the north edge of Denver all the way to Fort Collins--and now heading toward Wellington. So, I wouldn't say that it never will reach Cheyenne--it's getting closer all the time . . .

[Treehugger]

Originally Posted by Wyomiles

Two different worlds in my view. Hope it stays that way too !

That's a pretty isolationist point of view.
I enjoy the hippy, Liberal vibe in Laramie. To me, Laramie is quite like Ft. Collins on a much smaller scale.