Michigan to Wyoming (Cheyenne, Gillette: apartments, rentals, health insurance)

[cactusjuice67]

I have read numerous threads of people posting about moving from Michigan to Wyoming thinking we have jobs out here. The automotive industry in Michigan has been failing and the oil industry had previously been posting want ads in the Michigan automotive sector to try and find work to relocate to the Wyoming oil fields. I see many posts made in recent history asking about relocating to Wyoming. I would like people to know that the economy has hit hard everywhere. the oilfield has stopped hiring everywhere in Wyoming. The projects have stopped and even the contractors of several oilfields have been let go. The rigs have been shut down. BP, Williams, Merit Energy, Conoco Philips, you name it, all are at a stand still. Wyoming and it's oilfield is in an economic crunch big time too! If anyone dare post otherwise, you can be sure they are not a wyoming oilfield worker!

[jeffandjess]

Thank you for your candid post. It must seem like all us michigan people are invading. lol. that is not my families intention at all. But Michigan has as many unemployed individual as wyoming has populus. It just so scary here. My husband works for a GM dealership, he has for 20 years. (hes 43 and i'm 27 if it matters) they have already cut his pay, vacations, and holiday time they cut everyones at the dealership. I do home daycare. we pay $140/week for health insurance and our family has some conditions that require constant care but are not debilitating or life threatening. We NEED jobs. we are hard working, we used to have 70k in equity in our home, now we would be lucky to sell if for what we owe. We have done everything how you're "supposed" to in order to be safe and secure. and our family will be in dire straights when my hubby loses his job. we want to be members of a community somewhere, raise our kids in safety and happiness, and work hard and play hard. We are hoping wyoming fits that bill for us. we have nothing to lose by trying. and everything to lose by doing nothing. And we don't have friends/neighbors/relatives to rely on since it will and does effect everyone we know.

This is my daughter. Her name is Lorelei. She deserves everything we can give her. And she loves to hunt and fish, she would love wyoming if we are lucky enough to be welcomed into your fine state

[cactusjuice67]

I did not mean to imply that Wyoming was being invaded. I just wanted to stop the false hope that there seems to be about Wyoming being full of jobs. If you do find an opportunity here, I think that is great. Just know that Wyoming is hit as hard by this economic mess as everyone else. And our cost of living is much higher than in Michigan. Lorelei is a doll! Best of luck to you.

[dc53]

To add to cactusjuice's knowlege- I am from Michigan- my ex has worked for GM for 30 years, and I have many friends who work/worked for the auto industry, so I know the wages.
Pay here in Wyoming is much, much less than Michigan.
Living in Wyoming is more expensive than anywhere in Michigan- by quite a bit.
My neighbor's daughter/son-in-law came here from Minnesota looking for jobs- they both have good qualifications/work histories, but neither as been able to find anything at all.
Local realtor told me that the near oilfields have been laying off, which trickles down.
The local new car lot has so few cars on the lot that it is scary- sort of a tribute to the state of our economy- nobody is even buying cars/trucks. Scary

[GEORGIAINMT]

I have to agree to an extent that things have slowed down in Wyoming, especially in the new oil drilling industry. However, things are still going strong here in Gillette. If you want to log on to the Gillette News Record and check out today's front page story about all the new schools being built, how many kids there are here, and how many projected, you will see that plans are still full steam ahead for growth in the is part of the state. Having been in education for many years I can tell you that a school district would not have new schools being built (total of 4 elem. in the works now plus a new jr. high and new alt. high school) if they thought the recession was going to really hurt the economy here. Don't believe everything you read in posts until you've checked things out thoroughly yourselves. Sorry to be the bearer of "GOOD" news!

[cactusjuice67]

Originally Posted by GEORGIAINMT

I have to agree to an extent that things have slowed down in Wyoming, especially in the new oil drilling industry. However, things are still going strong here in Gillette. If you want to log on to the Gillette News Record and check out today's front page story about all the new schools being built, how many kids there are here, and how many projected, you will see that plans are still full steam ahead for growth in the is part of the state. Having been in education for many years I can tell you that a school district would not have new schools being built (total of 4 elem. in the works now plus a new jr. high and new alt. high school) if they thought the recession was going to really hurt the economy here. Don't believe everything you read in posts until you've checked things out thoroughly yourselves. Sorry to be the bearer of "GOOD" news!

The only thing I agree with in your post is the statement you wrote saying "don't believe everything you read in posts until you've checked things out thoroughly yourselves". you would think that "someone who has been in education for many years" would be able to follow the post being about OILFIELD. I wrote this post because Michigan had been advertising in the past for "oilfield" workers to come to Wyoming. People still believe that Wyoming has these jobs available right now. I am seeing the effects first hand. watching the uhauls leave one after the other. businesses close down who relied on the oilfields. I still stand by my first post until you can show me there are oilfield jobs in Gillette. Again,when I wrote this post it was for the people in Michigan who still believe these jobs are there. If anyone in MI is into construction, Heck yes, by all means please inquire to see if this trade may be open in Gillette. I am all for helping the Auto workers from GM etc. find desperately needed jobs. My family retired from GM and relies on a pension that might not be there in the future so I definately feel heartache for all of them.
There are 2 oilfield jobs in Gillette paper today. there are also many in the area who have been laid off and those jobs will probably be filled before the end of the day. But if all the Michiganders want to believe GerogianMT and pack up and spend all your savings coming out to Wyoming in the belief there are jobs here I will post todays rental ads in Gillette.

Two bedroom, fully furnished, utilities included, $1,000 per month.

Nice two bedroom apartments with garages, in Gillette, washer/ dryer, $1,000/ month plus deposit and utilities

Duplex, three bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths, $1,700/ month

New three bedroom, two bath home, AC, $1,695/ month, $1,500/ deposit

There are some lower priced but this is the average.

I am only trying to help the people from Michigan. You GeorgianMT do not understand the cost of living in Michigan. These prices look normal to you because the oil boom raised the cost of rentals. These prices have not come down. our groceries are even double/triple the cost here in Wyoming.

I did notice your help wanted ads today are asking for a babysitter and several motels are needing housekeepers at $8.00 an hour. If anyone from Michigan wants to come out and pay these rental costs for a home and thinks they can pay the rent at $8.00 an hour, Well pack up and head out.

When the oil industry picks up in Wyoming, I will gladly, Happily, Joyfully post any info I can to help the Michiganders and people from any other state who are suffering in this economy.

[cactusjuice67]

There are a total of 34 help wanted job ads in todays newspaper. of those: 8 are for janitorial and/or motels, a newspaper carrier, a manicurist, subway, your basic CDL training ads....

there are a total of 3 decent jobs in todays paper. only 2 being in Gillette.

Trinity Exploration, LLP is seeking reliable individuals with a good attitude to fill the following positions: Experienced toolpushers and drillers - top wages, safety bonus, paid vacation, heath and life insurance, rotating shifts with scheduled OT. Pre-employment drug and alcohol screen and current copy of MVR required. Please send resumes to Trinity Exploration, P.O. Box 1688, Gillette, Wyoming 82717, lgeiss@trinityx.net or call 307.682.1153 for an
application.


CARPENTERS with commercial experience. $20 + DOE. 401K,
vacation. Pre-employment drug testing.
Fax resume to Norton Construction, 687-7273.


Land Development company looking for Superintendents, Operators, and Laborers with verifiable infrastructure experience. Travel necessary. Excellent benefits. Please fax resume to: 307-635-7227 or mail: 1807 Capitol Ave. Suite 200, Cheyenne, WY 82001.

In a town the size of Gillette, 34 jobs TOTAL and most are low pay. not a very booming economy. Happy (and suprised) to see the construction jobs. Gillette you are fortunate for these few. Hope these job postings can be of some help.

[cactusjuice67]

for job postings in Wyoming:

www.wyomingatwork.com

[GEORGIAINMT]

First of all, I don't ever remember inviting people to come to Gillette for OILFIELD jobs! You are misquoting me. The mines are the biggest employers in town, not the oilfields. You are mistaken if you say groceries are 3x more here than in Michigan. I watch the weekly ads and my grocery budget is very low. If it was 3x lower in Michigan I would be getting my food for almost free if I lived there! I do know that housing is more expensive, but for Wyoming it is not bad when you take into consideration the amount of money people are making in Gillette compared to some other towns. We feel RICH here compared to living in Billings. My wages doubled coming here. Everything is cheaper here than there except for rent, but Billings isn't far behind Gillette in that. For one thing, taxes are WAY less here than in Montana. You were quoting the # of jobs posted in today's paper. If you knew much about the paper here, you'd realize that Sundays and Thursdays are the big ad days for employment. Sunday had WAY more jobs than that in it. I don't know why you have to take such exception to EVERYTHING I post! I am a very positive person with an upbeat outlook on life. Your posts, however, IMHO, seem very negative and sour. Leave Gillette if you hate it so much. Some of us love it here and a lot of people who have moved here from other places (including many I've met from Michigan) also love it. To each his own. One last thing....one of the "rules" on this forum is that you don't personally attack people. I'd appreciate it if you would follow that rule and not attack me (as in your post saying that as a person being in education for many years I should be able to follow the post being about the oilfield). I kindly ask that you don't insult my intelligence. Everyone who is a regular on these boards knows that very rarely is the ORIGINAL POST the only thing talked about in the thread....sometimes RELATED things are mentioned. Again, never once did I refer to there being a lot of oilfield jobs here, I was just talking about Gillette in general. Please stand corrected!

[GEORGIAINMT]

Originally Posted by cactusjuice67

I am seeing the effects first hand. watching the uhauls leave one after the other. businesses close down who relied on the oilfields.

I sure don't see the Uhauls you are seeing. In fact, we are in the process of buying home as well as helping some folks find places to live. If so many Uhauls are heading out, what houses or apartments are they vacating???? Granted, there are more rentals available now than they were last summer/early fall, but they are still hard to come by here in Gillette. If so many people are leaving why am I not seeing lots of children transferring out of the schools I work at? We have more & more coming in. I realize that a lot of oilfield workers are single men or men who don't have their families here with them, but I still strongly believe that the population has not changed much. Also, I'd like to know which businesses in town have closed down. I haven't heard of any named, so would like proof of that. The only one I know of that has recently closed was a little "higher end" accessories (purses, gifts, etc.) shop. Maybe I have my head in the sand about businesses closing, so I'd appreciate finding out which businesses you are talking about. By the way, how long have you lived in Wyoming?