Wondering about living in small towns like Wright or Torrington... (Cheyenne: weddings, high school)

[lilwhite18]

My husband and I are sick of living in the "Big City" (we currently live in Seattle, WA) and want to move somewhere where we can be within a few hours drive to the Black Hills area (we have family there). My husband is a Chiropractor (been practicing for a little over a year) and I work as his assistant/office person. We both want to live in a smaller town. Smaller meaning 1000-10000. We have no kids, but would be wanting to start a family eventually.

We have looking into Wright, WY and Torrington, WY. What are the opinions of these places? We want to know if they are good places to live, and aren't "too" small. Any other suggestions? If it helps, I was raised in a town of 1600 and he was raised in a town of 4000. Any help would be appreciated!!!

[sunsprit]

IMO, Torrington's a pretty nice area, and a "nice" small town. You'll still have reasonable access to the amenities of a larger place, such as Scottsbluff or Cheyenne, while being able to enjoy a rural living environment.

But I'd wonder if you have the population base to support your practice there. The cost of living there isn't exactly in the bargain basement level ....

Perhaps you might look into the Buffalo/Sheridan area ... where you can still enjoy rural living, but closer access to a larger population base. It would be a bit more expensive than Torrington, but there's also ready access to more amenities ... and not a larger town than you're accustomed to already, with good access to the Black Hills.

[WyoNewk]

I don't know if we have any regular posters from Wright or not, but I can tell you a little about it. As I'm sure you know, it's about 38 miles south of Gillette. It seems to be a nice little town, but it's not your typical small town. It was started as sort of a company town in the 70s.

Just going from memory, but as I recall Atlantic Richfield started it to provide a living option for the coal miners in that area. The distance from Gillette to Douglas is about 115 miles, and there was nothing between (other than Bill, Wy, population about 10), so when the mines started opening up in that area in the 70s, Wright was hatched. (I should add, it's not and never was a true "company town". It's not owned by any of the coal companies; it was just started by them.)

It has its own government, a nice K-12 school, I think it's a 9-hole golf course, a community hall, a little strip shopping center, restaurant and bar, at least one church, etc., but I think most residents make regular trips to Gillette for shopping, entertainment and other needs.

I'm a photographer and have worked with the high school a little and shot a few weddings there. My experiences with the residents has always been positive, and most everyone seems quite friendly.

Hopefully someone who knows more about Wright will post and correct whatever misinformation I might have provided, along with personal takes on living there. I just wanted to point out that it's a little different than most small towns in Wyoming.

I have no idea if it would support a chiropractor or not. I'm sure you'd be welcomed with open arms -- just don't know if it would provide a good income. With all the mine workers living there, it might be great.

Good luck to you, wherever you decide to settle down.

Oh, and be sure to check out Newcastle and Sundance, WY. They're both older, established towns and are at the edge of the Black Hills.

[lilwhite18]

Thank you both so much for your feedback so far! I would still like to get a few more opinions about small town life in Eastern Wyoming, especially Wright, Torrington, Sundance, etc. Any help is appreciated!

[georgiainwyo]

WyoNewk pretty much summed up Wright. I know a few people who live there and they do almost everything in Gillette, which I'm sure would include health care. I'm not so sure that a chiropractic office would go over well there as I imagine most people us Gillette doctors and there isn't a very big population base to support it. I agree with WyoNewk that some of the small towns east of Gillette would be a better bet for you. They are closer to the Black Hills, too. I love that area, it's very pretty. We go to the Black Hills/Rapid City/Deadwood area quite often from here in Gillette. Sorry, I don't know much at all about Torrington!

[wyolady]

Originally Posted by lilwhite18

Thank you both so much for your feedback so far! I would still like to get a few more opinions about small town life in Eastern Wyoming, especially Wright, Torrington, Sundance, etc. Any help is appreciated!

I've lived in Torrington for 7 years, having also lived in other Wyoming communities. I personally do believe there is a patient base here for you. My hubby and many friends I know travel to Scottsbluff, Nebraska (just 35 miles away) for chiropractic care. We have a chiropractor here in Torrington, but he is very busy and difficult to get into.

We are a community of about 6,000, with nearly 12,000 in the larger Goshen County area. We have good schools with low student/teacher ratio for any future family you may have. We have typical amenities of a small community - 2 grocery stores, eating establishments, etc. We are only 35 miles from Scottsbluff, which has much more shopping and a regional medical center, and 80 miles north of Cheyenne, WY, our state capitol with very nice shopping, medical, etc.

Our cost of living is quite low - one reason we are here. Property values didn't skyrocket like the rest of the country and are actually down a little now from a year ago, but haven't bottomed out because they weren't overinflated. But that could change. . . . We have a prison being built that will open 2010 that could drive up housing. But that will also bring you more client base.

Our climate is very mild compared to the rest of Wyoming, with pleasant winters and nice summers, although a few weeks of very, very hot.

We are 2 hours from the southern Black Hills and 3 hours from Rapid City. We just got back from there - we go nearly 6 times a year for recreation and site-seeing.

If you want more specific info, feel free to IM me.

[wyolady]

Forgot to mention - we also have our own hopsital in Torrington along with dentists, optometrists, and doctors in the community as well.