Californian Transplanting to Torrington Wy (Cheyenne, Sheridan: rentals, homes, layoffs)

[Fatmyke]

Hey guys,
This is my first post...so hello! I live in northern California and have been trying to get into The Department of Corrections here and due to cut backs and layoffs it has been really tough. I saw an ad that Wyoming is hiring for the new institution in Torrington and i will be applying for this. Can anyone give me any ideas on the area? Places to stay away from when deciding to find a home, good for kids, any info on the life in Torringtonand surrounding areas would be great. Is there any nice areas that would only be 30 minuts or so from Torrington? Thanks for any info!
Mike

[ElkHunter]

Take a look through the threads. I saw Torrington mentioned along with the link on where to apply for the department of corrections.

[sixofone]

Originally Posted by Fatmyke

Hey guys,
This is my first post...so hello! I live in northern California and have been trying to get into The Department of Corrections here and due to cut backs and layoffs it has been really tough. I saw an ad that Wyoming is hiring for the new institution in Torrington and i will be applying for this. Can anyone give me any ideas on the area? Places to stay away from when deciding to find a home, good for kids, any info on the life in Torringtonand surrounding areas would be great. Is there any nice areas that would only be 30 minuts or so from Torrington? Thanks for any info!
Mike

Torrington is a quiet town of 5800 people located in rural Goshen county. The primary industry is agriculture. A lot of info is available on the city web site:

Torrington, Wyoming

There is no "bad" or "gang banger" area in town, if that's what you're asking, however the south end of town is less affluent, and the homes are smaller and older.

Homes here will be far cheaper than you're used to seeing in California, and $400K should buy you the largest and very nicest homes in town. Rentals, however, are hard to come by, as the locals and a few speculators are planning to make a profit off of you new-comers by raising their rents.

Schools are good, and probably much smaller than you're accustomed to. Torrington High has about 430 students total (grades 9-12) and Southeast High and Lingle High (the other 2 Goshen county high schools} have an enrollment of less than 100 students each. Elementary and Middle schools are similarly sized.

Shopping and dining is limited here in Torrington. About 30 miles to the east is Scottsbluff Nebraska, which is larger and has more of the amenities that out-of-town folks are accustomed to (e.g., mall, cineplex, Super Wal-Mart, Target, better restaurants, etc). There's more rental housing there as well.

Just a word of advice-- many of the locals have a very poor opinion of California. I'd suggest making your first stop the county clerk's office, where you can get Wyoming tags for your car. Otherwise the cops tend to stare at you.

Good luck on your move.

[Fatmyke]

Thanks for all of the info guys. How about living in Scottsbluff. Is that a reasonable area to live while working in Torrington? How are housing prices and rentals going?

Anyone have an idea if I am able to live in NE while being an employee of the state of Wyoming?

[ElkHunter]

These should help too. These are found right here on City-Data.

Torrington

Scottsbluff

I don't think there's any restrictions on Officers at the prison. I used to work at the jail here in Sheridan and some of the Detention officers lived in Montana.

I do know that they require the Sheriff's Deputies to live in the same County as what they patrol, but you might want to check into your position being able to live outside the state.

[sixofone]

Originally Posted by Fatmyke

Thanks for all of the info guys. How about living in Scottsbluff. Is that a reasonable area to live while working in Torrington? How are housing prices and rentals going?

Anyone have an idea if I am able to live in NE while being an employee of the state of Wyoming?

I don't know for a fact, but I'm pretty confident you can live where you want to, based on the following:

1. The prison is only a few miles from the state line
2. The prison was built by a Nebraska contractor, and most of the workers had NE tags on their cars
3. WYDOC is advertising for employees on the Scottsbluff TV station
4. Goshen County doesn't have enough people (12,000 souls in a 2400 sq mile area) to staff the prison without hiring from neighboring Nebraska
5. Two-thirds of new-comers to Wyoming quit and move away within the first year, and the turn-over is even higher for WYDOC employees (I've heard many tales of new employees who quit the very first day).
6. A friend of mine knows the mayor of Mitchell NE, and they are building homes to try to attract WYDOC employees to their town. They wouldn't do that if you couldn't live in NE.
Thus WYDOC can't afford to be too picky about where you live, as long as you show up for work!!

[Fatmyke]

Originally Posted by sixofone

5. Two-thirds of new-comers to Wyoming quit and move away within the first year, and the turn-over is even higher for WYDOC employees (I've heard many tales of new employees who quit the very first day).

Why do you think this is?

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Fatmyke

Why do you think this is?

Most think they know what winter is and then find out they don't know squat.

Some, finally realize what isolation is.

Some, finally realize they're not going to change us to be like the folks were back where they came from.

[jazzlover]

Living in Nebraska would negate a significant advantage of working in Torrington--the lack of a state income tax in Wyoming, whereas you would have to pay Nebraska income tax if you live in Nebraska and work in Wyoming.

I have not lived in Torrington, but I lived in SE Wyoming for several years, and have friends in Torrington. You may indeed run into some animosity from locals about being a Californian coming to work in Torrington--especially since the new prison was more or less sold to the community on the idea of employing mostly local residents. Also, what has already been posted is true--much of any major shopping must be done in Scottsbluff, Cheyenne, Fort Collins, or Denver. You will see a number of "7" license plates (Goshen County's license plate designation) in all of those places on weekends. I like Torrington and could live there, but then I'm a Rocky Mountain region native who is used to and prefers small towns. It is true that those who have not lived in those kind of communities often "wash out" after a few years.

[Happy in Wyoming]

I keep hearing about animosity towards Californians; but I've never heard it from people who have moved here from California. Many people here, however, are not terribly fond of government employees of any kind. I certainly don't think highly of individuals whom I'm forced to support. Anyone who wishes to be a real member of the community here needs to have a real job.