Wyoming vs Montana?? (Sheridan: land, areas, town)

[GEORGIAINMT]

Yes, you're right, I am a teacher. Good memory! This is the latest info I have on the teaching profession/education spending for MT vs. WY. I hope this bit of info is helpful. I'm still looking for the info I have on state rankings.


Teaching salary summary page for the state of Wyoming
Salary range: $42,000 - $79,000

Average teacher salary: $43,255

Average beginning teacher salary: $36,269

Median household income: $47,227

Median house price: $130,702

Per-Pupil Spending: $8,667

Cents spent on benefits for every dollar paid as salary: 31.9¢


Teaching salary summary page for the state of Montana
Salary range: $28,546 - $60,064

Average teacher salary: $38,485

Average beginning teacher salary: $24,032

Median household income: $41,105

Median house price: $155,280

Per-Pupil Spending: $7,027

Cents spent on benefits for every dollar paid as salary: 27.6¢

[amyflorida70]

GEORGIAMT
Thanks for the contunied posts. I am glad to see that you have changed your mind. Thank You.
I think that ones persons are just as important as the other and those that are in that state with that experience are what people really need to hear. I have had so much information, that my brain is on overload. LOL

[rmmoore]

I can't comment on specifics relative to actual cost comparatives between Montana and Wyoming, because I have never lived in BOTH places. I did have an opportunity to go to take a job Bozeman one time, and ended up in Wyoming, near Cheyenne. I have driven through both places, and spent quite a bit of time in/around Casper. Bozeman is beautiful, no doubt. Casper is pretty too, but in a different way. What is the view worth? Quality of life will good in either place, and probably better than most anywhere down south. I can say that, because I'm FROM the south myself. And I will never go back. It's where I'm from, but Wyoming is my HOME.

Amyflorida's stated income expectations are about where we fall in, and believe me, you can have a pretty good quality of life with than income bracket in Casper.

Someone earlier metioned buying a vehicle and registering it before you move. Unless you need it, DON'T!!!!!! You won't accomplish ANYTHING. That happened to us. We paid 3% tax on our vehicles when we bought them (NM), and when we registered them in WY, we paid the 3% difference (WY charges 6%), plus the license plates anyway. So we didn't gain anything. And my understanding is FL license plates are fairly expensive also, so you'll pay for them twice. Unless you HAVE to buy a new car, I'd wait. You only pay the 6% tax on the difference between your trade-in and the purchase price. If you don't trading anything in, be prepared to "bend-over".

While the wind is an issue in Wyoming, some places are better than others. Consider this: utilize the wind as a resource. You can get a wind turbine installed for around $13,000. It will reduce your electrical costs by about 60%, depending on your usage of course. Make lemonade out of lemons, as they say.

You can't go wrong in either place, and will enjoy them both. How much disposable income you have left over TO enjoy them is another question though. Good luck. Welcome to the wild west.

Don't waste your money buying a coat in the South. Wait until you get here for househunting. I would definately bring SOMETHING though What they consider a "winter coat" down there is laughable up here. It's more like a spring jacket. My dad tried that when he visited us from Alabama, and paid for it twice. He has a new coat he can't wear here, and a new one he doesn't really need down there.

[GEORGIAINMT]

Originally Posted by rmmoore

I can't comment on specifics relative to actual cost comparatives between Montana and Wyoming, because I have never lived in BOTH places. I did have an opportunity to go to take a job Bozeman one time, and ended up in Wyoming, near Cheyenne. I have driven through both places, and spent quite a bit of time in/around Casper. Bozeman is beautiful, no doubt. Casper is pretty too, but in a different way. What is the view worth? Quality of life will good in either place, and probably better than most anywhere down south. I can say that, because I'm FROM the south myself. And I will never go back. It's where I'm from, but Wyoming is my HOME.

Amyflorida's stated income expectations are about where we fall in, and believe me, you can have a pretty good quality of life with than income bracket in Casper.

Someone earlier metioned buying a vehicle and registering it before you move. Unless you need it, DON'T!!!!!! You won't accomplish ANYTHING. That happened to us. We paid 3% tax on our vehicles when we bought them (NM), and when we registered them in WY, we paid the 3% difference (WY charges 6%), plus the license plates anyway. So we didn't gain anything. And my understanding is FL license plates are fairly expensive also, so you'll pay for them twice. Unless you HAVE to buy a new car, I'd wait. You only pay the 6% tax on the difference between your trade-in and the purchase price. If you don't trading anything in, be prepared to "bend-over".

While the wind is an issue in Wyoming, some places are better than others. Consider this: utilize the wind as a resource. You can get a wind turbine installed for around $13,000. It will reduce your electrical costs by about 60%, depending on your usage of course. Make lemonade out of lemons, as they say.

You can't go wrong in either place, and will enjoy them both. How much disposable income you have left over TO enjoy them is another question though. Good luck. Welcome to the wild west.

Don't waste your money buying a coat in the South. Wait until you get here for househunting. I would definately bring SOMETHING though What they consider a "winter coat" down there is laughable up here. It's more like a spring jacket. My dad tried that when he visited us from Alabama, and paid for it twice. He has a new coat he can't wear here, and a new one he doesn't really need down there.

When we moved from MT to WY all we had to pay on our vehicles were the license plate fees. If you don't get a new Wyoming title, you don't pay sales tax. You can use your out-of-state title and still register your vehicle. So if you are getting "stuck" paying the difference between what you paid in another state and here in WY you probably didn't get the correct information, that you don't have to get a WY title and pay that darn sales tax!

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by GEORGIAINMT

When we moved from MT to WY all we had to pay on our vehicles were the license plate fees. If you don't get a new Wyoming title, you don't pay sales tax. You can use your out-of-state title and still register your vehicle. So if you are getting "stuck" paying the difference between what you paid in another state and here in WY you probably didn't get the correct information, that you don't have to get a WY title and pay that darn sales tax!

Very true Georgiainmt. When we built I-90, I hired on in South Dakota and we brought the ribbon West. Of course, when we got into Wyoming, they started dogging us because of our tags. So, we all went down and got plates. Then, I had two license plates on the back, and two on the front. Then when we got up to Sheridan, we started into Montana, they got on our case. Now I had 3 license plates on both ends. Never did change the Title. Kept South Dakota Title the whole time.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by GEORGIAINMT

When we moved from MT to WY all we had to pay on our vehicles were the license plate fees. If you don't get a new Wyoming title, you don't pay sales tax. You can use your out-of-state title and still register your vehicle. So if you are getting "stuck" paying the difference between what you paid in another state and here in WY you probably didn't get the correct information, that you don't have to get a WY title and pay that darn sales tax!

It's correct that you can use your out-of-state title to register a motor vehicle brought into Wyoming purchased when you were not a Wyoming resident.

What happens, however, is that the county clerk's office is "trained" to issue a Wyoming title when you move here and want to register your vehicle. So, in Cheyenne (Laramie County), for example, if you don't know the regs, they will want to process your paperwork which must be completed before you can go over to the license bureau with a Wyoming title to get your plates. That's the point where you will get "caught" in that sales tax collection loop, where if you paid a sales tax less than Wyoming's, then they'll nick you for the difference ... which can be a lot more than 6% in certain counties/municipalites with 2nd and 3rd penny taxes added.

This is where you should insist that you have an existing perfectly good title to the vehicle and don't want to title it in Wyoming. Your county clerk will then issue a "Wyoming temporary" title for about $12, which brings the vehicle into compliance with Wyoming law. You take that Wyoming temporary title to the County Treasurer's office, and they can then issue your license plates when you provide them proof of insurance.

So, if you can find a "good deal" on a vehicle before you move here, do so, but do it with enough time to get a title in the state you're in before moving here.

[gaduchman]

I recently moved home to Wyoming from Georgia. Not by choice, but it was the only option I had left open, after losing my job of 23 years and nearly my home and vehicles. When I returned to Fremont Cty, I stopped at the office and had them issue the temporary title which authorized the next office to re-authorize my 24 year old plates. Anyway, when I decide to trade up my 2wd truck for 4wd is when I will officially pay the needed sales tax.

[Claim Jumper]

Originally Posted by Northern Utah News

Wyoming is a great place to live and an excellent place to raise kids.
That being said..... The wind never stops blowing... EVER!
It takes a tough person to live in Wyoming. Montana is prettier, especially Bozeman but it is less expensive to live in Wyoming. If you can take the wind and the cold you will do better in Wyoming.

wow I never knew the wind don't blow in MT. and its not cold there either?
Sounds like Southern Calif.

I camped in Bozeman right on a river for a month back in the 60's I used to live in Casper and would say they have decent schools (I grew up in Wyoming) and its a good sized town for WY. The wind does blow there though-but like anything you get used to it.
If you visit both places I would guess you would like Bozeman better.
Either or you cant lose--but I would say your dollar would go far farther by far in WY. if you can take the wind and the cold

Cant have everything

[GEORGIAINMT]

Originally Posted by Claim Jumper

wow I never knew the wind don't blow in MT. and its not cold there either?
Sounds like Southern Calif.

I camped in Bozeman right on a river for a month back in the 60's I used to live in Casper and would say they have decent schools (I grew up in Wyoming) and its a good sized town for WY. The wind does blow there though-but like anything you get used to it.
If you visit both places I would guess you would like Bozeman better.
Either or you cant lose--but I would say your dollar would go far farther by far in WY. if you can take the wind and the cold

Cant have everything

I know Claim Jumper was just kidding about no wind in Montana, but I do have to say that the area around Livingston (just over the short mountain pass from Bozeman, has to be one of the windiest places I've ever been. Every time I've traveled that direction it has been super windy between Big Timber and Livingston. So yes, Virginia, there is wind in Montana!!!

[studiobtm]

Ok - about the wind - I was specifically comparing Casper to Bozeman - not Wyoming to Montana.

If I was going to move back to Wyoming I would consider 2 places - Lander and Sheridan. They are both great places to live and both are probably cheaper overall than Bozeman. Sheridan is much larger and has more work. Lander has prettier mountains but both have beautiful national forests etc. Around Lander there are vast amounts of BLM desert that you can wander in also. Around Sheridan, most of the desert is privately owned which I found frustrating.

I personally think Gillette and Casper are pretty ugly - and they don't have mountains near by. I do like the desert (I grew up on and off in Shoshoni) but Casper is known for that constant wind.

Check out Lander and Sheridan.