Where to move? Help me decide! (Cheyenne, Laramie: credit, new house, buyers)

[VickiF]

Originally Posted by TGM

Hey guys & gals - I just heard that two towns have been added to my list of possible choices - Kemmerer & Hanna.

Any input on these two towns? Kemmerer has photos on its website that show a pretty good view of the town, however the mountains don't seem very high... Are threre really good mountain views in either of these towns, or are they mostly rolling hills like the rest of the southern areas?

Troy

I grew up in Kemmerer. I moved there when I was 1 and moved when I was 19. We are now going back. It is a wonderful place to raise children, the money there is great. To make it to the mountains, it's a very short drive and the views are beautiful. If you don't like snow, I don't recommend moving there, it snows all the time, but it's so worth it.

[wagonhound]

Hi, Troy....guess I will throw in MY two cents worth about Wyoming. We have lived here all our life but in NORTHERN Wyoming. Why are you not considering our neck of the woods? We have some very nice smaller towns with great schools and we are not nearly as WINDY and SNOWY as the Laramie, Cheyenne area. For entertainment, shopping, dining, etc. when we want to go to a bigger place, we are 2 hours from Billings, Montana and it has quite a bit. Guess we just hate the traffic and windy, snowy winters in southern Wyoming and it is much milder here...........and the BIG HORN MOUNTAINS are beautiful and not far away for skiing, picnics, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, camping.....and Yellowstone Park is not too far either. Just give us a LITTLE consideration in your quest to move to Wyoming, ok?!

Thanks!

[1of3]

Yes it sounds like quite a culture shock. I was born and raised in Wyoming and do enjoy the solitude that rugged country provides. I have been to Houston and lived in Austin for a few years, and there are two totally different worlds here.

Wyoming population 1 person per 10 sq miles. That is less than the population of Austin for the entire state. The mentality and culture is very independent and self sufficient. However the people are very outgoing and friendly.

Please, take heed of the post about the weather. Again this is very rugged country with very sever weather and climate changes throughout the year. Wind gusting 15 to 25 mph is considered a calm day in most parts of Wyoming, and 40 to 60+mph winds are very common especially along I-80, Cheyenne and Casper. Both cities are listed in the top 5 windiest cities in America.

I am not trying to scare you, just make you aware this will be a very big adjustment for you and your family.

I hope this helps. Please post and let us know how it goes for you.

Toby.

[proud_mom]

Why not Cheyenne? Why it is considered by Most in Wyoming to be one of the "big" cities it isnt soo large that you feel crowded in the masses. It is large enough to avoid the constant bickering and cat calling thats is commen in some of the smaller towns listed, but small enough that when you go to the grocery store you are more likely then not going to run into someone you know and be helped by familiar faces as well. Cheyenne has many great churches as well as a mall to walk around when you want to get out on the cold winter days.

[alpine]

Troy, we have lived in Star Valley and Cody. Both are prettier than any of the other places mentioned in this thread. ( & we have driven to most all of them looking for a place to move to) We were in Alpine for 3 years and every day we would look out and say WOW. It is at the 6K elevation so you do have snow in the Winter months ( June thru Apr)
(Deer in a yard are nice if you like them eating your flowers and leaving **** everywhere and with them doing that indicates someone is feeding them.)
From our patio we could see mountain lions, moose, deer, mountain goats and eagles. Cuthroat were just 2 "blocks" away on the Greys River.
Cody was close to Yellowstone & we went there real often but Cody doesn't have the WOW factor that Star Valley has.
And as far as where to shop & eat in Star Valley, we always drove over to Idaho Falls. Alpine has pizza & burgers. Some beer too but when the LDS folks from Salt Lake come up in the summer, they buy all the Fat Tire so you gotta plan around that, maybe!
Only reason we left is because I am on O2 24/7 and a lower & warmer climate is better for breathing BUT, we miss WY! And it sure beats TX.
You will love WY, I'm sure.
Good luck.

[BlueOasis]

Your initial list was hilarious. My initial thought was, "Is this a joke?" Look at Lander. It has what you are looking for with the least amount of wind. I wake up every morning looking at the Wind River Mountains with the highest peaks in Wyoming. We enjoy sunny days that are generally very calm (try standing up in Rawlins or Laramie on a windy day). Riverton is 23 miles away with WalMart and KMart and any of the things you may need on a regular basis but aren't in Lander. You are about 4-5 hours from Lander to Billings, SLC or Denver. If you're a lawyer, judge or tree-hugger please stay in Texas.

[Wyomiles]

I'll second Saratoga. Also Buffalo, Pinedale, Evanston,Casper and Dubois. If your job does not tie you down to one place you should take a trip and look around. There are lots of beautiful places in Wyoming. Wyomiles

[ijwyo]

It is small in Wyoming, the 2 biggest towns are Cheyenne and Casper. Cheyenne is 10 miles from Colorado, 40 min. or so from Ft. Collins, 100 miles from Denver, and it does have shopping, it might be possible to find a $100,000 house there still, but not 2,000 sq. feet, unless you get an older one or a deal. Housing has been up the past 2 years in Wyoming, but is said to be coming down, there has been a 6% housing price growth, which is average. Casper has 2 wal-marts, a mall, and many shopping centers, and dominos, pizza hut, papa john's and a few local pizza places and is 2.5 hours from cheyenne, so you can go to Denver for a weekend event or amusement park, ect. The BIG culture shock across Wyoming that I found when I moved from the Carolinas is it is 5,000 ft. elevation, dry air, cold, less bugs, traffic, pollution, and people, and crime, there are more bars, open and almost empty roads, it is mostly white, it is a republican state with a ranching/ oil field background. If you hunt, drive a truck, like steaks and Bud light, and do not know what wheatgrass shots are and don't care for holistic healthcare, art that doesn't have wildlife in it, or can't stand cold then this might not be your state. If you want camping, fishing, quiet neighborhoods, low taxes, and can live without outlet shopping then you'll be just fine. Out of your towns, I would look into Rock Springs, the area has some scenery, there is growth there, a walmart, and you aren't too far from Utah.

[alpine]

I find it funny that no one has mentioned Cody when recommending towns. It has population of about 9,000 but is 90 miles from Billings where you can find every big city thing you need and not have to pay sales tax. Cody has lots of reasonably priced houses and people are really friendly. There are things going on all year long. Have a wonderful museum there that will cost you about $50/year for family to visit any time you want. They have great Indian pow wow! Tourists bring population up dramatically during Yellowstone season but you can visit Yellowstone before and after peak seasons. It is just 50 miles from Cody. River runs through Cody. It is windy but then all of WY seems tohave wind. It gets cold there but snow melts rather quickly so do not need snow blower. Kids can walk all around town. They have parks every where you look including one park with a climbing wall. Lots of churches - lot of pizza delivery plus some nice restaurants including a hole in the wall where coffee costs 25 cents. Do not consider anywhere else in Wy until you have checked out Cody. Almost everything in town is free for residents during beginning of summer so you can check out every thing without paying tourist prices. Scenery is pretty spectacular also.
Been to Houston and you will find same politeness in Cody as Texas, just without the twang!

[ElkHunter]

Wagonhound hit the nail on the head. Nice square hit, good job!

There are a lot of wonderful places to live in Wyoming. I've lived in Evanston, Hanna, Gillette, Cheyenne, Sundance, Newcastle and Sheridan.

When I come out of the Navy, I come home to Sheridan. I say home because that's where I wanted to be. Was I from here? No. Only lived here long enough to build a coal mining operation called Decker. But throughout all my travels and work, I decided that this would be HOME.

Please, take a hard look at what you want to do, or more importantly, where you want to do it.