Wyoming wondering (Laramie, Gillette, Jackson: new home, school, live in)

[bluecollarpeach86]

I am a 24 year old southern girl wondering what it might be like to move to the great big out west. The pictures are beautiful, and I love all the space!

[Ann the Artist]

Well, I've got 40 years on you and am leaving Texas June 4th to move to Clark, Wyoming! I suggest you take trips to The Cowboy State to see which areas appeal to you, and to visit in the winter as well as the summer.

My hubby and I researched the state for more than two years before settling on Clark, a sparsely populated spot in the northwest corner that called to us. There are so many beautiful areas; only you can decide the perfect one to call your new home.

People are awesome on this forum, and if you have specific locations in mind, there will undoubtedly be long-time Wyoming residents eager to give you details.

[WyoNewk]

You'll probably miss the trees. Most parts of Wyoming don't have a lot of them.

The sparse population and distance between towns will amaze you. A farmer in Georgia might have a 10-minute drive to get groceries; a rancher in Wyoming might have a three-hour drive. Some ranchers have homes in town as well as on the ranch so their kids can attend school. I've driven 300 miles for a pizza.

Bring skin lotion. It's not as dry here as in Arizona, but it's dry compared to Georgia, and a 20-mile per hour wind is just a pleasant breeze. I've played golf in 100-degree sunny weather and not broken a sweat, thanks to a dry "breeze".

Many of the towns have a fairly young population. I moved here (to Gillette) when I was 25. The following year I became one of the old farts. Average age of Gillette's population at that time was 25. (That was 39 years ago this week, so I'm definitely in the minority now.)

Wyoming is a very pretty state, imho. Most tourists agree, but they don't see 95% of it. Even most residents of the state will never see most parts of it. I took a drive yesterday around the north end of our county. It was the first time I'd seen that part of the county. Breathtaking beauty few people will ever see -- it's way off the beaten path -- gravel roads at best. (Of course in another couple months all that lush green grass will turn brown and stay that way for the next nine months, and the river I was following will mostly dry up for the same length of time.)

Judging from the people I've known from your state, you've got lots of friendly people there. For the most part, Wyomingites are friendly too. Come with the right attitude and you'd probably fit right in.

[Pretzelogik]

I have heard they have two seasons there: Winter and road repair?

[jody_wy]

I live in the weeds, I mean tree part of the state. Used to have 4 sawmills here to masnage those carbon tubes but too many greenies fight every plan to manage the trees so we have beatles doing it for us now.

[MRVphotog]

I moved to Jackson cause I got a job there but I liked the fact that the snow most of the time comes straight down not sideways like when I lived in Laramie. It also has alot more trees than other parts of the west but there is no comparison in the amount of greenery in the east to the west, Jackson Hole, Star Valley or wherever else you live out west. One big diference is the rainfall. When I lived in northwest Wyoming almost everyone waters their lawn, here in the east very few do that. Everytime a friend from out west visits they are always struck by the amount of greenery, some even feel abit claustiphobic.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

I moved to Jackson cause I got a job there but I liked the fact that the snow most of the time comes straight down not sideways like when I lived in Laramie. It also has alot more trees than other parts of the west but there is no comparison in the amount of greenery in the east to the west, Jackson Hole, Star Valley or wherever else you live out west. One big diference is the rainfall. When I lived in northwest Wyoming almost everyone waters their lawn, here in the east very few do that. Everytime a friend from out west visits they are always struck by the amount of greenery, some even feel abit claustiphobic.

I agree with what MRVphotog wrote here. I've been on the east coast, and have seen the greenery there, and have seen most of the west, and there is really no comparison. The west is beautiful in many ways, but very different from the lush green of the east. There is a very stark difference between these two regions.

It has been mentioned already, but much of Wyoming is relatively barren, with trees being few and far between. A good portion of the state is prairie, which seems to stretch out forever, but there are also mountains and forests, too. One of the things I love about Wyoming, as well as most other western states, is the diversity of scenery. I have property in eastern Wyoming, and I love what it has to offer. It is right on the edge of the prairie at the foot of the Mountains. I have some great long-distance prairie views and gorgeous mountain views from my property. I also have a stand of trees on my property, but it only covers about 10% of the property, if that. I even have cactus there, so it almost feels like desert at times. One of the prettiest times of the year is early summer, because the prairie and mountains are still very green. By later in the summer, almost everything turns brown, except the trees.

Another thing to keep in mind is the wind, which was also mentioned earlier. There are times when the wind blows so hard that tractor-trailer rigs get blown onto their sides on the highway. This is something that people have complained about after moving to Wyoming, so you should at least know about it ahead of time. Some parts of the state are much worse than others. From what I've seen and read on this forum, it seems that the worst winds are primarily in the south and east parts of the state. The northwest seems to be more protected from the wind, but it can blow pretty hard there, too.