Best City and County for Relocation from Huntsville Alabama (Cheyenne: sales, house)

[cse780]

Hello everyone!
First off, thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my post question.
Here is the info that I need from those who live in Wyoming or have lived there, please take your time and let me know the details if you can:

My wife and I are coming down to a place where we might need to move soon from Huntsville Alabama due to the government project I am working on, is sadly running out of funding...I will let you know some things that Huntsville has, so you will know what we are looking for:
Huntsville is a smaller University city and heavy on the computer science and engineering side. It is still southern in some parts but quite international in population, especially with UAH and NASA being in this location. We also have a military base here: Redstone Arsenal, so it allows for good government jobs. Also, we have a great non-denominational church here called the Rock Family Worship Center. Here is there website: [url=http://www.therockfwc.org/]The Rock Family Worship Center[/url]

Now that you know where we come from, here is what we need and want:

(1) Good Jobs (I am currently in PC Tech/IT/HelpDesk Specialist work and need a new, good-paying job.)
(2) Cheap Housing Costs (We own a house in the county, right outside city limits and it seems to work out great.)
(3) Safe Environment for Family
(4) Clean Air
(5) Clean Water
(6) Good shopping areas (super Walmart, Target, Best Buy or HH Greg, a nice Mall, etc)
(6) Nice Roads (good layout and in good shape if possible)
(7) We would LOVE to be near the mountains and if possible see them on a daily basis up close if possible. I used to live in Colorado Springs, CO next to the Rockies and I was spoiled to it...
(8) We love to hike and I would like to mountain-bike...
(9) Good non-denominational church or similar pentecostal-type church that has a good reputation with the community.
(10) Colorado was increasing with Gang activity and we would like to avoid that if possible.
(11) We plan on Home-Schooling most of the time, so any good home-schooling cover groups would be great.
(12) My wife is an activist for Midwifery and would love a support group in Wyoming as well.

Thats it for now! I know it is a big list, but I know you all can help! The best info comes from those who actually live there

We will be awaiting your posts! Thanks in advance!

[sunsprit]

I see a lot of conflicts in your posts ...

there's not a lot of the shopping that you want except in the larger towns ... Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper ...

"good paying jobs" ... will be where you can find one ... and it may not necessarily be close to a mountain view. You won't find the big shopping centers in the Western and Central portions of the state, the population density is too low to support them ....

having secured a job offer for a living salary job position ... then you're looking for affordable housing. While some markets have softened in the most recent boom cycle down from their recent highs, that doesn't mean the housing costs relative to your income are yet in balance. A lot depends upon what you need/want for housing ... but "cheap" isn't a concept I'd associate with housing in Wyoming.

nice roads? this is Wyoming, sparsely populated with a large area to cover in roads. There simply isn't the type of tax revenue stream to support "nice roads" in this state.

clean water? well, the reality is that we've got mostly hard water throughout the state. Some places have very limited supplies/availability of water, and you may even find yourself having to have water hauled in/delivered because you can't get potable water from a well in your rural location.

[WyoNewk]

I agree with Sunsprit; the only cities in Wyoming that even come close to your needs are Cheyenne, Casper and Laramie.

Laramie has the University of Wyoming, the only 4-year college in the state. It's not too far from mountains but much farther than is Colorado Springs. There's no mall and not a lot of shopping.

Cheyenne is home of the state capital, has F.E. Warren AFB and a nice little mall, but the only college is a 2-year community college. It's not very close to any mountains. The closest would be the Colorado Rockies near Fort Collins. It has the most government jobs, but it also has a lot of retired military, so competition for those jobs is keen.

Casper probably has the best shopping in Wyoming and also has a nice, smallist mall. It also has a 2-year community college. It is at the foot of Casper Mountain -- not much of a mountain but it does have a small ski area.

Gillette, where I live, is the forth largest city in the state. It's centered between the Black Hills to the east and the Bighorn Mountains to the west, about 70 miles from either. Housing is probably a little more expensive here than the other three. There's no mall and shopping is about the same as in Laramie. The majority of "good" paying jobs are labor intensive -- in the mineral extraction industries.

[ElkHunter]

The other thought is a small town that is not too far away from what you want. For instance, Sheridan is close to the mountains, but very expensive. Shopping is ok, Super Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Home Depot, Albertsons, Safeway, etc.... For major shopping people run up to Billings about every 3 or 4 months as Billings doesn't have sales tax.

No Target, no Mall. We have what's called "Down Town". 3 city blocks that has hundreds of shops to cruise through on either side of the street.

But the smaller towns around Sheridan are a lot less expensive. Ranchester, Dayton, Parkman, all within 20 miles of Sheridan. Not a bad commute. The road from any of those to Sheridan will get shut down due to blowing snow about 3 or 4 times a year. A couple of those will only shut down until about 9 or 10am.

[RUNfromDA'leftcoast2021]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

The other thought is a small town that is not too far away from what you want. For instance, Sheridan is close to the mountains, but very expensive. Shopping is ok, Super Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Home Depot, Albertsons, Safeway, etc.... For major shopping people run up to Billings about every 3 or 4 months as Billings doesn't have sales tax.

No Target, no Mall. We have what's called "Down Town". 3 city blocks that has hundreds of shops to cruise through on either side of the street.

But the smaller towns around Sheridan are a lot less expensive. Ranchester, Dayton, Parkman, all within 20 miles of Sheridan. Not a bad commute. The road from any of those to Sheridan will get shut down due to blowing snow about 3 or 4 times a year. A couple of those will only shut down until about 9 or 10am.

Thanks Elk,

Good info to share about Sheridan area.