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What Meg didn't mention re job skills is that with the influx of high paying and high demand jobs in the patch, there's a demand for virtually every type of supporting job that you can think of.
People need to eat, have shelter, entertainment, transportation ... the list is endless. Many of these jobs don't pay as well as working in the patch, but if you can make a workable situation out of it, you could be in Wyoming for the long haul.
With a bit of working capital, small businesses can readily flourish. I can't even begin to count the number of small family owned restaurants in the region that are almost a license to print money .....
Instead of trying to pigeon-hole me, how about reading the post, including the article I link to from the Sunday Star-Tribune that speaks to no diversity in the state's economy!
I agree with logicskier, once you tell people you don't like living in Wyoming they label you as crazy or "pigeon-hole" you. That's their way of trying to silence your opinions of this dirty state.
Diverse? It is NOT! Left a few years ago, but I do know if you are a blue collar worker than the job market is great. That being said, the Wyoming economy is rank DEAD LAST in diversity. An article published just this last Sunday, in the Casper Star-Tribune lays it all out. Here is the link....
Wyoming ranks last in economic diversity (http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/06/28/news/caspernext/435049dc4ad108ce872573080051595d.txt - broken link)
I think if you'd reread the initial post, you'd see that the poster mentions ethnicity and then inquires regarding diversity. It would seem that the question is relative to ethnic diversity and not economic diversity which are, of course, vastly different animals.
I agree with logicskier, once you tell people you don't like living in Wyoming they label you as crazy or "pigeon-hole" you. That's their way of trying to silence your opinions of this dirty state.
Can I ask a question? What joy is it that you derive from running down Wyoming? It sounds as though you can't be satisfied and wish to present your opinions as evidenced fact when, of course, they are your opinions. I acknowledge freely that you are are entitled to those opinions. I just wonder why you're so surprised that people disagree with them? Particularly when you're running down their home and their way of life as "lame" and "redneck" as I've seen in other posts?
From other posts I've seen, it seems you're looking for Utopia. A lot of finding that involves having a positive attitude about something. If you always look for the bad in something, you won't be disappointed.
I think if you'd reread the initial post, you'd see that the poster mentions ethnicity and then inquires regarding diversity. It would seem that the question is relative to ethnic diversity and not economic diversity which are, of course, vastly different animals.
No I did not miss the original post. The state is neither diverse as it relates to race or the economy and if you read my first post you will see that I do indeed state that wyoming is not racially diverse.
Actually, you just said it's not diverse then the whole of your post mentioned blue-collar jobs and and pointed the poster to an article on economic diversity. When combined with the comment about blue-collar jobs, it was easy for me to infer (apparently mistakenly) that you were referring to business and not ethnicity and/or culture.
Actually, you just said it's not diverse then the whole of your post mentioned blue-collar jobs and and pointed the poster to an article on economic diversity. When combined with the comment about blue-collar jobs, it was easy for me to infer (apparently mistakenly) that you were referring to business and not ethnicity and/or culture.
Although I have NO problem with anyone expressing their opinion, your above statement confuses me. If you have never lived outside of Memphis and especially never in Wyoming, then how can you judge us, who have lived in wyoming (myself 10+ years) and our opinions on what it is like living there?
Although I have NO problem with anyone expressing their opinion, your above statement confuses me. If you have never lived outside of Memphis and especially never in Wyoming, then how can you judge us, who have lived in wyoming (myself 10+ years) and our opinions on what it is like living there?
Never judged your opinions. I just wonder why people derive joy from running the place down. I understand you've left and are headed for the greener pastures of Minneapolis. Good for you in liking big cities. I wouldn't live in another metropolitan area if I were paid to do so. Again, I'm not sure what you get out out of warning people off of Wyoming as though it were Hades incarnate.
If one is stating things such as "high crime area" or "low housing availability", then that's a helpful opinion that reflects one's reasons for disliking a place. "Lame" and the like aren't particularly useful in getting a feel for a place as those words mean different things to different people.
By the way, "life-long citizen" does not mean that I have never left the area for considerable amounts of time. But I'm awfully impressed that you looked up an old post of mine and quoted it. Otherwise, I'd have forgotten I'd spent so many years here.
Last edited by tigergal; 07-07-2007 at 04:40 PM..
Reason: typo
Can I ask a question? What joy is it that you derive from running down Wyoming? It sounds as though you can't be satisfied and wish to present your opinions as evidenced fact when, of course, they are your opinions. I acknowledge freely that you are are entitled to those opinions. I just wonder why you're so surprised that people disagree with them? Particularly when you're running down their home and their way of life as "lame" and "redneck" as I've seen in other posts?
From other posts I've seen, it seems you're looking for Utopia. A lot of finding that involves having a positive attitude about something. If you always look for the bad in something, you won't be disappointed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tigergal
Can I ask a question? What joy is it that you derive from running down Wyoming? It sounds as though you can't be satisfied and wish to present your opinions as evidenced fact when, of course, they are your opinions. I acknowledge freely that you are are entitled to those opinions. I just wonder why you're so surprised that people disagree with them? Particularly when you're running down their home and their way of life as "lame" and "redneck" as I've seen in other posts?
From other posts I've seen, it seems you're looking for Utopia. A lot of finding that involves having a positive attitude about something. If you always look for the bad in something, you won't be disappointed.
I do not receive joy from "running down Wyoming;" my thoughts remain ambivalent towards the state after posting. The only joy I receive is knowing that I may spare an individual from what has certainly turned into Hades incarnate for my wife and I. Your presumption is typical of someone who is playing a passive aggressive game; namely you feel that you are victimized by my extreme aversion to Wyoming. I ask, why do you care if I dislike it so? I'm not suprised at all when people disagree with my opinions. Most of the people who give contrary commentary are Wyoming natives, and have not had the experience of immigrating to this state. With this particular thread, I feel my "opinions" carry much more weight than yours, as I, like the poster, am from Michigan. I moved from Michigan to Wyoming, as the poster intends to do. Therefore, I feel I can give a much more customer-tailored, and relevant, assessment of living here than you can.
Moreover, your assessment of my posts are mere opinions is unjust. I have many anecdotes with which to prove my point. They're pasted below for your reading enjoyment:
“As far as what's different out here: everything! Compared to metro Detroit, most of Wyoming is a drop in the bucket: no diversity, no water (dry as a bone), few trees, scorching sun (6,500 feet less atmosphere to protect against UV rays), and no amenities; you literally have to drive to Ft. Collins or Denver if you want to shop for anything beyond groceries, or need to go to the airport.
Weather here is crazy! It snowed in September shortly after we moved here last summer, and again in June this summer. The weeks before both of these events it was over 80 degrees! Suffice it to say, the rapidly changing weather has some serious health consequences for those not used to such drastic changes. My wife started developing migraines whenever the pressure would drop, and I ended up in the emergency room with a kidney infection because of dehydration.
We're both very active individuals: my wife played in tennis tournaments and I ran cross country in Michigan when it was 90-100 degrees and we'd never experienced health problems like those I mentioned. In Wyoming we drink ~1-2 gallons of water a day in the summer to prevent dehydration; kidney infections can be life-threatening.
Most of Wyoming is very isolated: especially in the winter. My wife and I lived in Marquette, MI (second snowiest city in the US) before moving out here and the winters in Wyoming are far worse, except for the cloudy days. We were told before moving out here that the winters are mild and that the snow melts quickly; what a joke!
It snowed one or two feet per storm and it didn't melt until March. The worst part about it is that the interstate, I-80, was closed just about everyday, in essence leaving us stranded in our town or somewhere along the highway. Never once did our street get plowed after these snow events. Wind chills approached -40 on several occasions due to the ever- present wind. However, it didn't feel terrible because there was no humidity.
One good thing about living in a place with cold winters are the cool summers, or so we thought. This summer has been nearly as hot as Michigan; with several week-long stretches of temps near or above 90 degrees. We cannot walk on those days for fear of dehydration and overexertion-we sit inside chugging water and longing for a beach.
Another problem we've experienced out here is the law, or lack thereof. On about a dozen occasions we've been accosted by vicious dogs that would have attacked us if we were not carrying our steel impact batons! It sounds very extreme, but after we were nearly bitten by a Golden Retriever we called animal control who advised we buy the batons before going on anymore walks. Crazy, but we've had to use them several times-and they've worked all but once.
Despite the leash-law in our town, we've been rudely told by a local that there is no leash law in Wyoming. We didn't attempt to correct his ignorance, leash laws are a city-by-city thing, as we were holding off his dog from attacking us. On another occasion, a Golden Retriever was leaning over its very short fence showing its teeth and growling at us about to jump over. We were yelling at it from the sidewalk to stay put; it's owner peered out her front door, asked what was going on, and burst out laughing at us, didn't even try to contain her dog. People here could care less about the safety of others. My wife has developed a phobia of dogs and whenever we take walks, we have to avoid houses and neighborhoods.
Other anecdotes to prove Wyoming's lawlessness are: the lack of enforcement of simple laws. Outside of town there's a sign that says: noise ordinance enforced. Many people in Wyoming modify their diesel trucks to be louder. This also has the added bonus of spewing out dark-black soot everywhere whenever they take off from a stop. I've been woken up on several occasions by people driving by our apartment. I wrote a letter to the traffic commission and mayor about the issue and haven't received a reply in 4 months.
One afternoon while my wife and I were driving, we noticed a truck in front of us begin to go through red lights, after it had stopped for them and deemed they'd waited too long for it to turn green. We observed this nearly 4 times. My wife made a phone call to the sheriff, who was not there to take the call. She left a message telling him what had happened and that we'd written down the red-light-runner's license plate number, and to call us for it. He never did.
We're not the only one's who dislike Wyoming. We had a couple of friends who moved to our city in July of last year. The wife had a pretty good job as a musician for the high school's choir, but was fired, without warning or acceptable reason after 3 months; it was probably the fact that she didn't fit in with her co-workers. Her husband substitute taught while looking for a counseling job, which he never found. After several months of the husband substitute teaching, and the wife working a Wendy's while looking for another job, the decided they'd had it with Wyoming and moved back to Kansas City. They both found jobs within 2 weeks and a house for <$200,000 dollars. They couldn't afford the housing prices in Wyoming and resorted to living in a mobile home 6 miles from town while they were here. They're very happy with their decision to leave.
Another friend who worked at a national archive in town moved to Washington DC a couple of weeks ago. Two days before she moved she told us that she'd never fit in here and that her co-workers were not very friendly at all: she was surprised at their rudeness and unwelcoming demeanor and had not made any friends besides our church group in nearly 1 year. She was visibly excited about her permanent journey east of the Mississippi and said she had no regrets about leaving.
We met another couple at a barbeque who listened to our stories about Wyoming: the dogs, the unfriendly people, and lack of civil law. Despite living here for 15 years, they agreed with everything we'd said. They're originally from Midland, MI (as a side note). Upon moving into their new house, these poor people were told by a senile old neighbor that they needed to fix this and that. When they politely refused, stating it was their property to decide what to do with, she (the old lady) started spreading terrible rumors about the couple to all the neighbors. They've watched from their privacy windows, which they had to install because people were looking into their house, people spit on their cars. The woman (of the couple) had a little girl come up to her in a supermarket, whom she'd never seen before, and tell her she was a trouble maker! They've been completely ostracized from their neighbors community just because they didn't agree to conform.
Granted we have met a lot of amiable people, mostly associated with our church and the University. However, the cultural vibe is one of self-sufficiency, intolerance of new people, and apathy. We've seen bumper stickers on cars claiming that Wyoming has an east infection-implying that people here are hostile to the attitudes and migration of people from the east.
I currently attend the only 4-year University in the state and have noticed many signs hung around the campus reminding people of very simple things. Such as flushing the toilet after going, not spitting chewing tobacco in the drinking fountain, and not brushing your teeth in the drinking fountain. There's even a sign that tells you how to wash your hands in the bathroom! This is the most educated place in the entire state and the University staff feels it's necessary to hang these signs. I'll leave you to your inferences on Wyoming's intelligence.
There's nothing to do where we live and we're in one of the bigger towns. Unless you smoke or drink, you social venues are very limited. You can do those activities anywhere and have many other options.
I could launch into many other stories illustrating why my wife and I hate Wyoming, but I think you get the picture. To sum it up Wyoming is: lacking diversity, dry as a bone, barren of trees (except for the mountains), hot in the summer, cold in the winter, dry all the time, isolated, liable to cause health problems, and windy.
What we have observed of Wyoming’s culture is: lawlessness, no concern for others’ safety, apathy, ignorance, stupidity, and hostility of eastern US immigration/ideas."
PS: "If you always look for the bad in something, you won't be disappointed." I think you meant to say you will be disappointed.
PPS: We're forced to be here....we're not restless or unrealistic as you imply: we consider Michigan Utopia compared to this and will gladly return if given the chance.
BTW, Tigergal: you live in Memphis, TN and are obviously longing to come back here. I don't blame you as most people long to return to the place they grew up. I sincerely believe that the majority of people who like Wyoming and want to live here were born and/or raised here. Perhaps your desire to return is adding a bit of hyperbole to your posts? People who actually live in Wyoming can paint a much better picture of it. Maybe Wyoming has changed a bit since you left? Even a state as static as Wyoming is not immune to variation.
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