General layout of Cheyenne area, commuting, etc (Laramie, Warren AFB: real estate, rentals)

[eagle06]

Just found out I start at Warren AFB in June. I've only had a day to research the forums but from what I can tell, there's really no "greater metro area" correct? Meaning, we basically live in Cheyenne or we're out in the country?

Are there any small towns or housing developments withing a 45 minute commute of the base? Sounds like the commute from Laramie may be tough in the winter.

We live in the Denver area now so would love it if we could live closer to Fort Collins. Is there anything between Ft. Collins and Cheyenne worth looking at? i understand that's Colorado but maybe you have some insight.

Are homes for rent as tough to find as it seems or am I looking in the wrong place? (craigslist and the local paper.)

[sunsprit]

The metro area of Cheyenne is fairly compact ... and you are correct, once out of the immediate area, you are out "in the country", even if you settle in to one of the municipalities East of Cheyenne.

Given the area climate and seasonal road conditions/closures, you will have to make a decision about your priorities. Either live in the area near to the base ... which includes the city area or locally along Happy Jack Road or other nearby locations to the base in the county, which gives you the best possible access to it in inclement conditions ... OR ... move further away in the county areas or even into Colorado and deal with the roads/commute in typical seasonal adverse conditions. This may include having to deal with road closures, which can limit your access to the base or leaving it to head homeward after work. In the immediate base area of Cheyenne, you can find rentals within minutes to 15 minutes from the base entrance.

IMO, the trade-off is such that living in the Fort Collins area, or up by Wellington ... isn't worth it. Nor is considering up by the VeedauWoo area or over to Laramie. You can readily access Ft Collins using the I-25 corridor from Cheyenne when the roads are clear or reasonably driveable ... it's not that far of a trip by Wyoming distances. Consider, too, that by residing in Colorado, you will pay their state income tax while Wyoming has no personal income tax.

The rental market in Cheyenne right now is very active across a number of price ranges. Your best source of rentals will be from the Tribune-Eagle listings, or to contact the local real estate property managers directly. Many of the realty brokerages in Cheyenne do property management, and they don't list all of their available properties ... so you must contact them directly with your requirements and price range.

[eagle06]

Barring road closures and severe weather is it reasonable to expect a 45 minute commute from Wellington?

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by eagle06

Barring road closures and severe weather is it reasonable to expect a 45 minute commute from Wellington?

Yes, probably only about 30 minutes.

But your commute in inclement conditions will include some of the area's worst localized conditions between these two points, going over the pass at the Colorado/Wyoming border on I-25. This is a location where the patrol will close the road sooner than later these days ...

I don't know of any advantage in the Wellington rental housing market over the Cheyenne market place.

[eagle06]

Rental housing market may be similar but we love Colorado so I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth looking at commuting. Interestingly, I called on a place in Wellington today and he's already shown it twice to couples from Warren.

[CptnRn]

Warren AFB is directly adjacent to Cheyenne, there are lots of housing subdivisions in the immediate vicinity. The commute from Wellington to Cheyenne can be pretty horrible in winter. //www.city-data.com/forum/wyomi...her-roads.html

[EdieP]

The only advantage I see in Wellington is that you are 45 minutes closer to Ft. Collins. Wellington is a rural, small town with scenery very similar to Cheyenne. From a shopping and medical facility aspect, I would think Cheyenne has more to offer unless you are traveling down to Ft. Collins.

Do not underestimate the winter driving conditions and how quickly conditions can change on that 40 or so miles you would be commuting. The same can be said of the commute down to Ft. Collins. Summer storms can be treacherous as well as this is close to the Windsor area hit by a tornado a few years back.

From living in Denver, I am sure you are aware that Denver has had a stretch of mild winters. However, the area to the north has wide stretches of open highway with considerable wind in the winter making for wonderful white out conditions.

Good luck with your housing search but I would not discount Cheyenne as a fine place to live.

[eagle06]

We haven't discounted it at all. Just looking at options and since we love the Denver area the closer we can be the better.

Coming up next week to visit for the day. Any must sees? Figure it won't take much time to drive throughn the city and find some lunch. Want to check out Curt Gowdy and maybe head out to Larimie. Any other suggestions to show us what outdoor recreation awaits us?

[EdieP]

One outdoor recreation area close to Cheyenne is Glendo reservoir. This is also a hot spot for us "Greenies" throughout the summer. Glendo is about 60 miles or so north of Cheyenne. Another wonderful lake is Seminole and the Miracle Mile that are north of Sinclair which is west of Laramie.

My husband and I live and work in Denver but we bought property near Wheatland so that the Wyoming wonders would be closer. Boating and fishing in Colorado pales in comparison to the open lakes and abundant camp grounds in WY. The locals have several jokes about the infux of their neighbors from the south for recreational purposes.

[sunsprit]

If you are heading West of town to the Curt Gowdy park area ... then you might want to take the time on your way to Laramie to visit the Veedawoo area off of Happy Jack Road.

Get a local map, and you'll see that the Veedauwoo area has two distinct sides to it: (1) The Federal campground area accessed by the exit off of I-80, and then the (2) County Park areas accessed off of Happy Jack. The Fed campground is a fee campground (and a pretty nice place, too, very lightly used), while the County Park areas are no-fee, day use areas and extend on both sides of Hwy 30.

I've spent many a day there without seeing anybody else except members of my own group in the County Park areas ... riding our horses, setting up plinking targets, hiking, or packing in a lunch. There are various old jeep trails which are still open to motor vehicles to get you in to secluded sites by the meadows or the creeks there, or many acres simply open to picking your own way on foot or horseback. Once away from the Hwy access, it's incredibly remote, secluded, and wild ... essentially untouched for over a century unless you make it to a boundary area that is fenced. There's even a set of old corrals (first come, first served) for folk who may want to spend more time there to keep their horses secured.

If you are military and have access to all of the base recreational facilities, then you have a lot to choose from. In addition to the recently built rec center, the golf course, WAFB has some remaining old stables and many acres of land to ride or hike ... exclusively for the base. It's pretty extensive land, and you won't have any crowds to contend with to use the area. The rolling hills and wildlife there are like the rest of the county, with secluded spots for you to enjoy.

Do keep in mind that the next week has a host of unsettled weather in the forecast, ranging from mild to windy 60F days and several fronts moving through with lower temperatures and snow forecast. These late winter/early spring storms can bring a wide range of conditions, ranging from a modest dusting of snow ... like the 2" or so of last night ... to some wet/sloppy intense cells dropping much more snow in the high country to the West of town. Your access into the park areas off the paved Hwy 30 may be very limited after a couple hundred yards because the dirt roads in are not plowed.

While Glendo is a sizable irrigation reservoir, it can fluctuate quite a bit from year to year and through the season. For most of the last decade, it was quite low. Last year saw it filled to overflow levels, and it was nice to see it have that much water and shoreline again for much of the season. There are other irrigation reservoirs in the area, including Hawk Springs ... all subject to the same varied inflows and demands through the irrigation season. You'll also find that Lake McConnaughy is but a few hours drive out East, with a 30 x 5 mile reservoir and some spectacular sand beaches to camp on in the coves. Worth the drive for the boating, camping, and fishing if you have a couple of days to spend there. With a limited amount of time, you won't be heading to any of these in early April, however.

Lunch in Cheyenne? Outside of the usual suspects for chain restaurants on Dell Range Blvd or East Lincolnway areas, there's also a couple local places I could suggest: (1) Poor Richard's, on East Lincolnway, or (2) La Esmeralda at 18th/House Ave. While Poor Richard's looks to be much more upscale, it's very competitively priced ... I eat there from time to time with a lunch group that favors going to places like Perkins or (Cr)Applebee's, and I spend less money for a far better meal at Poor Richards than either of those two places. LaEsmeralda (or The Tortilla Factory on the South side of town) are the only Mexican restaurants worth eating at in Cheyenne, IMO ... although certainly not the caliber of food you can get in Denver's better places (such as 7th/SantaFeDrive El Taco de Mexico, Taquiera Patzcuaro, or a number of them on the West side of Denver, for example) ....