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I can promise you I'm not looking to try and change anything. I respect other people's views and opinions. Are you saying everyone isn't welcome in general or are you referring to government parties such as conservative vs. liberal?
P.S. I like that song video about Wyoming you posted.
You've heard of White Flight. This is right wing flight. When people leave a place to escape certain people they become very resentful when those very people follow them. They don't respect views and opinions if they don't agree with them. I don't believe that anyone does anywhere; it's contrary to rational thought. But so many people must cultivate an image. Apart from the cars, Cody doesn't look much different from 1950. People here wish to keep the world they know. Make a visit. You'll know quickly whether it's the place for you.
You've heard of White Flight. This is right wing flight. When people leave a place to escape certain people they become very resentful when those very people follow them. They don't respect views and opinions if they don't agree with them. I don't believe that anyone does anywhere; it's contrary to rational thought. But so many people must cultivate an image. Apart from the cars, Cody doesn't look much different from 1950. People here wish to keep the world they know. Make a visit. You'll know quickly whether it's the place for you.
Thank you for your advice. I'm definitely planning on making a visit. I wish I had enough time/money right now to do so. It's looking like I won't be able to come until January, unless I manage to pull some strings, but I'm not sure if I can.
Oh, and how accepting are people in regards to if I wanted to learn more about ranches/working on one? I know I'm a female, but I used to date a guy who grew up in western PA where him and his family owned a farm. I visited them a lot, was taught how to ride a tractor/did some work in the fields, and was also taught how to shoot a gun. I may have grown up in a more city-like metropolitan area, but I'm more of a country/outdoors person at heart. I'm a very quick learner, and I'm not afraid to get a little dirty, haha.
At 23 and "an outdoor-type person who is fascinated by culture, but grew up in city life" you'd probably want to also check into Laramie, Sheridan and Cody and compare them to the larger cities and / or the smaller towns. Your first pick doesn't have to be the final one.
Thank you for your advice. I'm definitely planning on making a visit. I wish I had enough time/money right now to do so. It's looking like I won't be able to come until January, unless I manage to pull some strings, but I'm not sure if I can.
Oh, and how accepting are people in regards to if I wanted to learn more about ranches/working on one? I know I'm a female, but I used to date a guy who grew up in western PA where him and his family owned a farm. I visited them a lot, was taught how to ride a tractor/did some work in the fields, and was also taught how to shoot a gun. I may have grown up in a more city-like metropolitan area, but I'm more of a country/outdoors person at heart. I'm a very quick learner, and I'm not afraid to get a little dirty, haha.
Your interest in farming/ranching isn't likely to get you gainful employment here is Wyoming. Not because you couldn't do some of the work, but the economic realities of small scale ranching/farming dictate that there's very little jobs to be had outside of the family ownership.
For the most part, you'll find that small family owned operations are supported by jobs off the farm which are necessary for the cash flow of the family. Most folk would prefer to not to have to do this, but again ... the economics dictate that the additional income is needed. Even the larger farming and ranching outfits that I know of depend upon family members for their labor pool, and if they hire outsiders, it's solely during a labor crunch time frame such as a harvest or a herd movement.
I've got friends that are professionals in the cattle backgrounding or feedlot business, ranch managers, etc. ... and they have a difficult time finding jobs in their line of work. Especially if they are the sole provider for their family, it's very difficult to make a living as an employee in this business, even with housing, a vehicle, and some food (1/2 beef every so many months, etc) provided at the prevailing wages. Without their level of experience, you're not even in the running for consideration for their level of work ... which is often very hard physical labor extending to 80-100 hour weeks, and many months of the year where they are on-call 24/7. For many of them, a ranch job requires more than just tending and feeding the livestock, there's fencing, water supplies/delivery, and other maintenance of the ranch chores that need to be done. I cannot overemphasize that your free time in these jobs is minimal ... you must be entertained by the work and tasks at hand or you'll have a very difficult existence when you can't have much outside social contact time and recreational time in the pursuits you'd like to be doing. FWIW, few ranchers depend solely upon horses for tending livestock anymore, either ....
You'll find more jobs available ... albeit a limited number ... in the tourist oriented ranching business. Dude ranches need workers to guide, maintain facilities, cook/clean, or keep strings of horses fed and in good shape. Of course, these are seasonal jobs and unless you're in a position getting tips, the pay is rather minimal.
If you'll look at a weekly publication (on-line), "The Fence Post", you'll see the typical jobs that are advertised seeking applicants in this region. Not very many. We get farm/ranch publications from throughout the area, and most have no job listings at all ... and haven't for years. Another publication that lists related jobs in the region is "The Caretaker's Gazette", which may have a job opportunity posted which could be of interest to you in a ranching location .... again, don't expect a real living wage unless there's special skills required over and beyond just being on site and maintaining the place. Another jobs resource would be the Wyoming at Work state operated jobs service which you can check on-line.
RE your exchanges with happyinwyoming ... I'd have to chime in and say I have met a fair number of people in Wyoming ... one of them a native from Lander, spent most of his life there, others who are ranchers/farmers from the region ... who took jobs in small towns throughout Wyoming. To say that they were shunned may be an overstatement ... but to say that they were considered outsiders even though they shared the same values/conservative outlook/hard-working ethics/individual responsibility/faith ... would be an understatement. Be aware that some communities are very much dominated by a single religious group affiliation and unless you are a part of that group, you'll be welcomed in a civil manner, but not necessarily a friendly manner ... you'll find yourself left out of much of the social contact of the area.
There's exceptions to this limiting social climate ... Cheyenne, being a military town, is more acclimated to transients and new folk. Casper, being a large town, also due to the vagaries of the industry there. Gillette, just because it's a recent boom town in the energy business and many are newcomers from somewhere else. Laramie, because it's a college town. And Jackson, because it's a whole different place which really isn't in step with the rest of Wyoming, IMO.
Overall, I think you'll find that you will be more readily accepted if you are somewhat aggressive about meeting and being friendly with your neighbors ... my tactic was to get on our horses and go out riding through our area, stopping by to visit our established neighbors. We often brought small gifts of fresh vegetables from our gardens ... a token of thinking about our neighbors and a starter for a conversation. Bringing them Christmas baked goods or invitations to a bar-b-que to celebrate getting a harvest in helped get good relations, too.
Of interest to me is that so many of the folk I've seen move into the area over the last decade are so stuck on their superiority of their ways and thinking that they take it as an insult that those of us here for awhile don't rush over to welcome them. Moreover, they tend to be obnoxious in ways that are offensive to us ... many have this concept that they've "moved to the country" where they can do whatever they want now that they couldn't back in the cities they came from. So you've got folks with inappropriate dogs ... rottweilers, for example ... who think it's OK to turn them loose 24/7 because they're now in the country. Rotties, rhodesian ridgebacks, great pyr's without a job, and other vanity dogs that were standouts in the city aren't welcome around your neighbor's livestock .... Nor is your desire to blast your favorite music selections at all hours of the night and day considered entertaining; again, maybe this is "cool" in the city where they came from .... look at me, no LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME! ... behavior isn't going to win your friends in this area.
As I read it, HappyinWyoming presents this social situation as a primarily political ... "right wing flight" issue. To some extent, true. But, IMO, it's a largely different situation ... now that many newcomers are here, their anti-social behavior is more obvious than where it was back home. Additionally, in those months when being somewhat self-reliant and capable require planning and dedication to what needs to be done ... I'm appalled at the lack of foresight/planning and priorities of so many of these folk. It's one thing to have to fire up my tractor to pull somebody out of a ditch during a storm, and I'm happy to help and thankful that they're not hurt ... but it's another thing entirely when they persist in driving their Mustang or Camaro (or other "cool" city car) in winter conditions for which it wasn't designed and they're off the road 6 times in a month of coming home from bars after work late in the evening. Especially when we've mentioned back in the summer months that winter driving around here might dictate getting a more suitable vehicle for those months ... and we watch the neighbor spend their discretionary income on motorcycles and travel and a new fishing boat, and so forth. Far be it for me to dictate their use of their financial resources ... but by the same token, it's not my responsibility to fix their self-made problems when it's a repeated problem that they could have taken care of in a timely manner.
I moved here to get away from this type of behavior in city and suburban environments ....
The bottom line is that your planned trip to Wyoming is essential to your discovery of whether or not this place will suit your needs and desires. I look forward to hearing what you find .... Best wishes in your travels.
PS ... should you marry into a ranching/farming family, you'll have lots of opportunities to run that equipment, do the chores, and help in every capacity imaginable. It's a way of life, not an option ....
Your interest in farming/ranching isn't likely to get you gainful employment here is Wyoming. Not because you couldn't do some of the work, but the economic realities of small scale ranching/farming dictate that there's very little jobs to be had outside of the family ownership.
For the most part, you'll find that small family owned operations are supported by jobs off the farm which are necessary for the cash flow of the family. Most folk would prefer to not to have to do this, but again ... the economics dictate that the additional income is needed. Even the larger farming and ranching outfits that I know of depend upon family members for their labor pool, and if they hire outsiders, it's solely during a labor crunch time frame such as a harvest or a herd movement.
I've got friends that are professionals in the cattle backgrounding or feedlot business, ranch managers, etc. ... and they have a difficult time finding jobs in their line of work. Especially if they are the sole provider for their family, it's very difficult to make a living as an employee in this business, even with housing, a vehicle, and some food (1/2 beef every so many months, etc) provided at the prevailing wages. Without their level of experience, you're not even in the running for consideration for their level of work ... which is often very hard physical labor extending to 80-100 hour weeks, and many months of the year where they are on-call 24/7. For many of them, a ranch job requires more than just tending and feeding the livestock, there's fencing, water supplies/delivery, and other maintenance of the ranch chores that need to be done. I cannot overemphasize that your free time in these jobs is minimal ... you must be entertained by the work and tasks at hand or you'll have a very difficult existence when you can't have much outside social contact time and recreational time in the pursuits you'd like to be doing. FWIW, few ranchers depend solely upon horses for tending livestock anymore, either ....
You'll find more jobs available ... albeit a limited number ... in the tourist oriented ranching business. Dude ranches need workers to guide, maintain facilities, cook/clean, or keep strings of horses fed and in good shape. Of course, these are seasonal jobs and unless you're in a position getting tips, the pay is rather minimal.
If you'll look at a weekly publication (on-line), "The Fence Post", you'll see the typical jobs that are advertised seeking applicants in this region. Not very many. We get farm/ranch publications from throughout the area, and most have no job listings at all ... and haven't for years. Another publication that lists related jobs in the region is "The Caretaker's Gazette", which may have a job opportunity posted which could be of interest to you in a ranching location .... again, don't expect a real living wage unless there's special skills required over and beyond just being on site and maintaining the place. Another jobs resource would be the Wyoming at Work state operated jobs service which you can check on-line.
RE your exchanges with happyinwyoming ... I'd have to chime in and say I have met a fair number of people in Wyoming ... one of them a native from Lander, spent most of his life there, others who are ranchers/farmers from the region ... who took jobs in small towns throughout Wyoming. To say that they were shunned may be an overstatement ... but to say that they were considered outsiders even though they shared the same values/conservative outlook/hard-working ethics/individual responsibility/faith ... would be an understatement. Be aware that some communities are very much dominated by a single religious group affiliation and unless you are a part of that group, you'll be welcomed in a civil manner, but not necessarily a friendly manner ... you'll find yourself left out of much of the social contact of the area.
There's exceptions to this limiting social climate ... Cheyenne, being a military town, is more acclimated to transients and new folk. Casper, being a large town, also due to the vagaries of the industry there. Gillette, just because it's a recent boom town in the energy business and many are newcomers from somewhere else. Laramie, because it's a college town. And Jackson, because it's a whole different place which really isn't in step with the rest of Wyoming, IMO.
Overall, I think you'll find that you will be more readily accepted if you are somewhat aggressive about meeting and being friendly with your neighbors ... my tactic was to get on our horses and go out riding through our area, stopping by to visit our established neighbors. We often brought small gifts of fresh vegetables from our gardens ... a token of thinking about our neighbors and a starter for a conversation. Bringing them Christmas baked goods or invitations to a bar-b-que to celebrate getting a harvest in helped get good relations, too.
Of interest to me is that so many of the folk I've seen move into the area over the last decade are so stuck on their superiority of their ways and thinking that they take it as an insult that those of us here for awhile don't rush over to welcome them. Moreover, they tend to be obnoxious in ways that are offensive to us ... many have this concept that they've "moved to the country" where they can do whatever they want now that they couldn't back in the cities they came from. So you've got folks with inappropriate dogs ... rottweilers, for example ... who think it's OK to turn them loose 24/7 because they're now in the country. Rotties, rhodesian ridgebacks, great pyr's without a job, and other vanity dogs that were standouts in the city aren't welcome around your neighbor's livestock .... Nor is your desire to blast your favorite music selections at all hours of the night and day considered entertaining; again, maybe this is "cool" in the city where they came from .... look at me, no LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME! ... behavior isn't going to win your friends in this area.
As I read it, HappyinWyoming presents this social situation as a primarily political ... "right wing flight" issue. To some extent, true. But, IMO, it's a largely different situation ... now that many newcomers are here, their anti-social behavior is more obvious than where it was back home. Additionally, in those months when being somewhat self-reliant and capable require planning and dedication to what needs to be done ... I'm appalled at the lack of foresight/planning and priorities of so many of these folk. It's one thing to have to fire up my tractor to pull somebody out of a ditch during a storm, and I'm happy to help and thankful that they're not hurt ... but it's another thing entirely when they persist in driving their Mustang or Camaro (or other "cool" city car) in winter conditions for which it wasn't designed and they're off the road 6 times in a month of coming home from bars after work late in the evening. Especially when we've mentioned back in the summer months that winter driving around here might dictate getting a more suitable vehicle for those months ... and we watch the neighbor spend their discretionary income on motorcycles and travel and a new fishing boat, and so forth. Far be it for me to dictate their use of their financial resources ... but by the same token, it's not my responsibility to fix their self-made problems when it's a repeated problem that they could have taken care of in a timely manner.
I moved here to get away from this type of behavior in city and suburban environments ....
The bottom line is that your planned trip to Wyoming is essential to your discovery of whether or not this place will suit your needs and desires. I look forward to hearing what you find .... Best wishes in your travels.
PS ... should you marry into a ranching/farming family, you'll have lots of opportunities to run that equipment, do the chores, and help in every capacity imaginable. It's a way of life, not an option ....
Thank you so much for all the great information! I wouldn't necessarily say I'm looking to have my main job be ranching/farming. I more or less have an interest in it at the moment, and I would like to possibly help out wherever some people might need so. At least right now. If I were to marry into ranching/farming, I most definitely would help any way I could. I'm not 100% sure yet what I want to do in regards to employment, but I am piecing certain things together and looking at what Wyoming could offer me in regards to all my interests.
I'm a very friendly person and always willing to help anyone including meeting new people. It's just the person I am. I understand a lot of your frustrations in regards to people moving there and being disrespectful. Yes, we do have an issue around here with people as you described. I'm fairly respectful person though, so Wyoming shouldn't have to worry about that with me.
The more and more I hear, the more excited I get about visiting. I have a feeling I'm going to love it there. To be honest, I'm already trying to figure out a way to get there before January to check everything out and see how I feel/think about it. I can't in August though. But if I were to do so, when do you think the best time would be between now and January?
Your interest in farming/ranching isn't likely to get you gainful employment here is Wyoming. Not because you couldn't do some of the work, but the economic realities of small scale ranching/farming dictate that there's very little jobs to be had outside of the family ownership.
For the most part, you'll find that small family owned operations are supported by jobs off the farm which are necessary for the cash flow of the family. Most folk would prefer to not to have to do this, but again ... the economics dictate that the additional income is needed. Even the larger farming and ranching outfits that I know of depend upon family members for their labor pool, and if they hire outsiders, it's solely during a labor crunch time frame such as a harvest or a herd movement.
I've got friends that are professionals in the cattle backgrounding or feedlot business, ranch managers, etc. ... and they have a difficult time finding jobs in their line of work. Especially if they are the sole provider for their family, it's very difficult to make a living as an employee in this business, even with housing, a vehicle, and some food (1/2 beef every so many months, etc) provided at the prevailing wages. Without their level of experience, you're not even in the running for consideration for their level of work ... which is often very hard physical labor extending to 80-100 hour weeks, and many months of the year where they are on-call 24/7. For many of them, a ranch job requires more than just tending and feeding the livestock, there's fencing, water supplies/delivery, and other maintenance of the ranch chores that need to be done. I cannot overemphasize that your free time in these jobs is minimal ... you must be entertained by the work and tasks at hand or you'll have a very difficult existence when you can't have much outside social contact time and recreational time in the pursuits you'd like to be doing. FWIW, few ranchers depend solely upon horses for tending livestock anymore, either ....
You'll find more jobs available ... albeit a limited number ... in the tourist oriented ranching business. Dude ranches need workers to guide, maintain facilities, cook/clean, or keep strings of horses fed and in good shape. Of course, these are seasonal jobs and unless you're in a position getting tips, the pay is rather minimal.
If you'll look at a weekly publication (on-line), "The Fence Post", you'll see the typical jobs that are advertised seeking applicants in this region. Not very many. We get farm/ranch publications from throughout the area, and most have no job listings at all ... and haven't for years. Another publication that lists related jobs in the region is "The Caretaker's Gazette", which may have a job opportunity posted which could be of interest to you in a ranching location .... again, don't expect a real living wage unless there's special skills required over and beyond just being on site and maintaining the place. Another jobs resource would be the Wyoming at Work state operated jobs service which you can check on-line.
RE your exchanges with happyinwyoming ... I'd have to chime in and say I have met a fair number of people in Wyoming ... one of them a native from Lander, spent most of his life there, others who are ranchers/farmers from the region ... who took jobs in small towns throughout Wyoming. To say that they were shunned may be an overstatement ... but to say that they were considered outsiders even though they shared the same values/conservative outlook/hard-working ethics/individual responsibility/faith ... would be an understatement. Be aware that some communities are very much dominated by a single religious group affiliation and unless you are a part of that group, you'll be welcomed in a civil manner, but not necessarily a friendly manner ... you'll find yourself left out of much of the social contact of the area.
There's exceptions to this limiting social climate ... Cheyenne, being a military town, is more acclimated to transients and new folk. Casper, being a large town, also due to the vagaries of the industry there. Gillette, just because it's a recent boom town in the energy business and many are newcomers from somewhere else. Laramie, because it's a college town. And Jackson, because it's a whole different place which really isn't in step with the rest of Wyoming, IMO.
Overall, I think you'll find that you will be more readily accepted if you are somewhat aggressive about meeting and being friendly with your neighbors ... my tactic was to get on our horses and go out riding through our area, stopping by to visit our established neighbors. We often brought small gifts of fresh vegetables from our gardens ... a token of thinking about our neighbors and a starter for a conversation. Bringing them Christmas baked goods or invitations to a bar-b-que to celebrate getting a harvest in helped get good relations, too.
Of interest to me is that so many of the folk I've seen move into the area over the last decade are so stuck on their superiority of their ways and thinking that they take it as an insult that those of us here for awhile don't rush over to welcome them. Moreover, they tend to be obnoxious in ways that are offensive to us ... many have this concept that they've "moved to the country" where they can do whatever they want now that they couldn't back in the cities they came from. So you've got folks with inappropriate dogs ... rottweilers, for example ... who think it's OK to turn them loose 24/7 because they're now in the country. Rotties, rhodesian ridgebacks, great pyr's without a job, and other vanity dogs that were standouts in the city aren't welcome around your neighbor's livestock .... Nor is your desire to blast your favorite music selections at all hours of the night and day considered entertaining; again, maybe this is "cool" in the city where they came from .... look at me, no LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME! ... behavior isn't going to win your friends in this area.
As I read it, HappyinWyoming presents this social situation as a primarily political ... "right wing flight" issue. To some extent, true. But, IMO, it's a largely different situation ... now that many newcomers are here, their anti-social behavior is more obvious than where it was back home. Additionally, in those months when being somewhat self-reliant and capable require planning and dedication to what needs to be done ... I'm appalled at the lack of foresight/planning and priorities of so many of these folk. It's one thing to have to fire up my tractor to pull somebody out of a ditch during a storm, and I'm happy to help and thankful that they're not hurt ... but it's another thing entirely when they persist in driving their Mustang or Camaro (or other "cool" city car) in winter conditions for which it wasn't designed and they're off the road 6 times in a month of coming home from bars after work late in the evening. Especially when we've mentioned back in the summer months that winter driving around here might dictate getting a more suitable vehicle for those months ... and we watch the neighbor spend their discretionary income on motorcycles and travel and a new fishing boat, and so forth. Far be it for me to dictate their use of their financial resources ... but by the same token, it's not my responsibility to fix their self-made problems when it's a repeated problem that they could have taken care of in a timely manner.
I moved here to get away from this type of behavior in city and suburban environments ....
The bottom line is that your planned trip to Wyoming is essential to your discovery of whether or not this place will suit your needs and desires. I look forward to hearing what you find .... Best wishes in your travels.
PS ... should you marry into a ranching/farming family, you'll have lots of opportunities to run that equipment, do the chores, and help in every capacity imaginable. It's a way of life, not an option ....
Wisdom,
This is all real good insight into folks living in Wyoming, which's hardly recognized and thought much of by out of staters.
Good to hear this line of thought, thankssunsprit; wanna go there!
I do need help haying but that only be a few more weeks of a job...
If I were in Wyoming, I'd certainly be willing to help you.
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Very well stated!
