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Hello! My name is Emily, and I'm 23. Come December I will finally have my degee, and I'm looking to move. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and I'm sure Wyoming would be a huge change for me. But to put it bluntly, I basically am a very adventurous, dare-devilish, outdoor-type person who is fascinated by culture, but grew up in city life. I feel very out of place here. After all my research on Wyoming, I really believe it might be the best place for me to move to and start living my life. However, I don't know much about the state other than what I've read on the main site and some pictures I've seen. I want to start planning a trip to come over there in the beginning of January to check it out, however, I'd like more information first. What cities would you suggest are the best ones to live in and why? What activities do people typically engage in?
I really want to go about this the right way since I'd be moving a good way across the country. If I could move or come visit sooner, believe me, I definitely would! Any other information/advice anyone could offer besides the questions I asked would be highly appreciated also. Thanks!
Jan. is not the best time to check everything out unless you like to ride snow machines! most all of the mountain passes are closed for the winter. there are many small towns in wyoming that you will find the people are friendly in (you actually have people wave at you as you drive by even though they dont know you) the only place I have ever seen this (unless they are hitting on you). I live in Centennial and would like to spend the rest of my life there! (originally from detroit) Its a great state to drive around and find your place. sounds like you will fit in.
IMO, January is an excellent time to come out to Wyoming and see what it's about. See, wyohunter wants you to "see" Wyoming in it's best light and when travel is readily accessible ... instead of the season and conditions that prevail for most of the year ... So many folk want to come out in the middle of the (short) summer season and don't get a clue what the weather and living here is like for 8 months of the year. But if you move here, that's what you'll be living in for most of your time.
As far as cities go ... there's really only two places with slightly over 50,000 population ... Cheyenne and Casper. Other than that, Wyoming's population is scattered over a wide area of mostly very small towns and a few larger communities. The total population is slightly over 1/2 million ... and about 1/2 the state is public lands, not private property.
I'd urge you to read through the Wyoming forum threads for more insight into the cities and living conditions out here.
A large part of where you may be able to locate here in Wyoming will be dependent upon where you can find employment that pays enough for you to maintain the standard of living that you'd like to be accustomed to. Many jobs here simply don't pay enough for the local area housing, and much of Wyoming is without a local commercial base, so you spend a lot of time (and expense) to travel for your shopping, entertainment, medical, and other needs. There's virtually no public transportation system here, so you will need to have an appropriate vehicle for your travels ... and maintain it so that it's reliable for your needs. Much of what you take for granted in PA infrastructure, entertainment, restaurants, shopping, vegetation/scenery, public services, ... whether you appreciate them very much or not at this time ... will be absent in most of Wyoming.
Without your disclosure of your interests and priorities, it's hard to suggest that either Cheyenne or Casper will be suitable for you .... As I have mentioned in some other threads, I've seen way too many folk move out here from the area of the country you're hailing from, even after having made a trip or two out here to see for themselves what's here ... and they leave in about a year; typically, after an average winter. They don't have a clue as to the differences that exist after living in a riparian climate zone at low elevation and a move to an almost desert environment at altitude with sparse population, services, shopping, and a totally different type of wooded lands, mountains, and severe storms moving through constantly represents in day-to-day living here.
For example, it's not uncommon to see multiple storms blow through SE Wyoming (Cheyenne area) each winter season of a severity that East Coast communities would label a "hurricane", with strong winds and even stronger gusts and instantaneous changes of wind direction. Casper's not much milder ....
Perhaps you would benefit from doing some research into possible job opportunities before you come out to visit, and then focus your time in Wyoming on the communities where you have the prospect of employment. But most importantly, do come out here and visit for an extended time before jumping to any decisions about moving here.
Sunsprit, that is probably the best advice I've seen in a long, loong time.
We moved from SC to (neighboring) Nebraska 3 years ago. The change is, to put it mildly, a complete shock unless you are totally prepared for it. A LOT of locals teased us the first winter about packing up and moving back (as did our friends and relatives back east).
It is a totally different culture and a totally different lifestyle. Being 'outdoorsy' in our area means haying the cows and horses in force 5 blizzards, with a -40 degree wind chill that lasts for days. It means knowing that many yard decorations will become kites without a moment's notice, even in the midsummer. It means being aware that most weatherguessers barely know where our states ARE, much less how high the winds get or how deep the snow gets or how dry the summer is.
Living out here means knowing that the elevations are higher, which can cause people to pant like puppies when they go for a run or a bike ride. It's knowing that the terrain is not what folks see on the TV or from their interstates, in their cars, but is much wilder and more open, with a lot more dangerous (oh, and some delicious) wildlife. It's haying a 1000 acre field and choking on the dust and pollen. It's knowing that when there are 10 foot drifts outside your door, that it will take another two days to get the paved roads plowed - and maybe a week to get the gravel ones clear. It's also knowing that even if the roads are plowed, there's a likelihood that there is black ice forming across them, even on a clear sunny day, because the icy wind is still blasting across them. It's having a supply of toilet paper and other basic necessities on hand in case you're snowed in, and maybe even a secondary source of heat and light if your primary source fails. It's having your doctor's secretary (who lives in town) 40 miles away call you at 6 AM and tell you that today's appointments are cancelled, because the roads are too bad for the folks who live on the ranches to get in.. and the doctors and nurses all live on ranches.
No, I'm not complaining or trying to scare you! We love it, we wouldn't live anywhere else, we are proud and pleased and happy to be here. But do come out an check it out, not in the peaceful idyllic tourist season of summer, but in the still-frozen depths of winter, when ranchers are delivering calves in the sheds covered in ice and snow, and where even the pre-teens can rope a stubborn calf away from an angry momcow, and take her down so that Dad can give her the scours medication. Where the rivers are frozen (except for the most turbulent ones) and folks carve holes in the ice to fish, and where everyone watches the skies for the weather, and can tell what's coming the minute the wind changes...
Thanks so much for all the advice so far. I really appreciate it a lot. I personally think riding a snow machine would be fun, haha, but that's just me. Other people around where I live now probably wouldn't agree. I went to college/lived out near the great lakes for the past 3 years, so I'm used to negative degree weather, extreme blizzards where it doesn't stop snowing even once for a few weeks, etc. I really had to adapt to the change in weather when I went up there, so the weather in Wyoming probably wouldn't be too bad for me. I'd definitely have to adapt again, but for me, it's a learning experience/adventure, and I'd be all for it. I do love the fact that everyone's so friendly over there.
That sounds amazing about the ranchers, carving holes into the ice to fish, and watching the sky. I'd love to experience it and learn it all. If I had the time or money to come to Wyoming sooner, I would, but unfortunately I don't right now. Would someone be willing to tell me more about the ranches and what they're like? Also, what employment opportunities are currently available out there?
Wyoming is a consevative state in the finest sense of the word. The state government, however, expanded faster than any other state during our boom years. The legislature is cutting back, but not fast enough. Reducing government is like killing the Hydra. I hope we do it.
Now the good news, if you're conservative.
Wyoming has very low crime. We're always one of the five states with the lowest violent crime rate. Prison sentences are long; criminals here are treated as criminals. A teenage girl can walk safely through a park at midnight.
There is no state income tax, inheritance tax, corporate tax, or franchise tax. The maximum sales tax is 5%. Wyoming and our neighbor, South Dakota are back and forth as far as being the most business friendly state. This is a right to work state. An employer may terminate an employee for any reason or no reason.We have the second lowest rate of union membership of all the states.
Obama carried a smaller percentage of the Wyoming vote than of any other state. We are the only state with no "hate crime" laws. The state is not "diverse". But as I said, prison sentences are long.
Wyoming is a state on the low end of Second Amendment infringement. Anyone may carry a gun openly. Anyone may carry a gun in a vehicle. Residents may carry concealed without permits.
There is little consumer protection. There are scarcely any rural building codes.
Church attendance is low in most parts of the state. But in many areas bars close early because of a lack of patronage.
A few years ago during a desperate labor shortage, there was a large recruitment of unemployed workers from Michigan. We had good jobs to offer. But two thirds of the Michigan transplants returned, often to unemployment, within six months. It wasn't the weather; Wyoming has far better weather than Michigan. Hot, humid weather is unknown anywhere in the state. Winter weather varies with the area. Cheyenne gets blizzards. Around Cody the snow is generally gone in a few hours.
You'll like it here or you won't. But don't come planning to change things.
Wyoming is a consevative state in the finest sense of the word. The state government, however, expanded faster than any other state during our boom years. The legislature is cutting back, but not fast enough. Reducing government is like killing the Hydra. I hope we do it.
Now the good news, if you're conservative.
Wyoming has very low crime. We're always one of the five states with the lowest violent crime rate. Prison sentences are long; criminals here are treated as criminals. A teenage girl can walk safely through a park at midnight.
There is no state income tax, inheritance tax, corporate tax, or franchise tax. The maximum sales tax is 5%. Wyoming and our neighbor, South Dakota are back and forth as far as being the most business friendly state. This is a right to work state. An employer may terminate an employee for any reason or no reason.We have the second lowest rate of union membership of all the states.
Obama carried a smaller percentage of the Wyoming vote than of any other state. We are the only state with no "hate crime" laws. The state is not "diverse". But as I said, prison sentences are long.
Wyoming is a state on the low end of Second Amendment infringement. Anyone may carry a gun openly. Anyone may carry a gun in a vehicle. Residents may carry concealed without permits.
There is little consumer protection. There are scarcely any rural building codes.
Church attendance is low in most parts of the state. But in many areas bars close early because of a lack of patronage.
A few years ago during a desperate labor shortage, there was a large recruitment of unemployed workers from Michigan. We had good jobs to offer. But two thirds of the Michigan transplants returned, often to unemployment, within six months. It wasn't the weather; Wyoming has far better weather than Michigan. Hot, humid weather is unknown anywhere in the state. Winter weather varies with the area. Cheyenne gets blizzards. Around Cody the snow is generally gone in a few hours.
You'll like it here or you won't. But don't come planning to change things.
It's really good to know all this information, thank you. The older I get the more my views on government changes. I have become a lot more conservative in the past few years, although I do have some liberal views. Nonetheless, I think I could handle all of that and like a lot of what you said. What do you mean by don't come planning to change things?
What do you mean by don't come planning to change things?
People, especially transplants, live here because they like a conservative state. Sometimes, however, people think we should become friendlier to the liberal thinking current in other parts of the country. These people quickly find themselves isolated and despised. They have only their tiny group.
Now the out of state liberals (they always say that they lived here for years) will probably squeal that everyone is welcome. They're not.
People, especially transplants, live here because they like a conservative state. Sometimes, however, people think we should become friendlier to the liberal thinking current in other parts of the country. These people quickly find themselves isolated and despised. They have only their tiny group.
Now the out of state liberals (they always say that they lived here for years) will probably squeal that everyone is welcome. They're not.
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.
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