Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Heard that WY is a good place for retirees to lower their cost of living? We like the Cody area. We are looking to lower our costs and live in a cooler, less humid area. It was 107 degrees on our car thermometer today with dew point at 70 degrees !!!!!
Could we get examples of prices for gas, milk, bread, produce, cereal?? Also, electricity per kwh and any other day to day costs you can come up with???
We also need reasonable access to health care facilities. We know there will be some travel involved. Comments, suggestions?
Any information will be welcomed ! Thanks to all who reply.
I'll let someone from Cody answer with specifics, but Wyoming is more remote than the midwest and wages are generally a little higher, so the cost of groceries and most everything else is a little higher. That's true throughout the state and generally, throughout the northern mountain states. Gasoline and electricity might be the exceptions, along with taxes.
I'd urge you to do an on-line search of real estate listings in the Cody area.
Depending upon your requirements, you may find that while other expenses are not appreciably different overall from what you are now paying ... real estate may be significantly more expensive.
I'd also check with an insurance agent in Wyoming re your car insurance and homeowner's policy costs. Again, these may be significantly different than what you are paying now.
Depending upon your medical needs, Cody may not necessarily have the services you require, or specialists that do a lot of your particular type of cases. If this is the situation, you'll be traveling quite a distance for your medical affairs, and Cody is somewhat remote from larger medical communities. I'd be checking with the clinics/hospital in Cody to see if they can fulfill your requirements before making any committment to a move to Cody if you already have medical needs.
You don't mention where in the midwest you're moving from ... but I'd be curious to know for the baseline because I'm not sure that you're going to save money in retirement by moving to Cody. It's not a particularly inexpensive area of Wyoming, being in a tourist/scenic area.
Jan. 2011 cost of living index in Boonville: 80.7 (low, U.S. average is 100)
Jan. 2011 cost of living index in Cody: 87.1 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)
Boonville: Estimated median household income in 2009: $36,532 (it was $33,440 in 2000)
Estimated per capita income in 2009: $16,653
Cody: Estimated median household income in 2009: $40,109 (it was $34,450 in 2000)
Estimated per capita income in 2009: $22,810
Boonville: Estimated median house or condo value in 2009: $109,267 (it was $74,100 in 2000)
Mediangross rent in 2009: $578.
Cody: Estimated median house or condo value in 2009: $179,158 (it was $100,100 in 2000)
Median gross rent in 2009: $624.
Boonville Unemployment in March 2011: 9.1%
Cody: Unemployment in March 2011: 7.5%
Wyoming: 6.7%
We live just outside of the capital city - Jefferson City MO. Sounds like with lower property taxes and no personal income tax, our COL would be about equal in Cody as it is here. However, we are craving a cooler summer, more scenic place to live. Yes, I know the winters are brutal in WY - somehow that does not bother us. We have lived from coast to coast and Hawaii. Maybe this is just a pipe dream at our ages - early 60's - and we would be moving with a disabled daughter (she would not need our physical care). I imagine she will take care of us in our old age. Just a dream we are researching. Thanks !
I lived in Wyoming for 25 years, Kinnear, which is 17 west of Riverton in west central Wyoming. The cost of living sneaks up on you. I moved to a rather wealthy island off the coast of Washington and live more cheaply than in Wyoming. To license a car can be upwards of $1000 a year for an expensive car or truck. I knew people who would hold on to their old truck and replace the motor just to save on that yearly fee. Utilities were outrageous and we were in a co-op! We'd pay over $100 and we burned wood for our heat. Property taxes were more expensive than here in Washington. Sales tax used to even be on food, they took that off and wanted to put it back on again. You even paid sales tax on your electric bill. They'd brag, "Well, we don't have an income tax". Yeah, well, they get you on everything else. Their excuse for high grocery bills was, "Well, we have to transport everything in". I live on an island serviced by a ferry and our groceries are 25%+ cheaper here. Gasoline was the most expensive in Fremont County, WY, still is. You might want to investigate the crime rate. Meth was a big industry there due to the winds blowing the smell away. Nothing is regulated. Wyoming can allow business and services to charge whatever they want. For example, we paid $1531 a month for our group health insurance from Wyoming. Yes, you read that right. We moved to Washington, got their regulated insurance and saved $6000 the first year and that was just in premiums. Utilities are regulated here, too. My friend in Wyoming was just griping to me about her phone bill, $76 a month. We have the same company but I pay $80 a month but that includes high speed DSL internet!! Because Washington regulates their businesses, we don't get ripped off here. I would recommend getting the Cody newspaper as well as the Casper statewide newspaper. Get it in print so you can read everything, including ads, rather than just the internet version. I will also tell you that we saw climate change in our 25 years living there. Winters were warmer, humidity was getting higher. We couldn't use a swamp cooler anymore since they require very low humidity to work. Also, mosquitoes can be brutal. We had 117 cases of Nile virus, a few deaths, in 2007 when we left. The temperature in the summer that year was 107 degrees day after day. We are very glad we moved.
We live just outside of the capital city - Jefferson City MO. Sounds like with lower property taxes and no personal income tax, our COL would be about equal in Cody as it is here. However, we are craving a cooler summer, more scenic place to live. Yes, I know the winters are brutal in WY - somehow that does not bother us. We have lived from coast to coast and Hawaii. Maybe this is just a pipe dream at our ages - early 60's - and we would be moving with a disabled daughter (she would not need our physical care). I imagine she will take care of us in our old age. Just a dream we are researching. Thanks !
There's no death tax either.
Winters may be brutal to a Californian but not to a Midwesterner, I'm originally from Illinois; it's brutal there. The coldest wind chill I ever experienced was in Des Moines, Iowa, -98. That is not a typo. Some people broke down in a truck about 1/4 mile from a truck stop and tried to walk to it. I saw there covered bodies about fifty yards from the truck.
Wyoming summers can be hot for a few weeks, depending on the area, but are never humid. When it hits 90 the humidity where I live is almost always 12.
Here are a few interesting facts about Wyoming.
Obama captured a smaller percentage of our vote than of any other state.
Wyoming is the only state with no "hate crime" law.
Wyoming recognizes the right to keep and bear arms. You don't need any stinking government permission slip here.
At Christmas people in stores here still say "Merry Christmas".
Wyoming electric rates are the lowest of any state. Milk was $3.01 for a gallon of 2% a couple of days ago. Half and half was $1.68 per quart; it's a bit cheaper by the half gallon.
Heard that WY is a good place for retirees to lower their cost of living? We like the Cody area. We are looking to lower our costs and live in a cooler, less humid area. It was 107 degrees on our car thermometer today with dew point at 70 degrees !!!!!
Could we get examples of prices for gas, milk, bread, produce, cereal?? Also, electricity per kwh and any other day to day costs you can come up with???
We also need reasonable access to health care facilities. We know there will be some travel involved. Comments, suggestions?
Any information will be welcomed ! Thanks to all who reply.
West Park Hospital in Cody has a cardiologist on staff on a daily basis and has other specialists who are here on a once-twice a week basis. The hospital has been rated in the top 10% of rural hospitals nationally.
Gas is 3.54 a gallon for 87 octane. Cereal is the same at Walmart here as I've seen it elsewhere across the country. Bread runs from $1-$2.78 a loaf, depending on your bread preferences. Produce prices are quite similar to your hometown (in-laws are in that area of Missouri).
I respect Happy in Wyoming's views and his right to hold them and would never seek to infringe upon them. In case you are not of the same beliefs and mindset, however, you will not likely endure friction here if your beliefs are different. There are those of us here who are not Republicans, who have no desire to shoot anything, and are fine with receiving any holiday greeting offered as it is better than being told to go to Hades.
Not sure if you have any religious preferences or not (I know that area of Missouri is very religiously oriented. My FIL is a retired minister who lived all over that area.) There's a fairly broad cross-section of houses of worship here if that is of interest to you. If you're looking for a house of worship with praise music in it, your pickings will be rather slim - as I found out when "I saw the light" was presented as "new praise music"!)
I lived in Wyoming for 25 years, Kinnear, which is 17 west of Riverton in west central Wyoming. The cost of living sneaks up on you. I moved to a rather wealthy island off the coast of Washington and live more cheaply than in Wyoming. To license a car can be upwards of $1000 a year for an expensive car or truck. I knew people who would hold on to their old truck and replace the motor just to save on that yearly fee. Utilities were outrageous and we were in a co-op! We'd pay over $100 and we burned wood for our heat. Property taxes were more expensive than here in Washington. Sales tax used to even be on food, they took that off and wanted to put it back on again. You even paid sales tax on your electric bill. They'd brag, "Well, we don't have an income tax". Yeah, well, they get you on everything else. Their excuse for high grocery bills was, "Well, we have to transport everything in". I live on an island serviced by a ferry and our groceries are 25%+ cheaper here. Gasoline was the most expensive in Fremont County, WY, still is. You might want to investigate the crime rate. Meth was a big industry there due to the winds blowing the smell away. Nothing is regulated. Wyoming can allow business and services to charge whatever they want. For example, we paid $1531 a month for our group health insurance from Wyoming. Yes, you read that right. We moved to Washington, got their regulated insurance and saved $6000 the first year and that was just in premiums. Utilities are regulated here, too. My friend in Wyoming was just griping to me about her phone bill, $76 a month. We have the same company but I pay $80 a month but that includes high speed DSL internet!! Because Washington regulates their businesses, we don't get ripped off here. I would recommend getting the Cody newspaper as well as the Casper statewide newspaper. Get it in print so you can read everything, including ads, rather than just the internet version. I will also tell you that we saw climate change in our 25 years living there. Winters were warmer, humidity was getting higher. We couldn't use a swamp cooler anymore since they require very low humidity to work. Also, mosquitoes can be brutal. We had 117 cases of Nile virus, a few deaths, in 2007 when we left. The temperature in the summer that year was 107 degrees day after day. We are very glad we moved.
Okay, where to start.
I have never heard of anyone paying $1000 a year to license their vehicle. What were you driving a Bentley?
The only comparison I have for utilities is between Wyoming, Nebraska and Delaware. Wyoming compared to Nebraska, there isn't much difference. Delaware was out of this world! We have family out there that pays $300 electric bills and water bills. That to me is outrageous. We pay on average $40 a month for electric, $25 a month in the summer for gas up to $150 in the winter if it's a super cold month. And around $80 a month for water/sewer.
It is well known that Washingtons property taxes are outrageously expensive so I'm not sure what you're talking about here. Wyoming property taxes on a $250,000 property are around $1200 or so a year, that isn't expensive in my opinion.
I haven't heard a thing about the grocery tax being brought back and I live here.
I have a hard time believing groceries are cheaper there unless it is due to the population. While they are more expensive here than in the midwest they are a lot cheaper than other areas.
You make it sound like there are locally run meth labs out in the hills or something. This just makes me shake my head. Yes meth is used and made here, but, no more than it is used or made in other areas, and less than in some. It isn't something I notice nearly as much as I used to. Maybe I'm used to it, I'm hoping use is down.
As far as the health insurance goes you must have had a zero deductible policy. I have looked into health insurance for our family before we got it through my husbands work and there was nothing anywhere near the figure you state.
The cost of phone service, internet and cable is more expensive here because Wyoming is so sparsely populated and its isolated. It has to travel a long distance from the 'hub' so to speak and as such is a little higher than highly populated areas. Same goes with rental cars and several other things.
I don't normally rebutt someone's post but I have had enough of people in general over exaggerating everything based on their own biased opinion instead of just speaking facts. If you can back up your statements then I will stand corrected but it seems to me you are just anti Wyoming.
I have never heard of anyone paying $1000 a year to license their vehicle. What were you driving a Bentley?
The only comparison I have for utilities is between Wyoming, Nebraska and Delaware. Wyoming compared to Nebraska, there isn't much difference. Delaware was out of this world! We have family out there that pays $300 electric bills and water bills. That to me is outrageous. We pay on average $40 a month for electric, $25 a month in the summer for gas up to $150 in the winter if it's a super cold month. And around $80 a month for water/sewer.
It is well known that Washingtons property taxes are outrageously expensive so I'm not sure what you're talking about here. Wyoming property taxes on a $250,000 property are around $1200 or so a year, that isn't expensive in my opinion.
I haven't heard a thing about the grocery tax being brought back and I live here.
I have a hard time believing groceries are cheaper there unless it is due to the population. While they are more expensive here than in the midwest they are a lot cheaper than other areas.
You make it sound like there are locally run meth labs out in the hills or something. This just makes me shake my head. Yes meth is used and made here, but, no more than it is used or made in other areas, and less than in some. It isn't something I notice nearly as much as I used to. Maybe I'm used to it, I'm hoping use is down.
As far as the health insurance goes you must have had a zero deductible policy. I have looked into health insurance for our family before we got it through my husbands work and there was nothing anywhere near the figure you state.
The cost of phone service, internet and cable is more expensive here because Wyoming is so sparsely populated and its isolated. It has to travel a long distance from the 'hub' so to speak and as such is a little higher than highly populated areas. Same goes with rental cars and several other things.
I don't normally rebutt someone's post but I have had enough of people in general over exaggerating everything based on their own biased opinion instead of just speaking facts. If you can back up your statements then I will stand corrected but it seems to me you are just anti Wyoming.
Yeah, those numbers sounded kind of odd to me too. I licensed a 2011 SUV and my tags were $600 which will go down every year of course. My utility bills are about the same as they were in Memphis which is supposed to have some of the most reasonable utilities in the US. They could be cheaper here, but I haven't quite overcome my addiction to air conditioning.
I haven't noticed groceries being that much more. Well, Albertsons is, but Albertsons was priced like gold when it was in Memphis as well. Our health insurance for a family with $500 deductible and $25 office copays is $230 per month. Our phone service which is unlimited local and long distance is $39 a month. Internet is fiber direct to the house at $42. Gasoline is higher here, but that was to be expected, I think.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
