Casper area (Cheyenne, Alcova: house, neighborhoods, buy)

[Archy]

I'm relocating to Casper after spending a year in the deep south; I'm a Montana guy.

Anyone care to share their two-cents on the merits or lack thereof in the Casper area?
Specifically:
What the current housing like near Casper? Is it still a working man's market?

[NDak15]

I can't answer questions about the housing market, but I can say that I do think Casper is a great town. Casper reminds me a lot of Billings, to put it into perspective for a Montana guy. There are quite a few chain stores and restaurants around and also a pretty nice downtown. Most of the neighborhoods are pretty nice. Like Billings, Casper is also the hub if the state. The only thing that might take some getting used to is the wind. If you look for a house don't buy one near the edge of town. I lived at the edge of town and would be kept up at night due to wind during the winter.

[HighlandLady]

Casper is much nicer, imo, than Cheyenne...but that was a personal preference with regards to demography. There is much to do depending on your interests. As WyoEagle stated, the downtown is nice and they've done much over the past few years to more or less 'revive' it (dinner theatre, shops, et al). Most of your box-stores are there, chain restaurants, and that like. Casper has some great museums - Nickolsen Art Museum (and I've probably butchered the spelling with that), the Ft. Caspar museum and fort, and the Trails museum north of town.
If you're an outdoorsy person, there is much to do. The mountain has a fairly decent ski area (Hogadon), some hiking areas, etc. The North Platte River runs through Casper and has some excellent fly-fishing areas and rafting areas too. Not far from Casper, there is Alcova...a decent place to go fishing and boating. The Shirley mountains aren't far and if you're a hunter, they have some great sized elk (experience there )
I loved Casper...it's large enough to have anonymity, but not too large to be overwhelming. WyoEagle is right in that the wind can be a bit daunting, especially in the Winter.
My advice would be to do a bit of research, but to also perhaps make a trip before you move. As far as the market for homes - it depends on the area of town somewhat. I haven't lived there since 08, thus I don't have a good grasp anymore on the costs and availability.
Good luck!

[Archy]

Thanks for the input. I'm really looking forward to getting back home as the case may be.

I've dealt with winds in the desert but certainly appreciate the warning.

[CptnRn]

There are tons of previous discussion threads about Casper if you use the forum search function. Here is a link to the results. //www.city-data.com/forum/searc...rchid=31338955

[Archy]

Thanks CptnRn