Laramie/Cheyenne questions (Sheridan: home, schools, place to live)

[olddirtmanor]

We are just now looking into relocating to Wyoming and have at this point chosen Laramie or Cheyenne. I have read and learned alot on this forum. Thanks.

First question: When roads are closed and drifts are high and some have mentioned hunkering down for days or more, are employers sympathetic to employees not getting to work? Do people have change jobs alot? Or is it really not that bad to get on the road and to the job?

Second question: I read that DSL connection is not always available to areas outside the cities. Is satellite connection a possibility?

Thanks in advance!

[ElkHunter]

Question 1. The one, or two days that this may occure, if at all, the employers we have in Sheridan are very simpathetic. I've been out shoveling the walk to get to my truck and when I come in there was a message on my answering machine. "Don't try to get to work. If they blade your area and you feel you can make it, give it a shot if you want to."

That was left from my employers cell phone cause he couldn't make it either. haha

Second question. Qwest will give you DSL if you are within 6000 ft of a switching station. Which handles most rural areas just fine. However, you need to check when you pick out a place to live.

[sunsprit]

Depending upon the severity of a given storm, everybody may be stuck. Or only certain areas may be shut down for awhile. But that includes employers and the employees. So the local circumstances dictate who can/will be able to show up for work; sometimes businesses (as well as schools, post office, banks, government offices) may just be shut down for a couple of days. That's just the way it is ... it's not a catastrophe, it's time to exercise simple common sense and a time to be prepared for.

Some businesses may be able to run a short crew, and hourly workers may get a lot of overtime. Keep in mind that if the employees cannot get into work, the customers cannot, either, so some businesses may be open for shorter hours. Truck stops are24/7/365 already, so they're prepared for the onslaught of business and stuck folks.

Businesses and essential services that must keep running ... hospitals, emergency services, county road crews, police/fire departments, power company crews ... all have shift assignments and scheduling to accomodate these times (and they do watch the weather forecasts carefully). Their job is to provide services and they do it amazingly well while the rest of us are advised to stay home and keep the roads from getting clogged up with stranded vehicles and accidents ... they've got transport equipment, plows, graders, etc., that's dedicated to these extreme circumstances.

From the advert's I've been getting, satellite based hi-speed connections are apparently available everywhere. About $70/month for basic hi-speed service. Many areas of Wyoming are still served by small, independent, phone companies and their service levels are quite behind that of Qwest (there's a reason why the big companies won't take on servicing these areas ... very low population density).

[jazzlover]

DSL or cable is indeed NOT available in many areas outside of towns. Satellite is an option. I have not heard good things from the people I know who are on Hughes (formerly DirecWay). A Denver-based company called WildBlue is making some inroads up here. People I've talked to who use them seem fairly satisified.

Where I worked, the policy on snow was pretty simple. If a major storm hit the area and the office closed, you got the day off--usually with pay. If you couldn't get to work because your particular road or driveway was blocked (when roads were generally open and passable elsewhere), then you had to take vacation time or a day without pay. So, choosing a locale to live where you know you can "get out" to your job is fairly important. Be aware, too, that Laramie is 1,000 feet or more higher than Cheyenne. Winter is colder and much longer there as a result.

[jkb826]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

DSL or cable is indeed NOT available in many areas outside of towns. Satellite is an option. I have not heard good things from the people I know who are on Hughes (formerly DirecWay). A Denver-based company called WildBlue is making some inroads up here. People I've talked to who use them seem fairly satisified.

Where I worked, the policy on snow was pretty simple. If a major storm hit the area and the office closed, you got the day off--usually with pay. If you couldn't get to work because your particular road or driveway was blocked (when roads were generally open and passable elsewhere), then you had to take vacation time or a day without pay. So, choosing a locale to live where you know you can "get out" to your job is fairly important. Be aware, too, that Laramie is 1,000 feet or more higher than Cheyenne. Winter is colder and much longer there as a result.

I have used Wildblue for over a year now and been very satisfied. A little costly but the only option I have except dial-up and it is way better than that.