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.
You seem to be very familiar with parts of Wyoming, I am looking for suggestions of cities that might be suitable, I am looking for a small town, I prefer to live in a town where the schools are good with small class sizes, I would like to see snow but not be snowed in for days, I would like to be able to find a "small church" with a small membership, I can drive to the store no problem, I am used to driving 1 hour to go to a mall now, I am not a big shopper anyway. I would like the small town charm of things like where the town gathers for events such as parade or a rodeo or a cookout or some type of annual event, I would like my son to learn how to ride a horse.
I would like to know my neighbors and them know me.
I am a substitute school teacher and my husband is a utility locator, you know the ones who spray the ground to mark cables, fibers, telephone, etc....
We would need to be able to find a rental property that accepted pets for around $900 monthly.
I enjoy horse back riding, camping, and hiking. My son would like to learn to fish and hunt. My husband likes the outdoors but enjoys some pleasure like golf as well, he can always drive to find this no problem.
Any and all help would be great.
I'm not ElkHunter, but may I suggest Glenrock. It's just a bit east of Casper and west of Douglas and would increase your opportunities for substitute teaching and your husband's prospects.
It's a small town that has a lot of community activities, and if you run out of things to do there, Casper and Douglas are "next door." I have friends there and one of their kids is looking to buy. They say that housing (what they are looking for anyway) is a bit less than either Casper or Douglas.
Other people like living in Chugwater, very small by most standards. From there they commute to Cheyenne or Wheatland for work. Those commutes can be rough in the winter, in my opinion. But, housing is less expensive there, too, and some commute for years. Land, if you can find it, is also a bit less. Activities tend to center around whatever is going on at the school, as it does with many of our smaller towns.
Sheridan also has Big Horn, Ranchester and Dayton within easy driving distance. Elk Hunter and I disagree on the price, quality, and ease of finding, housing in this area of the state. There are lots of resources including an online site called sheridan median (the classified section) and a facebook page dedicated to sheridan housing.
There are also the towns of Cody, Powell, and Worland in the north central part. Newcastle and Sundance in the northeast. All have pretty good schools.
SV , lot of small towns 4 elementry schools 2 are K-3 , and 2 are 4-6, jr high and high school. mostly LDS but there are other denominations here too. County and State keep the snow cleaned off the roads very well. lots of golf , indoor riding arenas, 3 national forest, more just ask
Just a question about Glenrock. Is it as windy as Casper is? Glenrock is on my list of places to possibly move to. I like the area from what i read about the mountains and the outdoor activities, fishing and camping. I didn't really find any threads on the Wyoming forum, that talked about Glenrock, maybe i missed them.
Just a question about Glenrock. Is it as windy as Casper is? Glenrock is on my list of places to possibly move to. I like the area from what i read about the mountains and the outdoor activities, fishing and camping. I didn't really find any threads on the Wyoming forum, that talked about Glenrock, maybe i missed them.
Thanks
Scott
I don't think it is quite as windy, quite as often. I don't have any data to support this, just my impression from being in the country.
As you noticed, I moved your post to it's own thread so that it could be better discussed.
In Wyoming, a person should look at www.wyomingatwork.com and secure a job. Then look around that area to see what is suitable for living.
The other thing about Wyoming is the lack of business in smaller towns. Take Sheridan, which by Wyoming standards, is not small. But Sheridan doesn't even have a MDU office. The only way to pay our bill is by mail, or call them up and use a credit card. Same with Qwest, no office in Sheridan. So living in a small town may not be appropriate for the jobs needed. Even though they don't have a local office, they do have workers in Sheridan. There are locators, meter readers, phone repair, etc. But the person that locates here, might have a 150 mile radius that they work.
Unfortunately, you don't often find towns close enough to commute and specially in winter. Another thing you will find is that towns along the old stage routes, are 35-45 miles apart. Those were the stage stops that had hotel services available. I-25 was an old stage route. Cheyenne to Chugwater, 45 miles. Chugwater to Wheatland, 26 miles. Wheatland to Glendo, 33 miles. Glendo to Douglas, 28 miles. Douglas to Glenrock, 28 miles. Glenrock to Casper, 25 miles. Distances depended on route and terrain for just how far horses would last.
Even though those towns are decent commute distances, does mean that a commute is possible during the winter. For instance, I would NOT want to travel from Chugwater to Cheyenne. The winds around Chugwater make a commute, prohibitive a good number of days each year.
You mentioned wanting a small town, but keep in mind that our two largest cities are just over 50,000 each. Do you have a particular number in mind?
Churches - most every town has small churches and a good selection at that.
Glenrock is an excellent suggestion as it is within commuting distance of Casper which is our second largest City, at just over 50,000.
Ranchester, Dayton would be close enough to Sheridan for a commute (15, 20 miles).
Buffalo is nice and they could possibly have some work available, or a commute to Sheridan (33 miles) is very doable.
Gillette is a good option if you lived in Moorecroft.
Schools - Schools in Wyoming are excellent and on a fairly even playing field. The schools are all well funded. Normal class load (by law) is 16 students, or less, per teacher. I think you would find excellent schools no matter where you chose to live.
In just about any town in Wyoming, you'll find that the people know each other. In Wyoming, you must (I think it's the law) wave or raise a hand to everybody you meet on the road. Doesn't make any difference if you know them or not. It is not uncommon for two vehicles to meet on a county road and they stop to chat for a minute. Sometimes somebody will pull up behind and wait for them to finish, but you won't hear a horn blow.
I don't know a whole lot about the Western half of the state, so I'll let more knowledgable people answer up for that.
ElkHunter and branDcalf have offered some good suggestions. Worland, Powell, and Cody are some of the bigger towns in the Bighorn Basin that are nice. I would also consider Thermopolis, Greybull, and Lovell as those seem like nice towns in that same area. Lander is another nice little town that is up against the Wind River Range. Riverton is a bit further north and while it is not considered part of the Wind River Reservation it is completely surrounded by it. Douglas is in the same area as Glenrock and about 50 miles from Casper. Not a good commute in the winter but could be nice to be that close to Casper for shopping and entertainment. Another little town is Pinedale. It's pretty isolated but it is a pretty little town that might be worth considering. It's close to Jackson and Grand Teton National Park.
As you noticed, I moved your post to it's own thread so that it could be better discussed.
In Wyoming, a person should look at www.wyomingatwork.com and secure a job. Then look around that area to see what is suitable for living.
The other thing about Wyoming is the lack of business in smaller towns. Take Sheridan, which by Wyoming standards, is not small. But Sheridan doesn't even have a MDU office. The only way to pay our bill is by mail, or call them up and use a credit card. Same with Qwest, no office in Sheridan. So living in a small town may not be appropriate for the jobs needed. Even though they don't have a local office, they do have workers in Sheridan. There are locators, meter readers, phone repair, etc. But the person that locates here, might have a 150 mile radius that they work.
Unfortunately, you don't often find towns close enough to commute and specially in winter. Another thing you will find is that towns along the old stage routes, are 35-45 miles apart. Those were the stage stops that had hotel services available. I-25 was an old stage route. Cheyenne to Chugwater, 45 miles. Chugwater to Wheatland, 26 miles. Wheatland to Glendo, 33 miles. Glendo to Douglas, 28 miles. Douglas to Glenrock, 28 miles. Glenrock to Casper, 25 miles. Distances depended on route and terrain for just how far horses would last.
Even though those towns are decent commute distances, does mean that a commute is possible during the winter. For instance, I would NOT want to travel from Chugwater to Cheyenne. The winds around Chugwater make a commute, prohibitive a good number of days each year.
You mentioned wanting a small town, but keep in mind that our two largest cities are just over 50,000 each. Do you have a particular number in mind?
Churches - most every town has small churches and a good selection at that.
Glenrock is an excellent suggestion as it is within commuting distance of Casper which is our second largest City, at just over 50,000.
Ranchester, Dayton would be close enough to Sheridan for a commute (15, 20 miles).
Buffalo is nice and they could possibly have some work available, or a commute to Sheridan (33 miles) is very doable.
Gillette is a good option if you lived in Moorecroft.
Schools - Schools in Wyoming are excellent and on a fairly even playing field. The schools are all well funded. Normal class load (by law) is 16 students, or less, per teacher. I think you would find excellent schools no matter where you chose to live.
In just about any town in Wyoming, you'll find that the people know each other. In Wyoming, you must (I think it's the law) wave or raise a hand to everybody you meet on the road. Doesn't make any difference if you know them or not. It is not uncommon for two vehicles to meet on a county road and they stop to chat for a minute. Sometimes somebody will pull up behind and wait for them to finish, but you won't hear a horn blow.
I don't know a whole lot about the Western half of the state, so I'll let more knowledgable people answer up for that.
Traci, try looking into Pinedale! I've only lived here a few months (I moved from Erie PA, a much larger city) and I love it and am now a huge advocate for the area!
It is tiny with a population of 1500-2000 (depending on where you get your info) nestled against the Wind River Mountains in Sublette County. Scenic rolling sagebrush desert surrounded by three mountain ranges. COOOLLD in winter, but that's ok - just bundle up and you're fine. Gorgeous and perfect in summer and fall. TOONSS of cultural/entertainment opportunities going on all the time.
A really dedicated chamber of commerce, tourism commission, historical society and fine arts council ensure there's always something fun or interesting going on. It's a tiny place, but from a recent natural gas boom there's a lot of really nice things. An amazing gym/aquatics center, a beautiful library (seriously, it blew me away), a world-renowned museum of Mountain Man history, excellent schools, an indoor ice arena, a small movie theater.
The only chain restaurant that is here is Subway. The rest are cool, unique and friendly locally owned joints that include Chinese and authentic Mexican, and a couple funky bistros/coffee shops, and we have our own microbrewery, Wind River brewing. There's also a small ski resort in the nearby Winds, called White Pine. We're right next to a huge glacial lake, Fremont Lake, which freezes over in winter for ice skating and ice fishing and is used for a sailing regatta in summer. A few minutes drive away and you're in the wilderness of the Wind Rivers, with tons of camping and hiking opportunities.
Always something the kids can get involved in, too. In fact, earlier this year Pinedale was included in a list of top 100 communities for young people. Can't remember the company which compiles the list - ING I think? Anyway, the schools are great, and the community is tight-knit and welcoming and very diverse. All the churches are small and quaint. I go to a little Episcopal church that looks like a log cabin.
The people here are very friendly, welcoming and helpful. Winter is bitter cold but clear and beautiful with just enough snow. Big event in winter is a nationally known stage-stop sled dog race (kind of like the Iditarod) and in the summer is Green River Rendezvous, a huge weeklong historical reenactment/festival celebrating the area's Mountain Man history.
It is isolated though. Only 10,000 people in the county. 1 1/2 hours to Jackson, the next largest town, and 3 hours to Rock Springs, the nearest actual city in my book. No Walmart or anything like that nearby. However we have smaller local versions like Ridley's and Alco that are good enough for us.
It shouldn't be too hard to find rentals that allow pets. I have some friends who are renting a beautiful log home with 2 cats and 2 dogs for $900/month. I even heard of someone finding a nice little house for only $300/month. Almost everyone I know has at least one dog or one cat. Big community of animal lovers here.
Especially horses. Lots and lots of ranchers here, lots of horses, rodeos every week in the summer, even the high school does rodeo stuff. Also a new therapeutic horsemanship program that started up here. Definitely a very equine culture out here. There also are guided horseback trips through the mountains in the summer.
Just watch out for utilities in winter - the heating bill when it's below 0 for a week straight kind of blew my mind.
Last edited by KillerK; 01-02-2013 at 12:01 PM..
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.
