housing vs jobs

[kymom2]

I appreciate all of the advice from the following people in this forum. Didn't expect the politics of the area, but appreciate it. As far as trying to change things you could never be so wrong about my particular family moving there. We come from a Mayberry town. There are about 1200 people that live here and I love it that way. The thoughts of even moving out west for us were the jobs. I love Kentucky unless you want to relocate to the big cities you are s.o.l.. The hunting in our area has become almost a big foot sighting unless you are hunting rabbitt. I do understand about well back in xxx we are used to having xxx and they dont even have an xxx. We here it all at the ma and pa diner at breakfast on the weekends especially during hunting season. They stick out like sore thumbs. It's salt in a wound when you come here to buy land, brag about it, say wife is complaining about being in this Mayberry town of 1200 and wants to know how far she has to drive to get nails done, or we here her whisper I wonder how many of these people are married to their cousins. NOT FUNNY IN MY BOOK. The salt in the wound hurts even more knowing you can't afford to take on a second mortgage and buy in your own hometown of the beautiful bluegrass. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the working man that has saved and worked for everything he owns. Just bitter to those outsiders that have the means of buying what they call investment property and start researching on how subdividing would benefit them most. Please don't get me started on that subject. We are a simple Kentucky family that is looking to better our childrens lives a little and get back some elbow room someday. You probably wouln't even notice us in Wyoming except I think my accent is gonna stand out for a while but people just normally laugh. Don't bother me much I will always be proudfull of my roots that came from hard working family by the sweat of their brow in tobacco fields to put food on the table at night. Thanks to all of you that has helped me with my questions. I have narrowed it down to the Medicine Bow area and we are looking at a parcel of land in the next month. Hope we have chosen an area that we will feal at home in every way. GOD bless you and yours. Kymom2

[ElkHunter]

I HIGHLY recommend you visit the Medicine Bow area before you purchase land. So many people purchase, sight unseen, just by looking at pictures.

Let me tell you, they don't take those pictures in the dead of winter with 60+ winds and snow drifts 12 ft tall.

Please, do yourself a favor and go look at it first. Preferably during the winter.

[sunsprit]

Heck, you don't even need the dead of winter to know that the Medicine Bow area is one very tough place to survive at.

The weather conditions there are so extreme that Medicine Bow mountain actually makes it's own micro-climate that extends well past I-80 to the North.

I fly and drive past this area all the time and it's just as likely to be brutually windy and stormy as not ... but generally, you can see the clouds blowing around the mountain and follow the wind patterns. It's very dry overall except in the winter ... where even minor snowfall amounts will drift up very high. You can drive I-80 and see all the snowfences they've built to help keep the drifts off the highway ... and then you notice some of the snowfences are rather tall structures, not little 5' high plastic fence.

[imbobbbb]

yes you really need to visit before decideing on an area,many parts of wyoming arent as people from other parts of the country envision them.read the current posts on wytex ranch for some opinions on the general area.the medicine bow area is fine with some people,but not for most so be sure you visit before you commit to anything because once you buy something around there it can take a long time to sell it again if you decide the areas not right for you.it certainly wouldnt be my top pick for employment oppertunities in the state and its a long way to shopping.im not saying you wouldnt like it there but it is a place you really really need to visit before moving there preferably in winter and summer.a lot of roads in the area are seasonal and the general area very sparsely populated.many of the pictures on realestate sites dont give a very true impression of the area.goodluck

[kymom2]

Thanks so much jgussler and suspirit. Didn't realize it would be that rough in the winter. That sounds worse than when I lived in Colorado in my younger years before children. We don't have 90,000 to spend on 40 acre lots and don't really know what other area we could afford. Did some research and this area has that new dkrw plant coming in and thought this would be maybe a permanent job offer someday. As stated before husband has been in construction management for 11 yrs. now and thought this would be an area to start. You guys have been so kind with all of your information you have shared with me and words can't express enough how much my husband and I appreciate. (and they say their are no good decent people left in the world), well they obviously haven't met you guys. We will be making a trip to this area around Thanksgiving because it's the only time my husband will have off. He's currently working on a government contract at Fort Campbell army base and will not be permitted to work on base during this time. We will only have about 3 days tops out there because we are driving. I like the mountain area because of public horse riding for me and hunting for him. Do you have any more suggested areas for us to check out while we are there that would accomodate the hunting, riding, camping,view of the mountains. I realize this may seem to be redundant or even stupid to ask, considering the state has all this to offer but I was referring to an area to live in within driving distance of this dkrw? Would Cheyenne be too far to live and work in the area of dkrw? The real estate in the newspaper for the Cheyenne area looks expensive to us, but remember we are from Kentucky where a little piece of land for our horses and house would only cost you around 150,000.
Thats about all we need to be content. A little room to roam and place to lay our heads at night. Don't have much need for a huge ranch with a huge log home that costs more than we will ever pay off before we are six feet under. Once again guys thank you for the time you take away from your own busy lives to answer a few of my questions. God bless you and yours.

[kymom2]

Sorry Imbobbbb must have been typing at the same time you were. Thank you for probably keeping us from making a mistake on a land deal. Please read my last post and let me know your thoughts. As before, thank you for taking time out of your own personal life in trying to help us make the best decision for the whole family with lay of the land, weather, whats to be expected and jobs in general.

[imbobbbb]

casper actually has a fair number of small acreages within a fairly short distance which arent that expensive for wyoming and while they may not be THAT scenic i think they are much more scenic then medicine bow area.casper has a fair amount going on also jobwise.the riverton area has a fair number of reasonably priced places on acreage and you are close to a lot of outdoor recreation in that area also.employment isnt as good but there are jobs.lander 25 miles to the west is prettier but more$$$.lovell and powell to the north have some small acreages and you are close to a lot of really nice scenery though they arent real scenic themselves.employment may be a little weak in this area

[kymom2]

hey guys, have another question. whats the deal with these land places that sell 40 acre parcels inside what looks to be a small community. are they just dooping people and water cant be put on them or does it take forever to get electricity to them that they don't care, make people think they've bought land and you could build a house on when you were ready? im referring to like bb brooks ranch and wild horse ranch, wy? thanks for any input. kymom2

[imbobbbb]

most of them have no utilities,and not much for roads,some have roads platted on paper only.some have deep water tables so you may get 40 acres for 40k but you may have no road maintanance,have to pay 20k for a well,develop a wind/solar/generator power setup,which can run 15-50 thousand depending on how hightech you want to be and need a snowmachine to get out of the sudivision in winter.it varies greatly from subdivision to subdivision,you just need to look at anything before you buy[which many people dont]and see whats already there and what people there are doing about these issues.some of these places are right off the highway,others are way off the highway,and will likely never be hooked to the grid.another very imprtant thing to find out is whether the county will even allow you to build on your property.a lot of property is sold in sweetwater and im sure other counties that is zoned 'open range'which cant be built on without a variance you likely wont get and one of the requirements is building a road to county standards to your building site which depending on the distance from your homesite to the county road may cost you way more then what you spent on the lot.there are a lot of people selling on ebay that are a bit 'vague'about the facts concerning zoning.if you look at a cheap lot and there are no houses for miles there is a reason for that.some of these deals may be fine for your lifestyle but you need to make sure before you buy anything that it will fit your intended usage,make sure you can build on it and get a well permit,and dont just take the realtors word for it when he says'"i'm sure they'll be running power out here soon,its only 10 miles away'.some properties dont even have deeded access,they tell you to buy it and then apply for a blm easment,or around riverton an easement with the indians,which if it was cheap and easy they would do themselves instead of selling the land much cheaper

[N8tvCA]

what are the chances?