Rock Springs..a little concerned? (Cheyenne, Casper: real estate, motels, lawyers)

[Wyomama2]

You gals will be just fine!

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Grneyedgirl

I would love some recent opinions on the Rock Springs area. I have been perusing the Wyoming forum for a couple of months now (as we are planning a move there in late June and I am gathering information) and I am a little concerned about some of the things I have read, and hope someone can elaborate a little

1. The drug activity in the area. Let me first state that we are moving from Memphis, so I am no stranger to crime and drugs on the news (unfortunately)..but in Memphis I know the parts of town to avoid, having lived here my whole life, so it has never been a huge issue for me. But some on the forum have made it sound like Rock Springs is really a hotbed of meth use, and that is a little concerning, as its a much smaller town than Memphis, and I will be spending a lot of time alone with my 4 children while my husband works. Is this still the case? Or is a lot of what I am reading an exaggeration?

Tenneesee is the second highest state for meth lab busts in the USA with 1,687 busts in 2011. If you avoided those kinds of people there you won't have any trouble doing so in Rock Springs.

The 10 states with the most meth lab busts

However, meth use in Wyoming is 30% higher then the average in the US, if I understood this article correctly. Top 9 states for methamphetamine use - Safety News Alert


The Crime Rate in Memphis is 781.9 while in Rock Springs it is only 238.7. So Rock Springs is significantly safer then Memphis and most of the United States.
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 319.1)


Other comparisons that might be helpful:

Percentage of residents living in poverty:
Memphis 26.2%
Rock Springs 6.6%

Estimated median household income:
Memphis $34,203
Rock Springs $66,671

Unemployment
Memphis 10.1%
Rock Springs 4.4%



More demographics information:
//www.city-data.com/city/Memphis-Tennessee.html
//www.city-data.com/city/Rock-Springs-Wyoming.html

In regard to shopping. When you need more then is available in Rock Springs, Salt Lake City is a 2 hour and 51 minute drive away. However, these days with online internet shopping I can't think of too many reasons you would need to go there. I did drive there once with a friend to shop for a used car and he was looking for more choices then he could find in Riverton and Lander, Wyoming.

[tigergal]

Having visited Rock Springs several times and having considered it briefly for a move and having spent over 40 years in Memphis, Rock Springs will be a vast improvement over Memphis. The areas that are questionable are more easily discernible in Rock Springs. In Memphis, you may be in an area of multi-million dollar homes and cross the street into a very rough area. There's a reason why Memphis is featured so prominently on crime shows and Rock Springs isn't!

I think Rock Springs' meth rate stands out to people from major cities because those of us living in such cities were more concerned about murder, rape, etc. Basically, if you avoid the wrong crowd, you can avoid meth issues. It's a little harder to avoid random murder and violent crime.

[ziggystyles]

Originally Posted by Grneyedgirl

1. The drug activity in the area. Let me first state that we are moving from Memphis, so I am no stranger to crime and drugs on the news (unfortunately)..but in Memphis I know the parts of town to avoid, having lived here my whole life, so it has never been a huge issue for me. But some on the forum have made it sound like Rock Springs is really a hotbed of meth use, and that is a little concerning, as its a much smaller town than Memphis, and I will be spending a lot of time alone with my 4 children while my husband works. Is this still the case? Or is a lot of what I am reading an exaggeration?

I think meth is an issue in Wyoming...and I've been here 7 years...but havent really noticed it myself...although at the same time, I dont' read the paper or anything. I think if anything, it might be a bigger issue here (Rawlins is WAYYY worse for meth)...mainly because of our location...not much to do...lets do meth!

2. The diversity of the area - again, coming from a large city, we are used to a lot of diversity and opinions and opportunities for cultural experiences. Having checked the demographics of the RS area, I can tell that there isn't a lot of that there. ..and thats ok too, I know every area is different, and we welcome different experiences. I just want to know how the attitudes are, I guess. My kids have always grown up being taught to respect everyone and not 'see color'. Are they going to be hearing a lot of negative racial things there? I know from living in the South that there are always going to be 'old-timers' who are vocal about minorities. I just want to know if that is the case with the majority of the people in RS. Or are the majority of the people fairly open-minded?

I think that we are fairly open minded in the area. I see lots of people who help out...and lots of people who don't. Just depends on the people themselves. Most of what I personally see as far as demographics and races are whites, and Hispanics, with Asians coming in third.

3. Is the shopping as bad as everyone says? I really don't require much. A good grocery store and maybe a mall within an hour? Will I be able to find that? I don't need "fancy".

Haha...well I guess you didn't say exactly what you are looking for. We have a Wal-Mart super center (remodeling right now actually), recently remodeled Smiths (Krogers), and Albertsons. Other stores that we have, just to name a few: staples, Hastings, sports authority, aarons, rent a center, goodwill, the mall...murdochs (just opened), Joanns fabric (opening this month)...etc...all sorts of stuff. Restaurants, outside of our local stuff, we have chains like: cafe rio, dennys, subway, mcd's, wendys, burger king, taco bell, taco johns, quiznos, ,applebees, kfc / long john silvers, taco time, arbys..etc. Hotbed of local asian places too...crazy how we have a lot of them, lol. Thats all in Rock Springs, and just what I can think of off the top of my head. The mall has a herbgergers, jcpennys, gov offices, and other smaller stores.

4. Adjustment wise, on a personal level..will I need therapy? LOL. I have a Southern accent and sound like a hee-haw cast reject, vote Democrat, talk to everybody I meet, and really like my sweet tea I have never lived in the North and am worried about sticking out like a sore thumb. Should I just stick with smiling & nodding, and hope for the best? I've already been told to lie about my political feelings if someone asks lol. Also, what about the social scene? We are a fairly young couple and on the rare (very rare with 4 kids) chances that we get a free night, we like to hit up the little bars, and I was just wondering what that was like in the area.

Well I think sweetwater county is actually pretty liberal / democrat, compared to the rest of the state. Lots of people, however, are hardcore republicans as well...and you will see plenty of bumper stickers proving that, lol. Socially...bar wise...I don't go out at all myself...but there are quite a few bars in the area, and I know one at least, tries to get comedians in from time to time (pauly shore this february i believe).

I am very excited about the move! I love new experiences, and new people, and want my kids to see that there is more to the United States than just the 'bible belt', and I want them to live somewhere where there isn't a Starbucks every 200 feet, or a homeless vagrant cussing at them while they walk downtown. Any advice or answers will be extremely helpful and I thank you in advance

Only homeless people you see will be up at Wal Mart on the weekend, haha.
It might be a big change for you. We ARE out in the middle of nowhere...at about 6000 feet up. No trees in the area, outside of those in town. Lots of desert when you get out of town. Not much rain. Snows a bit in the winter, but it seriously blows away for the most part. School is NEVER closed, even when the interstate is. Lots of people seem to have campers and get out of town on the weekends...you will see TONS of pickup trucks and maybe feel out of place without one! Lots of people have four-wheelers or those side-by-side atv's and piddle out in the sticks for the fun of it. Lots of dirt roads all over the place to have fun on, get lost...etc. We have the Flaming Gorge to the south west of us and many people boat on the gorge or even just ride around the gorge (TONS of trees in UTAH down on the southern end)

[eiafjam]

WELCOME TO WYOMING.......you will shortly discover why we call it home. I am a Wyoming native that moved away for 30 years. Married myself a "southern gal" (North Carolina)and have moved back home to the Big Horns (Sheridan). The Mrs. fits in just fine (even with her "drawl") and in the last 3 years has made many new friends. It is good to be back home. Don't listen to the "jed" as I suspect someone has urinated in his Wheaties>sorry moderator EH I just had to say that.

[Happy in Wyoming]

Originally Posted by ziggystyles

Haha...well I guess you didn't say exactly what you are looking for. We have a Wal-Mart super center (remodeling right now actually), recently remodeled Smiths (Krogers), and Albertsons. Other stores that we have, just to name a few: staples, Hastings, sports authority, aarons, rent a center, goodwill, the mall...murdochs (just opened), Joanns fabric (opening this month)...etc...all sorts of stuff. Restaurants, outside of our local stuff, we have chains like: cafe rio, dennys, subway, mcd's, wendys, burger king, taco bell, taco johns, quiznos, ,applebees, kfc / long john silvers, taco time, arbys..etc. Hotbed of local asian places too...crazy how we have a lot of them, lol. Thats all in Rock Springs, and just what I can think of off the top of my head. The mall has a herbgergers, jcpennys, gov offices, and other smaller stores.

Well I think sweetwater county is actually pretty liberal / democrat, compared to the rest of the state. Lots of people, however, are hardcore republicans as well...and you will see plenty of bumper stickers proving that, lol.

I wouldn't live in Rock Springs. There are too many liberals; the place is too big; there are way too many "urban amenities". Why move to Wyoming, then live in a big city. I'm just a stove up old cowboy but it makes no sense to me; it's like being in Paris and choosing McDonald's over Le Meurice.

[eiafjam]

To Jeb and Happy

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

[georgiainwyo]

Originally Posted by eiafjam

To Jeb and Happy

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

You tell 'em, Eiafjam!! YOU ROCK

[Wyomama2]

"I wouldn't live in Rock Springs. There are too many liberals; the place is too big; there are way too many "urban amenities". Why move to Wyoming, then live in a big city. I'm just a stove up old cowboy but it makes no sense to me; it's like being in Paris and choosing McDonald's over Le Meurice. "

Why live in Wyoming and then live in a tourist trap??? LOL, just sayin!

[Happy in Wyoming]

Originally Posted by Wyomama2

"I wouldn't live in Rock Springs. There are too many liberals; the place is too big; there are way too many "urban amenities". Why move to Wyoming, then live in a big city. I'm just a stove up old cowboy but it makes no sense to me; it's like being in Paris and choosing McDonald's over Le Meurice. "

Why live in Wyoming and then live in a tourist trap??? LOL, just sayin!

Have so many never heard of tongue-in-cheek?