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I have a cell phone that can give out WIFI to 8 devices. So, as long as I have cell signal, I have internet.
As to the speed, I can't tell the difference...In the mountains, no signal is the norm.
Yes, usually close to the mountains is a little more costly. I think if you check home prices, they are higher, but not that much higher. We have gardens here, no greenhouse, and we do fine for the things we raise. A greenhouse would make things a lot easier and would definately be an advantage if you want to produce enough for sale. Our garden just gives us some relief from buying veggies. We raise, Peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, etc... Just today I picked about 10 tomatoes off of one plant and over 20 jalapena's off of one plant. Neighbors are out of town, so I am watering and tending their gardens. So far it has cost them a couple handfulls of cherry tomatoes.
As to towns, Buffalo is a nice little town up against the Big Horn Mountains and is close to camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, and even skiing. It is very family friendly...
Sheridan is a town of 18,000+ and is another town that is family friendly. It's about 15-16 miles from the Big Horns and it too, is well protected from weather. Usually the storms come over and reform about 15 miles East of town. Around Sheridan is also Story, Ranchester, Dayton. All within 10-18 miles from Sheridan for shopping...
Ok, so we would need to stay out of the mountains for sure then
Your garden sounds great, and I am relieved to know I can still grow peppers, tomatoes, squash, etc. there! By the way, if we move near you and you water ours, you are welcome to any cherry tomatoes you like.
Sheridan seemed really nice when we were there, but we didn't see Buffalo. Would we get snowed in for days and days in certain areas or have our cars blow off the highway? I have read on some of the other threads here that near Cheyenne, for example, that tractor trailers were on their sides along the highway! Am I just freaking out over nothing? Should we make sure we absolutely rent a place (at first, before we buy) that has a woodburning fireplace 'just in case' the power is out so we can survive the winters? Maybe we have been watching too many movies haha.
Being a "city girl" from the East Coast, I am fascinated by this thread, and how different life is from here to there. I had no idea "wind" could be such a problem, until I asked a guy at work why he had moved back from (I think it was ND, not WY). He said "it was too windy". I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. He said he had not realized the wind was so unrelenting when they bought their home in whatever town they were in. He said even the dog wouldn't go outside. I really hate wind, so I guess it is an important consideration in choosing a location out there.
You're the kind of folks we need in Wyoming. As someone who never attended a government school from Grade 1 to M.A. but has seen what they do and what the effects are I know what you feel. I never had children but I would do the same as you. When I lived in Colorado I taught Latin and Greek as well as Economics to home-school children on an informal basis. They were a great bunch. I loved the ones who didn't want class to be over.
I don't know what religion you are but you needn't be shy about it here. We have Christian Identity, Germanic and Celtic pagans, and several different sorts of folks who practice polygamy. The SW part of the state is largely LDS. Many of them are descended from folks who fled the persecutions of the eighteen-nineties in Utah. They won't visit your church but they will understand.
With the exception of high mountain areas I'd rate Wyoming winters as far milder than the Midwest. The sun shines most of the time and it just does not feel as cold as what I remember fro the Chicago area. Nobody complains about hot humid weather here; we just don't have it. Wind is different in different parts of the state. You might investigate Uinta County in the SW corner. It's not terribly windy anytime, mostly just gentle breezes. It's only an hour to Salt Lake, a very pleasant place for big city shopping. You'll see very different people on the street compared to Memphis. That last is true everywhere here; we don't have much diversity. There are no rattlesnakes west of the Continental Divide except for Carbon County. Grizzlies are found in only a few areas and really pose no threat to people who exercise common sense. The one I would sure never intrude upon is a cow moose with young.
Park County is a beautiful area in the NW part of the state. It does get a bit windy here, , well, maybe more than a bit, but it does have Yellowstone and a strong intellectual climate. There are truck farming and small animal husbandry here on the east side of Cody and north.
Conservatives and libertarians in Wyoming are meeting and both groups are gaining from the exchange and fellowship. If you're against gun laws and all but the most limited government activities you'll do well here.
Remember what it was like in 1950? If you're too young to remember you've heard. People considered themselves very fortunate to have been born in America and they knew it was a special place. Terrible things have happened socially and culturally since that time in this country. But except for the cars it could still be 1950 in Cody and quite a few other places here.
Young people from smaller towns and cities often leave after high school, seldom to return. They leave Cody as well but it seems that so often they return when they're ready to start a family. I'm sure that this istrue of other towns in Wyoming as well but I'm really only qualified to speak about Cody and, to some extent, Evanston.
If you have any questions of the sort that might offend liberals feel free to send me a PM.
Hi Happy in Wyoming!
Thank you so much for that! Everything we've read so far seems to point more and more to that area of the country being the best fit for our family, and WY is just so cool...
I am Christian - raised LDS, actually, but am 'just a Christian' now without a specific denomination I guess. There's quite a bit of choice in religion there for sure!
WY winters far milder than the Midwest?? REALLY?? Like milder than around Kansas City where we were last year? Then sign us up! I agree with the low humidity part - I really noticed the humidity lifting about halfway across NE going into WY and I was in disbelief, like, 'People actually LIVE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME?!?!' - I was in heaven...
You mentioned Uinta county - we went through there but had stopped in Rock Springs for one of the nights, so I'm not sure about the towns in Uinta. I am loving the lack of rattlesnakes (one reason I don't want to live in the SW of the U.S.) and the grizzlies only being in certain areas. Thanks for the heads-up about the cow moose!
I guess we are a cross between conservative and libertarian - we don't neatly fit into either, but I have yet to find clear definitions of either...I'm not a fan of gun laws since the criminals don't buy their guns in accordance with gun laws at the store generally - generally they are bought on the street or stolen. I'm also a fan of smaller government, and I love that people in WY tend to have those views as well.
I lived almost 40 years in Memphis, but am too young to remember 1950 - but yes, I did hear much about it, and we still watch Andy Griffith from time to time haha - not that that's the best example...
As to your question about being snowed in. Usually roads close when the Highway Patrol or Sheriff's department determine it is too dangerous. Usually it is because of blowing snow giving you zero visibility. Seldom do they close for snow depth, down here on the East side of the Big Horns. The city, county and state are really good about keeping the roads open. When they do close, they usually just close for a few hours, some times over night. Not for "Days". At least not anymore.
I'm still trying to figure out when the definition of "diversity" came to refer to only pigmentation. Cody has a great deal of diversity when one considers different beliefs, different lifestyles, different backgrounds and, yes, some different ethnicities. In fact, the society here doesn't seem to be nearly as homogenous as it was back home. Many of the people may seem to "look" alike based on pigmentation, but the people I have met and befriended are far more diverse than what I encountered back home.
I did move here from a multi-cultural area that was very racially charged. I hated the racial nonsense on both sides...
BTW, there was a post that said people didn't move here from big cities for the scenery and such. Oops. We did. We moved here for the mountains, the climate, for the fact that my daughter and I are healthier here in this climate, and to live in a place we loved so much that we were out here several times per year anyway. The great schools are a plus; missing my family is a big minus. If I wanted to move somewhere where everyone looked just like me, I could have moved a lot closer to my family.
Yes, diversity to me is not only color - being from Memphis, I always saw it as an adjective, not a noun. Kind of like, 'Oh, she has red hair', or 'She's white' - not totally accurate, but I didn't really mean any judgment about people. I honestly don't really notice the ratio of blacks/whites/hispanics/etc. unless I am really thinking about it, but many people from Memphis would be the first to comment on it when we went to a restaurant. I actually noticed what we called 'reverse racism' much much more in Memphis - many blacks really hated whites there, and it was extremely evident. There was also the museum there and other places that seemed to constantly throw the race thing in people's faces. It was very very divided and unfortunately I think always will be to an extent there due to the anger and rage that you can feel in the city - at least that was always how I experienced it. I could be wrong, of course, but I want to be in an area with just 'people', not being hated or pre-judged simply because I am a certain background. I take note mentally of someone like I would the color of their shirt or tie, and that's all, generally, but in Memphis you are not safe if you go into certain areas, period...you will get shot. I am grateful to not hear gunshots at night and sirens all night long. I am grateful to get my kids away from that hatred that is re-taught to each generation and seems never-ending. I have had friends of all backgrounds and all races, and to me that is part of what makes them interesting. Let me just say, though, that in Memphis the whites are more the 'minority' there for sure, and it is foolish to have a Pollyanna view of the world (like I used to) and walk or drive through some areas alone. This of course can happen in all-white or all-black or other neighborhoods, but in Memphis I saw what I saw...and like you, I absolutely hated the racial nonsense on both sides. I don't want to raise my family in such an angry environment. On the plus side, when you move from such a high crime area to almost anywhere else, it is a step down in the number of crimes.
You mention the climate, the scenery, and being healthier there. One of the BIGGEST reasons I want to move out west is that I get horrible sinus infections and am very very allergic to mold, of which the South and Midwest seems to have so much of - and all the houses I have lived in recently seem to have mold issues that I didn't know about when I moved in!
The humidity feels like a blanket over my face - I just can't breathe, I can't function, I can't think straight, I am super super grouchy in the heat and humidity during the summer - it's awful. I honestly can't imagine the settlers settling here during a hot humid summer and saying, 'Oh, let's stay here - it's great!' when I would have been like, 'Nope! Let's keep going west!'
I will miss my family in the Midwest (they are no longer in Memphis), but I just can't reason with myself that we should stay where I am physically forced to remain inside over half the year in the air conditioning - it's just not right. I want to go outside and not be attacked by deerflies, not sweat to death walking to the mailbox, not feel like I am in a swamp. I want to be able to breathe!
Also, included in the healthier state you say you feel, do you notice any major differences in skin and hair there? My family says that 'your skin will get all wrinkly and you'll look much older' if you are in a drier climate and not in this humidity - I don't think that's true unless you are just baking in the sun...
Being a "city girl" from the East Coast, I am fascinated by this thread, and how different life is from here to there. I had no idea "wind" could be such a problem, until I asked a guy at work why he had moved back from (I think it was ND, not WY). He said "it was too windy". I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. He said he had not realized the wind was so unrelenting when they bought their home in whatever town they were in. He said even the dog wouldn't go outside. I really hate wind, so I guess it is an important consideration in choosing a location out there.
Hi Avalon08!
Yes, it is amazing how different life is in one part of the country versus another, isn't it? I saw some wind-stopping fence-like things (do they have a name?) on the sides of the highway past Cheyenne and I had never seen those before! They also have a LOT of wind turbines out in those areas including SW Idaho - very strange to a Southerner!
Thank you SO much for all that gardening info - I will definitely keep that in mind and check out the resources you gave! Do you know if there are any places where you can get into trouble for collecting rainwater for your own gardens (when and if it did rain, haha)? I have read online and heard rumors of places across the U.S. where they are making laws against collecting rainwater, but I don't know how much is just rumors. I have also heard that the issues are more with large companies storing it in underground areas than the average homeowner.
Wyoming Water Law is a very big deal here. All of the water in the state is owned by the state, and any use of water is under the control of the state engineer's office. Effectively, every water use is only by permit; ie, a domestic use water well has a maximum legal rate of consumption, or an irrigation water right has an allocation by volume or an adjudicated max rate of consumption.
You'll need to leave behind your riparian area mindset of how water is allocated, used, and distributed ... issues which may not have even been a concern in the Eastern USA, but are ever present here in the West. While you may move into a town with a municipal water system and water may not be a concern for your needs, many people here live in areas where they are dependent upon a well for most purposes, or there is a water supply district that may supply water for your needs. Some areas have groundwater of such poor quality that it is unfit for human or livestock consumption, and I wouldn't want to irrigate a garden with it, either; folk in those areas generally have their water trucked in and store it in a cistern.
You cannot legally collect surface water on your property because that rainwater source contributes to the water in the system that is owned by the state. You cannot interfere with the rainfall natural event of soaking into the ground or running off to a lower elevation; it is not your water to store for a beneficial use. Although a barrel or two will probably not get much attention from the SEO, there's still someone who has a water right that may be interested in your diversion of their possible water. Even at that, if you figure out how much water your garden/landscaping will require for irrigation, you'll not derive much benefit from a couple of 55 gallon drums storing run-off from a structure roof.
For example, our greenhouse/garden drip irrigation zones deliver about 3 gallons/minute directly at the soil surface, far more effective and efficient at getting water to beneficial use by the plants than flooding or sprinkling because the water slowly soaks in to the root zones. A 55 gallon stored water source gives us 17 minutes of irrigation and we've got 6 zones to water each day ... depending upon temperatures (and natural moisture falling upon the outside garden areas), we may need 20-40 minutes irrigation per zone per day for most of the vegetable gardens. The beauty of a timer controlled system is that we can adjust each zone as needed based upon growth patterns; some areas will need more moisture than others and we can easily adjust that water delivery and irrigate through the night when we aren't using our well for household purposes.
I really like the greenhouse idea, very cool! Can you grow pumpkins in WY? I LOVE pumpkin pie, ya know! I don't know about sweet potatoes and squash either...maybe I can find a website that has veggies and fruits that are best in that planting zone.
We grow a lot of pumpkins and squashes in our outside garden areas, all heirloom varieties. Tried to grow sweet potatoes and yams with poor results, although if you can get satisfaction from seeing a couple of sweet potatoes yield a few tubers, we did get that result. We do much better with heirloom variety potatoes, and have gotten anywhere from 4 to 10 lbs yield from each pound of seed potatoes ... of the ones that were happy here. We've grown just about every variety of yellow (Yukon golds) to purple (purple Vikings) to a whole bunch of other varieties here with success. Operating organically, we do rotate the corn/squash/tomatoes/potatoes/onions/carrots/peas/cucumbers/green leaf veges/broccoli, cauliflower/eggplants each year. At that, I've set each of my 24' long irrigation manifolds on 12" centers and have a valve at each tap point; some years, a portion of those tap points will be shut off, unused and the drip tape will not be installed so the ground is fallow at that strip. With a 26' wide greenhouse and a 24' manifold, we can move the manifold over a few inches each year and control the productive rows and fallow very closely. My point here is that efficient water use is a necessity when you've into producing a household size crop each year; our goal is not supplement our grocery store vegetable purchases in season with a few tomatoes and carrots, but to completely eliminate those purchases each year for the stuff that we can grow ourselves in a controlled environment. It took us a few years to reach that goal, but we now know what it takes for production and how to process the foods for storage. Expect that you will have a similar learning curve in your own gardening efforts; some items will simply not produce for you at all or in a given year. As well, some of the stuff that you have success with in a year you may not find a supplier with seedstock in the next years for various reasons ... they didn't get a seedstock crop, or it didn't sell well for them, or ?.
Yesterday, we picked 120 lbs of 5 varieties of tomatoes from the outside gardens for our tomato paste canning (and more giant Roma's for this week's CSA delivery). Yielded about 55 gallons of seeeded/skinned high solids juice which is now simmering on the stove, reducing down. A champion juicer with a tomato screen makes quick work of processing the picked tomatoes; don't know how we lived without it even having tried some of the italian tomato processing machines which now just sit on a shelf in the basement. We generally put it up at around 30% solids, much higher concentration than commercial paste. I'll do some batches with seasonings, some just plain. We have a smaller tunnel greenhouse, our first effort at 16' x 24'; my wife thought that would be adequate for our needs but the first year showed us how inadequately small it was. It's now our herbarium, and we grow basil (5 varieties this year), oregano (3 varieties), mexican oregano, dill, garlic, shallots, and a wide variety of other similar stuff in there each year. What we don't use fresh, we dry in our food dryer or freeze; the surplus to our needs gets sold at the market.
There are numerous seed sources which can supply your Zone 4 gardening needs. You'll need to look beyond the big name outfits for the smaller producers to find all the stuff that you can try to find what works best in your soil/climate conditions. We get about 60 catalogues each year, and in an average year will buy seeds from at least 20 suppliers. You'll not find this stuff at your local box store where the seedlings or seeds are provided by the national buyers at headquarters.
Wish you all the best with your prospective Wyoming gardening adventures. You can provide a lot for your family with a bit of work and capital investment. IMO, the results are worth the effort and the quality of what you can produce may far exceed the commercial varieties or the imported stuff at your grocery store. If you are located in or close to a town with a Farmer's Market or an opportunity to form a CSA, you may even find a business opportunity from your gardening efforts. It does take work to make it turn a profit, but it may be worth that effort to you to have control of your food source and a modest income from your property.
Yes, it is amazing how different life is in one part of the country versus another, isn't it? I saw some wind-stopping fence-like things (do they have a name?) on the sides of the highway past Cheyenne and I had never seen those before! They also have a LOT of wind turbines out in those areas including SW Idaho - very strange to a Southerner!
Those fences are not used to stop wind. They are Jackalope fences. See, Jackalopes don't realize there are big gaps in the fences and they think they are continuous. It works, and it's cheaper.
Just kidding. They are kind of for the wind, but they are snow fences. They disrupt the blowing snow to get it to accumulate in a desired place, instead of on the road. You will see those fences where there "used" to be an area that when snowstorms rolled through, that area would drift real bad and pile up snow. They put those fences to disrupt the snow patern and keep it from drifting on the road.
It is kind of funny when they put up a brand new one. They have a good idea how to place it to disrupt the patter, but sometimes it makes it worse. So you will see them build one, set it there, and next spring you'll see them move it a little bit. Might move 2 or 3 times before they get it exactly the way they want.
The University extension dose not list a grow period for Star Valley as there is possible frost 365 days a year. but my Aunt grows a huge garden raised bed that can be covered with old blankets, plus she has A green house on the south side of her garage for tomatoes and peppers.
Most gardens like my moms are potatoes , peas , carrots , spinach, beets, my daughter in town with high fences grow squash .We have raspberries in a protected location.
We pick wild service berries, huckle berries , choke cherries , red and black currents, wild rose hips, wild onions in the spring and meadow mushrooms in the fall and morels in the spring.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Don't worry much about the snow accumulation, unless you are in a sheltered / mtn zone.
WY snow is mostly horizontal and BLOWs elsewhere.
You may be snowbound for a couple days, but don't visualize 3 ft on the ground and 8 ft drifts.
More like BROWN ground on the windward side, and 2- 3' drifts back side of house. Then the sun arrives and the snow only stays in the in shady spots.
Some storms will vary +/-.
RE: ID... southern / central is not too great.
Moscow is Just Right,
Sandpoint is cold, but lots of nice areas for the proximity to Spokane.
There are still some survivalists in N ID, but you are unlikely to find them
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Am I just freaking out over nothing? Should we make sure we absolutely rent a place (at first, before we buy) that has a woodburning fireplace 'just in case' the power is out so we can survive the winters? Maybe we have been watching too many movies haha.
I agree with the low humidity part - I really noticed the humidity lifting about halfway across NE going into WY and I was in disbelief, like, 'People actually LIVE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME?!?!' - I was in heaven...
I don't know about sweet potatoes and squash either...maybe I can find a website that has veggies and fruits that are best in that planting zone.
