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Not sure which area yet, they all look pretty nice for the most part. My husband is a military police officer/Investigator, so he is looking for a law enforcement/Investigator position.
Any and all advice that you can give on best places to obtain such job, best way to go about it etc... would be awesome. Also which are the best cities to work for etc...
Oh and we have 3 teenagers as well.
Sorry for being so short, we have basically 6 months to find a job and start a new chapter. We are ready to finally call some place "home" for more than 2-3 years.
Thanks in advance for any information you can share.
Without you posting what you're seeking in Wyoming ... it's really impossible to get a meaningful response re "Best" " cities, etc. What presents here for living situations, cost of living, access to recreation/entertainment/shopping/housing ... is a huge, widely disparate set of choices.
Otherwise, the only priority you've got is getting a job here. Like any other job search, you might start with the Wyoming at Work site, or look online for postings by the various towns/cities.
You'll then need to balance the prospective income against the local costs of living in a place that is acceptable to you.
How did you determine that in Wyoming "they all look pretty nice for the most part"? Have you visited the state, investigated the places that you are interested in? or is this just an assumption based upon a few pictures of the state and your impressions of YNP or the BigHorns or the Black Hills? do you know that most of Wyoming is a high altitude desert?
As retired military, is there a concern for access to VA facilities? that would immediately narrow your choices to a couple of locations.
I'd also mention that the weather is a significant factor in living here, and it's a big deal for what can be long winters. Some folk readily adapt, some folk don't. As well, altitude can be a factor in health issues for some folk.
If you haven't do so already, I'd advise that you come visit Wyoming to look around and see if the reality matches your expectations.
I would think as retired military, access to a PX and commissary might be important (my father and sister both retired from the AF). If so, Cheyenne is probably the best fit as it has the only sizeable (if not ONLY) base in the state. And it's the largest city in the state, too.
I read a lot on the Idaho forum and apparently a lot of former police officers (not necessarily military) choose that state to retire to for some reason.
Hi Sunsprit, thanks for your words. We unfortunately have not been to WY. We will be making a trip once we are back in the states. We are currently living in Italy, so just popping back in isn't an option at the moment.
As for what we are looking for, well he mainly wants to be able to hunt, have some land (at least a couple of acres) a nice but not large house as the kids will be out in a few years.
Our conclusions have been drawn from yes looking at photos, I guess I shouldn't say they all look the same but look nice in their own ways.
We have lived in some great places and some real crappy places haha. We know that the military hasn't taken us any where that we want to settle down in.
Texas was the only place we have been that we are still considering but not Corpus which is where we were stationed. We want 4 seasons again with no humidity. VA accessibility would be nice but with the benefits slowly being taken away it is not a huge deciding factor at this point.
I will look for the work website you suggested, we have seen a couple of jobs that he is looking into as well from a few generic websites.
Warden, thanks for the info as well, we have people pushing us towards Idaho and CO. We are weighing our options at the moment but like I said 5 months is all we have. This was not expected we planned to have another 4 years min or wouldn't have accepted orders overseas as a twilight tour. Cheyenne is what we have looked at so far.
Thanks again please keep them coming
Cheyenne has WAFB with the BX (although I've been reading that the BX system may be closed down due to budgetary constraints ... and neighbors of mine who are retired AF comment that they do most of their local shopping at Sam's, etc ... where the prices are comparable except for a few specialty items that the BX stocks that aren't available other places), and the VA hospital here. Overall, it's a place where many seek their last post as their access to a place to retire, and I've seen a lot of senior NCO's and O-5's & 6's buy a small ranch property (40 acres to maybe a half section) around here to settle on with their horses, some livestock, and elbow room. You'll find a lot of retired military company here in the public service sector employees ... from federal to municipal jobs where preference points can be the deciding factor between otherwise similarly qualified candidates.
As well, Cheyenne has recently been seeking new hires for police and sheriff's dept employees. I don't know what the hiring time frame is, but when they're putting posters up and advertising on radio spots, you know that they are getting pretty aggressive about wanting to fill jobs. IIRC, one must be accepted, hired, and then successfully complete the POST training to start active work on a probationary basis. Some make it through the process, some don't get to a permanent hire for various reasons.
One might also observe that the jobs marketplace in Cheyenne is skewed by the availability of so many qualified retired military folk in the area; ie, there's a lot of folk who don't need to earn a living, but only to supplement their income to have a few more toys in life. I think that's one of the primary factors that drive retired military to public sector employment, because the wage standards are set by comparables throughout the system rather than what the private sector wages are based on around here. The bottom line is that private sector work here generally pays a lot less than comparable jobs in other marketplaces with similar costs of living; outside of the crossroads location in this region, the primary reason why several major regional warehouses are based here is due to a pool of qualified workers who are less expensive than they'd be in other places, such as northern Colorado.
While there may be jobs available in Cheyenne in the near term for your husband, I'd not advise planning on moving here unless/until you have the opportunity to investigate the area. I understand your difficulty in doing so at this time, but in all candor I'd say that Cheyenne isn't everybody's cup of tea.
In perspective, when you were under orders, you accepted the posting and made the best of the situation knowing that you'd be moving on in time ... but with your own desires/motivations to be someplace now on your own dollar for the long term, "making the best of the situation" may not necessarily be a desirable option. I can't evaluate your personal motivations/desires, but I can report that I see many folk move to this area and there's a common phrase about them: "two and gone". Between the realized potential of some very harsh winter months climate and the limitations imposed on what you can do recreationally and for entertainment, and working for less income than can be realized in other marketplaces ... there's simply a lot of folk who move here with expectations that aren't realized and subsequently move on very quickly.
I suggest that you take the intervening time to do a very thorough assessment of what is really important to you and your family for your happiness. And I mean that to a very fine level of detail; take nothing for granted, list everything and then prioritize those concerns. Shopping, access to medical services, educational opportunities, employment and advancement, restaurants, recreation, entertainment, housing costs, dealing with inclement weather, etc., etc., etc. What I see happen much of the time is that folk move here with assumptions that so much of what they take for granted in other places will also be here; many times, it's not and they don't miss it until they realize that it's not here. For example, WY is an area of long distances between many basic items; ie, travel hundreds of miles or several hours to go shopping is a given for most of the state. You may not have many options close by for things that you take for granted now; ie, if I need some hardware for the ranch ... it's 35 miles away to town (although Cheyenne now has a Lowes, HomeD, and other box stores for a selection). Likewise, grocery shopping is 35 miles away. and so forth ....
After all the job search, you really need to see what standard of living and housing it will allow you before making a decision and committing your dollars to a move/relocation.
Good luck in your retirement locale search ... understand that WY presents many different locales and opportunities which all have their +/-'s. For the most part, very little of Wyoming is what you may have come to think about it from seeing a few pix of it's natural features. True, too, most of the state's most desirable/attractive lands have been priced out of the realm of working folk ... and those are the places that you've probably seen the beautiful pictures of.
PS: It's not my intent to dominate this thread. Others on this forum have recently arrived to Wyoming ... having made their decision to be here. Are they still around?
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Do as SS recommended and draft some scenarios and options that best suit your upcoming needs. (They will likely change when the kids leave)
I have 2 retired military / current law enforcement friends living in Wellington, CO. They access Cheyenne and Ft Collins for their family needs and plenty of Law Enforcement opportunities in Larimer County, CSU, CSP, Ft Collins, Timnath, Windsor, Loveland, Greeley, UNC, Weld County....
If your kids are in HS / early college; Wellington / Ft Collins / La Porte would be worth looking into.
Also consider areas around Rapid City / Spearfish, SD as another option with great VA services nearby.
Sheridan, WY could be a possibility too.
Might as well add Co Springs to the mix of options and you have plenty of research to do.
WY has the greatest people and wilderness type recreation, but it is a 'fer piece' between stops / careers / airports / services. Can be tough transition for older kids. (fewer choices of activities and EDU and ESCAPE (airports / cities))
Often the transition to civilian employment requires a vast source of opportunities to find out what fits. Be careful of getting into a 'one-trick-pony' employment situation. I have had a few friends move to very nice locales, only to find out the only boss in town is a tyrant and unbearable cuz people can't leave.
I've been reading this forum for about a year now and decided to finally register and make my first post. I hope no one minds if I just jump in.
First of all, thank you to your husband for his service. :-)
My family relocated to Cheyenne earlier this year from Upstate NY and are VERY happy here. My husband spent 20 years in the National Guard and worked in both the IT and law enforcement fields as a civilian. We wanted out of NY for a variety of reasons, and after a lot of research we determined WY was the place for us. Once that decision was made, we started looking at job opportunities that fit his resume and researched the homes/schools/environment in those towns and cities. Definitely check the Wyoming at Work site, but also do a Google search for "WY Veterans Job Fairs." We attended one here in Cheyenne earlier this year, and ulimately that is how my husband found the job that allowed us to make our big move.
We first fell in love with Sheridan. It is a gorgeous town and had a lot of activities and ammenities that appealed to us. My husband had an interview for a law enforcement position there, but after speaking with his would-be superior found out that the job market was a bit on the unstable side due to budget issues. If he lost his job there, we would be in trouble since there weren't many other decent paying jobs in the area (that was early in 2013, so I'm not sure what the job market there is like now. I do remember around the same time seeing law enforcement listings on the websites for Cody and Buffalo, so those may be other options to look into). As a veteran, keep in mind there is a VA hospital there.
My husband ultimately took a job in a technical field in Cheyenne, although they do seem to regularly recruit law enforcement candidates, at least from what I've noticed this past year. With Warren AFB here, it is a very military friendly town (I can't tell you how many times we get a military discount at stores and restaurants, even as a vet), and your spouse would have access to the BX and the VA hospital.
I know you mentioned that you are considering ID and CO. I've never been to ID but I do think a lot of CO is "prettier" than this part of WY (beauty is in the eye of the beholder, although I think Cheyenne has it's own kind of beauty), but we outright eliminated CO because WY has no state income tax (which was a HUGE factor for us).
Depending on what you are used to, there are going to be pros and cons to WY. The sales tax here is lower than where we came from (6% vs 8%). Housing prices were a bit of a sticker shock to me, but despite that we're getting much more bang for our buck here (our house here is almost twice the size and on 10 times the land as our previous house and although the house here cost more, the property taxes are 1/4 what we paid in NY, which makes us happy!). Gas prices are much lower here. The humidity is much lower, the skies are much sunnier, and we pretty much don't shovel because the small amounts of snow tend to just blow away. :-) One negative I've found here is that car registration is a bit pricier, but then again, there is no yearly car inspection scam which is a pro. I have also found that the selection and quality of produce at the supermarkets is much lower than other places, but we just deal with it. My gas and electric bill is about what I paid before or maybe a smidge higher, but since this house is much bigger in reality I'm paying less than before. My husband did take a pay cut by taking a job here, but because there is no state income tax his take-home pay is on par with what he made before.
You mentioned teenagers. My oldest is a teen and I was worried about him fitting in this late into his education. I don't know if it's because his school is fairly large, or if it's because there is an influx/outflow with military families here in Cheyenne, or if it's common no matter where you go in WY, but he has transitioned seemlessly here and the kids at school seem to embrace new students.
Hopefully my post helped at least a little, and hopefully no one minds that my first post turned into a novel! Good luck in whatever decision you make.
A lot of military retirees at Star Valley Ranch and other towns in Star Valley , there a VA clinic in Afton and a lot go to the VA hospital in SLC. Depending on what part of the Valley it a little over a hour to Idaho Falls ID or(little longer) Logan UT to a Sam's Club. A jaunt up the Canyon to Jackson Hole.
There are 13 VA Outreach Clinics in Wyoming, with 2 VA Hospitals. We are in the Denver Region for VA treatment. So the clinics will send you to one of the two hospitals and if further treatment is needed, they will send you to Cheyenne, or Denver, depending on what is needed. Sheridan has a medical hospital, but they do NO operations. No surgeons on staff. If there is any cutting to be done, you get sent to Cheyenne for minor to medium surgerys, Denver for major things. If Cheyenne and Denver had a full schedule, they'll step you out to Salt Lake City region, or the Sioux Falls Region.
Not sure what Salt Lake City's region consists of, but if they step you out to Sioux Falls Region, you would be sent to Ft Meade in Sturgis, or Hot Springs, or Sioux Falls.
Sheridan area is where I call home and I love it. Having lived several places in Wyoming, when I got out of the service I moved back here.
Law Enforcement was mentioned, I would fight shy of Sheridan's Police Department. The average age of patrol personel is about 26 years old. We have a very young police force. A few years back there was a major foopa with the City and most of the senior personel split. We have more police officers, per capita, than just about any police department in the state.
Have you thought about Police with the VA? It's just a thought. It's tougher to be an officer with the VA because it is Federal and there are bigger concerns than just local law. They list jobs on their websites.
I spent the first 7 days this month in the hospital. I was taken to the VA and after 3 hours they determined I needed to be in an ICU, so they transfered me to Memorial Hospital. After 7 days in ICU, they put me in a normal room. The following day I was transfered back to the VA for 3 days before I was kicked to the curb. haha. I was surprised that the VA now has an active menu. They no longer feed you at 7, 12, and 5. The kitchen is open from 6:30am to 5pm. You have a large menu and you order what you want, when you want. Order breakfast at 6:30, takes about 15-20 minutes and they walk through your door with breakfast on a tray. Order a snack, like a meat sandwich at 9, and about 15 minutes later they walk through your door with it. Menu included things like a Steak Burger, 2 shreaded beef enchalada's, grilled tilapia, large salads, etc. Excellent menu. I am required to eat a fairly substantial snack at 9pm, so I would just order extra things with my evening meal and the nurses would put it in the refridgerator to keep for later. They do carry several snacks at the nurses station, but you can also order snacks off the menu.
Thanks for all of the info. I will be sharing with the husband.
We are not looking to buy a house right away, we want to make sure we "fit" in, if that makes sense. We have lived enough places with the military to kind of know what we do and don't like.
We are both from NC but have no care to go back. We have lived in CA, VA, TX, SC, VA again and now Italy. Humidity is not for us haha. Even though FL is a possibility. Not the top one on the list for sure.
And yes the Tax free helps, he is currently a TX resident and it makes a different in that pay check for sure.
I greatly appreciate all of the advice, good, bad and ugly.
Sounds like there is a "Southern hospitality" type attitude there which is always a nice feature for newcomers .
Off to look at suggested sites.
Oh and the VA info sounds good!
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Access to military base?
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