Chucking it All (Gillette, Cody, Powell: for sale, real estate, rentals)

[hol-tone]

Hi, my husband and I vacationed in Cody on a horse ranch in 2012 and fell in love with the area. Just in the past few weeks we have decided to chuck it all and just move out there next summer (from the suburbs of Baltimore, MD) . We have to get our house ready for sale to put on the market May 1st. A few questions...
1. My husband needs internet and phone to run his business from home...we had trouble at the ranch with this , how is it in outlying areas?
2. I am giving up a well paying job after 26 years and we will downsize...is there part time employment easily found for a 50ish woman - I've been assuming there will no work for a HR manager out there? I don't care about doing hr and am open to anything (except fast food) but will need some kind of small income to pay our health insurance premiums -lol
3. Our REAL and "ENDING UP" dream is to own a small farmhouse with some acreage for horses. Is this possible in the Cody area. Are these kind of properties reasonable i price? I really don't want to live "in town" - only because I can get that experience here without moving!
4. We plan to fly out in March to scout rental properties as we will have to rent while getting established. Are there houses to rent? Are there storage units there?

I don't remember much about the town but that it was small?? We were only on Main street at the Irma, visited the Buffalo bill center and went to the rodeo.

Also, we'll have a 30 year old with us looking to start over. Can he get work easily out there?

Sorry for all the questions but this is a terrifying (but thrilling) experience...Just looking for some advice from the locals!

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by hol-tone

Hi, my husband and I vacationed in Cody on a horse ranch in 2012 and fell in love with the area. Just in the past few weeks we have decided to chuck it all and just move out there next summer (from the suburbs of Baltimore, MD) . We have to get our house ready for sale to put on the market May 1st. A few questions...

glad you had a good time, but IMO ... a brief visit to the place is inadequate to give you enough information to make such a major decision. I'd advise you to make some more trips to the area, especially during the winter months.


1. My husband needs internet and phone to run his business from home...we had trouble at the ranch with this , how is it in outlying areas?

much depends upon the 'net speeds you require. I'm a manufacturer's rep traveling through the area and my needs are well satisfied with 3G communications there for my business.

2. I am giving up a well paying job after 26 years and we will downsize...is there part time employment easily found for a 50ish woman - I've been assuming there will no work for a HR manager out there? I don't care about doing hr and am open to anything (except fast food) but will need some kind of small income to pay our health insurance premiums -lol

absent getting something in the line of a professional position, you're looking primarily at seasonal tourist oriented jobs at low hourly wages without benefits. Again, best to interview in advance to find out whether or not that income level will meet your requirements before you pick up stakes.

3. Our REAL and "ENDING UP" dream is to own a small farmhouse with some acreage for horses. Is this possible in the Cody area. Are these kind of properties reasonable i price? I really don't want to live "in town" - only because I can get that experience here without moving!

you share a dream with 20,000 other folk all vyying for the same little slice of heaven. It's just that, a dream ... properties in tourist oriented locales here are just like they are in the area you're trying to leave ... pricey. Somehow, everybody conflates just wanting a "little house with modest acreage for my horses" as being inexpensive and readily available. Neither is true here or in Maryland. You need to have reasonable expectations, and bring a fair amount of working capital or significant income to pay for your dream here.

4. We plan to fly out in March to scout rental properties as we will have to rent while getting established. Are there houses to rent? Are there storage units there?

Few houses to rent, even fewer that will meet your expectations for equine property at low cost. I'd be contacting the real estate agencies in town for their overview of the rental market before making the trip, although the trip out is definitely beneficial in getting to know the area.


I don't remember much about the town but that it was small?? We were only on Main street at the Irma, visited the Buffalo bill center and went to the rodeo.

While there is much more to the town that what you saw, it is relatively small and isolated compared to your present area of the country. Your March trip will be a help to assess if the town has what you currently take for granted for amenities, services, etc.


Also, we'll have a 30 year old with us looking to start over. Can he get work easily out there?

what are his qualifications?

Sorry for all the questions but this is a terrifying (but thrilling) experience...Just looking for some advice from the locals!

You need to do an honest assessment of your financial situation, your wants, and your needs.

[georgiainwyo]

Sunsprit covered a lot of things well. As for jobs, it seems that there are a lot more part-time than full-time jobs in Cody. This, I would assume, is mainly due to the small business owners not wanting to incur the expense of paying benefits (that insurance you mentioned!). There are now two temp job services in Cody. When it gets close to time for you to come for a visit I would contact them and ask questions. They not only find temporary employment for folks, they also have leads on permanent positions or ones that are temp-to-hire. There are a few opportunities for HR type work that occasionally come up should you want to continue with that career (hospital, school district, oil company, etc.). With your experience it would seem probable that you could find something in the office/clerical area that is not seasonal. If you are a Facebook user, I would suggest that you join the group "Cody Area Classifieds". You can follow (between the sales ads!) some of the things going on around town, including info on jobs, rentals, etc. Before you come out I would put your own ad there asking about jobs and rentals. You might be surprised to find how helpful people in the group are! I have seen lots of people get help from others this way. This may be helpful to your son as well.

As for the cost of housing, I guess being "expensive" is all a matter of one's perspective. Having lived in Wyoming my entire life with the exception of time in Billings, Montana I don't have a lot to compare with, except for the comparison form one town to another. In my opinion, Cody does cost a bit more to live than smaller towns around, but housing is very comparable to Billings and Gillette, both towns we lived in. To me it isn't that high, but to someone who comes from an area where a nice house costs $120K, it is high. If they come from S. Calif where decent homes push half a million, then Cody is very reasonable! Finding a rental where you can have horses may be quite difficult. If it is your dream to ultimately live out of town on a small acreage, then you may want to consider renting in town for a short time in order to prepare yourselves for your "dream". I have seen decent homes on small acreages for sale for what I would say are very doable prices. The high prices really set in where there are large parcels of land, very "ritzy" homes, etc.

You should not have trouble getting a home land line and internet if you aren't way out in a very remote area. Most areas close to Cody have all the amenities you need. Cell coverage can be sketchy, though, not far out of town.

Do some research all over the net as well as on City-Data about Cody. You should be able to learn a lot more than what you did when you were here and saw only a small piece of what Cody has to offer. For a town of 9500 people I think it has a lot to offer. The medical community here is booming as well. Please ask if you have further questions!

[WiseWyomingWoman]

Hi
Welcome to Cody! Follow your dreams. I threw caution to the wind in the early 80's picked up my entire family and moved to Cody. I have been very blessed and we have such a sort life that one needs to live it to the fullest!
I am in the tourist industry, rental industry, lodging and real estate. I started with one business!
If you are willing to work, there is work. If you believe in where you live you can sell that dream to others. If you bring your son, he will have a quality of life he will thank you for in his older years.
Our winters are usually mild, our summers not real hot.
Homes are more reasonable in the surrounding areas, Powell, Clark, and outlying areas of Cody. I don't know if this will go through, but if you have questions, please feel free to email me at Cindy@WeLoveWyoming.com
Best of luck and blessings! West ward Ho!!!

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by WiseWyomingWoman

Hi
Welcome to Cody! Follow your dreams. I threw caution to the wind in the early 80's picked up my entire family and moved to Cody. I have been very blessed and we have such a sort life that one needs to live it to the fullest!
I am in the tourist industry, rental industry, lodging and real estate. I started with one business!
If you are willing to work, there is work. If you believe in where you live you can sell that dream to others. If you bring your son, he will have a quality of life he will thank you for in his older years.
Our winters are usually mild, our summers not real hot.
Homes are more reasonable in the surrounding areas, Powell, Clark, and outlying areas of Cody. I don't know if this will go through, but if you have questions, please feel free to email me at Cindy@WeLoveWyoming.com
Best of luck and blessings! West ward Ho!!!

They probably already live in Cody. The thread is almost a year old. You might already be neighbors and don't know it.

[georgiainwyo]

As the original poster last posted in September I am wondering whether she & her family are still planning the move!