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This is my first post and I find this thread very interesting. Please keep the insight(s) coming.
FWIW, my wife and I are JUST now exploring the possibility of moving west, specifically Wyoming. Gillette comes up quite a bit in these threads as do some other towns.
I currently teach elementary P.E./Wellness in an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio and have been teaching P.E. and/or Social Studies/History for 13 years. We're conservative Christians with 4 children under the age of 10.
This is my first post and I find this thread very interesting. Please keep the insight(s) coming.
FWIW, my wife and I are JUST now exploring the possibility of moving west, specifically Wyoming. Gillette comes up quite a bit in these threads as do some other towns.
I currently teach elementary P.E./Wellness in an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio and have been teaching P.E. and/or Social Studies/History for 13 years. We're conservative Christians with 4 children under the age of 10.
Are you looking for a heavily populated area- not that there are such places in Wyoming, but larger cities are Cheyenne (55k pop.), Casper (49K pop.), Laramie (27k pop.), Gillette (20k pop)? Do you wish to stay with an "affluent" area (such as Jackson, or Cody),or isn't that so much of a concern? Is your wife a stay at home mom or does she plan to work outside of the home? What sorts of recreation are you and your family into? Are you into a lot of shopping or can you live with Walmart or Kmart type stores? Just some things to consider when looking around Wyoming.
Wyoming Job Vacancies (http://www.wsba-wy.org/teach.html - broken link) <- you might want to check this site for teaching jobs in various subjects.
My husband and I are also looking into Wyoming, primarily the Riverton, Lander area since I have family there and I had lived there before and loved it! We are also conservative Christians, so churches are definitely something we will need to consider in our move. Good luck to you and yours.
This is my first post and I find this thread very interesting. Please keep the insight(s) coming.
FWIW, my wife and I are JUST now exploring the possibility of moving west, specifically Wyoming. Gillette comes up quite a bit in these threads as do some other towns.
I currently teach elementary P.E./Wellness in an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio and have been teaching P.E. and/or Social Studies/History for 13 years. We're conservative Christians with 4 children under the age of 10.
Gillette is definitely the place for you if you want to get a job in education in a fantastic district that pays well and offers a lot for the students. We are in the process of having 2 new elementary schools built as we speak. We have one high school that is split into 2 campuses with talk of them eventually becoming two independent high schools in the near future. We have two junior highs and a BUNCH of elementary schools. This school year there were 85 new certified staff in the district! This is one place that the economy has not hurt like it has in most places. Gillette has the highest, if not one of the highest (Jackson may pay better because it costs a millionaire's living to live there!) salaries for teachers in the state. Wyoming in general pays much higher than surrounding states. My take home pay doubled coming from Montana, not only because of the higher salary, but also because there is no state income tax here and I don't have to pay union dues. I worked with a young man who just graduated last year who was subbing some in my building in MT and he also got a job here in Gillette. He teaches elem. P.E. as well. His wife teaches elem. ed. and also got hired. Between the two of them they are making over $85K their first year of teaching with a bachelor's. There is a projection that the student population in Gillette will continue to grow for several years. The town now has about 32K people. I don't think the school district would be putting so much money into new schools, remodeling old ones, etc. if they didn't believe this projection to be true. FYI, if you don't already know, energy production is the big draw in Gillette. Between several coal mines, methane gas and oil production, this is where Gillette gets its money. There is a big tax base from those industries that really help the city, county, schools, etc. Putting the money thing aside, we LOVE Gillette! The people here are great and it is a nice 2 hour drive to the Black Hills going east or to the Big Horn mountains going west. As for your spiritual needs, there are a lot of good churches in Gillette. Everything from very traditional services to comtemporary services. I, myself, attend a more contemporary church that is Bible based and evangelically minded. I'm sure you could find a church home that is right for your family with many choices here. Gillette is a great place to raise young children. There are parks, museums, aquatic center, new rec center being built, bowling alleys, movie theaters, new hockey facility, and the coolest interactive "adventurarium" as well as a planetatarium that are both owned/run by the school district. You just might have to come out and take a look!!! Best wishes to you!
P.S. A lot of the schools don't start advertising open positions until April or May as contracts aren't due until April!
Are you looking for a heavily populated area- not that there are such places in Wyoming, but larger cities are Cheyenne (55k pop.), Casper (49K pop.), Laramie (27k pop.), Gillette (20k pop)? Do you wish to stay with an "affluent" area (such as Jackson, or Cody),or isn't that so much of a concern? Is your wife a stay at home mom or does she plan to work outside of the home? What sorts of recreation are you and your family into? Are you into a lot of shopping or can you live with Walmart or Kmart type stores? Just some things to consider when looking around Wyoming.
Wyoming Job Vacancies (http://www.wsba-wy.org/teach.html - broken link) <- you might want to check this site for teaching jobs in various subjects.
My husband and I are also looking into Wyoming, primarily the Riverton, Lander area since I have family there and I had lived there before and loved it! We are also conservative Christians, so churches are definitely something we will need to consider in our move. Good luck to you and yours.
Good questions. We're trying to figure out what we want, really....We're not looking for heavy population or an affluent area although we're not afraid of affluent except for cost of living, of course. My wife is "at home" although she has worked on and off and has excellent office skills. She's worked for a prominent law firm on and off for 14 years.
Yes we are conservative...I presume the University of Wyoming makes Larramie a bit more liberal. Don't know enough about Jackson other than I've heard it is absolutely beautiful and very expensive!
We definitely want some land and we definitely want some scenery. Five acres minimum...not opposed to much more so want to be away from town...not sure how far we're willing to go and how far from some basic conveniences. Possibly pretty darn isolated. (We're so decisive, eh?)
The problem being too far "out" can be schooling with 4 kids. It seems education in Wyoming, or at least parts is pretty good overall. Although I must admit it seems meth is a problem, especially in the high schools...although it seems perhaps it's more of a west problem.
I'm a teacher and from a family of teachers and I greatly value education. Being a teacher also could make it difficult to go too far from a town if I were to find a teaching job.
Right now we've been looking into Gillette and Sheridan areas. Gillette seems to be booming and close to some beauty. Sounds like Sheridan is beautiful and pretty quiet and relatively close to Big Horn mountains and beauty too. Wondering what Riverton/Lander is like since you mention them. I believe they are in the SW section of the state. I'll look into it. Seems that the western part of the state has mountains and less wind.
As for shopping, we're not big shoppers...Wal Mart and K-Mart are fine.
Sports: My son, like his dad, loves any sport. Specifically football, basketball, baseball. You name it, we can appreciate any sport. I'm sure we'd enjoy rodeo. We tend to do lots of outdoor activities. We love to walleye and bass fish. Have never stream fished although I'm not opposed to learning, for sure. Love camping, biking, hiking. I enjoy snow skiing although have never been out west or east skiing on real mountains. I'm sure my kids would enjoy skiing too. Never been on a snow mobile or ATV. Never shot an animal although not opposed to giving it a...uh um..."shot."
Thanks for your thoughts, insights, and questions. Keep them coming as you're led.
Gillette is definitely the place for you if you want to get a job in education in a fantastic district that pays well and offers a lot for the students. We are in the process of having 2 new elementary schools built as we speak. We have one high school that is split into 2 campuses with talk of them eventually becoming two independent high schools in the near future. We have two junior highs and a BUNCH of elementary schools. This school year there were 85 new certified staff in the district! This is one place that the economy has not hurt like it has in most places. Gillette has the highest, if not one of the highest (Jackson may pay better because it costs a millionaire's living to live there!) salaries for teachers in the state. Wyoming in general pays much higher than surrounding states. My take home pay doubled coming from Montana, not only because of the higher salary, but also because there is no state income tax here and I don't have to pay union dues. I worked with a young man who just graduated last year who was subbing some in my building in MT and he also got a job here in Gillette. He teaches elem. P.E. as well. His wife teaches elem. ed. and also got hired. Between the two of them they are making over $85K their first year of teaching with a bachelor's. There is a projection that the student population in Gillette will continue to grow for several years. The town now has about 32K people. I don't think the school district would be putting so much money into new schools, remodeling old ones, etc. if they didn't believe this projection to be true. FYI, if you don't already know, energy production is the big draw in Gillette. Between several coal mines, methane gas and oil production, this is where Gillette gets its money. There is a big tax base from those industries that really help the city, county, schools, etc. Putting the money thing aside, we LOVE Gillette! The people here are great and it is a nice 2 hour drive to the Black Hills going east or to the Big Horn mountains going west. As for your spiritual needs, there are a lot of good churches in Gillette. Everything from very traditional services to comtemporary services. I, myself, attend a more contemporary church that is Bible based and evangelically minded. I'm sure you could find a church home that is right for your family with many choices here. Gillette is a great place to raise young children. There are parks, museums, aquatic center, new rec center being built, bowling alleys, movie theaters, new hockey facility, and the coolest interactive "adventurarium" as well as a planetatarium that are both owned/run by the school district. You just might have to come out and take a look!!! Best wishes to you!
P.S. A lot of the schools don't start advertising open positions until April or May as contracts aren't due until April!
Wow. Thanks a bunch for the info. This is very encouraging and sounds like what we're looking for. We like the sound of your church as well.
The teaching potential is especially encouraging. Can you tell me what is typical in terms of paying incoming teachers regarding their years of service? Around Ohio, Michigan, the midwest, I think most districts will give up to 7-9 years. I have 13 years and a masters degree, which I assume makes me more expensive? I don't want to hijack this thread but perhaps we can discuss this in another thread if this isn't the proper thread. I have heard of some sort of constitution test as well? Perhaps I'll try to find a website for the schools in the area. LOVE no union dues either. Very nice. Also, are there loads of teachers lining up for these jobs? I'm not afraid of competition and have confidence in my skills but I also know that sometimes in extremely competitive markets one often has to know someone to get an interview.
We are hoping to take a few weeks to come out this summer. We're thinking Mt. Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Big Horn, Yellowstone and Tetons, and of course the towns/cities we're interested in, and then looping down back across the southern part of the state...we'll see.
Love the sound of the activities and thanks again for the info.
No I do not have any thing lined up but I am out of work and plan on coming there to find some. I have to say I have wanted to move and live in Wyoming for a very long time and as some have said all you get is it is very cold there but you know they make cloths for that LOL and after finidng this site and talking well reading most of you on most of these threads I have to say I want to come even more it is my kind of places neighbors helping Neighbors wow so uncommon any more and every one just plan seems so grounded and welling.
But if any one knows of some one Hiring and can give me a name I sure would appreciate it I was in the printing field and I was the maintence giy machine operator kept supply's in stock building maintence and also had a leather shop that I pretty much had to close up. So I am looking at a new career and going to school to better my self. and I just want to say Thank you to everyone on here for all your incourgement and great attitudes and Help
I live in Cheyenne. I enjoy living here, but I'm also able to see the faults. I'll just give you a little rundown and you can also ask other's opinions if you'd like. I understand why you might want multiple views.
The pros are that there is hunting and fishing fairly nearby, beautiful scenery (just outside of town), an overall friendly population, a nice sized mall and plenty of shops, and we've got some nice parks and schools as well.
We have a local college, LCCC which has decent programs, and I personally commuted forty minutes a day to Laramie's University of Wyoming myself. I also think that the University of Colorado is in Ft. Collins, CO (only a forty-five minute drive south of here.)
The cons are the dumb teenagers, slight excess of the homeless (who I wish we, as a city, could do more to help get back on their feet), an excessive amount of sex offenders for such a small town, and when it snows no one remembers how to park/drive.
Getting a job may also be a slight problem here. It truly depends on your past training and what sort of job you're looking for. The housing market is expensive as well, but it's rumored that it will crash soon. For most 3 bedroom 2 bath, you're looking at anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 depending on the realtor and location. Sometimes it'll be lower or higher. Renting apartments isn't terribly expensive though.
Hope this helped.
Inyx is right about all the sex offenders in Cheyenne. I think parent's need to take more drastic action, if any of my children were molested by such a freak I would make sure the scumbag would never been seen from again. If the government cannot or willnot do the job, then the people must. It's my G-d given right to defend myself, my family, and my community.
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