Which is best, Cody, Powell, Sheridan, or Worland? (Cheyenne, Casper: homeowners association, home)

[volosong]

Originally Posted by YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY

I'll keep working on her She likes the fact that there is a Taco Bell and Qdoba in town since we do seem to eat out a lot

Looking at horse properties on Realtor.com, seems to me that you do get a bit more for your $$ than in Cody.

The hardest part for my wife will be giving up the Cody Nite Rodeo. She started the Cowgirl Up Rodeo Drill Team a couple of years ago, and it has started blossoming. They performed at the Cody Nite Rodeo 5 nights a week this summer, doing the grand entry with American flags. Not sure what kind of horse activities there are in the Sheridan area, especially where a team could perform, if she were to start with new local members from Sheridan.

Okay, okay! You've convinced me to put Sheridan on the list of possible retirement homes, and places to check out when I visit in December. I'm all for spending my money wisely and carefully. Getting "the best bang for the buck".

[georgiainwyo]

Originally Posted by YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY

I'm seriously thinking of moving to Sheridan next year. Seems like a nice town, plus it puts me closer to work (railroad), since I don't want to live in Greybull..lol
Wife is already a bit tired of the political BS in the horse community here in Cody... it's a who's who, and who knows this person or that.. just kinda rediculous, but that seems to be only in a small circle of horse people.

I am not a "horse person" so I guess I should be happy! I haven't experienced any of the problems in Cody that you speak of. However, I am wondering if this is something that happens in other groups of "horse people" as I know a gal who rented our house in Gillette and said that there were a lot of little cliques of people who were involved in tiffs with one another in the horse world. I don't know this for a fact, so I don't want the "horse people" to get after me! I have nothing against horses or those who own or ride them

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

Originally Posted by volosong

Okay, okay! You've convinced me to put Sheridan on the list of possible retirement homes, and places to check out when I visit in December. I'm all for spending my money wisely and carefully. Getting "the best bang for the buck".

I guess it depends on what all you are looking for. Don't get me wrong, Cody is a nice town, and it is close to Yellowstone, but realistically how often would a person go? Population now is just under 10K people, and for the most part, the people are nice. The issues I speak of are only in the horse community, which I am not involved in, but my wife is... guess I'm involved through marriage

You are a little less than 2 hours from Billings (no sales tax) MT, where they have all the restaurants, mall, shopping (Costco) etc.
The wind can blow in Cody quite hard at times, which is a double edge sword. It makes it feel colder than it is, but actually it warms it up in the winter time. I work in Greybull, which sits down in a hole, and the winters can be very very cold. As in below zero for weeks at a time. Many times I will leave Greybull and it is 15 or 20 below, by the time I get to Cody it is 20 above, so the wind can have a positive affect.
Summer brings in a lot of tourists, but it's still not bad. There is a lot going on from around June 1st through Sept. 31st, then it starts thinning out, and the hunters start coming in.

Originally Posted by georgiainwyo

I am not a "horse person" so I guess I should be happy! I haven't experienced any of the problems in Cody that you speak of. However, I am wondering if this is something that happens in other groups of "horse people" as I know a gal who rented our house in Gillette and said that there were a lot of little cliques of people who were involved in tiffs with one another in the horse world. I don't know this for a fact, so I don't want the "horse people" to get after me! I have nothing against horses or those who own or ride them

In my opinion, horse people, which I am really not, but my wife is, are kind of a stubborn breed
We moved here a little over 3 years ago, and my wife was amazed that we live in "The Cowboy State" and in a city that is considered the "Rodeo Capitol" of the world, and there wasn't a performance Drill Team of any kind, so she started one. Well now that it has some "value" others were trying to take it over. I don't mean value as in $$, but as in status. The team is beginning to get known around town and some of them are wanting to overthrow the team captain (my wife)... well she was having no part of that, so she essentially booted them off the team.
This all came to a head in mid August, when my wife broke her hip in a horse accident, doing something other than drill team stuff. Her "#2" person, who, she thought she could rely on to move the team forward the last 2 weeks of the rodeo season, instead told the girls, this is my team now, and we're going to do it my way... big mistake.
Ooops let me get off my soap box

[branDcalf]

I mostly live in the Sheridan area. Other time is spent in southeast WY. Much of my work is with horses.

I hear of drama in things that involve horses only with recreational groups. But then, it happens in both areas of the state. Seems to be more to related to the activity than geography. People are people everywhere.

Good luck with your decision.

[thunder14]

Is Mr. D's grocery store comming to Powel?

[georgiainwyo]

Originally Posted by thunder14

Is Mr. D's grocery store comming to Powel?

I have not heard anything about another grocery store in Powell. Where did you hear that? The two stores there now should be sufficient, as many of the people there go to Walmart in Cody. Other than Walmart, Cody only has Albertson's, so it would sure surprise me if Powell, being a smaller town, would have a third store.

[volosong]

Originally Posted by georgiainwyo

I have not heard anything about another grocery store in Powell. Where did you hear that? The two stores there now should be sufficient, as many of the people there go to Walmart in Cody. Other than Walmart, Cody only has Albertson's, so it would sure surprise me if Powell, being a smaller town, would have a third store.

Is there a need for a third grocery store/supermarket in the Cody/Powell area? Seems like, considering that Walmart isn't a "real" supermarket. I can take or leave Albertson's. They are quite expensive in my current abode, right up there with Vons.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by volosong

Is there a need for a third grocery store/supermarket in the Cody/Powell area? Seems like, considering that Walmart really isn't a "real" supermarket. I can take or leave Albertson's. They are quite expensive in my current abode, right up there with Vons.

Albertson's is as competitive as it gets here for a supermarket.

WalMart is as comprehensive a supermarket store ... if not more so for variety and selection ... than any of the majors in the region (Safeway, King Soopers, Albertsons).

For the most part, the rest of the region is served by smaller chains or independents affiliated with IGA. You haven't seen comparatively limited selection and high prices until you've shopped these outfits.

The population base in Cody/Powell isn't sufficient to bring in a lower price supermarket. While another supermarket might open a store, I wouldn't expect them to be lower priced. Consider that virtually everything that is on the shelves in a Cody supermarket has to be trucked in a significant distance and in lesser quantities (hence, higher unit cost for transportation) than large population centers closer to the producers or ports of entry (for foreign produced goods on the shelves).

There's a reason why WalMart has knocked out so much of the local competition throughout rural America. They've got relatively huge stores with a wide variety of merchandise at competitive prices that cannot be matched by independent stores. The Walton family has done once heck of a job bringing consumer goods to otherwise ill-served local area marketplaces.

By way of comparison ... I've walked through a Trader Joe's when in my CA travels, Von's, Ralph's, and a few other regional chains that have no presence here in WY. There's nothing there in terms of price or selection that they could replicate here without having to be priced much higher than they are in their respective marketplaces now because the sales volume/square foot in Cody wouldn't begin to match what they do elsewhere.

Trader Joe's, for example, only recently opened up in the Front Range area of Colorado. Recently announced a store to open in Ft Collins later this year. With the opening of a Costco planned this year, too, it remains to be seen how the grocery store/supermarket mix will fare with 20 other established supermarkets in the area with Whole Foods and Sam's Club there. My bet is that TJ's will not be able to generate enough traffic to have much in the way of loss leaders as they do in other areas; Ft Collins simply doesn't have that much of a population base. We'll see.

[volosong]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

...
There's a reason why WalMart has knocked out so much of the local competition throughout rural America. They've got relatively huge stores with a wide variety of merchandise at competitive prices that cannot be matched by independent stores. The Walton family has done once heck of a job bringing consumer goods to otherwise ill-served local area marketplaces.

That they have! Not sure about most, but for me, it is a "love/hate" relationship with Walmart. Hate it when they knock 'mom & pop' establishments out of business, but from a selfish standpoint, ya can't beat the prices. Money only goes so far.

[Happy in Wyoming]

Originally Posted by volosong

That they have! Not sure about most, but for me, it is a "love/hate" relationship with Walmart. Hate it when they knock 'mom & pop' establishments out of business, but from a selfish standpoint, ya can't beat the prices. Money only goes so far.

Those " 'mom & pop' establishments" might better be called predator stores. They operate on the same philosophy as stores in city slums figuring that their customers have no choice. It's often true. We have only one left here as far as I know, a dry cleaning establishment but local gas stations seem to have some sort of arrangement. I wish that Walmart had gasoline and dry cleaning services.