Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi, my husband and I are thinking of moving to Cheyenne sometime, mostly because there is really really cheap housing there. I noticed that there are 2 story, 3+ bedroom houses (on acres or property!) in the 300 K range! To give you an idea condos in our city cost that much and there is so little privacy with condos. We love the idea of being out in the country with no one to bother us.
Most people simply cannot afford to buy a decent sized house on a decent sized lot in our current city anymore.
I have been to Yellowstone once as a small child. That is the extent of my Wyoming experience.
We definitley want to live somewhere where it's not totally out in the middle of nowhere and ( forgive me for being shallow) I want somewhere where I can shop for high fashion clothes. I know there is a Neiman Marcus in Denver which is only supposed to be a 1.5 hr drive from Cheyenne.
My questions are:
-What do young 20 somethings to for fun in cheyenne? are there any night clubs? What about strip clubs? I have some experience in the business and was wondering if it's possible to make good money dancing there? ( please no snide comments about the dancing)
- Are there decent resturants with a wide variety of cuisines ?
-Will there problems driving to Denver in the winter with road closures etc?
-How bad are the winds in Cheyenne? Can they actually damage your car or house and do they happen year round? What about full on tornadoes?
- When does it typically start getting cold, and how cold will it get? When does summer start and how long does it last? I'm used to lots of rain, moderate temperatures year round and not too much snow..would I have a hard time adjusting to the weather?
- Are there any nice lakes for picnics and sunbathing? Is there a bug problem in the summer?
-Do you guys get nice fall foliage there?
- Are there decent hair, nail, tanning etc salons in Cheyenne?
- How do most young women dress? I'm from Seattle and fashion forward. Is Cheyenne basically a jeans and cowboy boot place? Would you say someone who dresses very fashionable is likely to stand out too much?
Also my husband has a lot of experience in regular and heavy duty mechanics as well as the natural gas and drilling industry. Will he be able to secure a decent job there?
We are just looking to find somewhere safe, quiet ( but where we can still party when the mood strikes) to buy a house and earn decent livings. Do you think Cheyenne would be the place? (As you can tell I am someone who isn't used to small towns but I am Ok as long as there are decent amenities nearby)
Hi, my husband and I are thinking of moving to Cheyenne sometime, mostly because there is really really cheap housing there. I noticed that there are 2 story, 3+ bedroom houses (on acres or property!) in the 300 K range!
I'll preface my comments by advising you to come visit Cheyenne, preferably in the winter months, before making a decision about moving here. I'd also mention that I'm very familiar with the Seattle to Renton area, and have spent a lot of time in Bellevue, Medina, Clyde Hill and over to Issaquah and the towns and subdivisions east from there into the foothills. I've been offered jobs in the low to mid 6 figures in the Bellevue or Kirkland areas, and it wasn't near enough money to replicate my recreational opportunities or quality of life that I have here in the Rocky Mountains.
A property such as you describe will be on a 5 to 40 acre parcel. Typically, you'll be in a subdivision, and even though it appears to be a big piece of property, it is still in a subdivision with essentially no privacy. The only difference between small acreage lot living and these bigger chunks is the physical distance between you and your neighbors ... but there usually isn't anything, no visual barrier, no stands of trees ... simply nothing between you and your neighbor. Sounds and activity impact your life just the same as if you are much closer in a city subdivision.
To give you an idea condos in our city cost that much and there is so little privacy with condos. We love the idea of being out in the country with no one to bother us.
Sadly, this concept is a huge misconception on the prairie. You're not moving to some primal forest, you're moving to an area where what you do and how you behave is as important and visible as it was when you were in your condo. You're as connected as you were in the city. Your behavior, good manners, civility, and quiet enjoyment of your place is no less critical than it was back in the Seattle area.
Most people simply cannot afford to buy a decent sized house on a decent sized lot in our current city anymore.
I have been to Yellowstone once as a small child. That is the extent of my Wyoming experience.
YNP's a wonderful place. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the high altitude desert that surrounds Cheyenne except being in the same state.
We definitley want to live somewhere where it's not totally out in the middle of nowhere and ( forgive me for being shallow)
At your price point, in the Cheyenne area, you won't be totally out in the middle of nowhere, but ... see following comment
I want somewhere where I can shop for high fashion clothes. I know there is a Neiman Marcus in Denver which is only supposed to be a 1.5 hr drive from Cheyenne.
Beyond basic necessities (think box stores, WalMart, KMart, Target, Sears, Penny's, Dillards), upscale shopping in Cheyenne is a couple of jewelery stores. You will travel to Denver for almost anything above that level. Fort Collins shopping is essentially the same ... with the difference that you can choose which branch of the box stores you'll visit. There is a Whole Foods in Fort Collins, which may offer alternatives to the Safeway, King Soopers, or Albertson's in Cheyenne.
My questions are:
-What do young 20 somethings to for fun in cheyenne? are there any night clubs? What about strip clubs? I have some experience in the business and was wondering if it's possible to make good money dancing there? ( please no snide comments about the dancing)
Entertainment in Cheyenne is pretty limited. There's a few movie screens. A bunch of bars. A community venue where some traveling acts come through, and the CSO. Strip clubs? the big one in the area, South of Cheyenne, folded a few years ago and hasn't reopened. There's a smaller on in town, but it doesn't look to me ... judging from the parking lot activity ... that it does a big business. I do know a lady who danced there to help with their family finances ... and I wouldn't have paid a penny to see her with less clothing on than her usual levi's and t-shirts.
- Are there decent resturants with a wide variety of cuisines ?
A "wide variety" escapes Cheyenne. Other than three, maybe four, acceptable restaurants of the American steakhouse genre, ethnic dining in Cheyenne is a rather miserable affair. There's been a couple of reasonable mexican restaurants, all but one of which folded. There's a chinese/japanese/korean/indian/italian forgettable selection ... and I think I'm being highly complimentary about them to even mention them at all. The bulk of Cheyenne dining out is fast food or chain restaurants. Think Red Lobster for seafood, Olive Garden for ?, Chipotle for mex ... all not worth your time or money. BBQ is Applebee's, and CBPotts is now rebuilding after folding a couple of years ago ... if they are as terrible as they were the first time around, they'll be going out of biz again. We do have a Texas Roadhouse and an Outback ... neither of which I can eat at due to the excessive salt and tenderizer fluids they use on their product.
You'll be heading out of town if you really want something better. Fort Collins is the closest place with a better variety and a much higher standard of dining fare.
As I've had the experience of the entire range of restaurants in the Seattle region ... including numerous neighborhood high quality Japanese/sushi, excellent Italian, seafood, running over to UwaJimaya to get fresh seafood for the grill and homemade sashimi (I grew up on that), and similar dining experiences (thanks to relatives with unlimited budgets), as well as the quality and prolific variety of supermarkets ... I think I can contrast very well to the dining climate you're in out there compared to Cheyenne. There's simply no basis for comparison ... In Seattle, you can find excellent dining in just about every neighborhood, at all kinds of price points. In Cheyenne, you can go to the plastic "neighborhood bar and grill" ... take your pick of the different chains on Dell Range Blvd, where it's a commodity and serves only as a necessity because folks gotta have a place to meet and eat.
-Will there problems driving to Denver in the winter with road closures etc?
This is always variable during the winter months. Some years, the difficulties will be isolated and minimal, some years the storms and weather patterns will contribute to a lot of difficult/treacherous driving, and numerous road closures. Keep in mind that Denver is 1 1/2 hours City limit to City limit at 75 mph on clear roads ... during the winter months, you may be adding hours to that drive ... if you avoid the Denver area during the rush hours traffic. Typically, you'll hit high traffic density around 160th/I-25, and it can be quite a crawl reaching Denver at that point, let alone the downtown or suburban shopping areas. I've seen Seattle area paralyzed by 1/2" of snow ... that's a common winter occurence here and no cause for alarm. You will have to adjust to a different level of driving hazards around the area here. A decent FWD car, or AWD car, will suffice for most of the time.
-How bad are the winds in Cheyenne?
Merely one of the highest average wind energy density locations in the USA. Strong gusts of instantaneous changes in velocity and direction prevail during 6-7 months of the year.
Can they actually damage your car or house and do they happen year round?
Yes. Roofing and siding is a big business around here. Cars and trucks routinely get blown off slick roads. Landscaping is a challenge, trees are not common out in the country.
What about full on tornadoes?
Rarely seen here, but the average conditions will be an ongoing problem. Tornadoes have struck some towns around here, such as just over into Colorado a couple of years ago. You will see "dust devils", which are small scale tornado type formations that can still pack a punch when they hit a building or structure ... not uncommon to see a path of outbuildings/garages/barns with siding torn off, roofs ripped up, or simply blown over.
- When does it typically start getting cold, and how cold will it get?
Typically, winter can start in October, although freezing overnight temps can happen before then. Not uncommon to see winter overnight temps in the teens to 20's below zero, and we've had weeks were it didn't get above zero at all. Certainly, sub freezing temps and into the single digits for prolonged periods can and do happen during hte winter months. Serious snow storms can hit as late as April, even when the prevailing weather has been much warmer.
When does summer start and how long does it last?
I hope we see a summer month around the 4th of July.
I'm used to lots of rain, moderate temperatures year round and not too much snow..would I have a hard time adjusting to the weather?
I live here and I can tell you what I observe, but I'm not a fortune teller. Some folk may love this place immediately, some will take years to tolerate it, and some will never acclimate. Take your pick.
- Are there any nice lakes for picnics and sunbathing?
In a word, NO. There are some small bodies of water in town and in the county parks, where you can picnic. But sunbathing? Do you realize we're about 6,100' elevation? Do you understand the intensity of the sunlight here and the risk of sunburn?
Is there a bug problem in the summer? The cold and dry climate gives us a lot fewer bugs than a riparian climate. We don't have fleas, for example, or termites. But we do get mosquitos during some summers, depending upon the rainfall and stream flows.
-Do you guys get nice fall foliage there?
A small amount in town, where they've planted trees. Otherwise, trees are not very common, and the "forests" around here are primarily non-deciduous trees, evergreens.
- Are there decent hair, nail, tanning etc salons in Cheyenne?
The phone book lists several, none of which I've ever needed their services. You will be the only judge of if they meet your standards.
- How do most young women dress? I'm from Seattle and fashion forward. Is Cheyenne basically a jeans and cowboy boot place? Would you say someone who dresses very fashionable is likely to stand out too much?
As I'm rather familiar with the Seattle area, and over to Bellevue, Medina, and Clyde Hill (among the IT high income types) ... "fashionable" around here would stick out like a sore thumb. No Nordstrom's type clothing to be seen around here, even among women dressing for professional jobs like lawyers, doctors, or business people. You'll see levi's up to docker's level type slacks as the prevailing wear.
Also my husband has a lot of experience in regular and heavy duty mechanics as well as the natural gas and drilling industry. Will he be able to secure a decent job there?
While there is some drilling going on right now with a new oil field find in the SE County area, Cheyenne isn't in the "oil patch" or extractive industries area of Wyoming. With the recent downturn in the economy and those businesses activity, mechanic jobs are scarce. I know of a number of qualified folks in the trades who are working out of Labor Ready at anything they can do for $7/hour. The prevailing wage rate in the City and County trades for mechanics is in the teen's (although great benefits and early retirement await, most work second jobs to make ends meet), and independent shops rarely pay over the low $20/hour. A very few jobs in the mechanical trades pay to around $25/hour, and are filled, as far as I know. Rarer still, there are a couple of flat rate dealership mechanic jobs where an experienced tech can make close to or around $100,000 per year ... but we're talking about the few very top techs, maybe a couple at each dealership. Few of them are leaving those jobs ... that spot at the Dodge dealership changed once in 9 years that I know of. Trades jobs pay substantially less than you are accustomed to in the Seattle area.
Keep in mind that there's a sizable percentage of the labor pool in Cheyenne that is retired military, who work to have something to do as opposed to needing to make a living.
We are just looking to find somewhere safe, quiet ( but where we can still party when the mood strikes) to buy a house and earn decent livings. Do you think Cheyenne would be the place? (As you can tell I am someone who isn't used to small towns but I am Ok as long as there are decent amenities nearby)
In all candor, I think Cheyenne would represent an incredible change of pace, scenery, climate, social norms, and finances for you, especially when I compare it to the city areas and the outlying countryside of the Seattle area. I've fished a lot out of Everret, sailed in the sound ... and I've traveled the countryside East and West of Seattle. My son recently left the Issaquah to Lake Sammamish area (after owning several houses in subdivisions as well as a couple of small lake front properties) to return to Colorado because he never could get used to the Seattle area, although the money for him and his wife was fabulous (both MSoft execs).
If you want "safe and quiet", then you'll find that in areas with like minded neighbors. If you think you'll need to throw a party now and then that disrupts the quiet enjoyment of your neighbors, you'd best be on great terms with them and be inviting them to the festivities. Otherwise, you will be imposing a different environment upon others ... making it just like the place you left. Is that how you want to be treated, or treat others?
Thanks!
It's really going to come down to how adaptable and independent you are, and how comfortable and happy you can be living in a much harsher climate and economic environment. Even in Cheyenne, you will be giving up 99% of the entertainment and shopping choices you have at your fingertips in Seattle. Living in and enjoying Cheyenne will require that you be able to entertain yourself with activities that are more self reliant oriented than Seattle. Only you can make those choices ... only you can decide if they meet your personal goals in happiness.
C'mon out ... visit for awhile, make your own choices.
PS: If you need living wage jobs to support yourselves, best to get hired before you come here unless you are financially prepared to be without jobs for awhile. Jobs, high paying jobs (relative to this marketplace) ... are scarce. We've gone from pages of "help wanted" ads in the Cheyenne paper to a less than half page section ... and most of the help wanted ads are medical professionals or truck driving jobs (most of which require experience), or jobs that sound great but pay $10/less per hour. Even the supermarket checker jobs have a lot of competition around here because they pay a great wage for what you need to do .... they don't need to advertise these jobs, they're usually filled by lower job workers moving up.
thanks for all the input. Maybe I'm missing something but I just don't see how sounds/ privacy from neighbors would be an issue on a piece of property that is at least 5 acres? I basically just don't want to deal with hearing neighbors kids playing in the yard right under my bedroom window or being woken up by lawnmovers at 8am.
What I mean by wanting to live out in the country where it is quiet but still be able to party is just having some bars etc nearby.
Since you said Cheyenne isn't in the oil patch area of wyoming, do you know which area is?
Ashleigh, if you want to consider moving to the Rocky Mt states, with your habits and preferences, don't set yourself up for a disappointment (read: disaster)! You need to plan a road trip next summer and hit a lot of great places in several states, and perhaps you'll find a balance between your wish list and what's out there. I don't know about the real estate market around Denver, but go online and check it out. Missoula, MT has some of the lifestyle you seem to crave, and so does Coeur d'Alene, ID. You might also try for Post Falls, ID, with easy access to Spokane. There is river and lake access both in Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls and Spokane. But consider this: if high fashion is so much a part of who you are, and want to be, then for goodness sake go someplace where you can wear it regularly and happily, among others who share your interest, and be complimented! A small community is, paradoxically, just like Sunspirit says (and what a wonderful response!), a place where you will be far closer to the neighbors than in a big city--not physically, but in terms of being willing to be a good neighbor. And you can definitely hear the neighbor's lawnmower, bandsaw, hammer, generator, kids on ATVs, and dogs even if the house is over on the next 5 acres...
Have you considered some of the smaller communities within easy driving distance of Portland? It may not be any less expensive than Seattle, but I think you'd feel more comfortable there. Or maybe someplace in WA within an hour's drive of Seattle itself--lots of beautiful country, and then you wouldn't have to give up on anything at all!
Maybe I'm missing something but I just don't see how sounds/ privacy from neighbors would be an issue on a piece of property that is at least 5 acres? I basically just don't want to deal with hearing neighbors kids playing in the yard right under my bedroom window or being woken up by lawnmovers at 8am.
You're still thinking Pacific Northwest dense forest and hilly ground separating you from your neighbor. Here, you will have no (or only a couple) trees separating you from your neighbor. Your music, your screaming kids, your barking dogs, your lawnmower at 8 AM (LOL ... many ag operations are done starting at sun-up and can last until well past sun-down; even in rural residential subdivisions folks do the yard chores before or after they go to work), your loud discussion with your spouse ... etc etc etc ... are all noise which carries for miles.
Visually, you will be able to see what's going on at your neighbor's place, even if you're on the distant reaches of 40 acre parcels. You can see which vehicles are home ... when the kids are out riding their ATV's (which you'll also hear) ... who's riding their horse (and which one, too) ... who's target practicing today.
I can hear certain neighbors when they're training their bird dogs ... between the dogs yelping when the electric collars are triggered, to the yells to the dogs, to the shotgun blasts. These folks are over 1 mile away from my house. They hold training clinics a few times a year, and I can hear them from about 5 AM in the morning.
I'm almost 10 miles away from a railroad track and a very small town North of my ranch. With the wind in the right direction, I can hear the train blast it's horn at the crossing there, and that's down a hillside from the plains level of our ranch and farmland.
What I mean by wanting to live out in the country where it is quiet but still be able to party is just having some bars etc nearby.
If you are close to a bar, you are close to someplace where there's traffic. For example, West of Cheyenne is Happy Jack Road, which is a main country two lane road. There's a bar out there ... a pretty popular place. If you want quiet countryside, you'll not be next to or close to the bar.
Most of them, of course, are in Cheyenne itself ... so you'll be living some distance away if you want country quiet. You won't find "country quiet" in the rural subdivisions close by Cheyenne, unless you can afford Hereford Ranch prices ... mid 6 figures to 7 figure places.
Since you said Cheyenne isn't in the oil patch area of wyoming, do you know which area is?
just like Sunspirit says (and what a wonderful response!)
Hear, hear! I've been reading these forums for months, and I'm amazed at how patiently Sunspirit and other folks here try to explain the realities of life in Wyoming.
Ashleigh, I can do no better than second what Sunspirit and Clark Fork Fantast have recommended: you need to visit Cheyenne, Wyoming in general, or any other place to which you might consider moving. Idealizing "the peace and quiet of life in the country", "that beautiful state where Yellowstone Park is located", and other such half-truths can only lead you astray.
Was in Cheyenne this last week end went out of town about 11 SE to a BBQ, Just off the road before where we turn for the party scrappers were clearing a 10 acre drill pad on a School Section.
Friend just west of town is getting a a smaller pad and pit on his property, which already has power lines,pipelines and (windmills on city property inside his ranch)
Niobrara forrmation oil rush seem to be on
The "oil rush" in the Cheyenne area is a little over 12 recently announced wells.
From my place, there's one going in now on a state school section a mile North, and another going in 4 miles West on a private section.
The drilling companies for both are from Utah, and have apparently brought in their own crews ... so far, I'm seeing a lot of out of the area license plates on the trucks and support gear.
was told the one on the 10 acre pad on the School Section was going down 7000 feet then [SIZE=3]horizontal drill to the west and start fracking [/SIZE]
was told the one on the 10 acre pad on the School Section was going down 7000 feet then [SIZE=3]horizontal drill to the west and start fracking [/SIZE]
There's some very serious environmental concerns now being raised about the fracking process and the chemicals used for that. We'll see how that affects this in the near term ....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
