Rock Springs..a little concerned? (Green River, Cody: job market, place to live, restaurants)
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"I wouldn't live in Rock Springs. There are too many liberals; the place is too big; there are way too many "urban amenities". Why move to Wyoming, then live in a big city. I'm just a stove up old cowboy but it makes no sense to me; it's like being in Paris and choosing McDonald's over Le Meurice. "
Why live in Wyoming and then live in a tourist trap??? LOL, just sayin!
I kind of take offense to this just like people in Rock Springs probably took offense to what Happy says. I live in Cody and in no way think of it as a tourist trap. I have been a lot of places that are packed with tourists.....Cody is unlike any of them.
I kind of take offense to this just like people in Rock Springs probably took offense to what Happy says. I live in Cody and in no way think of it as a tourist trap. I have been a lot of places that are packed with tourists.....Cody is unlike any of them.
We've had cartoons in the paper showing us with tourists as hunting trophies and as fish being hooked on fishing lines with big hooks. Buffalo Bill founded Cody as a tourist town. Sure, we have agriculture and manufacturing; we're becoming a good medical center; we're likely to see our language teaching company become a very wealthy corporation. However, our raison d'être has always been to extract money from tourists the way Rock Springs extracts money from coal. But tourists are far superior to coal; they're a renewable resource and there's no tiny tourist severance tax per ton when they leave. We get to relieve them of their last dime if we can.
I love classic tourist traps; one of my favorite spots is Wall Drugs in Wall, South Dakota. The shoot out by the Irma would have been a favorite in 1950. Yellowstone is unique; it's the vacation of a lifetime. Some of those tourists get trapped for life. They come once as tourists, then again, then again. Finally they wander into a real estate office and like what they see and hear. They arrange their affairs so that they can earn a living here. Then they go from tourist to transplant; they make great friends and neighbors. I'm probably biased since I'm one of them; my annual vacation begins January 1st and ends December 31st. I work every day but I'm still on vacation. I wouldn't trade this place for a chateau on the French Riviera. This tourist got trapped good.
I wasn't offended by Happy's comment, I didn't find an ounce of truth in it. Nothing to be offended about there.
I don't know why you would be offended by me referring to Cody as a tourist town, isn't it the main source of money there??
I wasn't offended by Happy's comment, I didn't find an ounce of truth in it. Nothing to be offended about there.
I don't know why you would be offended by me referring to Cody as a tourist town, isn't it the main source of money there??
I think referring it to as a tourist "trap" is different than a "tourist town". A "trap" brings to mind images of businesses like Ripley's Believe it or Not Museums and the like.
While we have a lot of tourists here for 4 or 5 months of the year or so, Cody is still a viable town the rest of the year. Tourism is our primary industry, but not our only one. Despite claims to the contrary, we don't shut down with the first snow and sit around twiddling our thumbs til May. We have the biggest/most involved medical facilities in the Big Horn Basin. Healthcare stays busy long after the tourists have looked for their last bear. There's a lot of energy work around here as well as ranching. I know someone will weigh in that the gift shops are empty all winter and the campgrounds/motels are closed, their lack of business is a result of the line of business they chose.
Take away the tourist industry and you have a town like other small towns - lawyers, nurses, doctors, accountants, hair-stylists, grocers, gas stations, mechanics, schools, libraries, churches, realtors, etc. We just have a better view than the same small town in Tennessee or Kansas.
We've had cartoons in the paper showing us with tourists as hunting trophies and as fish being hooked on fishing lines with big hooks. Buffalo Bill founded Cody as a tourist town. Sure, we have agriculture and manufacturing; we're becoming a good medical center; we're likely to see our language teaching company become a very wealthy corporation. However, our raison d'être has always been to extract money from tourists the way Rock Springs extracts money from coal. But tourists are far superior to coal; they're a renewable resource and there's no tiny tourist severance tax per ton when they leave. We get to relieve them of their last dime if we can.
I love classic tourist traps; one of my favorite spots is Wall Drugs in Wall, South Dakota. The shoot out by the Irma would have been a favorite in 1950. Yellowstone is unique; it's the vacation of a lifetime. Some of those tourists get trapped for life. They come once as tourists, then again, then again. Finally they wander into a real estate office and like what they see and hear. They arrange their affairs so that they can earn a living here. Then they go from tourist to transplant; they make great friends and neighbors. I'm probably biased since I'm one of them; my annual vacation begins January 1st and ends December 31st. I work every day but I'm still on vacation. I wouldn't trade this place for a chateau on the French Riviera. This tourist got trapped good.
Vive notre tourist trap.
Happy, I've disagreed with a number of your posts. I know you aren't looking for any acclamation by me. But I'm giving it anyway. Not only is this post well-written, it is spot-on for what happens with tourists. The wife and I are two that love Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and have visited it more than any other place in the nation--and we've traveled a lot. We can't afford the housing in Wyoming but we are now looking at SE Idaho so we can stay close and spend a few more tourist dollars over there now and then.
The wife did get a chance to interview for an administrative position at the hospital in Cody, but the pay was half what she gets here in Dallas and housing there really isn't much cheaper than Dallas, so we decided bear the heat for a couple more years and she turned the offer down. I sometimes wonder if we made the right decision even though her 401k here has grown exponentially since then. There are things worth more than a few bucks in the bank.
Your love for your state shines through. And I believe if your choice was that horrible spot of Rock Springs--or even Cheyenne or Casper, you'd choose that over just about any place in the country. I don't wear a cowboy hat, but my baseball cap is off to you for your sentiment.
I would love some recent opinions on the Rock Springs area. I have been perusing the Wyoming forum for a couple of months now (as we are planning a move there in late June and I am gathering information) and I am a little concerned about some of the things I have read, and hope someone can elaborate a little
1. The drug activity in the area. Let me first state that we are moving from Memphis, so I am no stranger to crime and drugs on the news (unfortunately)..but in Memphis I know the parts of town to avoid, having lived here my whole life, so it has never been a huge issue for me. But some on the forum have made it sound like Rock Springs is really a hotbed of meth use, and that is a little concerning, as its a much smaller town than Memphis, and I will be spending a lot of time alone with my 4 children while my husband works. Is this still the case? Or is a lot of what I am reading an exaggeration?
2. The diversity of the area - again, coming from a large city, we are used to a lot of diversity and opinions and opportunities for cultural experiences. Having checked the demographics of the RS area, I can tell that there isn't a lot of that there. ..and thats ok too, I know every area is different, and we welcome different experiences. I just want to know how the attitudes are, I guess. My kids have always grown up being taught to respect everyone and not 'see color'. Are they going to be hearing a lot of negative racial things there? I know from living in the South that there are always going to be 'old-timers' who are vocal about minorities. I just want to know if that is the case with the majority of the people in RS. Or are the majority of the people fairly open-minded?
3. Is the shopping as bad as everyone says? I really don't require much. A good grocery store and maybe a mall within an hour? Will I be able to find that? I don't need "fancy".
4. Adjustment wise, on a personal level..will I need therapy? LOL. I have a Southern accent and sound like a hee-haw cast reject, vote Democrat, talk to everybody I meet, and really like my sweet tea I have never lived in the North and am worried about sticking out like a sore thumb. Should I just stick with smiling & nodding, and hope for the best? I've already been told to lie about my political feelings if someone asks lol. Also, what about the social scene? We are a fairly young couple and on the rare (very rare with 4 kids) chances that we get a free night, we like to hit up the little bars, and I was just wondering what that was like in the area.
I am very excited about the move! I love new experiences, and new people, and want my kids to see that there is more to the United States than just the 'bible belt', and I want them to live somewhere where there isn't a Starbucks every 200 feet, or a homeless vagrant cussing at them while they walk downtown. Any advice or answers will be extremely helpful and I thank you in advance
I think folks have already provided good answers to your questions and I've never been to RS so can't speak to that town specifically. The only thing I will add is that my husband and I moved here from Tennessee (SE - half way between Nashville and Chattanooga). My husband is an eastern TN retired mountain cop who lived there his whole life aside from the years he spent in Vietnam (and he's got the accent to prove it ). I lived in TN for 20 years.
We tried to go back to TN for a while after being in WY for a year, and eight months later we came back to WY. Couldn't do it anymore - the traffic, the sheer number of people, the white and black trashy career welfare and druggies, the speed everyone moved, the freakin' never ending people and traffic.
We love it here. Like someone else wrote, we're struggling with house prices and have actually begun also looking in SE Idaho, but haven't given up on WY just yet. We'll never go back east aside from perhaps a visit. Maybe.
Life is slower here. People are calmer. Wildlife that is not two-legged is abundant. Your children will be safer here. You will be safer here. If you and your family are good, decent, hard working people, I believe that you could make a good life for yourselves here. Don't lie about your political leanings. Don't lie about anything - just be yourself. I am at the complete opposite end of the political spectrum from you, but if you treated me with respect I would treat you with respect in return. If someone shuns you solely for your political beliefs, they aren't worth worrying about anyway. Besides - you're young and once you live a few more years I have faith you'll come around.
Life is slower here. People are calmer. Wildlife that is not two-legged is abundant. Your children will be safer here. You will be safer here. If you and your family are good, decent, hard working people, I believe that you could make a good life for yourselves here.
Tigergal..I bleed blue No Vols fan here. Though my fiance is, which makes things pretty interesting. Thank you for your input!
Well, it's not something I let get out very often, but I do sometimes wear my granddad's UT alum hoodie for sentimental reasons. It's ok out here because people here don't know I'm supposed to hate orange!
BTW, we're able to get most of the Tiger games out here. Whew.
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I wouldn't trade this place for a chateau on the French Riviera. This tourist got trapped good.
Nice post
I have never lived in the North and am worried about sticking out like a sore thumb. Should I just stick with smiling & nodding, and hope for the best? I've already been told to lie about my political feelings if someone asks lol. Also, what about the social scene? We are a fairly young couple and on the rare (very rare with 4 kids) chances that we get a free night, we like to hit up the little bars, and I was just wondering what that was like in the area. 
