Why Did You Choose Wyoming?

[Froggie Legs]

Wow, I just looked and the cheapest Jackson home listed on the web right now is a 4 bedroom offered at $699,000.... no wonder people complain! esp for a house built in 1976 that looks like the 135K homes here in Minnesota.

Thankfully not all places in Wyoming are that crazy! ( I hope! or I'm with reikihands and will have to stay put). At least from the places I've looked--barring Lander-- there are some reasonably priced places). Renting might be another matter however.

Why I chose Wyoming.. I fell in love with the mountains when I was 17, when my family took a trip to Wyoming.

Why I want to move back:

• Conservative state
• Less Gov't interference
• Low Taxes- no state income tax
• People are nice
• Lots of scenic and historical places to visit
• Have a favourite aunt living there
• Most people are not concerned with how much money you make but what kind of person you are
• Milder winters than Minnesota
• My mother doesn't live there
• Teachers are paid better than in MN
• geology and rock collecting across the state
• Sinks Canyon outside of Lander
• South Pass City ghost town
• Cowboy Cafe in Dubois
• Thermopolis hot springs and the wind river canyon
• Hot Air Balloon Festival in Riverton
• The fact that there are more sunny days than cloudy ones, esp in winter!
• Dry heat...less mosquitos

and the list could go on forever.

[JerryKV]

can you clarify this, at "33/day" you paid almost $1000 PER MONTH just for property taxes?

Originally Posted by janb

tho I'm not back yet... still in PNW 27 yrs later... but must leave soon. My WA Property taxes = $33/day, just for a house and 6 acres of steep forest.

WY makes my short list due to;
1) the people
2) scenery / recreation / variety of terrain
3) tax situation + less 'petty rules'
4) a mountain state (nice transition from coast / prairie... my other spots)
5) not crowded, and not likely to get too crowded.
6) political persuasion.

[BennyPhoenix]

Originally Posted by JerryKV

can you clarify this, at "33/day" you paid almost $1000 PER MONTH just for property taxes?

I live in a suburb of Los Angeles and pay almost $1000 per month in property tax. Middle class home in a middle class neighborhood.

[GApeaches]

Benny....I would definitely be moving....that is crazy!!! How can a middle class family pay that much in taxes and have money left over for everything else?

[BennyPhoenix]

Middle class in Los Angeles would be considered wealthy most anywhere else. Middle class areas here have homes that cost as much as $2,000,000(at least they did until recently). The property tax on that is about $2000 per month.
Most places you pay about 1/4 your income for housing. Here you can easily pay 1/2 or more.
That is one reason I am choosing Wyoming. I can afford to live here comfortably. But in Wyoming I will not have to work as hard to have a comfortable life. I will also be able to spend more time with my kids. Another large reason is that my kids will be more likely to be able to afford to by a home in WYoming when they leave my home.

[ktristen]

I have never been to Wyoming, myself and am looking at it as the next place to move however my husband is looking at North Dakota (Bismarck). Currently we live in southwest New Mexico and personally, I love it here, but the job situation (copper mining) is sputtering like a car running on empty. It's not good. Though we both still have our jobs, we fear they could come to a screeching halt any day now. With that said, I was looking at the coal mining industry in Wyoming. Anyone out there have any info on that? We both work for Caterpillar as mechanics. Somehow I think I'd miss the mountains if I moved to the northern plains of ND...

[WyoNewk]

Wyoming Machinery Company is the Caterpillar dealer you'd want to contact. They have offices in Gillette, Casper and Cheyenne. As Gillette is at the hub of most coal mining in the state, that would likely be your best bet. You can Google them for contact information. I've known a couple people who worked there -- the manager and a mechanic. Both seemed happy with the company. I've not seen either one in several years.

P&H MinePro Services, also in Gillette, might be a possibility too. No Caterpillars, but similar equipment. And if you're not necessarily looking for a transfer with Caterpillar, you should be able to get on at one of the area mines as a mechanic. Pay should be excellent at any of the above, and you shouldn't have a problem getting hired at one of them immediately. (Although I think I read that one of the several mines has a freeze on hiring for now.)

Casper is at the foot of a smallish mountain range, which includes Casper Mountain. Gillette and Cheyenne are both in the plains but not too far from mountains.

Gillette is midway between the Bighorn Mountains and Black Hills. I much prefer the Bighorns, about 70 miles west on I-90. Highest peak is 13,100, lots of fishing, camping, hunting, hiking, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, etc. I believe both downhill ski resorts have closed in recent years. There are a couple downhill ski resorts in the Black Hills, both about two hours from Gillette -- Terry Peak and Deer Mountain. Terry Peak is the more developed of the two -- only about a 1200-foot vertical but lots of nice runs and at least four chairlifts, a Poma lift and a rope tow. (It's been 20 years since I quit skiing, but that's what they had then.)

Cheyenne is closer to to some of the great ski areas of Colorado.

Good luck!