Wyoming considering a move?

[Yell Co AR Hunter]

I am 53 and the wife is 50 with one son 16 still at home. I am considering a life change. I think I would like to move to Wyoming. Just wondering about work for me. I have owned my own Insurance agency for the past 31 years and a BA in Business Management. My wife is a teacher with special education certification and dyslexia specialist with 10 years experience and a masters + 30 in special education and curriculum. I need/want to work till at least age 65. I figure she should be able to find a job. I am not sure I would want to start over in the insurance business. Being she is a school teacher I have been kicking around the idea of coaching. I have coached youth sports for many years even many teams my children were not on. If I understand correct in Wyoming a coach can get a certificate to coach if they have a college degree. Coaching is what I love to do. I would love to coach my son his last two years of high school football and track. If at one of the 6 man football schools he could be a difference maker for a team.
I have also considered buying a motel in a small to medium sized town.
Anyway I am just looking for some advice from Wyoming residents or others who may have made the move.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

How much travel have you done in Wyoming? Have you zero'ed in on any part of the state?

My wife and I spent 20 years looking for a place to retire, so we have a little experience in relocating. (we relocated from so. Calif to sw Colorado in 2000) Big decision!

 

[Yell Co AR Hunter]

My fist trip to Wyoming was the fall of 2017. Hunted the Kaycee area. Returned November 2018 to take my son on a antelope hunt in the Sheridan area. On this trip we spent some time in the Casper as well. This summer we returned for a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons.
I have seen enough to know I would be ok with about any area of the State. I think I would be fine with a rural area to a mid sized town. I know getting into coaching would limit most of the larger schools until I get some experience. There are lot of coaching jobs still unfilled right now. I feel confident I can coach football (6-man would be fine), basketball, and track. So I would be willing to go where work could be found for both of us.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

My suggestion would be to pick several prospective areas and subscribe to the local newspaper in each one of them. Classified ads will have school jobs listed. Also give you an idea about real estate. We really liked Lander and it was on our list until the end.

I also got a teaching credential when we came here to Colorado. I had no experience, but had a BS & MS. I substituted, gave me an opportunity to meet people and get a feel for the community.

Keep us posted........

 

[Yell Co AR Hunter]

Thanks for information. It would be the end of this school year so around end of May first of June 2020.

 

[nv-hunter]

Huge shortage of teachers in Nevada and lots of public land Too just saying

 

[Yell Co AR Hunter]

The one thing I notice is home values. My home here 2,200 sq ft brick on .75 acres 2 car garage built in 2000 with detached 3 car carpot and 560 sq ft apartment built in 2017 might sell in the $200,000 range. It looks like it would sale in the $350,000 to $450,000 in most areas with out the addition of carport and garage.

 

[go_deep]

I work in every corner of the state except the far SW. Have you ever driven an hour just to go to Wal-Mart? Have you ever driven 2 hours just to take your vehicle to a dealership for a recall? Have you ever experienced a winter went a straight line 45 mph wind doesn't end for weeks?
The list can go on with how far, vast, and brutal the state can be. I wouldn't move away personally, but the company I work for has a REALLY hard time keeping employees in our rural areas, we pay extremely well with benefits most people don't even believe me when I tell them.
In the end the story usually reads, husband really liked it, but the wife hated driving an hour one way to go shop, or there wasn't crap to do unless you drove a couple and stayed in a motel in a bigger town. There is a few towns that can curb some of these issues and help out.

Totally separate question, how close are you to family and friends? Lots of people never think they'll get home sick, but lots of people do.

Good luck on whatever you decide!

 

[go_deep]

The one thing I notice is home values. My home here 2,200 sq ft brick on .75 acres 2 car garage built in 2000 with detached 3 car carpot and 560 sq ft apartment built in 2017 might sell in the $200,000 range. It looks like it would sale in the $350,000 to $450,000 in most areas with out the addition of carport and garage.

That would be a $500k+ home easy in Cheyenne. Housing is very expensive in most areas.
We sold a 15 year old 4,000 square house with 10 wooded acres multiple garages in Wisconsin before we moved, all the money from it was a down payment on a smaller, older house here...

 

[Yell Co AR Hunter]

I work in every corner of the state except the far SW. Have you ever driven an hour just to go to Wal-Mart? Have you ever driven 2 hours just to take your vehicle to a dealership for a recall? Have you ever experienced a winter went a straight line 45 mph wind doesn't end for weeks?
The list can go on with how far, vast, and brutal the state can be. I wouldn't move away personally, but the company I work for has a REALLY hard time keeping employees in our rural areas, we pay extremely well with benefits most people don't even believe me when I tell them.
In the end the story usually reads, husband really liked it, but the wife hated driving an hour one way to go shop, or there wasn't crap to do unless you drove a couple and stayed in a motel in a bigger town. There is a few towns that can curb some of these issues and help out.

Totally separate question, how close are you to family and friends? Lots of people never think they'll get home sick, but lots of people do.

Good luck on whatever you decide!

I have explained the long winters to my wife and she has experienced a good snow when we came in November of 2018. We do not get much winter here in Arkansas maybe two to three weeks in a bad year. We do have to deal with heat and humidity for 3 to 4 months.
As for family we have a daughter in New Mexico, Son getting his doctorate in geology at The University of Arkansas, and the 16 year old son. My mother-in law would most likely relocate with us. The thing I think I would miss the most would be the crappie fishing and tinkering on my small farm place. The place is small about 30 acres, but borders a large wildlife management area that holds some really nice bucks. Every year I have bucks that range form 120 to 130 class with a couple in the 150 class over the 8 years I have owned the place.

 

[Bonecollector]

That would be a $500k+ home easy in Cheyenne. Housing is very expensive in most areas.
We sold a 15 year old 4,000 square house with 10 wooded acres multiple garages in Wisconsin before we moved, all the money from it was a down payment on a smaller, older house here...

For the price, I'd purchase some land, contract a trailor, and haul building supplies from elsewhere and build it myself.

 

[Hilltop]

There is a reason Wyoming has the smallest population of any state. It definitely isn't for everyone. Cost of living is climbing quickly so in general a person will sacrifice financial quality of life for the outdoor opportunities. I settled in Nebraska after moving all over the country as a young man. It is extremely cheap to live here and I'm only 6 hours from the mountains. I paid 96k for my current house- the same with my outbuilding would sell for 500k+ easily in Laramie. I do miss those general tags though...

 

[Yell Co AR Hunter]

For the price, I'd purchase some land, contract a trailor, and haul building supplies from elsewhere and build it myself.

Now that is a thought. I have built a couple houses and remodeled a coupe over the years. I can do most all the work myself. Here I subbed out most jobs only due to time and cost of labor was so low. It just did not pay to do a lot of the work.
How are the restrictions in building codes for a person building their own home. I can build a nice wood frame metal two tone home on a slab for a good price.
The 3 car carport and 560 sq ft apartment I just build is wood frame metal siding. I was just under $30,000 to build. That included washer, dryer, fridge and window AC and heat unit. I would use 2x6 studs in Wyoming instead of 2x4 I used in Arkansas.

 

[go_deep]

Every area is different. Many cases the water well and getting power to you alone can be a large part of the price. The materials for building are significantly higher in most areas because everything on the exterior needs to be rated for 100+ winds. Other areas a couple acre building lot will easily cost you 100k+. Wanted to buy a .3 acre lot by my kids school and build a duplex, lot is listed for $249,000. That's a vacant lot.

 

[WY ME]

You only live once....I think. I'm here for the hunting (definitely not the money) but I'd never leave. As my dad always said, "I wasn't born here but I got here as fast as I could." I guess the wind can be pretty bad in some parts of Wyoming but not everywhere. Winters can be really long and deep in the mountains but it beats the hell out of the heat you deal with all summer. IMO the summers down south are far worse than our winters and lot of Wyoming doesn't get very much snow at all. The cost of living is high and the wages are low but the there's no better place for my kids to grow. I have to travel for work in order to pay my bills but I was never looking to get rich. Through my travels for work and play I've been to 49 states and most of the provinces in Canada and have yet to find a place I like better than WY. If you're looking for a nice comfy living, STAY IN ARKANSAS! But if you're looking for "a change of place" with a great lifestyle to finish out your years, then start packing.

 

[JimP]

Also if you start looking at property and you find one with a flowing stream through it don't presume that you can use any of the water in that stream. In order to use the stream water you would need to purchase water rights to do so.

On another forum there was a member that was thinking of buying a 35 acre piece of property in Wyoming with a stream running through it and thought that the water was his. He quickly found out that he could drill a well for culinary purposes but he couldn't touch the stream water due to not having any water rights from it.

 

[CoHiCntry]

The cost of living is high and the wages are low but the there's no better place for my kids to grow.

Sounds like a Chris LeDoux song... so do you just turn ‘em loose in the western summer time? Hopefully you’ve got county fairs & rodeos...

 

[Slugz]

Cost of Living Index by State 2024

Ok am I missing something? All this talk of cost of living in Wyoming being hi.......seems to be the opposite.....with only Idaho being the other big game western state thats close.

 

[JimP]

Your cost of living is also going to depend on where you are living at.

I would love to be able to pay Denver, Colorado prices where I live but I also know that isn't going to happen. Also usually the further away from a major metropolitan area the higher your cost are going to be.

I have a friend that went scouting for deer a couple of weeks ago and got sticker shock when he saw the price of gas. But I told him that when you need to fill up in the middle of nowhere you have to pay or go without and start walking. But I have lived in those kind of places my whole adult life so it is the norm to me.

 

[Triple BB]

I'd go to Montana. But if you must, Rawlins would be my choice: decent housing prices as well as close to great hunting and fishing. Plus the weather is excellent year round with lots to do and great Mexican food...