Tell me about Wyoming - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Benzadmiral · #1 03-23-2006, 01:34 PM

I've been thinking since long before Katrina about relocating away from the heat, humidity, and cracked streets of New Orleans. My criteria:

1) Not crowded
2) Low humidity in summer, and preferably less than 90 deg. F. on average
3) Has 4 seasons. I can handle snow fine, having lived in Denver for 4 years. Unlike rain and flood, snow doesn't come inside your car and ruin the electronics.
4) Not too expensive (and I warn you, I'm cheap)
5) No hurricanes or earthquakes
6) I couldn't care less about schools

Yesterday's NY Times ran an article saying that Wyoming is poised for something of a boom, thanks to high prices of natural gas, to the point where they are doing away with sales tax on groceries -- this, on top of having no personal or corporate income tax. I've done some research, and Laramie (elevation 7100 feet) sounds nice. It's the only town in the state with a 4-year college, and that's my current field, office manager for a private college here.

Anybody know anything about the place? Friendly people? Air conditioning in the summer? Cost of living? Quirks?

GermanStar · #2 03-23-2006, 02:03 PM

Ask Frank X. Morris about Payson, AZ.

el presidente · #3 03-23-2006, 02:12 PM

I've only been to Cheyenne (back when us college kids would ride North to drink liquor at 19). Low taxes is very enticing, just make sure the other cost of living expense don't outweigh that (like higher property taxes, etc.).

The only drawback is that there are no MB dealers around for miles......

Maroon 300D · #4 03-23-2006, 02:06 PM

Based on your criteria, Wyoming might be a good place for you.

I understand there are also a lot of fun things to do there if you are into winter sports.

I will say that when I was a freshman in high school I flew over part of the state in a small plane and it seemed the land was all scarred and torn up; this was evidently due to people mining for oil shale.

It was rather ugly, but I should think you'd never know from the ground. And the beautiful parts of the state probably more than make up for it anyway.

Q45Denver · #5 03-23-2006, 02:07 PM

Nebraska sucks and Wyoming blows. There's a small town about 50 miles north of Cheyenne that was offering building lots for $100.

TX76513 · #6 03-23-2006, 02:16 PM

Guess you could help them rape the landscape and work in a coal strip mine

If you appreciated solitude, and could be content with entertaining yourself with the eclectic beauty of the state, you would be fine.

That's a culture change NOLA to WY

pxland · #7 03-24-2006, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TX76513

Guess you could help them rape the landscape and work in a coal strip mine

Ha, you ever been there to see the raping of this land? Or the reclamation afterward?

Benzadmiral · #8 03-24-2006, 09:33 AM

As my (firmly stuck in New Orleans) lady friend, Miss Linda, likes to say: "Eeg."

Pxland, something about the lack of convenience stores, of women who *look* like women, and of MB mechanics makes the prospect sound dim. Sheridan looks cool, though.

I visited Cheyenne on a holiday in 1999 or 2000. Everything was closed except for the wind. Somehow I can't see it or Laramie becoming the next Santa Fe. If I could earn a *really* good living in Wyoming -- but the job listings at UW look pretty thin.

Botnst, when I moved to Denver in '97, I became aware of the dryness pretty quickly. Chap-Stick and sunscreen, drinking more water, slowing down my running speed, and staying out of the hot sun took care of most of it. It was great to drive around on a weekend morning in July and not start sweating and sticking to your car seat until nearly 10:30. I loved the Denver climate, but the hordes of people, most of whom thought of A/C in the 98 F. summers as "some newfangled fad from back East in Noo Yawk City," wore me down.

Eastern Oregon, hey? Hmmm. . . .

mzsmbs · #9 03-24-2006, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benzadmiral

Eastern Oregon, hey? Hmmm. . . .

i've also heard good things about Corvallis, OR.

koop · #10 03-23-2006, 02:23 PM

I haven't been to Laramee but my wife's family is from eastern WY and we go up there a couple times a year. Yes it's cheap and the people are friendly. In the town she is from green fees are $7 and it's on the honor system. You put your money in a lockbox on the first hole. It will get a couple heat waves in the summer but generally you won't need AC.

It's probably 180 degrees different from N.O. but based on your criteria you might like it.

Jim O'Keefe · #11 03-23-2006, 02:31 PM

I grew up in Huntley, Wyoming (south of Torrington, on the east end of the state) when the population was 8 people (its now 1). My mom was the postmaster and my dad the Union Pacific station agent. I went to a consolidated high school in a class of 13 (6 boys and 7 girls). I would go back in a heartbeat. I would not trade the experience of growing up with a bunch of homesteaders, ranchers, and dry-land farmers for anything in the world. It is a great place, but if you need company, don't bother.

crash9 · #12 03-23-2006, 02:32 PM

I think the way you approach it is to pull a camper up there and work as a “boomer”. That work will be out in the sticks anyway, and if it doesn't suit you, hook up the ole Airstream to your PU Truck (necessary) and move on. I think you'll be in the nineties, but if not your still at an altitude where you'll really feel the sun if you're out in it. The western part is fab for the outdoors. The women are nice and the cheeseburgers are handmade.

koop · #13 03-23-2006, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim O'Keefe

I grew up in Huntley, Wyoming (south of Torrington, on the east end of the state) when the population was 8 people (its now 1). My mom was the postmaster and my dad the Union Pacific station agent. I went to a consolidated high school in a class of 13 (6 boys and 7 girls). I would go back in a heartbeat. I would not trade the experience of growing up with a bunch of homesteaders, ranchers, and dry-land farmers for anything in the world. It is a great place, but if you need company, don't bother.

sounds like where my father in law is from, Albin. There is no there there.

Jim O'Keefe · #14 03-23-2006, 03:03 PM

it has paved streets (2 or 3 the last time i was there). We used to play them in basketball....they used to beat us a lot.

koop · #15 03-23-2006, 03:31 PM

LOL, yeah, it's a bustling metropolis. Census says it's 120 people, I think they are counting the dogs too. My wifes grandfather used to own the cafe, had a couple pool tables in the basement. it was supposedly the place to be on Saturday night.

my mother in law is from Pine Bluffs, another big city