Possible move to Wyoming

DirtyTough

DirtyTough

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So the wife and I have talked about moving to Wyoming. And if I'm going to move somewhere I want to be close to the type of hunting I like. Which is high country mule deer hunting.

Since region G has some of the better high country hunting in WY we are looking at the Star Valley area. Can anyone tell me the pro's and con's of living there? I have also looked at the Pinedale area a little since that is on the other side.

The reason for Star Valley is because its closer to family so we would have a shorter drive to visit them or vice versa. The wife has a BSN so she can work most places there is a clinic, nursing home, hospital, etc. I have done lots of construction, oil and gas, have my CDL. I know decent jobs are one of the limiting factors to be able to afford to live in some small towns in Wyoming. Worst case I can work 2 weeks on 2 weeks off and rotate until I find something decent.

We have a 10 year old boy and I would like to get him into fly fishing, atv's, snowmobiling, etc. There just isn't much of that type of stuff here in ND. Its all muddy creeks and lakes.

I was going to head to Colorado in a week and a half to scout for a tag I drew but they shut down the forest. So now I am thinking of taking a 4-5 day family vacation to Wyoming around the areas mentioned above.

Anyway any info about the areas mentioned above, or other areas I am overlooking that might be a better place to look into would be really appreciated.

Regards, Branden
 
Star Valley would be the place to live if I was out there and wanted to be close to Region G and H. A lot of people living there that aren't retired and are still working stiffs make the drive up to Jackson and back every day because the prices to live up there are for the millionaire class. There are a number of nice little towns down through that whole valley.
 
In my book, it would be Star Valley. I have always thought that Pinedale was too cold. Both places have a high cost of living. I would describe both places as "poverty with a view". just sayin...mh
 
LAST EDITED ON Jun-14-18 AT 12:29PM (MST)[p]A lot of residential/commercial construction in the Star Valley/Jackson area right now. Sublette County to the east is steady but more oil/gas employment opportunity. More medical type employment opportunities in the Star Valley/Jackson area. Living in Star Valley which is essentially Alpine south down to Smoot, if your working in the Jackson area its going to be a minimum 65 mile roundtrip up to a 140 miles. Traffic in the summer months in the Star Valley area is horrendous at times with additional tourists. Star Valley 1500 - 1000 feet lower in elevation than the Sublette County side but snow can pile up more. Windier on the Sublette side. Sublette Co is the 2nd highest cost of living in the state. Teton Co is first just because of the real estate therefore why most live in the star valley area as its in Lincoln Co.. Groceries & fuel cheaper in Teton than Sublette Co.. Kemmerer is the county seat in Lincoln Co. so you'll have to make that 100 mile drive south every so often from Star Valley to take care of vehicle and property matters. Pinedale is the county seat in Sublette. Get on the web and go to tetonliving.com and go into property search which will show you listings in the areas in the star valley and Sublette county and that will give you an idea of real estate for the areas you are considering. And when you get in those searches it'll give you highest to lowest so you'll get to see those $30M+ properties first so just reverse the order or plug in your price range.
 
Most of your vehicle and property business: registration, taxes, etc. can be done in Star Valley (there are county extension offices there) or on-line. The winters are usually the biggest challenge. They aren't as cold or windy as a lot of places, but are long.
 
I lived in Wyoming from 1992 - 2005. The winters are long and windy in most areas. If you are from ND you should be used to the cold. From my experience I would suggest in this order:
Powell - 30 min north of Cody - excellent hunting, has a two year college, several years ago was rated as an all American small town, would be an excellent place to raise your son
Cody - close to some of the best hunting in WY. via Shoshone Ntl Forest, has a hospital where your wife could work, crowded during the summer with tourists going to Yellowstone NP
Sheridan/Buffalo - near good hunting in the Big Horn Ntl Forest, hospital in Sheridan, has a two year college
Thermopolis - possibly lowest elevation of all, 3900 ft which results in less severe winters, has a hospital
Lander/Riverton, both have a hospital, both near Ntl Forests and BLM hunting lands
Laramie, home of the Univ of Wyoming, but sits at roughly 7200 ft in elevation, often cold and windy, has a hospital and good hunting in the Snowy Range of the Medicine Bow Ntl Forest

Stay as far away from Rock Springs and Rawlins as you possibly can!

Hope this helps.
 
Big Piney and Kemmerer aren't a bad spots. They does have some oil and gas, there are hospitals in the area, and it does have some cheap housing.

I like the advise to stay away from Rock Springs or Rawlins, but they are oil and gas jobs there.

Another option is Evanston, which you will find more construction jobs as well as a few oil and gas jobs.

Star Valley has the phosphate mine and a lot of commuters to Jackson, the housing is a bit more in cost.
 
I lived in Evanston for those 13 years. You do not want to live there! Avoid unless your are a Mormon! You do not want to raise your son there and the good hunting is 3 - 7 hours away.
 
You have not lived until you've been to Big Piney in January or February. On the national weather report several times annually it's listed as the coldest place in the lower 48! It's both socially and culturally void! If you want to live among the relocated Texas and Louisiana oil patch trash that's your place! You move there your wife will divorce you and your son will cry while asking you to move back to N.D.
 
I appreciate all the responses. When it comes to the cold I don't mind it to much. I shot a muley here in ND one year when it was -57 with wind chill. The thing that stinks about the cold here is you hardly get enough snow to enjoy on a snowmobile.

I have spent a little time in Cody and in the bighorns. I really liked the bighorns. Didn't see a lot of deer though. I also didn't spend anytime in the wilderness up there though. One thing that turns me off of the Cody area is the bears. Not really worried about myself, but I do worry about my wife and boy if they are out hiking etc.

We will have 4-5 days to checkout some areas and recreate. I am thinking of camping at Cottonwood lake by Afton and exploring from there. If the NF in Colorado is still closed in July we will probably head to Wyoming then also.

As for Texans in the oilfield I have met enough to make me never want to go to Texas. They always talk about how great Texas is and how ND sucks. I ask them why they don't go back home and that usually shuts them up. I'm sure there are plenty of nice Texans. I just haven't had the pleasure of meeting them.

Thanks again I do appreciate the info.
 
I live in Kemmerer, its an OK town. Theres a hospital here that is usually hiring nurses. Other jobs are a little tougher to come by. SOS well services usually has some jobs. Oil field work can be had. The schools here are great, housing is affordable. The winters are stupid cold and go on forever. If you like ice fishing and snowmobiling they arent terrible. No state income tax and no sales tax on food is a plus, costs to license your vehicles are more than I paid in Utah.OTC deer tags are what makes it worth it.
 
To the comment on the hospitals...there is no hospital in Sublette County though the powers that be are working at it. Just have local clinics in Pinedale and Big Piney. Snowmobiling is A+++++ here in Sublette. Lots of USFS lands to ride. Lots of BLM but most of it gets shut down to motorized use Jan 1 - April 31 due to the mule deer winter range. In fact all the BLM from Daniel, WY south to Kemmerer and back around to Cokeville on the Wyoming Range front is closed during the winter. Outdoor recreation still abounds and yes, during the winter you've got to like winter hobbies such as ice fishing, snowmobiles, skiing, etc or your not going to be happy. We enjoy all of it, I like the ice fishing and we'll sled in +20 miles to lakes on the edge of the wilderness for fishing if we get tired of fishing the lakes closer to the Town's. Most the time you have to sled in to lakes even though they're a few miles off the pavement. Just depends on the snow levels. Something you've got to accept in northern Sublette, its big and amenities are spread out. Right now there is less than 10K people in Sublette. Closest Wal-mart is in Rock Springs 100 miles south. There's a Ridleys market in Pinedale and a Boomgars south of town. Jackson has a K-mart and top medical facilities & orthopedics 80 miles from Pinedale. Smith's is good shopping there and cheaper. When we are needing to just get out of dodge and stock up on essentials we do the heavy Sam's club, Walmart, mall crawling in Idaho Falls. Beautiful drive and more choices than Rock Springs, but about an hour longer but we don't care. A lot of Star Valley county 12 folks head over there to as its under 150 miles for most. Schools in Sublette are awesome.
 
No one mentioned Laramie. Small college town, good hunting nearby, good hospital with a cancer treatment center. Good orthopedic clinic in town too.
Cold, snowy winters but not far from Cheyenne.
Casper also is a big town for Wyoming with lots of possibilities.
Cheyenne is good for shopping but I would not live there.
 
There are currently no openings available for new residents. Sorry. :)

Seriously. Have you spent a winter here??
 
>Cody would be my choice...


Mine too. The summers in cody are amazing. Don't be scared of the bears!

My in laws are in cody and my job allows me to spend 1-2 weeks there every year. -9 coyote hunting in dec to 78 no humidity summer days. Great place.
 
Dirty there are a lot of nice places to live in Wyoming and for a bunch of different reasons. What seems to me is being lost in a lot of the towns people are suggesting for you is the fact you are most interested in high country deer hunting.

If it were me and I could pick anywhere in the state to live in that fits your desire I would be in Kemmerer.

Much more reasonably priced homes then say Pinedale and also Star Valley. Also you are close to a lot of different ranges for high country deer instead of limiting more on one range or another. That means a lot to me but I realize not so much to other's as I like to go to different areas all the time but most like to stick with what they know.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jun-18-18 AT 09:34PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jun-18-18 AT 09:34?PM (MST)

30388wycounty.jpg




If you are a resident inside these borders you can hunt bull elk, buck deer, buck antelope, bear, wolf and mountain lion every year. You can hunt big game until your feet bleed, you run out of money, you run out of ammo, lose your job or your wife threatens divorce. You can lay bragging rights to some of, if not the best hunting in the west.

You can also laugh heartily, as nonresidents on hunting forums argue you shouldn't have all this opportunity and talk about how it should be taken away!!

And it makes no difference what town you live in!
 
>There are currently no openings available
>for new residents. Sorry. :)
>
>
>Seriously. Have you spent a winter
>here??

No I haven't. Like I said I 'm used to the cold and wind. Up here though there isn't enough snow to enjoy it really. This year it was snowing through April. We usually get our first snow around October first.
 
Being within a few hour drive of the better mule deer hunting in the state is one of the goals. And the closer to the northwest the easier it is to visit family which is another reason I was looking at the Cody area originally and now the far western side of the state.

Again I appreciate all the suggestions. I'm slowly researching the places mentioned that I haven't already looked into. Except JM77's suggestion. Kinda hard to research the entire state :)

Thanks again for the advice and suggestions.
 
>Jeff that may be the best
>post I have ever seen!
>
>
>It needs its own thread!


It definitely was a good one and why I'm still tempted to move out there.
 
There are a LOT of towns in WY I could be happy to live in. I live in a great MT town, but if I were ever to leave, many places in WY would be at the top of my list.

Would never live in Riverton or Rawlins though.
 
If I had a house in hell and a house in Rawlins, I would sell the one in Rawlins and move straight to hell.

Rawlins would not be bad if you worked at the sinclair refinery. It is just a small town with a notoriously bad reputation. Probably has to do with the prison.

Riverton is about the crime. A lot of crime compaired to other areas. 186% percent higher crime than the average of the state.

https://www.areavibes.com/riverton-wy/crime/

Rock Springs is a windy son of a gun. There is a decent amount of drugs that run through the area. There is a big influx of people when there is an oil boom and the crime goes up when there is a down cycle of oil. With Coal the way it is and the potential of shutting down Bridger Underground there will be more desperate people in the area.

I think GR is a way better option.
 
I have lived in Rock Springs, on and off for over 20 years. Yes it is windy. That part sucks, a lot. I don't believe access to drugs is any easier or harder than it is in any other city. In those 20 years I have never felt unsafe in Rock Springs. I don't think crime is any more of an issue here than any other city. I have enjoyed every year I have lived in Rock Springs. That being said, if I could pick any Wyoming city to live in, RS would not be my first choice.

BTW, Bridger UG shutting down is not a potential. It is a certainty.
 

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