Wyoming--help convince me I should move
 

Mr. Kipper travels to Wyoming each year on a hunting trip. He'd love to move there, and I've told him that I'll consider it while I'm out there on my first hunting trip later this year.

We'd be looking to settle around Cheyenne or Laramie. I know Mr. Kipper's reasons for wanting to move, and I will admit, the price of real estate has me considering it, but why else should I move to Wyoming?

Sorry, I tried all day to come up with something that I could use to convince you but I am drawing a blank.

I guess the one thing is that you would be closer to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

All the friends that I know that live there complain about the relentless wind. I guess if you picked Cheyenne, you would only be 90 miles from Denver (Laramie is about 150).

If I had to choose I would pick Cheyenne. It's a little larger than Laramie. Cheyenne is a little closer to ft Collins and Denver. Denver is about 100 miles away.

What kind of things interest you?

Another option is Ft Collins in colorado.

Cheyenne (the BIG town in WY) is about 60,000 people. There is a small Air Force base in town and there is also a rail yard in town that helps boost the economy. I don't remember offhand which of the standard big box stores are in Cheyenne, but Ft. Collins has more of them and is about 45 minutes south.

It is very windy as noted above, as is much of the front range in CO. There are quite a few windmills in the area to capitalize on this. Eastern WY is pretty desolate, especially if you drive up through Lusk on out to the Black Hills of SD. Get used to seeing lots and lots of brown.

I'm not sure what the beer is like in Cheyenne, but Ft. Collins has several excellent microbreweries, not counting New Belgium.

I'm into hunting and such, so one appeal is not having to pay almost $300/year for a non-resident hunting license. :)

What about other costs? Look at Colorado vs Wyoming....

Wyoming is an no income tax state...which means higher Taxes elsewhere.

How much does it cost for annual vehicle registration?

What about property taxes?

Wyoming may offer a discount from neighboring states as part of an agreement.

Wyoming gets its tax revenue from oil and coal.

Which is part of the appeal. :)

The federal government owns about 50% of the land in Wyoming. Much of the oil and gas comes from these federal lands. So Wyoming doesnt see a dime of it....the federal government gets thetaxes and fees from the land use.

They need to tax just like other states in terms of sales tax, property taxes, vehicle taxes, etc.

Um, I have hesitated posting, because my intent is to convince you that you should probably not move. But I slept on it and still want to post, so here goes.

How is the health of your family? Doctors are few and far between. My oldest sister was the wife of a cattle rancher in rural Wyoming. Due to a freak accident, she needed immediate medical care. Her husband had to drive for about an hour to the nearest doctor. Who could do little other than call an ambulance who took her on about a two hour drive to the hospital in Casper, Wyoming (the second largest city in Wyoming with about 56,000 people). Where she died early this year in intensive care. If she had lived in urban Denver or Salt Lake City and gone immediately to the ER, the ultimate outcome might have been no different. Or maybe it would have been. And the large trauma hospital in Denver or SLC might have treated her with no great efficacy as the hospital in Casper. Or maybe my sister would still be alive.

I've been to Cheyenne a couple of times and it seemed a nice enough town, the proximity to Denver is definitely a plus. I will say that my drive up Interstate 25 to connect to US 18 was really really pretty. It's gorgeous country out there and I see why Mr. Kipper might want to move. I actually considered law school in Wyoming (I was even accepted at U of Wyoming) but I decided I wasn't ready to commit to the west.

Sorry to hear about your sister!

Were I choosing between Cheyenne and Laramie, I'd pick Laramie. College town, much closer to the mountains and much prettier. Cheyenne's not known as the windiest city in America for nothing.

Ft. Collins beats both of these options by a mile.

If you really want to live in Wyoming, maybe "do it up right" and live in Jackson?

If I HAD to live in Wyoming for some reason, I would pick Evanston. Closest town to Salt Lake City. Theoretically within commuting distance (except of course during much of the winter).

Only 12,000 in Evanston - now you're getting pretty tiny. If you're just picking a town in WY to be closer to a city, Cheyenne's proximity to Denver would make more sense to me. <shrugs>