Is the grass always greener?

[C17loadclear]

My wife and I are moving to Idaho next year when we retire. We are Willing to exchange a long hot humid summer for a long winter. i grew up in the mountains and can’t wait to get back but realize that there will be an adjustment. Is the grass greener?? I will let you know after our first full winter out west...

 

[thusby]

I jumped around quite a bit when I was first married with the wife but we never made it out west.

Wisconsin to Minnesota to Florida to Minnesota to Oregon to Louisiana...... all to end back up in Wisconsin. I like visiting other places but definitely need to stay put if I ever want to retire.

 

[el unit]

Yes, the grass is definitely greener out west

 

[Nick87]

If you can do it and the wife will go along with it do it now before something else comes up. Imo the older you are the harder it will be. I envy you guys who can find work out there while taking a slight pay cut. From what I've dug up I'd be taking at least a 50% pay cut with WAY less OT. Not to mention giving up a pension and insurance w/90% coverage. My biggest fear is my kids will grow up here and then before they know it will be comfortable and feel stuck here too. On the other hand I've never heard of anyone leaving Wyoming/ Montana etc to come to illinois for the money. I'm sure there is one or two out there. Good luck in whichever route you take.

 

[1_pointer]

If you can do it and the wife will go along with it do it now before something else comes up. Imo the older you are the harder it will be. I envy you guys who can find work out there while taking a slight pay cut. From what I've dug up I'd be taking at least a 50% pay cut with WAY less OT. Not to mention giving up a pension and insurance w/90% coverage. My biggest fear is my kids will grow up here and then before they know it will be comfortable and feel stuck here too. On the other hand I've never heard of anyone leaving Wyoming/ Montana etc to come to illinois for the money. I'm sure there is one or two out there. Good luck in whichever route you take.

That's the real kick in the pants for me. I would be making the same money had we stayed that I do here...

I may need to throw up a bit now.

The realities definitely put me in a funk at times...

 

[MT Bound]

I've also learned that a guy needs to make the best of things no matter where he is, he will be happier that way = I wished I would've done more coastal saltwater fishing in New England.

But bring pasties.

You want pasties, just drive to Butte, pasty capitol of the west IMO

 

[JEL]

If you can do it and the wife will go along with it do it now before something else comes up. Imo the older you are the harder it will be. I envy you guys who can find work out there while taking a slight pay cut. From what I've dug up I'd be taking at least a 50% pay cut with WAY less OT. Not to mention giving up a pension and insurance w/90% coverage. My biggest fear is my kids will grow up here and then before they know it will be comfortable and feel stuck here too. On the other hand I've never heard of anyone leaving Wyoming/ Montana etc to come to illinois for the money. I'm sure there is one or two out there. Good luck in whichever route you take.

Actually lots of folks leave Montana for money. Especially our younger population just out of college.
I believe we all have an inherent sense of wanderlust to a degree. I have lived in MT all my life but sometimes find myself wondering about other places.
I live in the mountains but think about moving to the plains in the east or north east part of the state. I think it is natural.

 

[Nick87]

Actually lots of folks leave Montana for money. Especially our younger population just out of college.
I believe we all have an inherent sense of wanderlust to a degree. I have lived in MT all my life but sometimes find myself wondering about other places.
I live in the mountains but think about moving to the plains in the east or north east part of the state. I think it is natural.

I would agree with that.

 

[huronmtns]

After reading this, I have realized that people that live in UP abbreviate UP by writing Yoop. People that abbreviate abbreviations by making abbreviations longer, should probably look somewhere other than Montana… It is full

I’m joking.
sort of.

In all seriousness, you should definitely move. Nobody ever said ‘what makes this cold and snow all worth it is a summer without mountains’

An explination of your joke, sort of.

 

[Yooper906]

An explination of your joke, sort of.

View attachment 127581

This is very true.....

 

[thusby]

If you type uper it just sounds like you’re doing drugs.

 

[Bulldog0156]

I'm not going to lie, there are times that I miss yooperland. There's some good fishing to be had and I have fond memories of pretty quiet country. That being said, I do love Montana.

 

[justinch]

Good conversation here. I don't have experience with relocating but it's definitely something we talk about every winter. Usually right after a vacation.

We live in WI, have good jobs, live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood with nice people and nice schools. Our neighbor even shoveled our driveway when we were on vacation the other week.

But it does always feel like life gets put on hold during these cold, gray winter months. My wife works remote so she's ready to go any day, but the thought of leaving somewhere familiar is a little intimidating. I work in healthcare and found a perfect job for me, but it was in Cheyenne, which doesn't really appeal to us. My wife wants to move to Hawaii, which I could get on board with if I found the right job. My western hunting trip would get a little more expensive, but that's OK.

 

[Yooper906]

Good conversation here. I don't have experience with relocating but it's definitely something we talk about every winter. Usually right after a vacation.

We live in WI, have good jobs, live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood with nice people and nice schools. Our neighbor even shoveled our driveway when we were on vacation the other week.

But it does always feel like life gets put on hold during these cold, gray winter months. My wife works remote so she's ready to go any day, but the thought of leaving somewhere familiar is a little intimidating. I work in healthcare and found a perfect job for me, but it was in Cheyenne, which doesn't really appeal to us. My wife wants to move to Hawaii, which I could get on board with if I found the right job. My western hunting trip would get a little more expensive, but that's OK.

My wife and I just looked at some jobs in Cheyenne too! Wyoming is definitely on the radar.

 

[JDH]

It's funny this thread came up when it did. My job satisfaction is finally low enough that I decided I would update my resume and reach out to some contacts. A few years ago my wife applied for a job in Denver but didn't get it. I have a buddy who lives in Phoenix and he's always talking about how nice it is out there. There's no way I could talk my wife into WY but maybe somewhere like Phoenix.

 

[vanish]

Yes, the grass is definitely greener out west

But not literally, cause its a desert, and thus brown most of the year.

----

I moved from Niagara Falls over 10 years ago. Being a distance from most of the family was only a positive for me.

However, now that I live in Colorado, I realize just how good the fishing back there was. It just seemed OK at the time, but I think it was more my approach to it than the place itself.

Not that I'd ever move back. No thanks, I'll keep mule deer, pronghorn, whitetails, elk, moose, mountain cutties etc ...

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

If I was single with no children I would've moved to Wyoming 5 years ago.

Well, the freedom of decision making is there when single, but my concern would be moving to a real small community where there are fewer options to find a lady. Now I live in beautiful area with a relatively small community of 75k in town, which already is tough for single folks, especially as I'm no spring chicken at 49. Luckily we have the rest of the surrounding areas so if one is willing to drive an hour for a date then there are options.

While I think I'd likely relate to a higher percentage of ladies in a mountain town, the opportunity numbers make me hesitant. If I had a wife on board, I'd be totally comfortable going pretty remote with land for my horse and dogs.

For example, I love the mountains within an hour of Cody, WY, but it looks like a mighty small community.

Anyone have thoughts on options for the single folks out there?

Cheers,

Steve

 

[Gerald Martin]

75,000 people and the pool of eligible ladies is “small”?
I had to leave Virginia and a town of 65,000 to marry my wife who lived near a town of 600. I think there might be 10,000 people in the entire county. But we still don’t have a traffic light.

 

[1_pointer]

It's funny this thread came up when it did. My job satisfaction is finally low enough that I decided I would update my resume and reach out to some contacts. A few years ago my wife applied for a job in Denver but didn't get it. I have a buddy who lives in Phoenix and he's always talking about how nice it is out there. There's no way I could talk my wife into WY but maybe somewhere like Phoenix.

Good luck!!! And I'm quite jealous.

 

[Bulldog0156]

But we still don’t have a traffic light.

I thought that had to be wrong for a second, but now that I'm thinking about it more I do believe you're correct. Sanders county isn't a bad place in my books.