Questions regarding WY towns

[PrairieHunter]

Gillette USED TO BE kind of dumpy but has come a long way IMO. My In-laws live there and we go there quite a bit (from Buffalo). Not a bad town. Has shopping, hospital, clinics, restaurants.

The issue is the mining. There is no way around coal dying in the future. As coal dies so do towns like Gillette.

Right now they got a little boost from covid as demand for coal has skyrocketed, but that will be short lived.

 

[Archer86]

Hey all,
My wife and I are planning to move to WY soon and are considering 4 towns - Casper, Gillette, Powell, and Sheridan. I'm a bit concerned about the lack of public land close to Gillette and to a lesser extent Casper. Could someone comment on the likelihood of being able to hunt every year as a resident of either Casper or Gillette? It seems like driving to the Bighorns would be the closest area to hunt on a regular basis for both locations with the possible exception of a few areas near Casper Mtn. Am I missing something on the maps? Right now, Casper is kind of the leader (mainly due to the proximity of some *really* good trout fishing spots and the lack of grizzlies), but I'd like to get some input from some of you long term residents. Thanks in advance for any info you can share on this.

Regards,
Bill (in FL for now)

I would vote southern part of the state if you are at retirement age and concerned with medical closer to Salt Lake or Denver most medical is not great in wyoming. good hunting down that way and no grizzly bears but the weather can be brutal down there. I am doing the opposite of most I am getting all my western hunting in now and then going to retire in the Midwest hunting whitetails from a tree stand. Good luck with your search.

 

[BuzzH]

Wyoming is no different than anywhere else, there are good things and bad things about every town in every state. There's some honest assessments of some of the issues/benefits of towns in this discussion and some that are pretty unfair, IMO.

Honestly at 62 years old, you're not going to be able to take advantage of many of the hunting opportunities here. Plenty of easy type stuff, pronghorn, some mediocre deer hunting, maybe some easier cow elk. Plus, all hunting here has tightened up considerably for both R and NR hunters...fewer tags, tougher draw odds, etc. etc.

I'm starting to give more thought to what @Archer86 is suggesting. The time to hump the hills and go full out on Western Big-game is when you're young...everyone has a shelf life. Not saying you can't do OK here at age 80, but the way and where you hunt at 80 years old isn't the same as 20.

 

[220yotekiller]

my family and l moved to sheridan 4 years ago and we love it. a ton of public ground west of the interstate, not much east but there are some honey holes if you know where to look. one thing to keep in mind with casper is that it is very windy.

 

[DanWyo]

Just FYI if you need anything serious medical wise develop heart issues, cancer, even a serious car accident etc. you will end up in Denver or Salt Lake.

There are no major/level I/ academic hospitals in the northern Rockies.

A number of boomers in my life have chosen to move to super rural areas post retirement, and unfortunately it became a medical CF for several of them almost immediately. Even CO cities like grand junction don’t have the resources to handle a lot of medical issues, esp complex chronic conditions.

Find some place that makes you happy, I’m not typing this to dissuade you, but just know this is a thing and part of living in these areas.

View attachment 257503

I also echo the healthcare piece. It gets really old having folks with chronic medical conditions or expectations of specialist availability move here without checking first. It’s rural—there’s limited services and very limited access to specialists. Make sure there’s primary care availability and the services you need before you make the jump.

 

[David58]

I also echo the healthcare piece. It gets really old having folks with chronic medical conditions or expectations of specialist availability move here without checking first. It’s rural—there’s limited services and very limited access to specialists. Make sure there’s primary care availability and the services you need before you make the jump.

Honestly, that is likely the biggest reason we don't put WY on the list for retirement. So many plusses, but the health care and airport issues (we don't want to have to spend a day driving to an airport to go see family) just have us putting a very reluctant "no" beside WY.

David
NM

 

[WapitiBob]

The only downside to Gillette; that's a coal mine, not a cloud bank.

 

[Bob-WY]

We moved here 4 years ago. I STRONGLY suggest you rent first. Let's you both move towns and move around in a town

Coming from NH the hunting and fishing is AMAZING. we live between casper and sheridan and love it

You will get a general elk and deer tag. Check what areas that covers. Antelope you will need to draw

 

[wytex]

We have plenty of competent doctors in Wyoming, and decent health care. For serious types of issues yes you may go out of stste but for the most part we get by fine with the health care here.

 

[David58]

We have plenty of competent doctors in Wyoming, and decent health care. For serious types of issues yes you may go out of stste but for the most part we get by fine with the health care here.

Understood, but our household is both post-cancer and post-heart attack. Getting too many hours from a major hospital is just unwise for us.

David
NM

 

[BuzzH]

We have plenty of competent doctors in Wyoming, and decent health care. For serious types of issues yes you may go out of stste but for the most part we get by fine with the health care here.

True, but the specialist you need is likely not anywhere near the town you're living in. For basic care I agree, we have good clinics and health care.

Try to find a specialist that deals in, oh say, hematology. You'll not find that person in Laramie or Sheridan most likely. Probably a couple somewhere in the State. No big deal if you don't mind driving a few hundred miles to find them.

That's something my wife and I considered when moving to Laramie 22 years ago. Close enough to Denver to have great health care choices.

 

[ccc23454]

One of wifes special needs students has a complex medical issue, the nearest specialist for him is in denver 8+ hour drive when/if roads are open. The poor kid gets emercency flown to denver way to often, and then family has to deal with road conditions. Next time you read a story about a bear attack in wyoming notice how many get flown to salt lake, minor injurys go to Billings, none get flown to a wyoming facility.

 

[manitou1]

Buddy had to go to Denver for his surgery... from the Sheridan area.
I had to purchase secondary insurance to get coverage here.

 

[88man]

Montana has it all

 

[wytex]

I agree Buzz but not many smaller towns anywhere have great specialists for medical care.
Thankfully Denver is close, or Fort Collins.

 

[PrairieHunter]

One of wifes special needs students has a complex medical issue, the nearest specialist for him is in denver 8+ hour drive when/if roads are open. The poor kid gets emercency flown to denver way to often, and then family has to deal with road conditions. Next time you read a story about a bear attack in wyoming notice how many get flown to salt lake, minor injurys go to Billings, none get flown to a wyoming facility.

I would not go to Ivinson in Laramie unless I really thought I was going to die within the hour. I'd try to get to Ft. Collins if at all possible.


The reality is there are some smart doctors in Wyoming, but many of the best leave for med school and never come back. Wyoming Delaware and Alaska are the only states with no med school. So what you are left with are the few good ones who wanted to be here and came back after graduating elsewhere, and a lot of rejects from other states who end up here because they can't get a job where they came from.

The same thing happens with on air TV talent. Wyoming news is difficult to watch sometimes since nobody really "wants" to be the morning weather person in Casper. or Cheyenne. So you are left with kids right out of college who took the job but leave when they get a shot, or people who are terrible at what they do and can't get a job elsewhere.


Girlfriends son has a kidney issue, and ended up in Colorado seeing a specialist just last week.
.

 

[madtom]

I would not go to Ivinson in Laramie unless I really thought I was going to die within the hour. I'd try to get to Ft. Collins if at all possible.


The reality is there are some smart doctors in Wyoming, but many of the best leave for med school and never come back. Wyoming Delaware and Alaska are the only states with no med school. So what you are left with are the few good ones who wanted to be here and came back after graduating elsewhere, and a lot of rejects from other states who end up here because they can't get a job where they came from.

The same thing happens with on air TV talent. Wyoming news is difficult to watch sometimes since nobody really "wants" to be the morning weather person in Casper. or Cheyenne. So you are left with kids right out of college who took the job but leave when they get a shot, or people who are terrible at what they do and can't get a job elsewhere.


Girlfriends son has a kidney issue, and ended up in Colorado seeing a specialist just last week.
.

Spot on about local news. We usually turn on the news at night while saying “let’s see what the kids have to say today.” Recently the Casper news has been outsourced to some media group based in Milwaukee. So we get our news and weather read to us by mediocre anchors ~4 states away.

 

[Carl]

I don't generally watch news programs, but I still remember well when a channel out of Butte put their 10 PM "warm-ups" on air by accident years ago. Myself and a few friends still refer to it as "Practice News". High School production vibes with a slightly higher budget.

 

[Bob-WY]

Our local via dish is Denver, very hpful to know uts sunny 5 hours a way while I'm getting ready to shovel snow

 

[ccc23454]

We have to watch montana news...everyone is wearing flat brimmed hats and skinny jeans