Buffalo Wyoming

1,205 Views | 4 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by TommyGun
Mmetag10
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AG
I thought i would separate this from the Cheyenne thread. We (My wife, 2 small kids and I) are officially moving to Wyoming next month. I got the offer and i have to be there by August 15th. If anyone has any advice on things i need to do before i go or once i get please there let me know. (Specifically what to look for in houses/what to avoid, cold weather tips, etc) any advice or comedy is appreciated. We are excited and cant wait to get up there.
Thanks
Mmetag10
txdragonfly
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Eh, no need to really separate it. While we are a big state, we're not very densely populated. Hell, even Google for Education made us partner up with Montana, South Dakota, & North Dakota for one of their educator groups.

In any case, congrats! Your first order of business after settling in is to make the run about an hour slightly southwest of Buffalo to Ten Sleep. You're heading for the brewery. Have a Speed Goat for me please. To that end, we have some odd liquor laws. Buying on Sunday isn't an issue, but there's a strange limit and process to granting liquor licenses in cities for bars and restaurants.

Definitely log all the advice from the Cheyenne thread on house hunting (sticker shock) and vehicle purchasing. Don't be surprised by the laid back attitude and general lack of technology-enhanced anything. Welcome to the Wild Wild West, err Wyoming, where you don't have to live in the same county where you register your vehicle and online payments for city/county stuff don't work (if it's available). Go ahead and plan on going to Billings for anything medical or commercial airline flights. Even my friends in Sheridan go to Billings.

Oh, and most importantly, welcome to Longmire Country. No, seriously Buffalo is where Longmire Days (the festival) is held every July and that region of the state is the setting for the books (filming for the show is actually northern New Mexico).
histag10
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Welcome to the North (the home of dropped calls?)

Summer is a great time to move, but beware that you will likely not discover problems with wherever you decide to live until Winter.

I'm not sure about Wyoming, but we have had crazy weather lately. it has been in the 60s the past few days with massive storms.

I believe Green2Maroon is from around those parts (Sheridan/Buffalo). I will see if he can come give some advice.
Mmetag10
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AG
Thanks everyone. And I knew about longmire. The company actually sent us up to check it out before we signed on on longmire days weekend last week. Great tip on billings for medical stuff. We flew in through Casper last week and it seemed like it worked pretty good but were advised to go billings when winter hits. We plan to rent for a few months to figure out where exactly we'd like to be before purchasing. We were also told the closer to winter the better the deals as people don't want to pay to heat the places if they aren't there. (And yeah I remember histag you said don't move in the winter but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do haha)
histag10
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The Billings Clinic and St. Vincent's Healthcare in Billings are both great. St. Vincent's is part of SCL Health, so it's super easy to get into specialists if you need to.
TommyGun
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If you hunt and fish then start reading the regs now. Basically every hunt unit and river, lake, or stream has it's own rules it seems. It can be a little frustrating but worth the effort to wade through it.

I really don't have too many house buying tips. Yes, the prices are inflated and you'll want to have the inspector comb through everything that could adversely affect the place in the winter. Make sure that any recent renovations have been done properly. I discovered a couple of issues with mine after the previous homeowner finished out the basement. Just make sure things like insulation and wiring were done correctly. There is a lot of DIY types who work on their places without really knowing all the dos and don'ts.

I haven't spent a lot of time in your neck of the woods, but I hear that it is a great place to live. My boss grew up in Gillette and he lived in Powell for years. He goes on and on about the Bighorn Mtns so I think you're definitely going to enjoy them. Make sure you check out the museums in Cody and go ahead and plan to see the Tetons at some point this year. Mid to late September is a great time to visit Jackson and the national parks. The lodging rates and the tourist population is half of what it is in July and August.

Also, start thinking about winter activities that you'll want to do. My wife had never seen snow (outside of a small dusting in SE TX) before I moved her up here. Once November rolled around and it was 10 below during Thanksgiving, she became pretty depressed. Fortunately I was able to get her out on the ski slopes and she really enjoyed learning the sport through the winter and spring and we're now looking forward to next season. You don't have to ski but things like snow shoeing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and fat tire biking are all things that will make things more enjoyable for you and your family. Mainly you just want to keep things fun and interesting through the winter whether that means indoor or outdoor games/activities.

WY has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation and I would venture to guess that a lot of it can be attributed to cabin fever and general loneliness from folks who do not venture out much. WY is and has always been a wild frontier like state. The people who originally settled here did so because of the adventure and the desire to live in the wilderness and stake a claim on it. That is still somewhat true even today. If you don't have that adventurous spirit (which it sounds like you do) then it can be a rough place for people.

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