What do you think about Wyoming as a state and as a place to live?

30 comments

1. Beautiful state. Probably a bit too rural and far removed from civilization for my tastes. I like having a big city not too far away.

2. Its not that its the least relevant. Yellowstone NP is mostly in Wyoming and everybody knows of it. Also, it has two senators like every other state, so its important in that way.

   You hear from residents less because there’s the fewest of them. This sub has more members than there are residents of Wyoming.

   It is a beautiful state. I like it very much.

3. I have an aunt and uncle living in rural Wyoming and my Mother in Law is from just outside of Yellowstone. Personally, it wouldn’t be my favorite place to live.

   Most of Wyoming is pretty desolate. It can be beautiful, but in a harsh, rugged way. It is also extremely rural and has a high level of poverty. There are lots of hard things that come along with that—my aunt is a resource teacher (someone who gives teenagers at school extra help if they are falling behind) and sees a ton of dysfunctional families, abuse, neglectful alcoholic parents, etc. Her kids have a hard time finding solid friends.

   I like rural places but not when the nearest major city is several hours away. Online shopping makes things easier, but it is still hard to get away from all the conveniences of having good grocery stores, good schools, good internet etc and none of those are a given in most of Wyoming.

   If you are living closer to Yellowstone, you get a different experience because of tourist culture. Pretty much the whole economy revolves around visitor revenue. There are a lot of people who live there seasonally and a big chunk of the population is temporary. It is hard to make friends and put down roots if you want to live there long term.

   Winters are harsh pretty much all over the state. If you are in a tourist area population plummets. Again, beautiful but desolate.

   However, I do know that some people absolutely love their lives in WY. If you are a real lover of hiking and camping there can be a ton to do. And if you can get some good friends it is a lot easier to outlast the winters and feel less isolated. I love visiting my extended family there when I get a chance but it is definitely not somewhere I would choose to live permanently.

4. Keep in mind that the beautiful parts of the state only make up ~1/8 of the entire area, and basically no one lives there permanently because those areas are protected land and tourist economies. (Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Jackson, etc…)

   The other 7/8’s of the place is incredibly desolate prairie and desert land with terrible weather and miles and miles of flat nothingness. As such, most of the population in this area deals with issues that strikes most super rural areas that are difficult to get to: Drugs, alcohol, abuse, etc…

   It also only has 1 city, Cheyenne, which is located right in the middle of a giant prairie with the biggest attraction being the freeway leading into the much more populace and well developed Colorado. (For reference it has 10x’s the population of Wyoming) Also, it’s on the exact opposite side of the beautiful parts of the state, so expect multiple days worth of driving on an almost empty gas tank if you want to live there and want to visit Yellowstone. Because did I mention that Wyoming’s desolate? It is really, *really* empty, almost otherworldly tbh.

   Culture’s rural Western and blue collar, food’s pretty country, people are pretty cool if you avoid politics and religion, and the politics of the state are awful, being the place that gave power to the likes of the war criminal Dick Cheney.

5. Western Wyoming is beautiful. Eastern Wyoming is… flat.

6. The pictures I have seen of Wyoming are mostly beautiful. One of the largest rodeos in the world is held in Cheyenne. I would love to visit but would hate to live there, because it gets too cold.

7. I’m from Colorado, immediately south of Wyoming. (Also beautiful!)

   Wyoming is the least populace state. It has vast tracts of empty, wind-smoothed landscape. It also has stunning scenery and amazing places to go.

   As far as living there, Jackson is pretty if you can afford it. It’s populated by wealthy people from out of state, mostly. Other small cities (all cities in Wyoming are small) are mostly blue collar. A lot of people work in the oil industry, sometimes staying a few weeks in and a few weeks off.

   Personally I’d get bored. Wyoming is definitely pretty (especially the mountainous parts) but otherwise there’s not a ton to do culturally.

8. Fly over state for sure.

9. Wyoming is a great place to go if you want to get away from people and enjoy the natural beauty of the mountains and a slower way of living. If you’re not that into the outdoors, or want the excitement and amenities of a city, you’re going to hate it.

   I liked Yellowstone and Jackson when I visited, but it’s important to remember the entire state isn’t like that. I think Wyoming is beautiful but I wouldn’t want to live there long term without a good reason.

   I feel like Wyoming actually gets mentioned quite a bit here honestly. Both Wyoming and Delaware are frequently cited as the most forgotten states on here which ironically gets people talking and asking questions about them. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen posts about Idaho, North Dakota, or Vermont, but I know I’ve seen stuff about Wyoming.

10. I think a trip to Wyoming would blow your mind. It’s much larger, much more remote, and far less mountainous than what you’ve seen. Thousands of square miles of sagebrush and wind blown treeless rolling hills. It’s more desolate than you can imagine.

    The mountainous areas like Jackson can be incredibly expensive to live in. Casper, Cheyenne, and Laramie are more industrial and service economy based. Lots of oil, ranching, and mining related industry.

    In my experience it’s more Mongolia than Switzerland.

11. I’ve never been to Wyoming but I would like to go for the rodeo in Cheyenne sometime. And to visit Yellowstone.

12. Great place to die in the rain in the mud in July in [Cheyenne](https://youtu.be/GPiddSDZ5Xs)

13. I have a friend from Germany who immigrated to the US and her parents chose Wyoming of all places. I personally know nothing about the state but she’s pretty cool so I guess the state must be as well.

14. I think it has too few people to be a state and should be absorbed by its neighbors

15. It is a gorgeous state and almost completely empty. We went there for vacation and we could drive a half hour without passing another car on the road.

    The metro population of my mid-sized American city (Birmingham) is twice that of the entire state of Wyoming.

16. What’s a Wyoming?

17. I’d love to visit but fuck living there. Obviously beautiful but I need more than 20 people within a 100 mile radius and it not getting extremely cold with nothing to block the wind

18. Why is this state so desolate and undeveloped? Why isn’t it another Colorado?

19. Who?

20. I went on a road trip through Wyoming last summer. Went to Cheyenne and drove all the way up to Cody. I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Wyoming and may want to move there myself. The people are nice, the land is vast, and the nature is stunning. Wyoming is a great state for those that want a more outdoorsy life style.

21. I don’t think about Wyoming at all.

    I dislike that they have the same voting power as other more populated states. More people live in DC and they don’t get any Senators and their Reps can’t vote.

    Fuck Wyoming.

22. Expensive property.

23. My dad was advocating that we all move to Wyoming. The schools suck and there are heavy winds every day: 30-40 mph with fists up to 60 mph.

    I hate wind. And I have a kid so we didn’t move there.

    Dad ended up in Alaska and he loves it there.

24. I grew up and went to college in Wyoming. What’s a pro for me might be a con for someone else.

    You drive a lot to get from one place to another. The weather is rough! It was -63°F in 1979 in Jackson. In Laramie, the winds are wicked. You can’t group the “big” towns into one, they all have their own flavor and main source of income, be it ranching, mining or tourism. The state does get a lot of negative press but it was the first to give women the right to vote the first to elect a female governor, the first national park.

    I’d live there again if I could convince my husband.

25. all the real estate just went, so if you bought a home there five years ago you hit the jack pot. However, the billionaires chased all the millionaires out of Jackson Hole and those MFers bought all the rest of the best houses in the state in the last few years. Houses that had been on sale for decades have been swallowed up and there’s new construction where there hadn’t been any in ages. So, as a place to live, out of most peoples’ price range. as a place to visit? one of the best places on Earth

26. I drove across the northern part of Wyoming once. It began with cool air and some snow on the ground in Yellowstone. Then became very hot as I moved Eastward. Then I climbed into and through the Bighorn Mountains, where I encountered a major snowstorm, then ice on switchbacks out of the mountains, and then back to warm.

    I saw less than 100 cars that day.

    1% of Wyoming is ideal for living. The rest of the state is desolate and wants to kill you.

27. I literally just came back from spending a week in Laramie. I had a great time camping, and hiking. We climbed/hiked Medicine Bow, and the Hidden Falls. It’s amazing landscape and scenery. However, I wouldn’t want to live there year round.

    I was also there a year and a half ago in January….no thanks lol. I am originally from Ohio/Michigan and I moved to South Texas 8 years ago because I’m sick of winter/snow. Wyoming is even more brutal that time of year.

28. Only place I’ve ever lived. 😊 home sweet home.

29. So I’ve been through Wyoming quite a bit.

    The reason you don’t hear a lot is because basically nobody lives there. Its two largest cities, Cheyenne and Casper, don’t have many people, and are small cities relative to the rest of the country. It also only has 2 up and 2 down escalators in the whole state.

    As for the food, people don’t go to Wyoming for the food, and while most states have at least some regional gimmick/food item, Wyoming absolutely doesn’t. I remember going to a restaurant, and I remember ordering their fruit salad, and it was probably the most preservative-filled fruit I’ve ever tasted. It is a food desert in every conceivable stretch of the word.

    The only upside is that land is cheap in Wyoming and it has the highest high school graduation rate in the country, although for employment, there really isn’t a lot of options unless you have the money to start your own business. It doesn’t have mining or oil really, and outside of Yellowstone, there isn’t really any tourism.

    You do see actual cowboys, like real cowboys, which was surprising. As for politics, it is conservative, but really apathetically so. Most people I’ve encountered from Wyoming don’t really give a shit about politics relative to the rest of the country.

30. It’s the least populated state, it’s almost entirely just wilderness and National parks. Very limited job opportunities if you don’t work in a couple very specific fields like ranching, oil, tourism