I have a quick moving chance to uproot myself and wife and move to the Buffalo/Sheriden area of WY.

We had planned to move west, but not for a couple of years. I just stumbled across a software engineering related job in Sheriden, we are working our end to see if the finances work out for us (career change/pay change).

Can someone give me some info on:

- Weather, snow, heat etc in that area.
- Local folks hunting? We hunted Buffalo with an outfitter this year on leased land. What's around for locals to hunt?

How do you like living in that area?

The way this is playing out, it could force a decision on us very quickly, so we are looking for info from all over, any help would be appreciated.

Jump on it with both feet!


Thank me later!

Bob, Go to USA.com on the internet, you can get a wealth of info on anywhere in the nation! memtb

PM DoubleCK (Craig)......He's lived in Sheridan forever...

And YES....by all means...take the job....

Luck

Bob, I'm right across the hill from Buffalo/Sheridan, and the difference is astounding. There: moisture (+),moderate weather(+), close to interstate/larger city(-), more people(-), grass/trees(+), very pretty area(+), foothills of Big Horn Mountains(+), low crime(+),higher real estate prices(-), in Wyoming(+)(+)(+)!

On my side: low crime(+), hot summers(-),very dry(-),colder winters(-), not as pretty(-), no interstate/farther to large city(+), lower real estate prices(+), still in Wyoming(+)(+)(+)!

In Wyoming,a few miles geographically can make a huge difference in terrain! Good Luck, there as far worse places to live! memtb

If you were planning on moving "in a couple of years," don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Sheridan is a nice little town with a nice dowtown, lots of sculptures and close proximity to a lot of outdoor activities. Buffalo is a smaller community that also is pretty. The nearby Bighorn National Forest has 1.1 million acres of public land including 189,000 acres of wilderness. We could live in that area were it not for having an established life farther south.

There has been a lot of money in Sheridan, but budget issues and the oil, gas and coal downturn have taken a toll on the state in the short run. With the election of Trump on Tuesday, and a potential for an uptick in oil, gas and coal production, the present may be the best time in the near future to get in.

Research the weather data and talk to the locals. I can't really help you there.

Best of luck!

I love that area. I would jump all over that

Take the Job, and read what Cheyenne said.
Buffalo and Sheridan, two nice cities and areas.
Couldn't ask for better.

That be nice to live there.

Take the chance. Take the job. WY is awesome. Sheridan is a cool town.

That may be one of the top 1 or 2 places to live in Wyoming. It's Wyoming. TONS of public land. Sheridan and Buffalo sit on the east slope of the Bighorns. Elk, Mulies abound there and antelope may take a short drive to get to BLM land, but it's not far. You need to make it happen. Opportunities to live and work professionally in Sheridan aren't easy to come by. Make it so!

Do it. I moved west in 77, best decision I ever made.

Thanks, keep the opinions coming! We spent a week in Buffalo in early October and loved the general area. Big Horns were amazing! People we met were great.

Bon_H_in_NH: I have spent a LOT of time in the Sheridan/Buffalo area of Wyoming and I highly recommend you uproot and move there.
Lots to do, lots to Hunt (Antelope, Elk, Mule Deer and some Whitetailed Deer), lots of places for Varmint and predator Hunting as well.
Unlimited outdoor recreation from fishing to hiking to star gazing, to snowmobiling, snow skiing, cross country skiing, back packing and on and on.
The AMAZING Bighorn Mountains will be right in your back yard!
I have spent 18 winters in Montana and the winters here have posed NO problem for me or my family - we were formally born and raised city folk.
I live about 400 miles from Sheridan but get through there often.
Good hospitals in Billings and our children got WONDERFUL educations here in SW Montana - hopefully that country accountability in education carries over to north central Wyoming in case you have/will have children.
I do know the fuel prices in Sheridan are very low.
Not sure about electricity.
My friends that live there say the taxes are low as well.
Best of luck to you if you "go for it"!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

thanks Varmit Guy! We are actually on the other end with kids, they are 24 and 26, out of college, out of the house and on their way to productive lives of their own. both have great girlfriends, both of which will be our daughter-in-laws (one next October!).

Honestly I am the one with cold feet here. I am born and raised in New England. Grew up in MA and am the family "rebel", I moved a whole hour away to NH! My wife on the other hand is an air force brat and has lived all over the world, moving is nothing to her!

As she says, they make airplanes for us to visit our future grandchildren!

this is making me feel better and better, now to follow through on the next steps, real estate search, we will "clear" a bit over $300K selling our house here, so have that to play with for house out there!

Absolutely LOVE the idea of the hunting out there!

Live free or Wyoming eh?

I have spent much time in Buffalo and Sheridan. Love the area.

The little town of Story between Buffalo and Sheridan is worth looking into.

Please remember one thing, don't bring any city values with you.
Don't say this is how we used to do it back home etc....

Don't be in a hurry. If you want work done during hunting/fishing/snowmobiling season etc... be patient.

Good luck and I expect as an outdoors-man and campfire member you will love it and fit in.

No one has mentioned the wind.

Bob - I know almost nothing about Wyoming except having hunted there twice during the winter. It can be cold!

However, I do understand climate and I can get the weather lowdown for you:

Sheridan, Wyoming, gets 15 inches of rain per year. The US average is 37. The number of days with any measurable precipitation is 104.

On average, there are 208 sunny days per year in Sheridan, Wyoming. Average annual snowfall is 28 inches.

The July average high is around 86 degrees. The January average low is 9. (note: that's an AVERAGE. There will be much colder days, and much warmer)

Overall, temperatures aren't that much different than most areas in New Hampshire, except it will be a lot less humid and you'll get a lot less snow (28 inches vs 61 inches in NH).

Less humidity makes hot temps more bearable and means you'll have cool nights even during the hottest times of the summer, while east coast summer nights can be miserably warm and humid.

I can only speak as a frequent visitor not as a resident. The opportunity to have desirable employment in one of the finest small cities in the USA should be seen as a godsend. You will be emerging yourself into a vastly different, and to me, far more enlightened culture than that of the east.

You will also extend to your future grandkids the opportunity to experience a totally different world. Big country expands ones mental and spiritual horizons. The level of civility of true western towns always surprises and soothes me. Good luck, grab that ring.


mike r

...But it's a dry wind..



If I were in your shoes I'd jump on it ASAP. Like WYoColoCowboy said, It's WYOMING!

Just move, and do it now!

It will take a year or two of adjustment. But then you will wonder how on earth you survived back east for so long. You will have nostalgia but little pain.

As for the wind, when picking a house try to see it in the afternoon when winds are strongest. You may be lucky and find a house that is sheltered from the prevailing winds because of the surrounding landscape (but that would be a long shot).

Best of luck!

I made the move this year and quite enjoy it, still learning where to hunt and the laws, but otherwise....all is good. The wind is something to get used to but not bad! The weather has been mild and this will be my first winter here! Housing costs are the real shocker at least in my area and I noticed food is a little more expensive but not crazy. Otherwise that is my only small complaint!

Bob,

In addition to the hunting in that region, you are very close to SD, ND and MT for great upland bird hunting and waterfowl. I am sure there are parts of Wyoming that are great for upland and waterfowl as well, I am just not aware of them.

Best of luck in your decision.
Dan

I'm in Utah and have been for over 30 years now. All I can do is echo what others have said: it's a golden opportunity not to be skipped.

Not much wind up in Sheridan. It is not Laramie, Rawlins or Cheyenne or Cheyenne. About half the speed of the places that really have wind.

I have hunted the beautiful Bighorns and traveled the area. I cannot tell you much specifically about the towns but I love the area. It's an area I've always thought of as a great place to live.

If you're a "townie" they have some of the neatest old houses in the hills above.

edit: in Sheridan, that is.

I know that I really like Sheridan, when I went through there. Good move. Don't kid yourself, there is good duck hunting in Wyoming.

Weather is COLD, hunting is GREAT.

My brother-in-law moved to Gillette 2 years ago and absolutely loves it.

Enjoy your new home.

I have visited and would move in a heartbeat. Just learn how to spell Sheridan (no e) before you have your address stamps made up.

And nobody has mentioned the fact that there are quite a few mooses up in the Bighorns. Some pretty good fishing up there, too.

I spent a couple of summers building highways near Sheridan and really liked the country. This was about ten years ago but there were a lot of antelope and mule deer in the area then.

Sorry to bounce this back to the top, the opportunity has gone, and is back. We are looking at real estate options and there are a many lots available, but I am having trouble finding information on building costs.

Lots say electric/sewer/water to the street.

any estimates or knowledge of what construction on a lot would run? Say a average 3 br house?

House prices themselves are all over the map, hard to tell why, but it seems a simple move 1 mile outside downtown Buffalo shoots the price up.

Just north of Sheridan, across the Montana state line is a reservoir, Tongue River reservoir, the crappie fishing is amazing.

if the job was gone and now available again, I'd want to know why first....

I'd recommend finding out why the other person left it...

Leave the family back in NH if you have to jump on it.. get out there... road test the job and job security with it... and that will also give you time to check out the area first hand.. real estate prices etc...

When I moved to Oregon back in 1995, I came out to check out the area that I'd be living in, why there was an opening with the company in the town I live in now...

My spouse came out in February after I'd found a place to live etc... decent housing wasn't easy to find... dumps were....

Housing prices in the west and strong variations has a lot to do with Transient Get out of California Crowd.... If they find it popular all of sudden real estate prices rocket sky high...

Local real estate people don't want to sell to some who hasn't come from California... they can't get the big bucks out of ya, like they can California people who think everything is cheap... compared to where they came from....

That scenario really doesn't matter where you look in the western US....

Good website for researching any US cities:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Sheridan-Wyoming.html

I have lived in Wyoming all my life, minus my AF years. I live in Lander, if I didn't I would live in Sheridan. Grab it, don't look back.

Sendero_man and wyoming260 live in Buffalo, and so does wyowinchester. Cinch lives out there too.

I'd PM them for info on Buffalo and even Sheridan.

Black Tooth brewery in Sheridan makes great beer....

I have been out of work since may. Now I am looking at Sheridan. I would jump on it before someone else does. I am into computer and electronic repair.

I haven't lived there but love to visit the area and have hunted east of Buffalo for several years. If I could make a decent living there I would do it in a minute. 2 of my favorite towns.
Really nice people in my opinion as well, I always feel welcome.

It's 40 below zero this week, with 30mph winds.

You better stay in NH.

One of the best moves I made was moving from Houston to Calgary early January 2005 arriving at 25 below. Piss on the weather unless you plan to die there.

I live about 125 miles north of Sheridan. Work in the Sheridan - Buff area a few times a year.

As to wind, my take is Buffalo is a bit worse for wind. Yes winter weather can be a bit harsh, but like many places out here, weather moves in and a few days later it's gone. May be cold as heck, but clear and bright. I can live with that compared to the dreary gray that sets in for weeks in the midwest and east.

As to prices, yes if you get out of town and buy something with a little land, the prices are going to skyrocket. There are some nice towns north of Sheridan (Ranchester, Dayton etc.) that could be options for housing.

Were I you, I would get my bum out here, look around in person and take the job. Things will work out. Not often an opportunity to relocate to an area like that and have a good job available.

Feel free to PM if you have questions. I am in Montana but have some connections down in the Sheridan-Buff area including some very close friends that live in Buff that would be good resources.

Bob H, these folks are providing some excellent/accurate insights and what seems to be some good advice as well. I have been up there quite a bit and like the area a lot - and know a gal that grew up in Buffalo and lived there for a long time. A phone call may be possible if you are interested.

I understand the family/cultural/homeland pull - grew up in the East and know New England very well - had an extended visit last Spring. But, jumped to the SW soon after we married and for 55 years have never looked back. For us, the sense of space, freedom, opportunity and natural beauty - all great.

The most expensive houses I looked at when we were moving out of Denver 17 years ago were in the out of town (rural) areas from Buffalo to Dayton along the Big Horns. It is a great place to consider and if the job is one you are interested in.

Lots of public land hunting in the Big Horns.

It can be brutal in the winter.

Buy your license plates before you move to your house so the neighbors don't know where you came from. (This advice was given to me by a Wyoming game warden) Wyoming folks are not always friendly to out of state folks who move there.

The reason rural housing is more expensive than living in Sheridan is it is more desirable. Check prices in Ranchester and Dayton to get a perspective on how expensive it an be.

Good luck with this if you decide to do it.

I lived most of my life in Wyoming and this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard about Wyoming. Folks are very welcoming. Just don't buy 20 acres and pretend to a be a rancher and you'll get along fine. Buffalo area can be very expensive - up through Story and to Sheridan. Dayton is a lot less coin and it's closer to the mountains. The websites aren't going to help you out. You're going to need to get the lay of the land and go out there.

Horsepucky.

It isn't horsepucky. It was the first thing he said when he saw my Colorado plates. His point was there was a lot of resentment about out of state people coming into the area and fishing and hunting on public land. You may not like what he said, I didn't, but it is what he said.

You "live" in NH? The answer is "go".

They aren't going to figure out where your from? Horsepucky.

If you have a job offer that won't evaporate in 5 years, I'd jump on it big time.

The other thing is, you might want to seriously consider living IN TOWN where the streets get plowed. Out of town, you get to plow yourself out. Pavement is your friend, gumbo is not. NH is not Wyoming. NH would be part of a county in Wyoming. The distances are epic compared to what you have lived with your whole life, and so are the winters.
The country is right there, Sheridan is next door to the boondocks, no more than five minutes.
I'd look for a solid house, fairly modern, IN TOWN. Insulation definitely a factor. Get yourself stable, give yourself a couple of years to settle into things, and only then, if you crave moving out of town, should you. Then you can buy a place at a good price from some Easterner transplant that is sick and tired of plowing out all the time.

Any State that voted 71% for Trump/Pence must have a lot of good things going on.

I am a retired Wyoming Realtor. This is sound advice. Very sound.

I don't doubt for a minute he said that, Wyoming is no stranger to idiots.

What he said IS horsepucky. We welcome newcomers that buy into the Wyoming lifestyle and culture.

What gets us ticked off is the folks from California or wherever who come out here to get away from where they lived, then immediately start trying to change Wyoming into the place they just came from. "That's not the way we did it in California" is certain to get you the cold shoulder from the natives. "You would never get away with that in California" is one of the reasons we live in Wyoming. They bring their dopesmoking, Prius-driving, artsy-snooty lifestyle, their bratass kids with the crotch of their britches hanging down around their knees, their endless complaining about how we do things out here and wonder why we are not more welcoming to them.

The OP should grab the job and move on out, he can change his license plate at his leisure.

Be great hunting

Aaaah Greenie. That's different. I had to pay extra to not have green license plates here in Colorado. Folks in Wyoming get a little tired of seeing green license plates at their favorite fishing and hunting spots. Nothing to do with moving to Wyoming. I put a steamboat syticler and Wyoming license plate holders on my truck and that cancels out the Colorado plates.

There used to be signs in Bars and Restaurants,that read, We Don't give a fuack how you did it back home. Buffalo and Sheridan are nice towns with nice people.

Don't have much info to help you make your decision other than to say I wish it was me:) Both Sheridan and Buffalo are on my short list of cities to relocate to. But I'm still 2-3 years from making the move. Have been in those 2 towns regularly for the past 9 years, everyone has been great - even though I have Oregon plates on my rig which is only slightly better than California but not much.

To me, Sheridan is about perfect, seems to have everything you could need, great antelope hunting not far away and mule deer and white tails. Whats not to like?? And I might be the only person alive that actually kind of likes the wind so its perfect:)

I have no opinion on the housing market, jobs, or the local climate. I'm only there a few weeks out of the year.

As to people and their attitudes about out of state folk, I can comment. Have spent a fair bit of time in and around the Bighorns, and enough time in Buffalo to gain an opinion.

If you move there, be a neighbor. Whether you're nearest neighbor is 50 yards away or 2 miles, be a neighbor and you'll do OK.

Go...Go Now and don't look back.
Green with envy...