All I'm saying bro, is BE CAREFUL, and don't make the mistake of thinking people in Wyoming are like people in the big city, minding their business, and largely benevolent leave me alone and I'll leave you alone folks. Here, not only do they not look away, but they will pry into your business, but not to help.
Howdy all!
Although I had an absolutely horrible situation in the last town that I lived in in WY, I generally found people to be the same, more or less, everywhere I have lived. However, you can be the most conservative person in the world, but in Wyoming, you are still a damned "furriner." In all fairness, look at what has happened to the surrounding states with all the newcomers. Heck, look at Gillette Wyoming. Your typical Wyomingite does not want
anything to change. They think they have an infinite supply of coal, oil, gas, and land. They look at Colorado, even the Bakken in NoDak/Montana, and say "hell no."
DF and I each took a chance and left the East coast. Leaving the Northeast was the BEST decision I ever made. A lot of stuff got busted up in my life during the past couple of years, but I am still better off. I left WY for a "real job", not a $9.50/hour job in a c-store in a gas station. The "real", non-mining jobs in Wyoming are already awarded before the job is posted. They just post the jobs to pretend there is actually an interview process going on. The good-old-boy and girl network takes care of placing the network's sons and daughters in those jobs. It is what it is.
So, here in MT I have to pay state income tax, but I save a little by not paying sales tax (but I really don't buy much anymore...) I have trail heads that will lead me to pristine, glacial lakes 15 minutes from my home. (I have become a bit of a hiker during the past year.) I usually have a choice of (3) bars with great live music Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. My small town has a couple of decent breweries. Now my town is unique because we have 4 tourist seasons (National Parks-Summer, Fishing-Spring, Hunting-Fall, and Winter-Skiing.) There are (3) companies in my county that each employ over 150 people: Companies that pay a fair wage, provide good benefits, and don't make you piss in a cup on demand. Wyoming has NOTHING like this town. People tend to get along and mind their own business. Now there are liberals here, but what blows my mind is they hunt and own guns. The women in Montana are beautiful, I might add
Sure the world may end any day now, but I am having fun while the sun is still shining. I am surely part of a community, which I have no doubt, will unite and defend itself should it ever become necessary. But I no longer dwell on the political disasters taking place in the cities and on the coasts. Right now that all seems very far away. I might have a healthy case of denial, but I refuse to exhaust myself with outrage anymore.
I met awesome people in Wyoming, but they are in a different place in life than guys like DF and myself. We, being a bit younger, still have to build our nestegg. We did not come to WY with one already. And the months I spent looking for work and burning through what little reserves I had set me back farther. In WY you have to be ex-military to get a regular job. If you don't have an honorable discharge, or are not in reserves, you are not going to get a job. (And you are still getting in line behind the important townies' and ranchers' sons and daughters.) Or you need to be a Dr, social worker, nurse, physical therapist, or dentist.
