Free State Wyoming Forum
Prospective Free State Wyoming (FSW) Members and Interested Parties => Prospective Free State Wyoming (FSW) Members and Interested Parties => Topic started by: Scots on October 28, 2009, 10:49:31 PM
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Hello,
May we introduce ourselves, I'm Ed with Mary and six children ranging from 4-19. We have always wanted to live out west. Now that I find myself recently unemployed (7x in 15yrs) and nowhere to go in SW Michigan (15% unemployment in the state), we are seriously considering it. After researching different states, we find ourselves looking to Wyoming.
I have been in the corporate computer field for 28 years, from repairing to system analyst, help desk to security. I also have past experience in drafting, marketing, advertising, graphic art and being a jack of all trades and am always hard working and enjoy learning. My wife is a stay-at-home mom who home schools our children. Our oldest is a writer who is getting ready to try and publish her first book.
We are looking at the northeastern corner, in particular the Crook, Weston area based on what we’ve read on your forum and other sites. We are also interested in the Free State idea and would like to be part of it. Have you reached your goal of 300 yet? If not, we’d like to add 8 people to the count.
Are there any computer jobs in the smaller areas? We would prefer not living too close to any large town. We’d also like to own 10 to 20 acres.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!!
By the way, we’ve been “lurking” for the last few days on your forum and have enjoyed it.
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Welcome!
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Home school? Check! Want to live out west? Check! 8 people? :o The more the merrier!
Crook and Weston counties are beautiful, I scoped them out last summer. Great folks too, especially the Weston Co. Sheriff's Dept. (always a huge plus). Sorry I can't help much otherwise, I'm also in the "looking" stage. Welcome! ~W~
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Welcome aboard.
Ed, start looking throught the online newspapers in WY, which will lead to Yahoo jobs and Career Builder for starters. If you have any kind of a four year degree or a marketable trade, you'll be a leg up in getting to WY. I would guess that with nearly every business using computers these days and the OS's and Ap's getting more and more complex >:(, you should be able to ply your trade anywhere. It's just getting volume that will be tricky.
Crook county is fairly small population wise at ~8000. Ranches, a sawmill and some small support businesses. Sundance is not even the size of an unnamed bedroom community near large population centers in the Midwest and my impression is that folks there like it that way.(so do I) Nearest city of size would be Rapid City, SD at ~60,000.
If you need city populations to find a job or volume for a business, Casper, Cheyenne and Laramie would be considerations. Gillette, in Campbell county is decently sized, especially with the energy boom (although it's slowed) and may support someone going into business for themselves in computer support? Think outside the box, get creative...
I'm familiar with the Detroit area, having done business there off and on since the late 70's. I've been through the ups and downs, but this downstroke is by far wider and deeper. And nothing that our illustrious gubmint is doing is going to fix that. I think you'll agree, having folks line up at Cobo for 'Obama money' ain't gonna get it, unless you're buying votes. ::) I suspect it'll be a good 10yrs for Detroit to recover to pre-recession emploment, -if it can. So, getting out certainly seems like a wise move. The self reliant and down to earth attitudes you'll find in WY are in stark contrast to the entitlement and haughty attitudes often encountered in the Detroit area.
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Welcome.............Wyoming is a place where you need multi vocations and avocations to offer. I believe you'll find something here with your background................Get the hell out of Michigan. Many here have that I know.
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Welcome indeed! Please plan to visit as soon as possible. My home is always open to folks who are looking for their own part of Wyoming. I'll be glad to show you our sweet little town of Newcastle. Here is a sneak photo preview.
http://thepriceofliberty.org/FSW/07/03/Newcastle-photos.htm (http://thepriceofliberty.org/FSW/07/03/Newcastle-photos.htm)
Let us know how we can help you!
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Hi Ed:
Good plan you 've got there. Since you have experience in advertising, Basin Radio http://www.basinsradio.com/basin is looking for an advertising manager in Sheridan. Sheridan is more North than Northeast, but it's close. I listen to one of their stations (1270 talk radio) all day and they've been asking for management experience but are willing to consider someone with advertising experience that wants to move up. So you might want to give them a look.
We came from Salt Lake to Wyoming eleven years ago, and we took the first livable wage job we were offered (in Casper) and then worked a few years finding the job in the location we wanted. Although I could live in Sheridan as easy as in the Gillette area (we're 20 miles East of Gillette in Rozet). Actually I have a few friends over in Sheridan and it's only 80 miles, so we run over there when we don't want to go to Rapid or Casper for something we can't get in Gillette.
Just a thought.
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Welcome scots. We're getting a real dose of "global warming" right now so you may want to bring your skis. ;D
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Welcome from a homeschooling family with six children aging 4-19 also. We live 25 miles outside of Casper in a small rural town of 450 people.
My husband works for a uranium mine and they are occassionally hiring. Not sure from your post what kind of work you are looking for.
Homeschooling is awesome here there are a large network of homeschoolers.
If you have specific questions just PM me.
Consider making Wyoming your new home. We moved here 3+ years ago and it was the best decision we ever made.
Brandy ~W~
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Hello to Ed and Mary and your whole family!
Welcome to the forum.
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Hi Everyone,
Thank you so much for the warm welcome and the info! So nice to hear from fellow homeschoolers also!
Ed’s top choice for a job would be something in the computer field, as it has been some years since he has done some of the other things he mentioned. But he is also open to other possibilities. If he has to take something to just get us over there, that is fine with us.
We are very anxious to come and visit. We are beginning to make plans and to take you up on your offer of hospitality, weather permitting.
Thank you, Mama Liberty for the pictures! We all enjoyed seeing them. Maybe we’ll be able to meet soon.
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I know two families who home school. Their kids are the brightest I've seen. It's real interesting to see the kids come out and "hang" with the adults instead of instantly running to their rooms.
Be aware that lots of people around here don't use email or the Internet. Many jobs are only posted locally in the paper or on a cork board. I know someone on the forum that had tried to contact the mill in Hulett via email and had no success, but when he came out in person and had an interview with the boss everything went really great.
Hope to see you folks if you head out for a visit.
Mac (Devil's Tower)
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Some IT places in Gillette to check out: K2 Technologies (http://www.k2technologies.net/), Collins Communications (http://www.collinscom.net/), Visionary (http://www.vcn.com/) ...
Midcontinent (http://www.midcocomm.com/) has a Rapid City location, as does Knology (http://www.prairiewave.com/) (and I think they might have a Spearfish office too) ...
can you market your services on a remote basis?
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Howdy Scots !
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Not to pour water on your float... but Wyoming is experiencing a jump in unemployment just like the rest of this once-great nation.
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As of today... Wyoming has a 7.4 unemployment rate... up from the 6.8 percent rate a month earlier. That's the highest rate of unemployment in over 20 years.
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The Wyoming National Guard has lots of vacancies for positions in Kuwait, Iraq and AfganVietNamistan, but otherwise... not much going on.
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I'd rather be dirt-poor, working job to job, living in an RV in Wyoming than material rich anywhere else...in fact that's exactly what we did.
Now, because we were willing to do that instead of waiting for things to "be perfect", we are better off financially, familially and locationally...
BTW who pissed in your corn flakes Hank? If you want to cash in your Wyo chips, I'm sure thousands of people on either coast are looking to sell property...for pennies on the FRN.
MANUMIT
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Manumit and I are on the same page here: A person can get by here and have a better future, than anywhere else in this country.
There is always folks who piss in the corn flakes.
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Not to pour water on your float... but Wyoming is experiencing a jump in unemployment just like the rest of this once-great nation.
.
As of today... Wyoming has a 7.4 unemployment rate... up from the 6.8 percent rate a month earlier. That's the highest rate of unemployment in over 20 years.
.
The Wyoming National Guard has lots of vacancies for positions in Kuwait, Iraq and AfganVietNamistan, but otherwise... not much going on.
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HardwareHank;
Look very very closely at the topic headings of what you are posting on!
We CAN NOT tolerate further posts of this nature in the Welcome threads.
YOUR posts are counter to the PURPOSE of This Forum and Org.
Rich
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Well... we do want people to come here with their eyes open.
I suppose it's a matter of balance.
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Paul, you are so smooth!
Yes, I'd rather know everything that anyone can tell us. I don't think there's much you can say to get us to NOT become a Wyomingite. (is that the term?)
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Jared, Thanks for the info on IT places. I checked them out. Yes, I can do remote services.
We're looking at any and all options. If I can't find a job, we are willing to strike out on our own. As far as where we'd like to be, we seem to be leaning toward the northeast corner.
Thanks to all for any information you'd like to give us. We know that there is no perfect place, but Wyoming seems to fit our idea of what we're looking for. We too have been wrestling with making a decision on whether to stay where we are or make the big move. It's hard too when you have a big family to consider and how it will impact them, but it's getting easier every day. We have a nice little property out in the country and family and friends that would be hard to leave, but we want to do what is best for our own family.