Medical Field Availability in Wyoming

[GetMeOut]

I am a Nationally Registered Radiologic Technologist (X-Ray Technologist), but have specialized in MRI at one of the most pretigious facilities in New York. I looked and should have no trouble obtaing a Wyoming license to practice.

My wife is a laboratory manager for a major national laboratory company.

Now, I am not trying to sound like an arrogant New Yorker, so please forgive me.Just trying to lay the groundwork.

What are the job prospects for us in Wyoming?

[Danl]

Probably great....  You may have to locate in one of these locales to make it work to your best financial advantage...:

Cheyenne
Laramie
Casper
Gillette
Cody
Rawlins
Rock Springs

Not necessarily in any order of advantage....  The size of the town could make a difference...

You could live in Wyoming and fairly easily work by commuting to:

From South East Wyoming: Any town down to Fort Collins neighborhood.

From North East Wyoming: Any town over to Rapid City, South Dakota

From North Central Wyoming: Up to Billings

South West over to Salt Lake possibly.

That could get you the population size that you need for sure...........

Others will surely have some thoughts......

Regards, Danl

[nurseJT]

Danl,

Thanks for posting that info re: commuting to health care facilities.
That information gives me additional directions to go with my job search.
I have sent inquiries to find out what I need to exchange my CA registered nurse license for a WY license.

I am still in the looking for the best Wyoming place for me stage of planning.
I have lived on a once a month paycheck for 20 years.
Part of my plan to live frugally is to settle in northern WY and make one shopping trips to MT to avoid sales tax.

I see you are from Illinois. Where did you live there?
I spent many of my childhood years there, in what used to be a little town about halfway between Rockford and Chicago.
We moved there when there were more cows than people in the county.
Now it is concrete all the way to Lake Michigan.
My last 7 years there I lived downstate in Urbana.
Odd now to reflect back on the fact that CA had much better (from liberty viewpoint) gun laws than IL - one of the reasons I moved from IL.

Take care,
JT

[MamaLiberty]

Given the price of gas - and the value of my time besides, I've not once seen any advantage at all in even considering a trip to Montana to shop. The sales tax here is about 4% and does not include food. It would cost a lot more to drive to Montana, even if I only shopped once a year.

If your whole purpose is to avoid sales tax, then barter or private trade would be much more useful. Just my 2 cents worth...

[HardwareHank]

Work in Billings for top salary and buy your property in NW Wyoming. You can live like a King among the plebians.
.

[HardwareHank]

Given the price of gas - and the value of my time besides, I've not once seen any advantage at all in even considering a trip to Montana to shop. The sales tax here is about 4% and does not include food. It would cost a lot more to drive to Montana, even if I only shopped once a year.

If your whole purpose is to avoid sales tax, then barter or private trade would be much more useful. Just my 2 cents worth...

I disagree...

I get great pleasure... shopping in Montana and denying the sales tax thieves in Wyoming their pound of flesh.

[nurseJT]

I appreciate that info, MamaLiberty.
Sales tax here is pushing 8%, and applies to just about everything except groceries.
The ability to avoid parting with that much income would be worth a few inconveniences, and minor expenses.
Four percent, however, is a different matter and worthy of lesser effort to avoid.
Still have a LOT to learn about Wyoming - and a LOT of Kalifornia nonsense to eliminate from my world view. 

Every question answered leads to more questions - a good thing, I think...
Time to revise the plan, again.
First plan involved settling in Worland or north of there, in part because I spent a short time there and found nothing to dislike.
Sounds like the same would hold true just about anywhere outside of the cities.
Don't really have my heart set on any particular site in Wyoming.
The best scenario for me would be to land a school nurse job in a rural area and stay there.
Second best would be a nursing job in a clinic or hospital in Wyoming.

I am intrigued by the idea of commuting into one of the surrounding states, but do not know the roads and conditions.
What would be the expected travel time between those areas Danl mentioned above (Rapid City, Billings, Fort Collins)?
Would that be feasible for daily commuting?
Anyone know or heard of anybody doing so already?

Take care,
JT

[Prairie Fire]

JT-with-much-to-learn:  Keep learning.  The county I'm at has three school districts and many spread-out schools.  One or another of the three, may have an upcoming opening for next year.  Sheridan County.
 
I would recommend that you not put too much faith in the idea of commuting from this state, to a place that has income tax.  Besides that thing, there is the issue of those bad weather days, which do occur even in times of global warming.  As you scare yourself in the dark (with basically no other traffic), you will regret that choice a few times per year as you drive the commute.
 
This might be just me:  But the idea of your coming to Wyoming, might have within it the germ of getting rid of commute drives and placing yourself close to your work.  Like most people here do.

There is plenty of nurse work within this state.  If you have not checked out the two VA hospitals here, you might.  On the north end, the Sheridan VAMC needs RNs.

[marciab]

I agree with Prairie Fire about commuting to work.  Wyoming does not have a lot of traffic, but plenty of deer and antelope on  the roads to watch for.  Prairie Fire is correct about the weather and road conditions also (it is quite scary to see a semi blown off the road in front of you).  As far as shopping, I live in Thermopolis and it is a 3 hr. drive to Billings and 2 hrs. to Casper.  There are also Walmarts throught the state.  Two weeks ago I80 was closed for a while.  Last March, there was no way out of Thermop for a few days because of weather conditions.  It is wise to work close to where you live.  Lots of openings for RN's.  Just look up Wyoming Jobs and Wyoming at Work.

[nurseJT]

marciab & Prairie Fire- I appreciate the advice. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

re: commuting
I spent my fair share of time driving mountain roads (in the Sierras, 5 - 8 thousand foot level) in all types of weather traveling between reservations  while working as a public health nurse for Indian Health Services. I had a suspicion that commuting might be a tad more complicated than it seemed to be at first blush. With 12 hour shifts, sometimes it makes sense to alternante a few days in a row at home and where the job is. Works for some friends of mine, but I have nobody to care for the dogs while I am gone.
The idea of living in a state with no income tax and shopping where there is no sales tax is appealing.
I needed to get information from folks there to find out if the idea is practical.
Sounds like working close to home is the best plan.
From where I live now, it is half an hour to the nearest grocery store.
I've kind of gotten used to the idea of driving everywhere, but work is also only half an hour away.

Take care,
JT

[Scots]

This discussion has been great since we are also planning to make a move.

A site to look at in regards to tax(sale or otherwise): http://retirementliving.com/

[JHShepard]

I live in Jackson Hole Wyoming, home of St. Johns medical center.  It is a pretty progressive and high-tech facility with plenty of jobs available.  Why?  The cost of living here is crazy-expensive!  $450k will only get you into a 3/2 condo ... in Nov 2009 market!  Great hospital though!

If you narrow your search to include Jackson... I am here to answer any questions!