Living in Laramie

What's Laramie like? Good place to live?

Looking at housing, are there cool neighborhoods with older houses?

There's a pretty good sized neighborhood northeast of the UW campus that has newer homes, but the vast majority of houses outside of that were built pre-1970, with a lot from the turn of the century.

I loved Laramie, but couldn't move forward with my career living there. I hope to go back someday. Its not a thriving cultural center, and Wyoming can be absolutely infuriating sometimes (Laramie, for instance, voted down continued funding of the only public bus system in the state, and is selling one of their major water sources for development), but its vibrant and friendly all the same.

Crime is very low, although I don't have hard numbers on that, since the city and the University don't go out of their way to publish the information. In the summer, it is wonderful, with virtually no college kids around, perfect weather, and a ton of variety in what you can do after work. Central Vedauwoo can get crowded, and certain out-of-the-way crags are getting that way too, so hunt for the classics in the spring and fall, and get lost during the summer seeking out new stuff.

The winters are brutal, however. Not simply because of the cold, but because of the wind, and I-80's tendency to close. There will be times when grocery stores won't be able to get more food, and certainly times when your best laid plans to hit Indian Creek, or even the local ski area (which is ludicrously cheap, as these things go) go right out the window.

Honestly, the only thing Laramie is lacking is a good winter crag (although Poudre Canyon works) and an ice-climbing area that isn't 3 hours away.

My sort of uninformed opinion as an out-of-state visitor is that it's a nice mid-size college town with excellent cragging just minutes away and world class alpine rock that's close enough to hit every weekend. I'd highly recommend it. I've also never been there in the winter.

Decades ago, my dogs killed a calf there, and I had to skeedaddle. I haven't been back, but I'd like to. It seemed pretty cool, except for the rancher.

Pat, everything brian said and a warning. It can become the small town trap. Dating your friends ex, your teenage daughter is knocked up, and your wife has an ass the size of an oil rig.

It's actually far better than any other wyoming town but it still is a wyoming town.

Proceed with caution.

theyalwayscomeback wrote:Pat, everything brian said and a warning. It can become the small town trap. Dating your friends ex, your teenage daughter is knocked up, and your wife has an ass the size of an oil rig. It's actually far better than any other wyoming town but it still is a wyoming town. Proceed with caution.

That's about the size of it. You will meet people who just barely stay afloat who are convinced that life cannot possibly get any better, and therefore have quit trying. Wyoming has a pretty deep potential well, so if you're an educator, prepare to drink a lot, because few have the energy to escape unaided. I've seen a lot of very smart people either go to work in the oil/gas fields, or get involved in drugs/alcohol, just because they don't see what's available to them outside of Wyoming. Meanwhile, the legislators can't figure out why college educated kids leave in droves.

Don't get me wrong, I love it there, but as I said, Wyoming can be infuriating.