Living & Nursing in Wyoming

Wide open country, high plains, majestic mountains, “rush minutes” in place of “rush hours,” low crime, low cost of living…it just goes on and on. We’re talking about reasons to locate your nursing practice in Wyoming.

Dominated on one side by the rangelands and the mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountain West, on the other by the high altitude prairie known as the High Plains, and split down the middle by the Continental Divide, Wyoming is the “Real West.” If you like riding, roping, sightseeing, camping, hiking, climbing, hunting, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, skating, or if you just like the people who do those things—You’ve found your new home!

Wyoming offers some of the most dramatic landscapes in America. Where else can you find the majesty of landmarks like the Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Fossil Butte National Monument and the Continental Divide in such close proximity? The Grand Tetons are some of the most rugged and beautiful mountains in America; you’ve seen pictures, heard and read about the magnificence of Yellowstone all of your life. Devils Tower was made even more famous when it was featured prominently in the classic UFO movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The Continental Divide determines whether rain and snowmelt goes to the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans by which side of the divide it falls upon. Those are some prominent features any way you look at it.

Wyoming, by physical size, is the tenth largest U.S. state and is the least populated of the states. (Ahh! Elbow room!) Summers in Wyoming range between 85 and 95 degrees in most areas of the state. In the mountains, the averages drop quickly the higher you go. Summer nights generally cool down rapidly to temperatures of 50 to 60 degrees. January temps generally run between 10 and 32 degrees-again depending upon your elevation-all in all, it’s pretty much perfect if you like a little variety! Livability ranks right up there with the laid back lifestyle, wide open spaces and Western hospitality.

There are no huge metropolises, but there are great places to live in Wyoming. Choose where you want to live by the type of activities you like in your spare time. That’s the great thing about nursing-you can, and will, find a job most any place you choose to live. Located at the north end of the Front Range, Cheyenne is Wyoming’s capitol and its metropolis, with a population of around 53,000. That’s an increase of roughly six percent since 2000, so the state capitol is growing at a fair rate.

Obviously named after the Cheyenne Indian People who occupied the land first, Cheyenne hosts many western frontier and cowboy rodeo type events along with wine and Celtic festivals just for the sake of variety. A mix of legislators, lawyers and cowboys (and girls!) makes Cheyenne an interesting city indeed. It offers the growth of neighboring Colorado but with a little slower pace. Clean air, little traffic, relatively low crime, affordable housing, low taxes and cost of living, good schools, recreational and cultural activities, and quality healthcare make Cheyenne a great community in which to live. Actually, much of the preceding list can be used to describe all of Wyoming.

Jackson Hole is a great place to be if you like winter sports. In the northwest part of Wyoming, encompassed on all sides by mountain barriers, the “Hole” or valley is 48 miles long and six to eight miles wide. With a population of around 8,700, it’s only a few miles west of the Continental Divide, so you’ll see mountain streams converge rapidly toward it from the surrounding highlands. Ringed with magnificent mountain ranges, it’s ideal for skiing with several major ski resorts based there. Don’t ski? Sightseeing and wildlife watching just doesn’t get much better than this.

Casper bills itself as Wyoming’s adventure capital. With a population of 49,644, you wouldn’t expect so much fantastic outdoor opportunities to be so close by—but they are! Nordic and Alpine style skiing at the Casper Nordic Center and Hogadon Downhill Ski Area, snowmobiling and camping on Casper mountain, unlimited water sport and sailing opportunities on either Alcova or Pathfinder Reservoirs, you can even kayak through downtown on a whitewater course! But wait…there’s more! Big game hunting, biking, hiking, rock climbing at Fremont Canyon and world class fly fishing in the North Platte River. It’s called home by two professional sports teams-the Casper Rockies Pioneer League Baseball team and the Wyoming Cavalry National Indoor Football League Franchise. Casper also offers over 20 museums, an award-winning symphony orchestra and numerous community theatre groups.

Cody, in the northwest part of the state, is the “Preferred Gateway to Yellowstone.” Located just 50 miles from the East entrance, it was founded as a hospitality center and named after “Buffalo Bill” Cody. With a population of 8,835, Cody has fine restaurants, art galleries and unique shopping, as well as three scenic byways and all the outdoor activities you could ask for!

Gillette, in northeast Wyoming, began as a railroad terminal in 1891 and has become a commercial center for the agriculture and mining industries located nearby. With a population of 22,865, it’s become known as the “Energy Capital of the World” due to the clean-burning, low sulfur coal mined there.

In the southwest part of the state, Green River, with a population near 12,000, is also a mining town. Trona is the ore from which soda ash is derived. Green River‘s soda plants produce two-thirds of the world’s supply of soda ash. Don’t know what soda ash is? Neither did we, but it’s used in the production of glass products, detergents and baking soda. The namesake Green River has carved fantastic multi-colored buttes providing a truly beautiful setting for this town. That’s the great thing about nursing - you can, and will, find a job most any place you choose to live.

That’s an all-too-brief, four corners sketch of the beautiful state of Wyoming. It’s a great place to call home and a great place to work with excellent hospitals like Banner

Health, United Medical Center, Wyoming State Hospital, Platte County Memorial and a host of other great ones as well, no matter where you choose to settle.

Take an evening and explore Wyoming on your computer. Visit www.wyomingtourism.org to start. Chances are pretty good you’re going to like what you find.