Why I moved from where I'd lived for 20 years

[SFM in KY]

Found a photo of the ranch that sold about two years before I sold and left Big Horn, WY ... the 2 lane paved road on the extreme right of this photo is the road that went from Sheridan, WY to the place I lived near Big Horn, WY ... just a few miles from the foothills of the mountains in the background.

Ranch was the Powderhorn, a ranch that had been there for at least two generations I know of and was sold to developers. In spite of opposition from all of the 'locals' in the area, it was subdivided and high-dollar homes built and the huge, creek-bottom alfalfa fields were 'landscaped' into an "International level golf course". The whole summer the community was fighting it, the developer had heavy equipment out in the fields busy tearing it up, so you knew the 'fix' was in.

I cursed every time I went past it ... and had sold out and moved back to MT before the houses started going up.

[SFM in KY]

Have no idea why the photo didn't post. Will try again.

[Molly Mckee]

It's really sad to see the ranches turned into golf courses and subdivisions. Developers have done the same thing all over here, north ID. and MT as well. Then the people with city mindsets move in and want all the things they had at home, can't find good jobs, and a lot of them move on to the new "In" place and the damage they caused can't be fixed.

[MOgal]

It's not just in the West. A beautiful farm along the US 54 bypass around Fulton MO was sold and now it's a public golf course with homes around the edges. At one time it was THE place to live until a woman was found murdered in her home and that crime has never been solved.

[oldmania]

I also mourn the loss of family farms. But, my family owns about 10 acres of what once was a family farm, and this is now my home. Locals bemoan the subdivision of these properties, but are quite willing to take your money for it. I have discussed this with many of them. You can keep your land, or accept money for it. You can't do both.

[fatrat]

Yes it's that way everywhere. People want bigger houses, newer houses, bigger garages, more golf courses, more malls, more stuff, more stuff and more stuff and more stuff to fill their bigger, newer houses. People just want, want, want bigger and more and it never stops. I'm so sick of the race for bigger and more. I'm so sick of all the stuff but when grandpa dies and the farm is left all the kids get dollar signs in their big eyes and the developers have big dollars to spend on more big houses so the cycle continues. I just don't understand the attraction. You die and everything you leave behind and it's gone forever and at that point you won't care one bit how big or small your house was or how new your car was or how much stuff you had or how well you thought you lived. None of it will ever matter or be remembered. I just don't understand the desire for the big house, the big mall, the golf courses everywhere..... I'm just amazed at what Americans think they need.

[Bigbird389]

What s really funny is right near there is a huge log cabin business that has failed. I just left sheridan,wy. It is the most expensice place I have ever lived....

[SFM in KY]

Originally Posted by oldmania

I also mourn the loss of family farms. Locals bemoan the subdivision of these properties, but are quite willing to take your money for it.

In most cases in the WY and MT area that I'm aware of ... and also here in KY where I live now ... the children do not want to operate the farm or ranch. They are settled in an occupation, have a house in/near town and a family to support and simply can't take over the farm operation. In other cases there are several children and even if one could take it over, or would want to, the other children want their 'share' and it simply isn't affordable for the one child to buy out their shares.

Originally Posted by Bigbird389

I just left sheridan,wy. It is the most expensive place I have ever lived....

I've been gone from there almost 15 years now, so have no idea what it's like currently. Taxes there were higher, I know but other than that, phone service and utilities weren't as high as they are here in KY. I heated with coal and winter heat ran between $400 and $600 for the winter. Before we switched to a wood stove here in KY, heating with a heat pump here was running us closer to an extra $250 a month or more. Everything else has gone up, so not sure what the comparison would be like now.

[Bigbird389]

I honestley dont know how some people even make it. We were paying over $800 a month for what we consider a crack house. Groceries were out of sight, and not to mention if your wife gets pregnant you have to drive all the ways to billings to get pregnant lady clothes. I loved the area though.

[SFM in KY]

Originally Posted by Bigbird389

I honestley dont know how some people even make it. We were paying over $800 a month for what we consider a crack house. Groceries were out of sight, and not to mention if your wife gets pregnant you have to drive all the ways to billings to get pregnant lady clothes. I loved the area though.

I have heard that the last few years it's been a 'boom town' so to speak ... a lot of oil, gas, coal and shale development.It has always been an area somewhat prone to boom/bust cycles, very little ongoing permanent business/manufacturing but I remember an oil boom back in the early 50s ... then coal ... more recently I understand gas and oil shale maybe.

I sold out and left the area in a quieter time 15 or so years ago and I understand the place I had has most recently sold again for something over double what I got for it. I will say even when I was there, many people did their major shopping in Casper or Billings.

[clovis]

It has been a long standing dream of mine to retire to MT or spend a good portion of my life there during retirement.

I suspect though, with the dramatic increase in property values that the dream of owning second home there is diminishing tremendously.

I've never wanted anything extravagant, just something small and super easy to maintain, and I am frugal anyway, so living in a camper in Glacier National Park or finding a small flat apartment will do me just fine.

[SFM in KY]

Originally Posted by clovis

It has been a long standing dream of mine to retire to MT or spend a good portion of my life there during retirement.

I suspect though, with the dramatic increase in property values that the dream of owning second home there is diminishing tremendously.

There are still less expensive places to live in MT (and WY) but just not in the areas all the tourists see and want to live ... where it's 'scenic'. Plus there are also places that are really still pretty remote and most of the people who want to retire in MT or have a second home there aren't willing to deal with limited services available in those areas. Much depends on where you look. Small town, no tourist attractions, not much considered 'scenic' and not many job opportunities and you may find it manageable. However, in many of those areas, one of the problems is finding small acreages available ... the ranches tend to sell in blocks of thousands of acres and aren't subdivided.

[wy_white_wolf]

I was just in Sheridan over the weekend. Too may Cali Yuppies in the area for me. It isn't benifiting much from the current gas boom as business have learned it's cheaper to setup in/near Buffalo or Gillette and drive to that area if need be.

WWW

[SFM in KY]

Originally Posted by wy_white_wolf

I was just in Sheridan over the weekend. Too may Cali Yuppies in the area for me.

I agree! The Jackson Hole/Cody area is another place that has been overrun as well, along with most of western MT from Red Lodge all the way north. What the locals call them is probably not something one should print in a family-oriented forum.

[fordson major]

thin edge of the wedge is taxes, some fool buys a place for far more than its worth and the people left behind are hit with highher property taxes due to their place being "worth" so much more! hate the city, never moved there, it came here!