Cheyenne : Wyoming

Cheyenne is the capital and largest city (53,000 people) of the state of Wyoming and is an interesting place to retire. The city was an early western railhead and stock town and became very important when the major east/west railroad came through town. The railroad made use of the naturally tall, straight native lodgepole pine trees to manufacture ties for their tracks. The city has a lower than an average cost of living, and in fact was named by U.S. News as the #1 most tax-friendly town in the U.S. in 2008. Part of Cheyenne's attraction is that there is no state income tax, making it a tax-friendly place to retire (Wyoming has significant revenues from energy produced in the state). Cheyenne's mayor made headlines in 2008 when he announced hiring freezes and other cost-saving measures to help keep budgetary pressures in check. Laramie County Community College is located in Cheyenne, but the only 4-year university nearby is 45 miles away in the City of Laramie and 45 miles to the south, the University of Colorado, in Fort Collins, CO. Cultural amenities and fine dining are exceedingly scarce or nonexistent in Cheyenne.

Retirees can live in town or in developments on the outskirts. Or if more adventurous, they can live on a 5-10 acre ranchettes outside of the city limits. Median real estate prices were just under $200,000 in early 2013. Places with acreage will be much more. 40-acre plots are being divided and sold to the north and south of town with an eye towards future development. We are not aware of any active adult communities in the area.

One of US News & World Reports's 10 most tax-friendly towns in America (2008).  Frontier Days and its huge outdoor rodeo.   Cheyenne has a fascinating railroad history with a display of some of the biggest steam locomotives ever built - the Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives. They could typically carry 100 railroad cars over the Rockies at 50 mph. The downtown historical district. The Botanical Gardens. The town of Centennial in the Medicine Bow Mountains. Signature and Register Rocks where the early pioneers came through and etched their names in the limestone cliffs.

When you live in Wyoming you are a long drive from just about every amenity and service, the weather can be very harsh, and the wind blows almost incessantly.

People who like the outdoors, a manageable-sized town, and the thrill of living in the west, anyone looking for relatively affordable horse property.

Construction, the BNSF railroad, the FE Warren Air Base, the Dish satellite uplink facility south of town, the WalMart and Lowes distribution centers, and the city, county, and state government's presence here drive the economy. Unemployment is below the national average, but the available jobs rarely pay well.

Cheyenne is in southeastern Wyoming, just 12 miles north of the Colorado state line on the Front Range. The average January temperature is in the mid 20's and the average July temperature is in the high 90's.  The climate is semi-arid with considerable snowfall in late winter/early spring. High winds are a problem most days of the year in Cheyenne, even wrenching car doors off their hinges if you're not careful. Cheyenne regularly experiences sudden, violent summer thunderstorms that may produce flooding and large hail plus the town sits on the flat prairies at the eastern and northern edges of tornado country and may occasionally see a small funnel cloud or two., Winter blizzards can become dangerous with strong winds and wind chill temperatures sometimes dropping below -40 degrees.

Frontier Days, held at the end of July, is the big annual attraction and sponsors the largest outdoor rodeo in the world. Laramie County Community College provides some cultural opportunities and college-level coursework. The recently-renovated Union Pacific Depot and the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens are prominent local attractions. The food scene is dominated by fast food, national chains like Olive Garden and Old Chicago, and a few substandard mom and pop restaurants. Denver, over a hundred miles to the south, has the closest thing resembling fine dining in the area. Also, there are no professional or semi-pro sports teams in the area. Most residents are ardent fans of the local college football team, the University of Wyoming, Laramie, cowboys. They may also support professional Colorado teams such as the Broncos, the Rockies, the Nuggets, and the Avalanche.