Are You PCSing To Cheyenne, Wyoming?

Are you PCSing to the F.E. Warren Air Force Base right here in awesome Cheyenne, Wyoming? In this episode of Wynot Wyoming, I’m going to share some things you need to know about Cheyenne before you pack your bags. We’ll cover everything from the local beef industry to winter weather so you’re best prepared for your move.

Welcome To Wyoming

If you’re PCSing to Cheyenne, Wyoming, don't jump in the moving truck just yet. There are a few things that you need to know before you make the big move. Life here might be just a little bit different than wherever you're coming from.

There are a few things we're going to touch on in this video. We’ll answer questions like: should I buy or rent? How much is the cost of living as it pertains to housing? And once I live there, what the heck should I do with all my time?

I'm going to show you a few things about our wonderful town. Before I dive into those specific things, though, I thought I would share with you a few of my overarching thoughts about Cheyenne in general.

What’s For Dinner?

One of the things that you need to know is the food best food in Cheyenne. We've got one main food group: meat. Here in Cheyenne, we're pretty proud of our beef industry. You can go to a lot of different places and get a good steak.

The number one thing you can find almost anywhere is a really good prime rib sandwich. Almost every restaurant in town is going to have one on the menu, and you can't go wrong if you make that choice.

Frontier Days

Another thing that you need to know about Cheyenne is the most famous and popular thing we have here: our two-week-long rodeo. Called “Frontier Days,” the Frontier Days rodeo is more than just a rodeo. It's got live music almost every night through the whole course of the event that includes rock bands, country bands, hip-hop, and rap music. There's a little something for just about everybody on the live music scene.

There's also food, beverages, a carnival, and an Indian village. There are tons of things to do on the rodeo site in addition to the rodeo. Around town, you'll find that almost every store is going to have some sort of a special going on. The restaurants will have discounted drink specials and food specials, while furniture stores, art galleries, and all types of shops are going to run some sort of specials as well.

When you get tired of the rodeo or you're just done for the day, you can go wander around the downtown area and visit tons of different little shops. It really makes for a fun day for the whole family.

Curt Gowdy State Park

You're probably wondering what the heck there is to do when it's not rodeo season. One of the favorite pastimes for people from town is to get out of town—and there is a place not too far down the road. About 30 minutes away, you can visit Curt Gowdy State Park and the Vedauwoo Rec Area.

This is a fantastic place where you can go hiking, biking, camping, boating, fishing, and more. You name it, there is a plethora of outdoor activities available. This area in particular has some amazing rock walls.

So if you're an aspiring rock climber, it's a really great place to visit. You can take lessons and learn how to go up. And if you're a little more advanced, there are some challenging faces up there for you as well. Overall, it offers good opportunities close to town to go get some fresh air, so make sure you take advantage of that.

Housing Costs

Now that you have an idea of what Cheyenne is all about, what is it going to cost if you want to live off base? If you want to rent, the median rent right now in town for all types of properties and square footage is $1,424. You might spend a little bit more a little bit less depending on your needs.

As a lender in the purchase market, I can tell you that there are two really distinct demographic areas. The first is downtown or in town; those houses on average are selling in the mid to upper $300,000 range. There's plenty of inventory available in the mid to upper $200,000 range and above. The median price is probably right there around $350,000, give or take.

If you go toward the edge of town where there's a bunch of new construction going on, you're definitely going to be at a different price point. Those houses are going above $500,000 right now, and many of them are approaching or exceeding $600,000. As you go further outside of town into the rural areas, you're going to find the million-dollar mansions—which we call “ranches” out here in beef country.

Your BAH

One of the good things about living in Cheyenne is that your BAH, or housing allowance, will oftentimes cover a lot of that cost. We can usually find something that will fit into your price range so that you can start building equity right away while you're still serving.

Don't put off building for your future just because you're servicing and might even PCS again in the near future. Go ahead and cash in on some equity build-up there.

Cheyenne’s Nightlife

Once you’ve relocated here to Cheyenne, you’ll have plenty of outdoor fun during rodeo season and things to do outside of town. But what is there to do for nightlife? That's probably the number one question that I get asked on my channel, so I thought I would share with you a few of my local hangouts.

There's a great distillery downtown called Chronicles Distilling. It's a wonderful veteran-owned business that makes their own whiskey, vodka, and some other spirits. They then turn them into really amazing cocktails, so you’ll definitely want to check that place out.

If beer is more your thing, there are a couple of breweries in that same area. This includes the Black Tooth Brewery and the Accomplice Beer Company. In addition to restaurants, there are also food trucks running all over town. As you get further away, there are definitely lots of sports bars and other establishments you could take advantage of.

You don't want to miss Flippers Family Arcade, a great family-friendly place to take your kids. You can even go by yourself and just relive some of your youth, as they’ve got about every video game you can imagine.

Charities And Nonprofits

If you don't eat out much and you don't drink a lot, you can find other things to spend your time on. Hands down, Cheyenne has more charities and nonprofit organizations than most towns twice their size. You can always find a place to go volunteer or help fundraise.

We've talked about a few of them in some other videos, including Meals on Wheels. They’re always looking for drivers, delivery people, and cooks. Additionally, the Unaccompanied Students Initiative is a wonderful foundation, as is the Alzheimer's Foundation.

Those are some that are near and dear to our hearts, but there are tons of other ones where you can find ways to give back to the community and use up some time.

The Adopt An Airman Program

If you need help navigating all of these choices or you don't know where to get plugged in, we also have a fantastic Adopt An Airman program on base. This is made possible through the Chamber of Commerce and the Military Affairs Committee.

People like myself and my wife get paired up with airmen—servicemen and women—to show them around town and introduce them to things that they might like to do or people that they might need to know. If you get here and you just aren't getting connected, or you need some help because you're getting lonely and it's your first time away from home, reach out.  We do have some really awesome programs to help you.

Traffic And Weather

Now that you know about all the stuff to do in Wyoming, you might be wondering how the traffic is in town. How do you get from point A to point B in a hurry? Well, I'll tell you what: there is no traffic in town.

The only place you're going to probably get stuck in traffic is either out on a dirt road behind a bunch of cows or on the Interstate in some sort of windy snow squall. Honestly, that is really just in the winter months. The summer, spring, and fall are not so bad, but the winter can get a little windy.

I’m Here To Help

I hope that this gave you some really good ideas for how you can live and entertain yourselves after your PCS to F.E. Warren Air Force base here in Cheyenne. If you have any questions, you can also reach me by email, text, or phone call. I'm always here for you, and we appreciate the ability to serve you. Thank you for serving our country.

For more information, you can also check out some of the other videos on my channel. I've got tours around the state, tours of Yellowstone, and a bar crawl where we hit 13 different bars and tell you all about them. There is a lot of information about things to do in and around Cheyenne on our channel, so be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Stay tuned to see what we feature on the next episode of Wynot Wyoming, where we tell you everything you need to know about Cheyenne, the surrounding areas, things to do, where to go, the real estate market, and most importantly, the loans that it would take to get you living right here with us in our amazing little community. See you next time!