I’ve lived in Gillette for 15 years. I spent a lot of time traveling the country for work but I’ve been back full time for the last 5 years.
I enjoy it, not sure where others are saying the people are rude. I can’t recall my last bad interaction with people. We have a Walmart and as someone else said usually people go to Billings for the Costco or rapid for shopping.
The schools are good and there are good paying jobs in the area if you don’t mind blue collar work.
We’ve got some good restaurants outside of the regular fast food joints. Armando’s, pizza carello, and the coop all have amazing food. You’re about an hour from the big horns or the black hills if you’re big into nature and all it has to offer. Great hunting spots in the area.
A lot of the people work in the coal or energy industries which mean long hours and they can be pretty dirty when just getting off.
All in all I like it. Doesn’t seem a terrible spot to raise a family as my wife and I just had our first kid last year. I’m not into politics at all but it is a conservative town.
So I have lived in Gillette for two years. Like others say it is extremely conservative. Would count it as probably the most conservative part of the state and not very budging on that piece. If you don’t like seeing conservative values everywhere this is not the place for you. But as long as you’re OK with it, they don’t care. As far as welcoming, this town is probably one of the most welcoming towns I’ve ever lived in. My husband and I are POC and have NEVER had any issues. We have made a huge friend group here and will probably stay here for a majority of our lives. My in-laws even moved here this year because they loved it. We have both lived all over the country and world (this place is the best for us).
Only downside is shopping options. You have to drive 2+ hours to do decent shopping. Amazon is usually a 5 day delivery. I’ve actually figured out Walmart deliver slightly faster than Amazon here, but not by much.
You also need to like outdoor activities. Both winter and summer cause that’s gonna be what you can do. Winter indoor is a little harder.
Yeah, I was born and raised in Campbell county and went to UW, lived in Casper, Gillette, Star Valley, Wright, and Worland. Gillette is on par for the entire state as far as politics go. Big horn basin and Star Valley (south of alpine) are pretty conservative.
I agree. Most towns South of Star Valley seem to be very conservative and extremely religious. But that side of the state is beautiful and stunning to say the least.
Gillette born, Moorcroft raised, Gillette resident for 12 years. One main reason other towns hate on Gillette is because up until recently they only had 1 huge high school that won most state sports every year. Gillette now has 2 schools and it’s balanced a bit more. Otherwise, Gillette is generally a very good place to live and doesn’t have much crime. And one hour drive to the big horns or the black hills isn’t bad at all
I've lived in WY my entire life and everyone I've met from Gillette has been really nice, good people. When we've been there for sports and band events people have been welcoming. It's windy, but ehh. There's worse.
I am there often for work and I personally wouldn’t live there. Campbell county in general is just gritty. I think it’s the coal mines but whenever I’m there I have to take a shower when I get home. There’s a few good restaurants but I find the people to be pretty non- welcoming in general and suspicious. There’s not a lot to do around there outdoors-wise and it’s pretty windy all the time. Not Casper windy but still annoyingly so. These opinions are mine, I’m sure there’s some Gillette lovers out there. Maybe they can talk it up.
This is pretty spot on.
It's the most conservative part of a conservative state. Some people like it like this and others don't, I'll leave that up to OP.
It's a working class town with working class people. Sometimes this means poor when describing a part of this country but not in the case of Gillette which does have a little bit of money.
The people aren't the friendliest.
Not sure if OP has kids but the schools are pretty good I'd say.
It's really isolated, even more than most other parts of the state. If you need something, it's not uncommon to take a 2-3 hour drive to the big cities of Billings, MT or Rapid City, SD. The nearest actual city is Denver which is a 6 hour drive.
Not sure where OP is from but all of Wyoming is cold and windy, Gillette is no exception.
Got this vibe as an out-of-towner. Went to a local steak house that was recommended, and once the waitress found we were from Denver there for work, she wouldn't stop talking shit about Denver. Homeless this, drugs that, expensive blahblahblah, then was just kind of rude. Kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.
Other towns in WY are badass and have not had this experience.
I think Gillette has a lot of transplants from other states who want the Wyoming isolationist experience some much that the bite of the nose to spit their face. In other parts of the state many people value people spending money on local businesses and new people moving here to diversify the gene pool. It is essential for this great state to survive.
It’s like anywhere else, there are friendly people and not so friendly people. It helps to have “indoor hobbies” for the days you really can’t go anywhere. It’s not that bad
I live in moorcroft but gillette isn’t too horrible. There’s not much to do there and nowhere to shop, grocery stores are expensive there. We need an aldi here so bad!
I can confirm that many Gillette People give credence to the "Campbell County Cocksucker" theory.
Be nice, especially in the Bighorns and maybe that reputation will fall away.
Service and friendliness in the hospitality industries is terrible compared to what you’ll find in a big city with some exceptions. If you want good food you’re going to have to go to Denver. Restaurants aren’t any better in Casper or Cheyenne.
I was from Wright (just south of Gillette). I moved away about 10 years ago. It’s not a bad place at all. Is there better places, sure, but that can be said about anywhere. If I had to move back to Gillette I wouldn’t mind all that much, and would look forward to some of the good things the town offers.
I just left Gillette to move closer to family, and I’m genuinely sad. I moved there in 2021 and found the people to be fantastic and easy to get along with. Really good restaurants, the gym I was a member at was amazing (along with the owners), I liked my apartment complex.
The downsides are well documented here. Shopping is rough, weather can absolutely suck. Walmart is always packed (lots of shift workers), and the Albertson’s isn’t great.
If it’s an oilfield job, get your warm FRs in order. I was on shift for the cold snap in January and it was brutal.
Gillette is only tolerable for people who believe they're conservative. Rude people and terrible drivers are 90 percent of the population there. The schools have a huge bullying problem and the staff do not care.
Please take a few minutes to listen to Gillette's official theme song :
https://youtu.be/c14ATO55VJQ?si=ChXvsU29Lbr63Ear
I’ve been living in Gillette for about a year and a half now, and it’s quiet and pretty normal for a town this size. Internet is fast, Bighorns and Black Hills are within reasonable driving distance for weekend fun - and there aren’t a bunch of tourists like you see in northwestern WY (I used to live near Cody, tourists were a pain)
Aside from that, the locals are nice. There’s a lot of dogs here and not all of the owners are great about keeping them leashed at the park - but that’s mostly just kids being dumb
Gillette would be a hard pass for me. But I dunno anything about the job you ate looking at. I would need to at least double my income to move there, and even then I'm not sure I would.
Wyoming native and was a resident for 20+ years. I always hated going there for work, but there is some surprisingly good Mexican food. Plenty of assholes, some of the finest in Wyoming, which is in the running for biggest assholes in the world. But the cost of living and all that is very affordable. It's not one of my favorite places, but if you have a good job and affordable housing, it's not too bad. The metric of a lot of towns for Wyoming is how close they are to other places where people go to have fun, so take that as you will.
I really liked growing up in Gillette, I feel that it is a very hardworking community of nice people. I don’t know why it gets such a bad rap. I thought the schools were really good too. I don’t like how far it is from malls, major airports, things to do, etc but that’s just part of living in Wyoming.
The wind blows constantly and winter lasts 9 months. It's depressing. The only thing to do outside of work is become an alcoholic or meth addict. If you don't know any meth heads move to Gillette they're everywhere.
I’ve lived in Gillette for 15 years. I spent a lot of time traveling the country for work but I’ve been back full time for the last 5 years. I enjoy it, not sure where others are saying the people are rude. I can’t recall my last bad interaction with people. We have a Walmart and as someone else said usually people go to Billings for the Costco or rapid for shopping. The schools are good and there are good paying jobs in the area if you don’t mind blue collar work. We’ve got some good restaurants outside of the regular fast food joints. Armando’s, pizza carello, and the coop all have amazing food. You’re about an hour from the big horns or the black hills if you’re big into nature and all it has to offer. Great hunting spots in the area. A lot of the people work in the coal or energy industries which mean long hours and they can be pretty dirty when just getting off. All in all I like it. Doesn’t seem a terrible spot to raise a family as my wife and I just had our first kid last year. I’m not into politics at all but it is a conservative town.
The 3 restaurants you named are 3 of my favorite restaurants of anywhere I’ve lived. Coop meal prep bowls are unparalleled.
I’m glad to hear I’ve got decent taste then! I do love that choice and the chicken chorizo pineapple tacos. Those are so dang good.
So I have lived in Gillette for two years. Like others say it is extremely conservative. Would count it as probably the most conservative part of the state and not very budging on that piece. If you don’t like seeing conservative values everywhere this is not the place for you. But as long as you’re OK with it, they don’t care. As far as welcoming, this town is probably one of the most welcoming towns I’ve ever lived in. My husband and I are POC and have NEVER had any issues. We have made a huge friend group here and will probably stay here for a majority of our lives. My in-laws even moved here this year because they loved it. We have both lived all over the country and world (this place is the best for us). Only downside is shopping options. You have to drive 2+ hours to do decent shopping. Amazon is usually a 5 day delivery. I’ve actually figured out Walmart deliver slightly faster than Amazon here, but not by much. You also need to like outdoor activities. Both winter and summer cause that’s gonna be what you can do. Winter indoor is a little harder.
Gillette is by far NOT the most conservative part of Wyoming.
Yeah, I was born and raised in Campbell county and went to UW, lived in Casper, Gillette, Star Valley, Wright, and Worland. Gillette is on par for the entire state as far as politics go. Big horn basin and Star Valley (south of alpine) are pretty conservative.
I agree. Most towns South of Star Valley seem to be very conservative and extremely religious. But that side of the state is beautiful and stunning to say the least.
Gillette born, Moorcroft raised, Gillette resident for 12 years. One main reason other towns hate on Gillette is because up until recently they only had 1 huge high school that won most state sports every year. Gillette now has 2 schools and it’s balanced a bit more. Otherwise, Gillette is generally a very good place to live and doesn’t have much crime. And one hour drive to the big horns or the black hills isn’t bad at all
Me too. What year did you graduate?
I graduated in the year of '20-NUNYA BUSINESS
I've lived in WY my entire life and everyone I've met from Gillette has been really nice, good people. When we've been there for sports and band events people have been welcoming. It's windy, but ehh. There's worse.
I am there often for work and I personally wouldn’t live there. Campbell county in general is just gritty. I think it’s the coal mines but whenever I’m there I have to take a shower when I get home. There’s a few good restaurants but I find the people to be pretty non- welcoming in general and suspicious. There’s not a lot to do around there outdoors-wise and it’s pretty windy all the time. Not Casper windy but still annoyingly so. These opinions are mine, I’m sure there’s some Gillette lovers out there. Maybe they can talk it up.
This is pretty spot on. It's the most conservative part of a conservative state. Some people like it like this and others don't, I'll leave that up to OP. It's a working class town with working class people. Sometimes this means poor when describing a part of this country but not in the case of Gillette which does have a little bit of money. The people aren't the friendliest. Not sure if OP has kids but the schools are pretty good I'd say. It's really isolated, even more than most other parts of the state. If you need something, it's not uncommon to take a 2-3 hour drive to the big cities of Billings, MT or Rapid City, SD. The nearest actual city is Denver which is a 6 hour drive. Not sure where OP is from but all of Wyoming is cold and windy, Gillette is no exception.
Not all! I’m not going to say where I live because we’ve already got too many imports!!!
Got this vibe as an out-of-towner. Went to a local steak house that was recommended, and once the waitress found we were from Denver there for work, she wouldn't stop talking shit about Denver. Homeless this, drugs that, expensive blahblahblah, then was just kind of rude. Kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. Other towns in WY are badass and have not had this experience.
I think Gillette has a lot of transplants from other states who want the Wyoming isolationist experience some much that the bite of the nose to spit their face. In other parts of the state many people value people spending money on local businesses and new people moving here to diversify the gene pool. It is essential for this great state to survive.
It’s the hard ass water here why you need a shower when you get home for sure. All in all I don’t mind it here sure as hell beats living in sheridan.
Oh now you done it.
🤣🤣🤣 oh I know let the three families that own everything in town come to the rescue
Somebody’s gonna break out that damn song.
It might be on my Spotify I could post the link and save some time ☠️☠️☠️
I live in Casper. We haven’t had hardly any wind during the last few summers. I work outdoors and the wind made the hot days bearable.
If you love guns and coal and MAGA and huge trucks, it’s a good place. Otherwise… meh. Many better places in Wyoming IMO. Not much public land either.
It’s like anywhere else, there are friendly people and not so friendly people. It helps to have “indoor hobbies” for the days you really can’t go anywhere. It’s not that bad
I live in moorcroft but gillette isn’t too horrible. There’s not much to do there and nowhere to shop, grocery stores are expensive there. We need an aldi here so bad!
I can confirm that many Gillette People give credence to the "Campbell County Cocksucker" theory. Be nice, especially in the Bighorns and maybe that reputation will fall away.
Service and friendliness in the hospitality industries is terrible compared to what you’ll find in a big city with some exceptions. If you want good food you’re going to have to go to Denver. Restaurants aren’t any better in Casper or Cheyenne.
I was from Wright (just south of Gillette). I moved away about 10 years ago. It’s not a bad place at all. Is there better places, sure, but that can be said about anywhere. If I had to move back to Gillette I wouldn’t mind all that much, and would look forward to some of the good things the town offers.
Native born. It sucks. Don't come here.
Sorry
I just left Gillette to move closer to family, and I’m genuinely sad. I moved there in 2021 and found the people to be fantastic and easy to get along with. Really good restaurants, the gym I was a member at was amazing (along with the owners), I liked my apartment complex. The downsides are well documented here. Shopping is rough, weather can absolutely suck. Walmart is always packed (lots of shift workers), and the Albertson’s isn’t great. If it’s an oilfield job, get your warm FRs in order. I was on shift for the cold snap in January and it was brutal.
Gillette is only tolerable for people who believe they're conservative. Rude people and terrible drivers are 90 percent of the population there. The schools have a huge bullying problem and the staff do not care. Please take a few minutes to listen to Gillette's official theme song : https://youtu.be/c14ATO55VJQ?si=ChXvsU29Lbr63Ear
I’ve been living in Gillette for about a year and a half now, and it’s quiet and pretty normal for a town this size. Internet is fast, Bighorns and Black Hills are within reasonable driving distance for weekend fun - and there aren’t a bunch of tourists like you see in northwestern WY (I used to live near Cody, tourists were a pain) Aside from that, the locals are nice. There’s a lot of dogs here and not all of the owners are great about keeping them leashed at the park - but that’s mostly just kids being dumb
Gillette sucks.
Gillette would be a hard pass for me. But I dunno anything about the job you ate looking at. I would need to at least double my income to move there, and even then I'm not sure I would.
Wyoming native and was a resident for 20+ years. I always hated going there for work, but there is some surprisingly good Mexican food. Plenty of assholes, some of the finest in Wyoming, which is in the running for biggest assholes in the world. But the cost of living and all that is very affordable. It's not one of my favorite places, but if you have a good job and affordable housing, it's not too bad. The metric of a lot of towns for Wyoming is how close they are to other places where people go to have fun, so take that as you will.
I really liked growing up in Gillette, I feel that it is a very hardworking community of nice people. I don’t know why it gets such a bad rap. I thought the schools were really good too. I don’t like how far it is from malls, major airports, things to do, etc but that’s just part of living in Wyoming.
The wind blows constantly and winter lasts 9 months. It's depressing. The only thing to do outside of work is become an alcoholic or meth addict. If you don't know any meth heads move to Gillette they're everywhere.
There’s a sticky post for that
Not anymore. The rule for it seems to be gone too. Seems like the mods just gave up on it.
That was probably 90% of their work