Elizabeth Bagdon and her fiancé, Ryan Hemming, moved to San Antonio from a small town in Wyoming. Bagdon appreciates San Antonio’s convenience and the abundance of things to do. I miss the community and affordability of Wyoming.
Elizabeth Bagdon always wanted to live in a big city.
Bagdon, 30, is from Pennsylvania. But when her fiancé, Ryan Hemming, got a job working on oil and gas power lines, they had the opportunity to explore different parts of the United States.
“When the opportunity to travel came up, I thought, ‘Let’s go. I’m ready,'” Bagdon told Business Insider.
The couple first spent about a year in Colorado in 2020 because of Hemming’s job. He then moved to Gillette, Wyoming, which has a population of about 33,000.
The couple loved living in Gillette for two years, but Bagdon was looking forward to a change when they moved to San Antonio in June 2023.
“After living in Wyoming for two years, I was no longer cold, but I had never lived in a big city,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to live near the ocean, so I felt like I had achieved what I had always wanted to do.”
But after almost a year and a half, Bagdon can’t wait to return to Wyoming.
San Antonio just got more convenient
Bagdon and Hemming moved into a rented house in San Antonio with their dog Lucy. After arriving in Texas, they rescued a second dog, Sadie.
Bagdon loves San Antonio, which has a population of about 1.4 million people. The convenience compared to Gillette was a nice change of pace.
“When we lived in Wyoming, if you wanted to go to Sam’s Club, you had to go to the largest city nearby,” she said. “It’s going to be a two- to three-hour drive. We’ll need to bring a cooler with us to put food in.”
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“It’s really great to have five Targets nearby and all the stores you could want,” she added.
Bagdon, who works in customer service, also found more job opportunities in San Antonio. Jobs were limited at Gillette, so he worked as a bartender before moving. In San Antonio, she quickly found a customer service job at a health care company.
The warm weather and easy access to the beach also made Bagdon enjoyable, as did the activities San Antonio had to offer. But the disadvantages of city life overshadow its advantages for Bagdon.
community doesn’t exist
Bagdon said the sheer number of people living in San Antonio makes it more difficult to make real connections with other people.
“It’s getting harder to find people with similar interests,” Bagdon said, adding that in Wyoming, “it’s easy to start a conversation with someone.”
“Everyone knew each other, and at first I didn’t like it, but then I got used to it,” she said of Gillette, adding that the small store owners in town knew who they were right away. Ta. “They knew our names and asked us about our dogs. I really like the small-town feel of it.”
Bagdon also realized that he didn’t like some aspects of living in a big city, such as the heavy traffic.
Similarly, San Antonio police say crime is down citywide, but Bagdon said it’s “an adjustment” to not be able to leave your house or car unlocked like you can in Gillette. he said.
Bagdon said she and Hemming also spent more money than they did in Wyoming. According to Salary.com, the cost of living in San Antonio is lower than in Gillette, but that wasn’t the couple’s reality.
Their rental home is about 2,000 square feet, about the same size as their property in Wyoming. But while her Gillette home cost $1,200 a month, Bagdon said her San Antonio home costs “almost double” that amount.
Mr Bagdon also said that food prices were rising. She was surprised by the high prices, especially for fresh produce.
Wyoming is home
Bagdon and Hemming plan to return to Wyoming when their contracts expire in June 2025.
“We think of ourselves as explorers,” Bagdon said, adding that he wanted to experience life on the East Coast, West and South of the United States before choosing a permanent home.
“We’re ready to choose where we want to settle down, and that place is definitely going to be Wyoming,” Bagdon said.
Wyoming’s community atmosphere remains appealing to the couple. They also love easy camping and hiking.
Bagdon and Hemming plan to return to Gillette and eventually end up in Sheridan, Wyoming, which has an even smaller population of about 19,000.
Bagdon also plans to use his experience in San Antonio to expand job opportunities in Wyoming.
“I’m currently training to become a pharmacy technician,” she said, which can be achieved through a customer service job. This training will allow her to earn a national certification that will help her get a job in Wyoming.
Although she plans to make Wyoming her permanent home, Bagdon said she is grateful to have experienced city life before making that decision.
“During this time, I learned a lot about myself. I grew up in a small neighborhood, so it’s like that’s what I like, but I didn’t know that,” she said. But she doesn’t think it would be difficult to leave Texas if the time came.
“I’m not too sad about leaving anything behind,” she added. “My expectations for the next step are only increasing.”