Building Wyoming's Future: The Exit Interview

Описание: Why are so many young people leaving Wyoming? What would actually make them stay or come back? In this candid “exit interview,” young Wyomingites share what’s working, what’s missing, and what the state needs to hear if it wants a different future.

In this installment of the Building Wyoming’s Future series, we flip the script. Instead of talking about young people, we listen to them. This conversation — framed as an “exit interview” — features students, young professionals, entrepreneurs, and Wyoming natives who have stayed, left, or returned. They speak candidly about jobs, housing, community, cost of living, education, healthcare, culture, and what would truly make staying or coming back viable.

This is not about assigning blame. It’s about learning, listening, and understanding the real tradeoffs young Wyomingites are weighing — and what leaders, communities, and institutions can do differently if they want different outcomes.

Whether you’re a young person navigating these decisions, a parent thinking about your child’s future, a business leader concerned about workforce, or a policymaker shaping Wyoming’s next chapter, this conversation is for you.

0:00 Welcome & why this conversation matters
0:57 Why Wyoming’s youth outmigration keeps resurfacing
1:22 Framing the “Exit Interview” — listening, not blaming
2:15 Why young voices must be centered
3:03 WyoFile's role & why independent journalism matters
5:16 What the data says about young people leaving Wyoming
7:51 Setting expectations for an honest conversation
8:22 Choosing college — why some students leave the state
9:28 Staying vs. leaving after UW — weighing national opportunities
10:30 Finding reasons to stay — community & industry connections
11:31 Leaving, returning, and discovering belonging
13:16 When jobs and cost of living force tough decisions
14:26 Leaving and coming back — lessons from outside Wyoming
16:35 What’s missing for young people to build a future here
18:10 The need for public spaces and things to do
19:54 Housing, rentals, and “third spaces”
20:58 When Wyoming already works — industry pipelines that succeed
21:56 Entrepreneurship, capital access, and barriers to starting up
23:53 Careers, healthcare, housing, and affordability
28:53 Poll results — what most influences staying or leaving
31:26 Are young voices heard in Wyoming decision-making?
33:18 Is the grass really greener elsewhere?
36:07 Service, leadership, and finding purpose in Wyoming
39:25 What living elsewhere changed — and didn’t
42:37 Poll results — do young people feel heard?
47:15 Does talking about youth outmigration help or hurt?
56:01 Education & proposed cuts to the University of Wyoming
1:02:13 Culture, values, and misconceptions about Wyoming
1:08:34 Healthcare access and family considerations
1:11:00 How to keep the conversation going
1:12:36 Final reflections on Wyoming’s future