In honor of the 8th anniversary of our move to Laramie, here is a reprint of last year’s column on how I was able to accept small-town life:

When my husband’s job asked us to move to Laramie, I was… shall we say, upset. Laramie was an unknown entity. It didn’t have any of the things I liked to do, and we didn’t know anyone in town. 

Laramie does, however, have a sit-down Pizza Hut. (Added for 2020: Just because we can’t eat inside it right now doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!)

I have fond memories of eating at Pizza Hut as a kid, and when we drove by the restaurant on our first day in Laramie, I was overcome with nostalgia. Laramie may have been unfamiliar to me, but here was this thing I knew and loved. It was exactly what I needed to change my mindset towards this town. So if you’re new to Laramie and feeling unsure about it, give the Pizza Hut a try. After you’re full on pizza, take a walk around our downtown and visit some local businesses. Check out the parks—more than you’d expect in a town this size! Soon you’ll find the thing you love, that makes you say “I can do this!”