Cheyenne, WY, USA. For many laid-off teachers in hard-pressed Eastern states, there’s one strategy that holds out promise: Look to the West.

States that have fared better than most in the recession, such as Wyoming and Montana, have seen a spike in applications from teachers outside their borders.

Washington, DC, USA. States have received federal disaster assistance more times in the first nine months of 2011 than in any other year. But the surge in disasters comes at a time when states, localities and the federal government are struggling to find money to pay for relief.

Last week, when President Obama named New Jersey a federal disaster area for floods that came before Hurricane Irene, he cemented 2011’s ranking as the United States’ most disaster-prone year ever.