Ca. escape route (Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie: fit in, real estate, motels)

[exitplan]

Hi everyone!
I am looking for a little advice. I am a Ca. native (don't hate me... I am not proud of that) looking to retire in about two years. I have a home in lake havasu az. that I will live at part time but when the summer comes I need to escape - 125+ is a bit much! I have spent some time in Wyoming and love it there, would like to have a second home in a small safe town. I am a 47 year old women and I love the outdoors, I do not mind solitude but, I do not want to be a hermit. I am thinking Dubois. Any recommendations?

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by exitplan

Hi everyone!
I am looking for a little advice. I am a Ca. native (don't hate me... I am not proud of that) looking to retire in about two years. I have a home in lake havasu az. that I will live at part time but when the summer comes I need to escape - 125+ is a bit much! I have spent some time in Wyoming and love it there, would like to have a second home in a small safe town. I am a 47 year old women and I love the outdoors, I do not mind solitude but, I do not want to be a hermit. I am thinking Dubois. Any recommendations?

Congratulations at retiring at 49 years old. I know I won't make it to retirement then. Anyway, to answer your question, I have heard Dubois is nice but you may be a bit of a hermit there (Dubois people chime in here). Other towns that are nice are Lander, Cody, Sheridan, Buffalo, or Sundance. Those are small towns close to the mountains. If you are interested in bigger towns Cheyenne and Casper are over 50,000 but don't quite have the same scenery as the towns mentioned. The small towns mentioned are safe. You can get solitude but shouldn't be too lonely. I also might mention that if you are a good neighbor you'll be fine in this state.

[skelaki]

As a Californian who lived in Wyoming, I will say that you'll love it if you have the right attitude (and I think you will). Expect people to take time to get to know and accept you because many that move there don't last (especially through their first winter LOL). Moving there for retirement is a great idea since you won't be as affected by economic ups and downs.

[Brian_M]

Dubois is a small, tightly knit (and not Immediately open) community. Lots of millionaire retirement/2nd homes that are occupied a couple weeks a year, but the base community is not very wealthy. Depending on how extroverted you are, you could live there and not be a hermit, but understand that you're going to be putting in a lot of effort the first year or so. If you do end up there, visit the library (heh, I worked for the Fremont County library system several years back, still and advocate) as they tend to know what 'local' stuff is going on, and host some of them there (like movie nights through the summer, where you sit out on the lawn under the stars).

Lander is my home town and has become a notable retirement community. It's bigger the Dubois, more amenities, and the residents aren't quite as reserved. Cody is similar, but WAY more touristy, and I don't know much about the fit and feel of the eastern towns (Sheridan/Buffalo/etc...). Thermopolis is a sleepy little town that might appeal to you, though it's further from the mountains. They have natural hot springs to make up for that (a little), and Wind River Canyon.

[sunsprit]

Dubois is one of my favorite places in Wyoming during the non-winter months. It's got a lot of tourist traffic coming through as one of the gateway routes to YNP, so there's an active retail/commercial presence there. But the strength of the area is the outdoor activity available almost on your doorstep, so if this is your interest, you'll have lots to do.

However, I have noted since I first started coming to Dubois back in the 1980's that it's an expensive town to get into. On my first trips there, I saw some very nice little cabins on small properties not far from (or adjacent to) the river, and inquired about buying/leasing one. I was surprised by price points in the 7-figure range. Dubois turned out to be one of those "hidden treasures" of recreational properties that had long ago been bought up by eastern wealth ... much in the same manner as Pecos, NM, or other places you can find in the West that have spectacular vistas, with ready access to outdoor recreation, and are reasonably remote and secluded.

I'd mentioned on prior threads my experience with flying in to Dubois ... where one anticipates a small country airstrip and comes round the canyon to find a facility consistent with a much bigger community. On the ramp during the summer months, one will find the place packed with turbine singles, twins, and other assorted high-dollar (even by GA standards!) aircraft. These are the aircraft of a wealthy set, as opposed to those of us who fly the region in smaller piston single aircraft at a substantially lower price point of acquisition and operation ... my 'plane cost less than the average car on the road today to buy. When I inquired, I found out that many of the aircraft visiting were from notably wealthy families or businesses with properties in the area. You'd not be surprised to find outside wealth in Jackson or Aspen or similar airstrips ... but it's here in Dubois, too.

I've brought friends up to the area with similar ideas of buying a modest retirement home; some have bought acreage in the area and have built homes there. They've all spent close to high 6-figures by the time they were done, and these weren't large homes with high levels of finish, either. The costs of living year-round in Dubois weren't inexpensive, either.

From a retirement standpoint, you'd have to justify Dubois on the basis of access to outdoor recreation ... fishing, hiking, biking, camping, etc. ... it's not going to be an inexpensive community to live in.

If outdoors recreation isn't your primary interest, than there's far better choices in Wyoming for small towns with more to offer for a summer retreat. I'd certainly consider Lander, Sheridan, towns along the Star Valley corridor, or for a place with significantly better access to the amenities of a bigger town yet able to be remote in a mountain setting ... a place up in the Veedauwoo area between Cheyenne and Laramie. This last choice would be a summer home only ... access in the winter months is highly problematic.

One needs to consider your overall desires and needs when looking at the range of properties and small towns in the Wyoming area. You cannot conflate "small town" with "inexpensive" simply because it's a small town. One must also address your true interests in access to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, medical facilities, etc. These can be very limited or not available at all in many smaller towns ... as well, if you want to have ready access to the amenities of a larger community, they may be quite some hours away. This includes reasonable access to air travel; Wyoming is not well served by commercial aviation and outside of a handful of communities ... Cheyenne, Casper, Jackson ... have very limited regional air travel to either SLC or DIA for connections to other destinations; at that, these regional commuter flights are expensive per trip.

PS: As always, my disclaimer that it's essential that you visit the areas/towns/properties under consideration in Wyoming for your purposes before spending any money here. You need to due your due diligence for your requirements, especially when buying real estate; please see the numerous threads on this topic in the Wyoming forum. IMO, you'd do better to visit for a summer season, staying in motels as needed, to get a handle on the community and the needs you are seeking to fulfill before deciding on any given locale. But that's just my two cent's worth ....

[WyoNewk]

Idon't know enough about Dubois to recommend for or against, so I'll just recommend some others for consideration.

Dayton is a quaint little town at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains certainly worthy of your consideration. Population is similar to that of Dubois as is its proximity to mountain recreation. It's an easy half-hour drive to Sheridan for most of your shopping needs or an hour and a half to Billings.

Buffalo is also at the foot of the Bighorns. It has decent shopping but is still small at around 5000 population. It's a half-hour the other side of Sheridan.

Lander is a little more remote but is large enough that you wouldn't really have to travel for shopping needs. It's always been a favorite of mine but may be a little bigger than what you're wanting.

All have reasonably priced real estate and none suffer from an over abundance of summer tourism and traffic.

Jackson's home prices are quite high, but if that's not a problem it could be an ideal spot for a summer home -- cool temps, ample outdoor recreation activities. The downside is that summer tourism is so high that driving across town is a chore. My daughter did a summer residency there and pretty much stayed away from the Teton side of Jackson Hole because it was swamped with tourists.

[Wyomama2]

Laramie's summers are amazing! And most of the college students leave so it becomes this nice kitchy little town. It's close to Ft. Collins and Denver and the drive down is beautiful. The only down fall is that summer in Laramie is only from June-Aug.

[exitplan]

Wow thanks everyone for the great advice! Now I have to look at some other areas as well and do a little more homework. Wyoming is a beautiful state and I can see why many folks are looking to retire here or have a second home here (as I am). I dont mind having to work some to try to fit in...I can understand why people in smaller, touristy towns would shy away from people like me but, Im a good neighbor, Im willing to help out when I can - Ill give you that cup of sugar or the shot of tequilla if you want it! I will look into some of the other options that was mentioned, they sound good too!

Thanks everyone!

[Togwotee307]

The roots of Dubois are very ranching oriented. Like stated above, many part timers who own huge homes and spend 3 weeks a year here, and drive the real estate prices up because of their homes so no Dubois local can afford to buy anything. A double wide in town is going for $150k right now.

I live in Dubois, and love it here, but the only amenities are locally owned restaurants (which are fantastic- no fast food or chain restaurants here) one small grocery store that is pretty pricey, 2 banks, a post office, secondhand store and a couple churches. To get to a Safeway or Walmart requires driving to Lander or Riverton, 75 miles one way. And, people are friendly here, but it will be tough to make a social circle being a Californian (no offense, just the way it is.)

The locals all know each other, and it really is a great town but they do not want it to turn into another Jackson, which the realtors and wealthy people flocking here are trying very hard to do, and aren't real fond of the 2 week a year warriors.

You may be better off in Star Valley/Afton area.

[exitplan]

I do not consider myself wealthy by any means. I was looking into Dubois because it is remote and beautiful and has good fishing and outdoor activities. I do understand your concern as I have had the same thing happen to me in the town I live in now. I don't plan on changing your town and I would not be moving there to broaden my social circle... I would just like to get out of the rat race and enjoy the peace and quiet that I have fallen in love with in Wy.