Dubois, WY (Sheridan, Riverton, Cody: motels, home builder, buying)

[apache67]

Hello Cowboys and Cowgirls,

I am soon to be retired military type living in the greater SLC area. I plan on working for a few years after hanging the military boots-up and then migrating to WY. I am looking at the Wind River area as a possible final resting place.

A little about me:
Born and raised in Texas.
32 years in the Army.
Pro-2A
Allergic to sanctimonious liberals.
I hold in high regard those with manners, a humble nature, and common courtesy.

I am interested in purchasing a few acres and building a quasi-off grid home. This "dream" is a few years in the making. However, would still like to reach out to some contractors in the greater Dubois area.

Would greatly appreciate any referrals from wyomingites living in the area!

Cheers,
G

[Brian_M]

Sunsprit has posted lots of good info on here about Dubois, including his reason for NOT buying there. Search for those posts (you'll get lots of other good info too). Just because it's a few years old doesn't mean it's irrelevant or inaccurate. Things don't really change much in that part of the world.... certainly didn't change much from my earliest memories in the 70's to the last time I was there in 2009 (worked for the library) ~ a little growth north of town, some business changes, but generally the same.



But, generally speaking, you're going to need Big Bucks to buy in there. Not quite Jackson type bucks, but not far off (it's the next stop for the folks who can afford to spend a million, but not multi-million on a property). Next stop down the line is Lander area, which is Actually affordable on an O3 income, just for reference (the Reservation draws Public Health Service officers), though that's living in-town and Might be slightly inaccurate as we left a decade ago and Zillow is saying my old house is "worth" about $70k more than what I sold it for.



Good luck. If you can swing it, buying the land ASAP will be in your benefit.

[jody_wy]

Crook or Weston Counties might work out better

[Ltdumbear]

32 yrs in the Army would almost certainly make me want to suggest looking at the town of Sheridan, Wyo.


VA hospital is there, and VA retirement-community is south of there, in Johnson County.


Seriously, it may be more 'crowded & busy' in Sheridan, than what you are looking for, but the Veteran-support services more than out-weigh the down-sides of blowing all those Hard-earned $aving$ in a town like Dubois.

[nm9stheham]

FWIW..... I've been closely tracking several WY markets for over a year now. I'll have to disagree with one thing; I would not at all rank the Dubois market as a 'rich' market, not anything like the Jackson market (Hoo boy! I've been tracking Jackson too.) Yes, you can find a small market segment of high priced places in and around Dubois (higher priced than in most locales but not in the Jackson price range), but there is a goodly segment of places that are priced in the same range as Cody prices and Sherdian prices, and a segment of homes and prices like those in Lander, Riverton etc. So it is a small, mixed market in that way... probably a wider spread of prices than you typically find in larger markets.



It is mostly about the exact locale there. In-town and near-town in the valley are where the least costly homes are located. Start up the valley to the west and gain elevation, then the prices start to increase. View counts a lot in the price so the high elevation areas add a premium; there are a number of places at or above 8000' elevation, vs just over 7000' for town.



Land prices have jumped up there already, and I have seen some lots on the market for well over a year where the prices are now pulling back a bit. Yes, some folks are a bit too proud of their lots LOL but that happens everywhere out there if you are anywhere around the Yellowstone region.



If the OP wants quasi off-grid, then that sounds maybe like Union Pass or Long Creek. Long Creek is a mixed bag of 1-2 nice places and several 'cabins'. Winter access is only by tracked vehicle only as I understand it (snowmobile) as the forest road access does not allow wheeled access in winter up to May 1 IIRC. Union Pass also has a mixture of homes, I've seen asking prices from a bit over $200k for a cabin to a bigger place currently priced at $1.2M. Dramatic views from up there, and winter access is there. But be ready to plow and the water supply is very spotty.



Any well can be costly (many 10's of $k for one in the mountains if you have to go deep) if you don't want a cistern and having water delivered. So that is a big potential budget item for the OP in that area. There is one development near Dubois that supposedly has a great water supply.



Resale opportunities are not the best in Dubois; it is not a highly 'active market'. So if you want to live there for 5-10 years and then sell, that might be a concern. (It is for me.) I see a few of what are probably retirement homes where the price is being dropped slowly as time passes without them selling. If you want to move there, and never leave, then that is not an issue; since the OP mentions 'final resting place'.....



Shopping resources are just the basics of small grocery store and dollar store, and hardware, lumber and auto parts stores. The nearest Walmart is in Riverton 70 a bit over an hour away. Just a clinic for medical; main medical is in Jackson or Lander.



OP, for a contractor, are you looking for a regular home builder? Or do you plan to be the builder yourself and are looking for subs?

[Milwaukee City]

I'm always curious, where do people work in a town like Dubois? Lander, Jackson, Riverton? I just drove through there and there isn't anything for hours.

[apache67]

Thanks Guys for your responses!

I plan on visiting the area summer of 2020 to do some DIY fly fishing trips in the various wilderness areas in and around the Wind River range. Will take a look at several areas while zig-zagging my way up from SLC.

I can see buying a few acres and some day building on this plot. Whether it be in this region of WY or another. Also, considering areas west into ID (Driggs?).

Thanks Again!
G

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

I'm always curious, where do people work in a town like Dubois? Lander, Jackson, Riverton? I just drove through there and there isn't anything for hours.

Probably ranching, working at a store in town, or teaching. Maybe telecommuting.

[rya700]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

I'm always curious, where do people work in a town like Dubois? Lander, Jackson, Riverton? I just drove through there and there isn't anything for hours.

A lot of oilfield (and other energy sector) workers live in Lander, Riverton and Dubois. Mostly they commute to ND, CO and other locales. The reservation provides quite a few jobs as well as healthcare industry. There are government agencies/nols/catholic college in Lander. People work remotely and there a lots of retirees.

Jackson is another story. If you can afford to live there you probably dont need to work.

[nm9stheham]

There are some tourist industry jobs there in Dubois: fishing store, 2 sports vehicle stores, some vacation ranches' etc, a few contractors, a handful of motels who get business from the Yellowstone NP 'trade', a few restaurants, and other tourist/vacationer work. Plus it is the local shopping hub for the immediate area so that keeps the basic stores going.



But, yeah, there is little in Dubois that is singularly obvious as to how the local economy gets 'fueled'. It reminds me of a lot of remotely located small towns in other regions; usually quite a mixed bag of agriculture, tourism, and/or other resource work plus a little gov't work thrown in; some travel to work elsewhere is very probably true. It's been that isolated little town getting along for a long time ever since the local forests were used for a source of railroad ties, and I can't see what will change that.


A lot of homes outside of town are owned as vacation homes and/or retirement homes; I've been pouring over property lists for a while and see that. Those things bring in some income to any area without any obvious means.