Thinking about relocating to Dubois (Riverton, Cody: fit in, rental market, house)

[hndrsn]

Hey everyone!! This is my first post and would like your input about beautiful Wyoming!! I currently live in Florida, have been for 42 years. I don't like the humidity, the beaches or the people. Things have changed 200% since moving here, the people are not as nice, no sence of community. My girls and I still love the outdoors, hunting, fishing, rodeoing and the change of seasons. We have dogs and horses and love all animals. I've been looking at Dubois for years. Reading everything I can on it and plan on visiting it soon. I'm currently working in the health field as a CNA and HHA. I'm hoping I will find a wonderful little town with down to earth people. A live let live attitude and "got your back" community. Any and all input would be great! Thanks for listening!

[ShesOnTheMove]

No experience there myself but, first and foremost, know it is pronounced dub-boyz- not all frenchie like.

[hndrsn]

Thanks for the info ShesOnTheMove! Wouldn't want to start out all wrong when I go visit

[sunsprit]

Is there any specific reason(s) why you have chosen Dubois of all the places in WY?

It's one of my favorite areas of Wyoming, but ...

You really need to come visit Dubois with an eye toward:

(1) gainful employment that will give you enough income to find

(2) affordable housing that meets your requirements for a family with dogs and horses

Please define "wonderful little town" expectations. Also, are you ready for serious and long winters? Coming from the riparian climate of Florida, the cold winters in Dubois and the surrounding mountains are rather harsh.

Dubois is not an inexpensive area; it's long been one of the "hidden gem" playgrounds of the eastern money set and one of the gateway towns to YNP. As a tourist/recreation area, it's a fairly pricey and exclusive locale. I tried to buy property there when I first started going into that area almost 30 years ago ... and I was somewhat shocked at the prices; I could not justify the price points of the area. And that's coming from the perspective of someone who is a Vail Colorado property owner since 1982 and is used to resort area prices ....

[NDak15]

I haven't been to Dubois so can't comment on that town, but if that one doesn't work out for any reason there are lots of other nice little towns to consider as well that have what you're looking for like Lander, Pinedale, Cody, or Powell. I'm not discouraging you from it, just saying to be flexible.

[hndrsn]

Thanks everyone for their imput I've only stayed in Florida because of family. I hate the neverending hear and humity. It's the same everyday! I've lived where the winters are cold and snow and love it! I's not set in stone about Dubois...I'm going to spend time in a few areas before I decide. Thank you greatly for all the input! All I know for sure is that living in South Florida...I'm headed NORTH!!!

[ShesOnTheMove]

Originally Posted by ShesOnTheMove

No experience there myself but, first and foremost, know it is pronounced dub-boyz- not all frenchie like.

I'm gonna blame my computer for auto-correcting, or something like that..... should say "duh-boyz" NOT dub! But, then seeing 'duh' I think I should clarify further that it is actually pronounced doo-boyz. THERE, finally!

[Ltdumbear]

Having spent two yrs stationed at MacDill AFB (right smack-dab in the middle of Tampa Bay) I can tell you that the difference between the two regions (Florida and Dubois, Wyo) are about as comparable as Earth is to Mars.

If (like me) you ENJOY the snow, you won't find much in Dubois during the winter; there is a strange 'V-shaped' (curse ?) hanging over Dubois which keeps the snow/precip-laden clouds from disgorging thier MUCH needed contents, on the arid, dry conditions which tend to plague the town for months on end; whatever moisture that manages to re-constitute itself after blowing over the Tetons tends to 'separate' right over the town, and heads north-east/south-east...and lawns/pastures typically start turning 'yellow' by mid-May/early June, unless you have adequate irrigation to take care of it.

Not many people in town; it's very quiet...but it was amazing to see how everybody came (literally) out of the woodwork, the afternoon/evening of 9/11.

Heading back into cowcamp (after a full day of sitting in front of the TV on that horrible day) I drove through town, and the curbsides were overflowing with pickups, suburbans...bars/restaurants were full of patriotic 'locals' who gathered together to discuss the days events; and considering Hunting season does'nt 'officially' start until October out here, that's saying alot...because small towns like Dubois quite literally roll-up thier carpets and get REALLY quiet after labor-day, and the tourist-season is completely over once the kiddies are back in school.

It was heart-warming to see such patriotism, irregardless of what race, creed, religion/faith anyone chooses to live thier life by.

I hope it still exists, but our population here in Wyo has increased ten-fold, since then.

BTW: the nearest Wallmart, Major Medical Facility is @ 80miles to the east, in Riverton. It's a beautiful drive (to be sure) but it can get tedious, with the gas-prices, and all the oil-field traffic running in and out of the remote areas.

(ie: Windshields don't last nearly as long here, as they might in Florida)

My advise: Thermopolis and Buffalo, Wyo.

[bawha]

Having lived 80 miles west of Dubois for a long time, I've been there a lot over the years. It's a nice rustic little town of about 1,000 people. And, when the weather nice, the population is probably close to 1,500-2,000 with all the second homes in the Warm Springs and Union Pass areas to the west.

It's a unique town with a mixture of affluent relocates and rustic native ranchers. While the people are nice, it may take some time to "fit in" especially with the natives. Dubois is a little bit like Jackson in that it doesn't have a lot of "down" time. Summer brings the tourists from May through Aug, though there are a lot more touristy towns in Wy. Once the tourist head home, then its hunting season with archers starting in Sept, or there about. Snowmobiling gears up at the tail end of hunting season and runs through March with some of the nation's best snowmobiling 20 miles, or so, to the west.

While Dubois probably don't get as much snow as a typical mountain town it still gets plenty of snow; and if it isn't enough just drive west and before long you will be able to bury your vehicle on end and not see the front bumper. Actually, in the winter, it is not unusual for Dubois to have a higher temp than Riverton or Lander 80 miles to the west, so winters could be compared to most towns in Wyoming.


Actually for a small WY town it really has a lot to offer. A couple of banks, small grocery store, lumber yard, hardware store, and, of course, small tourist specialty stores. It also has a nice clinic that can deal with emergencies and other every day ailments until patients can get to a larger medical facility.

I don't know what the rental market is like, but other costs will be a little higher just because of the remoteness of the town. Lots of beautiful homes in every direction from town.

You be close to lots of hunting; deer, elk, and moose, and one of the biggest Big Horn Sheep herds in the U.S.; and lots of lake and stream fishing. Oh, and lots of Grizzly bears, so wear bells and pack some pepper spray if you get too far off the road..

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by Ltdumbear

If (like me) you ENJOY the snow, you won't find much in Dubois during the winter; there is a strange 'V-shaped' (curse ?) hanging over Dubois which keeps the snow/precip-laden clouds from disgorging thier MUCH needed contents, on the arid, dry conditions which tend to plague the town for months on end; whatever moisture that manages to re-constitute itself after blowing over the Tetons tends to 'separate' right over the town, and heads north-east/south-east...and lawns/pastures typically start turning 'yellow' by mid-May/early June, unless you have adequate irrigation to take care of it.

I've only got 30 years worth of winter experience with the Dubois area ... and I've seen many winters where they had significantly more snow than the surrounding population centers. Like much of Wyoming, weather patterns are affected by the frontal passages and their originations due to the LaNina/ElNino patterns in the Pacific. Some years ... dry .... some years ... WOW!. I'd enjoyed so many winters in the area that I convinced a friend to buy in the hills West of town, and several commercial properties in town with an eye towards his upcoming retirement. Unfortunately, his circumstances changed and he's been unable to build his retirement house on the 40 acre parcel he bought (where there's a very limited/inadequate domestic water supply, didn't know about this until after he'd bought the parcel), and his commercial properties turned into losing propositions ... so they were sold at a substantial loss. The town's economy, despite tourist and 2nd home dollars with high valuations ... hasn't been very strong the past decade.

As far as lawns/pastures turning "yellow" by mid-May/early June ... this is a common moisture related occurence for much, if not most, of Wyoming, especially the eastern half and the lower elevations out of the wooded areas of the state.


I hope it still exists, but our population here in Wyo has increased ten-fold, since then.

Huh? You're saying that Wyoming has had a "ten-fold" increase in population since 2001? Wanna' back that up with something like a census count? maybe a 10% increase in population in the last decade or so, but probably not even that wouldn't have happened without the oil/gas fields development and that's a lot of transient workers that will be gone when the drilling stops ....