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To make a long story short, I am 24 living in Tampa, FL for 6 years. I've had it and am ready to move! I'm a writer and while researching the location where one of my novels should take place, I found Wyoming. That's where my interest in this state began.
I've been Googling stuff like, "Rural Wyoming" and "Country Wyoming", but I'm not finding what I'm looking for. Please, to anyone living your whole life in Wyoming, but give me some advice on where exactly I want to go.
I am looking to rent a house, not buy.
I don't like the city. The smaller the town, the better.
I prefer forests and lakes to horns blaring and skyscrapers.
I prefer museums, libraries, and bowling, to clubs, college partying, blah blah. I live near Ybor in Tampa, so all we have here is partying partying partying 24/7.
I like quiet and boring, not boisterous and lively, lol.
I want to look out the window and see nature, not trees plucked from elsewhere and planted in the grassy patch on the sidewalk.
I noticed Riverton, Cody, and Buffalo have very small populations, which is nice.
Any Wyoming residents familiar with the state, where do you think I'd be happy? I'll be checking back regularly.
There's a lot of places in Wyoming which may fit your concept of "small town", ready access to forests and lakes, and an escape from the activity of a city life ... you'll not find any location in Wyoming with a skyscraper skyline, let alone blaring horns and the trappings of big city living such as you now live in. Even the two biggest cities of Wyoming have very few buildings with over 5 stories, and the traffic density in either is so limited that you can get from one end of town to another in 10-15 minutes during rush hour traffic.
But do keep in mind when you want ready access to musuems, libraries, and bowling that you'll need to be looking at larger towns in Wyoming, not the smallest. Wyoming's smallest towns range down to populations under 100 people with virtually no amenities whatsoever, so you must travel some distance to have anything except your residence.
There's a lot of other aspects which you don't mention, such as your requirements/expectations for restaurants, shopping, medical access, air travel access, or other needs. Wyoming has a lot of vast open distances between places unlike what you've got in FL where a small town can have ready access to the amenities of a larger population a few miles away. Winter seasonal road closures can make travel to your necessities a problematic experience or simply difficult/challenging driving conditions due to low visibility, gusty winds, icy roads, and so forth. Nor have you mentioned a budget range, which may be a significant factor in your choice of locations.
I'd suggest you consider looking at/around some of the towns in the Star Valley area, which is along the Hwy 89 corridor south of Jackson, with a view towards Grover, Afton, or Alpine Junction. Bondurant might also work for your needs, which is on the USHwy 189 route from Jackson. Another area would be to consider the USHwy 20 corridor West of Cody. In a totally different region, but with reasonable access to a larger community, consider Centennial, in the hills west of Laramie. Sheridan is a nice town, but it's a large town compared to the others I've mentioned. Jackson could be a candidate, too ... Much really depends upon so many factors that you haven't mentioned.
As always, I urge you to come visit the places under consideration before making any decision about moving here.
Love everything sunsprit said. I know my cousins built a cabin near Casper and they loved it and lived there for many years. Only came home to Kansas due to family needs. Their pictures were beautiful. I grew up out West but with family in Kansas, I made that trip across Wyoming a million times and I've been in those blizzards that sunsprit spoke of. They are no joke and neither are the great distances between civilizations. It's nothing like the South, the Midwest or either one of the Coasts. The other thing is that Wyoming is no different than any other state with the state looking different and offering different things from region to region. I'd visit Wyoming and go visit as many regions as you can. You'll see vast differences across the entire state. That way you can find the spot in Wyoming that calls out to you.
Lest you think people are ignoring your question, Sunsprit covered the bases really well:
The most populated "city" in Wyoming is Cheyenne at 60,000 people.
You'll have to search for skyscrapers in WY, but untouched land is everywhere
Museums are at a premium in the state, but the library system is ahead of the curve. You'll find next to no "clubs", and only college parties in college towns ~ though drinking is well ingrained into the culture.
Again, quiet and boring is Easy to come by, lively is something you would have to put effort into discovering
For the last, Wyoming is high plains/desert, any "town" you live in with have tress that aren't there naturally. Expect more open and flat than trees (moving from WY to the SE, I'm extremely claustrophobic with all the trees here, you can't see the horizon, ever), at least unless you pick a town in the mountains within the trees.
The best possible thing to do would be taking a couple weeks and drive around the state, Figure out how small is too small (I suspect that this will be more of an issue for you than trying to find something small enough) before you give up amenities you desire, and what views you like the best. Oh, and check on rentals in the places you like, you may find that you have to rule out some areas due to the limited availability or costs above what you want to assume.
I agree with Brian. Take some time to come out and check out the towns. During a week's vacation you can cover all of the "mountainous" areas of the state as long as you don't spend too long in one place. My recommendation would be Cody or Sheridan. Cody would be more sufficient for your request as far as having one of the most wonderful western museums anywhere. Google the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and you will get tons of info. This may be a good place to use as a resource for your writing. Cody is also an hour's drive from Yellowstone, which is a wonderful place. Even during tourist season you should be able to find some quiet mountainside to sit on and write. There is a bowling alley, too. Cody is medium size for Wyoming standards (10,000ish) but small compared to cities. Other than during the peak of tourist time in the summer it is a nice, quiet town. Sheridan is also a nice little mountain town. I don't know much about museums (elkhunter would be able to tell you more) but I know it has what you need and is at the base of the Big Horn mountains. Both towns are less than 2 hours from Billings, MT where you could get anything you need in a large town. Hope this helps!
Buffalo and Sheridan are very pretty towns at the base of the Bighorn Mountains, and if they're too big you could consider some of the smaller towns near them, like Story, Big Horn, Dayton or Ranchester. This area is rich in Old West history, site of one of the most famous range wars (Johnson County War), Indian wars (Fetterman Massacre, Wagon Box Fight), the Bozeman Trail, cattle drives from Texas to Montana, Hole-in-the-Wall hideout and more.
Travel a bit east on I-90 and you'll pass through Sundance, where the Sundance Kid picked up his nickname after a stint in the town jail. (The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy first met while working on a ranch just east of Gillette.) Sundance is in the northern Black Hills, not far from the famous Black Hills gold rush of 1876, Deadwood, SD, etc. A few miles north of Sundance and you're in the very small ranching towns of Alva and Hulett -- all worth your consideration.
All of Wyoming is rich in western history as well has home to pre-historic man. There are a million stories here just waiting to be written. Come have a look.
Technically speaking, Wyoming has no skyscrapers, not even mid rises . . . what is traffic in Wyoming? You could live all over Wyoming with your criteria. You can live really in any Wyoming town, or just outside of it. Short five minute drives out of most towns can you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. Riverton, WY seems like a nice place. Decent sized for Wyoming, about 9,000, but they got services like a hospital if you need them. Also outside of town are many rural areas.
If you want more of a "mountain" and "forested" feel, check out Jackson, WY. Lots of rivers there that would be neat for a cabin if you can find one to rent. Also nearby in Idaho has many great choices.
used to be one of the Dorms in Laramie was the tallest building not sure on that. But if War Mermorial Statium is full it becomes the 3rd largest population center in Wyoming
To make a long story short, I am 24 living in Tampa, FL for 6 years. I've had it and am ready to move! I'm a writer and while researching the location where one of my novels should take place, I found Wyoming. That's where my interest in this state began.
I've been Googling stuff like, "Rural Wyoming" and "Country Wyoming", but I'm not finding what I'm looking for. Please, to anyone living your whole life in Wyoming, but give me some advice on where exactly I want to go.
I am looking to rent a house, not buy.
I don't like the city. The smaller the town, the better.
I prefer forests and lakes to horns blaring and skyscrapers.
I prefer museums, libraries, and bowling, to clubs, college partying, blah blah. I live near Ybor in Tampa, so all we have here is partying partying partying 24/7.
I like quiet and boring, not boisterous and lively, lol.
I want to look out the window and see nature, not trees plucked from elsewhere and planted in the grassy patch on the sidewalk.
I noticed Riverton, Cody, and Buffalo have very small populations, which is nice.
Any Wyoming residents familiar with the state, where do you think I'd be happy? I'll be checking back regularly.
Thank you in advance
There aren't many museums in the state, but the rest of the state will work well for you. The towns you mentioned are nice. Sheridan, Lander, Pinedale, Laramie, and Powell are also nice choices. Most of the state is prairie and those are also nice. The biggest cities are Cheyenne and Casper around the 50k mark so your small town requirement will come into play.
I have read each individual post. That was all really useful, thanks to everyone that took the time to reply.
I was asked about my budget. Very important point I forgot to mention.
It sounds like a town in Wyoming really is just a town, and that there is probably no work there, and I'd have to drive to the city or to a more populated area to work. However, considering it can take "10-15 minutes to get across the city," commuting isn't a big concern for me.
With everything I said I'd like in a "small town," I should mention I don't have a huge budget. I am hardly affluent, so I need a place where I could afford to live long-term. I don't need a gargantuan house or to live in an upperclass neighborhood, but I do want a home where my neighbor isn't 5 feet away and my backyard isn't a 10x20 block. Some of the towns I was looking at had statistics for average household income as low as $25k. I'm hoping this bears some truth.
It seems that even the big cities, as stated, aren't really that big--that perhaps moving out too far really is living in complete and total isolation. I wish I had a visual idea of what a city is like in Wyoming.
How would it compare to what a city is in Tampa, New York, or New Jersey (I've lived in all three places)?
How do most small businesses fair in Wyoming? Do residents shop at "mom & pop" places more than the conglomerate businesses?
In Florida, most lose out because we have a giant Walmart every 4 miles, and PizzaHut or Burger King withing site of each other.
I've saved all the towns/cities mentioned and will certainly research them. I agree, the absolute best way to decide where I will be content is to visit the location. My primary reason for wanting to speak to residents and hear their opinions and suggestions is because I really want to have an idea of where I should take the time to visit, and any places I should look out for (like the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and any other interesting landmarks).
Here are some photos of towns you mentioned in your replies. If anyone has any to post, please do so!
Is this really what I can expect to see, just about anywhere?
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You could live all over Wyoming with your criteria. You can live really in any Wyoming town, or just outside of it. Short five minute drives out of most towns can you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. Riverton, WY seems like a nice place. Decent sized for Wyoming, about 9,000, but they got services like a hospital if you need them. Also outside of town are many rural areas. 
