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Like the subject implies looking to buy land around Clark / Cody / Powell, Wyoming for a small family ranch / future home.
I’m tired of Florida, our Governor is great but the liberals moving down here, raising the cost of living and voting for the exact same thing they left behind in New York is driving me insane. A 4/5 bedroom house in Miami around my childhood neighborhood used to go for $350,000-$500,000 and now they’ve driven the prices up to almost $800,000 it’s ridiculous.
I went to Wyoming about 2-3 summers ago on a cross country road trip with my wife and my daughter and we fell in love with the natural beauty of the state and the fact that it’s desolate. We’ve visited every summer ever since. I used to ranch on my fathers ranch in Northern Arizona and I’d love to give my kids that experience but instead of Arizona, in Wyoming and build something I can pass down to my grandchildren. So this is a project I’ll be working on for the next 5-6 years before I make my move from Florida.
Now I just have questions for the locals.
I’ve read on other posts that there is “cliqueyness” between residents of Cody and Powell. I did kind of feel that vibe when I was in Cody, I haven’t visited Powell just yet. Is the town welcoming of outsiders? I know Cody and Wyoming isn’t welcoming to those who want to change the state and I sure don’t, if I move I want keep Wyoming the way it is and yes I’m a registered Republican / Conservative big on guns, hunting, ranching. God, Family and Country.
The reason I also ask and maybe it’s because of my Florida plates but I was pulled over by Wyoming State Troopers and Park County Sheriffs on each of my trips and it seemed like curiosity every single time.
Would fellow ranchers be welcoming of another rancher? Especially one from out of state?
I read it’s windy up in Clark but I never felt extreme wind in Cody or Greybull which is where I stayed last time.
Any tips on buying land to build on? Things to look for and look out for? I’ve only been looking at land with running streams, rivers or water sources nearby.
I really appreciate everyone who takes time to answer. God bless.
Having done a fair amount of research on properties in that area, let me opine a couple of observations:
A LOT of the property is crap. Steep slope, wasteland, etc.
Quality property is costly. +/- $5,000 per acre for anything decent.
More if it has reliable water...stream, pond, etc.
IF you can afford a large spread, think 1,000 acres or more, then the price drops into the $1,000/ acre range.
A lot of the property for sale is barren wasteland with no water. It isn't like we see in the pictures with green fields and snow covered peaks.
I suspect much of this has to do with prices having soared and people looking to cash in on a windfall that they never envisioned.
Be careful of anything that is wooded and has had the timber sold and what is left is a mess of slag. Again, with wood prices soaring people have stripped the land and what is left is a mess.
Watch out for mineral rights and what they mean.
By observation, the landscape is similar in northern Maine and prices are quite a bit lower. Other than the obvious, i am not sure of the reason for the discrepancy.
My plan is to head out there, land somewhere that i think might be interesting and start looking with the aid of a reliable local. Not to insult anyone, but a lot of the stuff on the internet looks almost like a scam...or at least an attempt to cash in (as anyone would) on the movement toward rural America and a lot of uneducated buyers.
“ The reason I also ask and maybe it’s because of my Florida plates but I was pulled over by Wyoming State Troopers and Park County Sheriffs on each of my trips and it seemed like curiosity every single time.”
Busy tourist counties like Park County see people from all over the world. Literally all over the world. Nobody cares about your license plate. The highway patrol starts enforcing speed limits at 6 mph over the speed limit. You don’t have a license plate on the front of your vehicle in Florida, so if you’re meeting an officer going the opposite direction on the highway (and that’s most typically what happens), the officer doesn’t know where you’re from until you’re getting pulled over.
Do some research on AU and AUM, for Park County. A fair start is 40+ acres per Animal Unit/year, then up from there. The area your link is
probably 100s of acres per AU a year. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publicatio...ng/cp56029.pdf
Like the subject implies looking to buy land around Clark / Cody / Powell, Wyoming for a small family ranch / future home.
I’m tired of Florida, our Governor is great but the liberals moving down here, raising the cost of living and voting for the exact same thing they left behind in New York is driving me insane. A 4/5 bedroom house in Miami around my childhood neighborhood used to go for $350,000-$500,000 and now they’ve driven the prices up to almost $800,000 it’s ridiculous.
I went to Wyoming about 2-3 summers ago on a cross country road trip with my wife and my daughter and we fell in love with the natural beauty of the state and the fact that it’s desolate. We’ve visited every summer ever since. I used to ranch on my fathers ranch in Northern Arizona and I’d love to give my kids that experience but instead of Arizona, in Wyoming and build something I can pass down to my grandchildren. So this is a project I’ll be working on for the next 5-6 years before I make my move from Florida.
Now I just have questions for the locals.
I’ve read on other posts that there is “cliqueyness” between residents of Cody and Powell. I did kind of feel that vibe when I was in Cody, I haven’t visited Powell just yet. Is the town welcoming of outsiders? I know Cody and Wyoming isn’t welcoming to those who want to change the state and I sure don’t, if I move I want keep Wyoming the way it is and yes I’m a registered Republican / Conservative big on guns, hunting, ranching. God, Family and Country.
The reason I also ask and maybe it’s because of my Florida plates but I was pulled over by Wyoming State Troopers and Park County Sheriffs on each of my trips and it seemed like curiosity every single time.
Would fellow ranchers be welcoming of another rancher? Especially one from out of state?
I read it’s windy up in Clark but I never felt extreme wind in Cody or Greybull which is where I stayed last time.
Any tips on buying land to build on? Things to look for and look out for? I’ve only been looking at land with running streams, rivers or water sources nearby.
I really appreciate everyone who takes time to answer. God bless.
First while I'm thinking about it - what GoshWyo said about being pulled over.
RE: Cody in summer - totally different world from Cody the rest of the year. Cody in summer - green, everything is open, numerous special events throughout the city, people from all over the world hustling and bustling about.
Cody in winter - like every other small town of 10,000 in anywhere-ville USA. 1/2 of the businesses are closed down for the winter. and many others have abbreviated hours. 1/3 of the residents bug out to warmer climes. The July 4 parade lasts for hours. The Christmas parade lasts for 20 mins. You get the idea.
Is there a clickishness between Cody and Powell? Don't really know. They're just two very different towns. Powell residents enjoy slightly (sometimes more than slightly) lower property prices, are happy to not live in a tourist-driven town during the summer, and are primarily farm/ranch folks. Very nice downtown. Totally different vibe from Cody.
No we don't want people to change our state. We like it the way it is.
Windy in Clark? Yeah. I could describe it to you but you wouldn't understand it until you've lived through it. I didn't understand it until I had lived through it. I live out the South Fork and early this winter strong winds blew for 6 weeks straight. It didn't let up. Not for one minute for six weeks straight. Clark is worse.
If you're working on this over the next few years I would encourage visits at times of year other than summer.
Like Juneaubound said, visit in times other than summer. Fly in and rent a car and see what there is to see. Since you have kids, maybe spring break would be a good time to get away and have them see some snow first hand. You'll also see how isolated the Cody/Powell areas are. I thought you'd have to fly to Billings or Casper, but it looks like you can get two flights a day from Miami (or anywhere in Florida) to Cody, WY via Denver. Not as "air" isolated as I thought. Good Luck.
[quote=juneaubound;62814011]First while I'm thinking about it - what GoshWyo said about being pulled over.
- The reason I said curiosity because both times I was just let go after checking my license, registration and insurance. One of those times I was traveling between Greybull and Cody coming from Greybull. I was the only truck on the road and the fastest I was going was 73-74 in a 70 mph.
Is there a clickishness between Cody and Powell? Don't really know. They're just two very different towns. Powell residents enjoy slightly (sometimes more than slightly) lower property prices, are happy to not live in a tourist-driven town during the summer, and are primarily farm/ranch folks. Very nice downtown. Totally different vibe from Cody. - I met an awesome couple from Powell and they told me they loved it. That the only come down to Cody to get a drink or eat out. I’ll definitely visit and scope it out next time.
Windy in Clark? Yeah. I could describe it to you but you wouldn't understand it until you've lived through it. I didn't understand it until I had lived through it. I live out the South Fork and early this winter strong winds blew for 6 weeks straight. It didn't let up. Not for one minute for six weeks straight. Clark is worse. - Is it the mountains around Cody that protect it from wind? Does the wind pick up only in winter? Everything I read about moving to Wyoming is a warning about wind but I never felt anything in the summer.
If you're working on this over the next few years I would encourage visits at times of year other than summer. - That is definitely the plan, I’ve lived in the cold but I’ve heard Wyoming, Montana and Idaho winters are just different. I’ll probably go visit around December later this year when my kid has the two week Christmas vacation.
Did they subdivide off the house / best of property or was it always just a separate piece of PASTURE?
Maybe development is a feasible new use... maybe there is a reason it hasn't happened. Water, winter despite claims that did not address winds...Grizzlies (naturally located or problems dumped)...
Does the ranch need to pencil out as a current business or is it ok as lifestyle domicle / future lifestyle saleable asset? I doubt it pencils out as a profitable current business. How much negative cash flow? Depends on use, talent, how much you can / will do yourselves, right.
First while I'm thinking about it - what GoshWyo said about being pulled over.
- The reason I said curiosity because both times I was just let go after checking my license, registration and insurance. One of those times I was traveling between Greybull and Cody coming from Greybull. I was the only truck on the road and the fastest I was going was 73-74 in a 70 mph.
Is there a clickishness between Cody and Powell? Don't really know. They're just two very different towns. Powell residents enjoy slightly (sometimes more than slightly) lower property prices, are happy to not live in a tourist-driven town during the summer, and are primarily farm/ranch folks. Very nice downtown. Totally different vibe from Cody. - I met an awesome couple from Powell and they told me they loved it. That the only come down to Cody to get a drink or eat out. I’ll definitely visit and scope it out next time.
Windy in Clark? Yeah. I could describe it to you but you wouldn't understand it until you've lived through it. I didn't understand it until I had lived through it. I live out the South Fork and early this winter strong winds blew for 6 weeks straight. It didn't let up. Not for one minute for six weeks straight. Clark is worse. - Is it the mountains around Cody that protect it from wind? Does the wind pick up only in winter? Everything I read about moving to Wyoming is a warning about wind but I never felt anything in the summer.
If you're working on this over the next few years I would encourage visits at times of year other than summer. - That is definitely the plan, I’ve lived in the cold but I’ve heard Wyoming, Montana and Idaho winters are just different. I’ll probably go visit around December later this year when my kid has the two week Christmas vacation.
Thanks for the information!
1. RE: Getting stopped. Don't know what to tell you. All summer into early October there are license plates from all over the country present in this state.
2 Re: wind. Most predominant in winter, spring, late fall. Mountains affect it, canyons affect it, likely weather patterns and/or other regional physical characteristics that others may know more about than I do. Clark is well known for extreme wind. Southfork and Northfork to a lesser extent but still plenty of wind. Downtown Cody gets its share but less than the other areas I already mentioned. Wind is just part of the deal of living here in WY, and it takes some getting used to (both the wind speed, the wind chill, and the prolonged length of time the wind can blow - often weeks on end without pause).
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