Question about Dubois (Riverton, Jackson, Lander: ski resort, for sale, real estate)

[Traci1298]

What is there for jobs in dubois?
What is the population?
How are rentals in the area?

I am looking for a small town where everyone knows everyone else. I enjoy all outdoor activities and I am use to cold, wind, snow and ice. I would prefer a population that is small as a say where everyone knows everyone and I can call others by name and vice versa.

[Kristynwy]

I moved your post into it's own new post, that way you can generate more replies.

Have you check out this link to City Data statistics about Dubious, it can answer some of your questions...
https://www.city-data.com/city/Dubois-Wyoming.html

Can you expand a bit, what is your occupation, more specific interests, likes and dislikes as far as climate ect... That will also help us get a better idea of how to answer your question.

Here is their newspaper to check out some about the town and rentals
www.duboisfrontier.com

[Brian_M]

Dubois fits your requirements about being a small town where everyone knows everyone elses business. As for jobs, the ones I know about are all related to service (food/hotels) and tourism (fishing guides, snowmobile guides/rentals, general outdoor guides). There's obviously a few jobs for teachers, postal workers, janitors, etc...

If you're curious about what Might be open, try contacting the Library (phone might be best). Most days you'll get one of 3 gals on the phone, all are locals who are involved in the community and any of them should be able to answer your questions. Just try to call between 8 and 10am MST (before they open), they used to answer the phones then.

Good luck. I grew up in Lander, and Dubois, while beautiful and a place I loved to visit, would have driven me absolutely crazy trying to live there.

[ElkHunter]

Here's the Dubois city website.

[Claim Jumper]

I like Dubois-but kinda small for me to like. If you can stay busy, earn a living, then great.
I went through there around 3 weeks ago. There is a huge road project not far from there in Togwotee Trail Reconstruction Begins Not sure if that is what its called.
Lots of women driving trucks-$15 an hour-not sure if you like road work/ men too. I was just surprised at all the women driving truck--huge earth movers,Someone told me they are not earning a lot-$15 an hour was what i was told.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-15943313_ITM

[MRVphotog]

Dubois has quick access to the Wind River Range, not well know like the Tetons 90 miles away but the range is so big you could put the Tetons in the middle of it and have trouble finding them. So if your into outdoor activities it's a good place to live. Once in awhile they get big winds coming thru. Years ago they had a little restaurant which served a 1lb burgers called the Mountain Man Burger.

[Trouthead]

Might be tough to find a job in Dubois depending upon what you do. It is very small (under 1500) in town but more in the surrounding area. No real "industry" but tourism, and government. One grocery store, a lot of bars and resturaunts, some really run down housing and some spectacular housing. Good schools, no hospital, some type of clinic for medical care. about 70 miles from Riverton or Lander, and about 80 miles from Jackson.

Wonderful weather. Snows very little right in town as it sits in a shadow of the Wind Rivers. Jackson will be -20 , Lander -10 and Dubois could be 50 degrees. Lots of temperature inversions.

I love Dubois, but then again I only live 70 miles away.

[Traci1298]

First of all thank you for creating and moving my posts to its own, I am just trying to figure this site out and I am having a few issues figuring where to look for things as well as how to post other than a reply. As you see I am not the best computer person.

To answer the question about more specific things I am looking for other than a small town, they are not very involved or demanding. I am used to the snow and ice when I lived in VA and NC. I am looking for a small town as stated previously. I like the idea of walking down the street and people know who you are and I know who they are, where you can borrow a cup of sugar when you need it, where your neighbor will come and pet sit or bring you chicken soup if you are sick, where the neighbors are nice to one another and actually come for a visit or as we say in the south come "sit for a spell", I am sure I sound quite romanticized in my idea of a new place to live, but I really want to enjoy a community that is more like family.
I am also looking for a small church to attend when I get there. I like to sing, ride horses, although I have not ridden for awhile, but I enjoy it alot, if there was somewhere to ride around where I currently live I would.
I would not mind having a garden although I have never had one myself.
I would need to find a place to rent, I would not be in the position to buy right away until I was established in a community with a job and made sure the town I chose was going to work out.
I am currently in real estate and that market has taken quite a dive over the last year as you well know, so I am also substitute teaching at the local schools which I love. I have a degree in Respiratory Therapy to work at a hospital but I have not worked in the hospital for around 4 years now and I am not sure I want to persue this line of work again.
I am willing to do just about anything that would pay the rent and enable me to live and pay the bills. I enjoy people so that is not a problem either. I am not sure if my real estate license would transfer to Wyoming or not it looks like Wyoming might have ended there reciprocal agreement with GA.
I love the rodeo so I know I would enjoy the local rodeos there. We have a few traveling rodeos that come through FL and I go to those when I am able.
I enjoy almost all outdoor activities as well, hiking, biking, walking, boating, and just about anything else.
I ride a motorcycle so I am sure I would never lack for places to ride and see some beautiful country that I am really looking forward too.

I guess at this point my main concern would be employment and finding a rental place to live. I have two dogs.

I looked on the city website but I didnt see but 4 houses for sale and no houses for rent.

I am coming to Wyoming in December to Yellowstone, I know not the best time of year to come but I actually am coming this time of year because of a trip I won with my company and the only time I could stay at the vacation place was in December all of the other weeks were booked so I really don't mind. I plan on snowmobiling, maybe ski, and I would love to horseback ride if anyone does winter riding. I plan on renting a car is it too far from West Yellowstone to Dubois to check the area out? Do you have any other places I should go while visiting there I want to make the most out of the trip, most of Yellowstone will be closed anyway to traffic as far as I understand.

I would appreciate any help and advice anyone is willing to offer. I am so excited I can hardly wait for the trip I think about it daily! If you cant tell I really want something to work out so I can move there.

[Brian_M]

For all of your wants, you can have them in a number of other towns that are larger/offer more work opportunity/more rental opportunity/etc... I grew up in Lander (70 miles down the road from Dubois) and feel like it'd fit all your wants, plus offer some solutions to the renting/employment issues. Wyoming is what you make of it (mostly ~ there are a couple of walls), so if you want to be friendly with everyone, go out and make it so. No one will make that part hard on you.

As for your trip this winter, be aware that West Yellowstone is actually in Montana. It's a 6-hour one way drive, on good roads, to Dubois from there. It's a mecca for snowmobiling though, and some Fantastic skiing at Grand Targhee (where I grew up skiing).

[sunsprit]

What's not shown up yet in this thread is that Dubois is a rather pricey area in Wyoming.

I flew in a few years back ... The motel folks were very nice and picked my up at the fabulous airstrip, I got a little cabin for the weekend, and it was a short walk to some restaurants and a super fishing shop. I got interested in the local real estate for sale ... and checked out a modest 2 bd/1 ba cabin on a couple of acres down by the river. I called the real estate agent, and he represented that it was a "bargain" at $1mil. This was in the mid 1980's!

I checked around a bit more, and found out that Dubois is one of those little-known towns that has a large following of the Eastern money set, with fishing cabins in the area. People whose family names you'd recognize as being in the top 400 wealthy families in the USA. Head out to the airstrip and you'll see their turbine aircraft there all the time in the nice weather months, on the ramp ... as well as in the hangars that recently got built there.

I spent enough time in the area with repeat trips to convince a friend of mine to visit the area, and he fell in love with it. He bought several commercial properties in town, a restaurant, as well as 40 acres about 15 minutes west of town in the hills. Beautiful property, he spent a lot of money to get established there. Unfortunately, his plans changed and he has sold the commercial properties ... and not had time to build his retirement cabin. I know he spent money comparable to resort property in ski areas in Colorado, which is pricey, indeed.

Most of the folks I met there who could really afford to live there had cabins or housing that they'd had in the family for many years before the area got "discovered", and had government jobs with benefits and a decent pay rate. There's a fair number of extended large families in town that have been there for a long time.

I've known two fine dining chefs to open up restaurants in town, one was a spectacular northern italian restaurant counting on local traffic as well as travelers heading over the pass to the west ... and both restaurants failed miserably in short order, despite excellent food and value. Just too pricey for the locals to patronize. The successful restaurants in town are "mom & pop" coffee shops, american style dining, or the bars with an extended menu.

Overall, Dubois is one of my favorite places in Wyoming to visit, but I can't afford the place. And that's coming from the perspective that I own ski resort property in Colorado which wasn't as expensive and at least had the rental potential to earn it's keep and generate a modest positive cash flow. With a population hovering under 1,000 residents, it's not a huge job market with a lot of affluence in Dubois.

So, I'd be checking on the availability of affordable housing consistent with the income potential of a job in Dubois before getting too set on moving there. Unless you've got an independent outside income and a large downpayment for property, there could be a problem .... but do enjoy your visit this December!

FWIW, the horseback riding I've done in the area was wonderful during the summer and fall months ... but wintertime riding there could leave a lot to be desired. The folks I've been riding with head South to AZ for their wintertime riding.