Review of Dubois, Wyoming


Unless you were born here, don't bother.
Star Rating - 3/23/2015
Worst. Small town. Ever. Run by ancient small-minded people who can't get out of their own way to help themselves. Surprisingly xenophobic for a town that was touted as the second best western town to retire in. Very low mental health record. Wyoming itself is one of the highest ranked states for suicide and this town is no stranger to the occurence, sadly. Appalling discord among church members and obvious disparity between religions. It's the old "mine is better than yours" so let's not get together to help each other. If you weren't born here, you will never be regarded as viable unless you keep your wallet wide open and dish out donations. It's a very poor town, sadly, and depends on philanthropists to keep it going and they are slowly dying out. You will be "welcomed" just as much as thrown out with the bathwater as soon as you have an opinion about something. People are leaving in droves, especially young families who moved there for the low crime rate. Homes are listed on real estate websites for years, not much new blood moving in. Very remotely located insofar as accessing fair priced and healthier groceries. You have to drive 80 miles one way to the larger grocers in Lander or Riverton. The health food store is open "when [the owner] feels like it". You will find yourself buying most non perishable items online and paying a premium for delivery on larger items. In some cases, suppliers won't even deliver to Dubois. Businesses are closing constantly and there is little regularity with the restaurants being open aside from the local greasy spoon cafe. The upside is if you're looking to be left alone, valued only for your ability to constantly donate to local charities (all necessary for the handful of golden hearts that do live here) , don't mind that the hospital is 75 miles away, that there is no medical care on the weekends and only on occasional weekdays, that many people typically won't hold themselves accountable for their actions (or those of their kids), can't get a contractor to return your calls or find one who actually is licensed and insured, and dont mind the good ol' boy network, and chronic wind and unbearably long winters (dont believe the realtors who tell you there's 300 days of sunshine--they forget to mention that most of those days are too windy to go outside or too cold--. This is a great place for a two week vacation but not to bring your family to live. Unless you're a hermit. In which case, there's lots of great hiking, mountain biking, cross country skiing, etc...but plan on doing it alone. Don't bring your dogs either. Very unfriendly towards dogs in that they are considered nonentities by most, and disposable. Mostly, you need a passport to live here.
Jack | Dubois, WY
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2 Replies


I'm not sure what Jack was looking for, or if THAT MUCH has changed in 5 years, but my husband and I visited Dubois, Wyoming, over the July 4th holiday and fell in love with the place. We had planned to go on to Lake Tahoe for 6 weeks, but after 2 weeks of crowds and traffic we came back to Dubois and bought a home site. People are friendly here. They smile and wave when they drive by, even if they don't know you, and chat you up in shops and restaurants. Before coming here we lived for 15 years in Lorton, Virginia, in a huge house on a half-acre lot. In all those years we got to know one set of neighbors well enough to chat over the fence. No one else. Yet in 4 weeks in Dubois we've come to know at least a dozen people and they know us, and that's not counting the conversations with vacationers passing through. Yes, there's a turnover in businesses and in a small town it's more noticeable, but I have a sense that the town is being discovered, especially this year. No, I haven't seen a health food store or a Sushi palace, but it has a really nice high-end steakhouse (The Lone Buffalo), a couple of great local cafes for the usual comfort food, several burger restaurants and a Mexican takeout. The local hardware store is becoming an ACE Hardware (my favorite), Twin Pines Lodge is beautiful and historic, and the little supermarket has pretty much everything you need. Most people have dogs (some have the run of the town shops) so they are obviously welcome. As for church squabbling, only about a third of the town is religious so I don't see that being an obstacle to fitting in. If you want more, Lander is 75 or so miles east and Jackson is 85 or so miles west. Dubois fits perfectly in the middle.
Candace | Laughlin, NV | Report Abuse

This old review is extraordinarily unfair. You can hear Jack's bitterness, and I wonder whether his own personality may account for the "xenophobic" responses he received. I moved here 10 years ago, and I find his comments to be terribly unfair. People are not "leaving in droves" with "not very much new blood moving in." It seems I meet a newcomer every week. Businesses close and new businesses open, as everywhere, but we have more restaurants than one "greasy spoon." We have a bistro that serves fusion food, several places to buy a breakfast burrito, and an ever-popular cafe that serves quinoa salads as well as elk burgers. There is ample gourmet food and nutritious fresh produce available at our grocery store. FedEx and UPS deliver every day; I see the trucks all the time and the UPS driver knows me well enough to stop by and find me if he sees my car outside a shop and doesn't need to drive to my house. Medical care is available all day every weekday from two local clinics, and our ambulance and airlift service are as good as national standards. What on earth is the basis for the comment about dogs? Nearly everyone has a dog, and if you lose your dog neighbors will work very hard to help you find it. "Plan on hiking alone?" We go out in groups all the time -- but with friends, not with someone who is bitter and complains constantly. There is so much wrong with this review that I won't comment further. But please don't take it to heart.
Lois | Dubois, WY | Report Abuse
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