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Contrary to popular belief, more than ten people live in Wyoming. In fact, 5,000 of them live in Buffalo, a quiet, pretty, high-altitude community variously described as the Mayberry of the West or the town that Mickey and Judy grew up in (if they grew up in the West). Tucked long Clear Creek at the foot of the rugged Big Horn Mountains in north central Wyoming, and not far from the "Hole in the Wall" where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out, a more authentic Western town is hard to find. Buffalo is located along Interstate 25, and tourists wander in on their way to Yellowstone National Park, 135 miles to the west, but this is not an overtly touristy place.
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Instead, it is the kind of place where not much happens past 9 p.m. Neighbors know each other, and residents often do not lock their doors at night. Cars stop for jaywalking pedestrians, and men wear cowboy hats. The cost of living is roughly 8% below the national average, and the median home price is $175,000. Of the population, 27% is age 45 to 64, and 21% is age 65 or better. This area has experienced a recent economic boon thanks to natural gas production, and Buffalo is growing.
People here are friendly and welcoming, displaying actual Western hospitality, and they have a strong streak of individualism.
The town has a little of everything - a hardware store, some restaurants, an Internet cafe, a sporting goods store, a pharmacy, banks, some art galleries, etc. (no Wal-Mart or much in the way of chain stores, and a lot of shopping is done in Sheridan - population 16,000 - 35 miles northwest).
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Buffalo's greatest claim to fame is the wonderful Occidental Hotel, named by National Geographic as one of the top 129 hotels in North America. Built in 1880, the Occidental is not only a hotel but a mini museum, a saloon and a fine dining establishment that has seen the likes of President Herbert Hoover, Calamity Jane, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and Buffalo Bill Cody sleep in its beds. The creaking wooden floors, dead animal heads on the walls and antique furniture are authentic and right out of a Hollywood movie. Locals say that sometimes at night, a player piano can be heard.
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This is a town that is conservative to its core, and its residents spend a lot of time in the outdoors, fishing, snowmobiling and camping in the spectacular scenery of the Big Horns. Wildlife is abundant, and the air is pure and clean (if a little thin at 4,650 ft.). In town, Clear Creek Centennial Trail is a groomed walking path along the river, and the Buffalo Golf Club has been named one of the best courses in the state by Golf Digest. Although Buffalo is not overrun with tourists, they are present in the summers, and the town plays up its Western heritage (which is not hard to do) and sponsors parades, rodeos, cookouts, carriage rides and Western re-enactments. The Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum, housed in a building built with money donated by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, boasts 10,000 artifacts (Western and Native American) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings, as are many of Main Street's nineteenth-century structures.
The Buffalo Senior Center is a lovely facility and provides hot meals, home-delivered meals, health care clinics, fitness classes, transportation, activity classes (bridge, ceramics, etc.), senior companion programs and more. The YMCA offers a number of fitness classes. Johnson County Healthcare Center is a 25-bed acute care facility with nine fulltime physicians and offers an ICU, surgical care, 24-hour emergency care, cancer care, home health care, hospice care and more. Larger facilities are in Sheridan and Billings, Montana (135 miles).
The Buffalo Area Transit System has two buses and one van and provides public transportation Monday through Sunday. Churches number about fifteen (no synagogue). The Johnson County Library is a modern facility with adult education classes, a good genealogy department and downloadable books (as well as old fashioned paper books).
The climate in Wyoming is very dry, and Buffalo is no exception. Humidity may start out at around 50% in the morning, it drops to as low as 20% by afternoon, and the town only receives 13 inches of precipitation a year. Snowfalls, though, can reach up to a foot per month from November through April. While in many parts of Wyoming people walk at an angle because of the nearly constant wind, Buffalo residents escape some of that because the town is tucked against the mountains. Summer temperatures are usually in the 70s and 80s, and winter temperatures are in the teens, 20s and 30s. The sky is a hazy blue that stretches forever and is often dappled by white, fluffy clouds.
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People in search of a tranquil, affordable, scenic and authentic Western destination may want to consider Buffalo as a retirement spot,
but limited shopping and dining, few cultural amenities, a remote (but accessible) location and a small hospital should be considered before relocating here.
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