Considering moving to Lander, WY. Good or bad idea?

Hey everyone, 

So I just got offered a lease for an apartment in Lander, WY on Lincoln street right down the road from the climbing gym there. I'll need to let them know if I want it soon. I know it's notoriously hard to find housing around there so it's a pretty hard opportunity to pass up. I want to move out there for the access to great climbing out there and the Wind River Range, but I still have a little hesitancy. I stayed around in Lander for a few days back in 2017 and liked the town, climbing, and surrounding area, but I never really got to meet anyone from Lander.

I know there won't be a great social scene there since it's a small ranching town, but would it be hard to find partners in the area for climbing? My main concern would moving out there then not being able to find anyone to climb with or do any other outdoors sports with. If there's anyone who lives in or is familiar with the area, I would love to hear your opinion on an out of stater like myself moving into Lander. Thanks.

Edit: I just gave the gym in Lander a call and they assuaged my concerns a bit. Seems like a great community. I'd still love to hear any responses from other folks, but if I end up signing the lease before hearing anything back I'll just delete this post.

hopefully u dont mind WIND? and winter for 7 months each year

do u ice climb? back country ski? snowmobile? 

I've always been curious about Lander life

I love living here. If you can find housing and income and don’t need a wild nightlife scene, I think it’s great. It can get windy… but so can most places with mountains. Very easy to find climbing partners as that’s why half the people in town are here..

Maybe Consider wrote:

hopefully u dont mind WIND? and winter for 7 months each year

do u ice climb? back country ski? snowmobile? 

From what I've read Sinks Canyon has a solar oven effect that allows for people to climb comfortably in the Winter, although I'm not sure how true that is. I already live in a super windy place so no problem there haha. I plan on taking up xc skiing though regardless of how the Winters turn out though so I should have plenty to do during Winter; I would hope.

Ryan K wrote:

I love living here. If you can find housing and income and don’t need a wild nightlife scene, I think it’s great. It can get windy… but so can most places with mountains. Very easy to find climbing partners as that’s why half the people in town are here..

Got your DM. It was all I needed to ease my concerns, thanks. I posted this hoping to hear from a climber that actually lives there because some of the stuff I read about Lander seems to good to be true. I'm not sure I'll believe you can comfortably climb in a t-shirt in the Winter of Wyoming until I do it myself though haha. Regardless, I am about to sign a lease for a rental right down the road from the climbing gym, so I'm sure I'll see you around. Psyched to get out there soon. Thanks again.

Maybe Consider wrote:

hopefully u dont mind WIND? and winter for 7 months each year

do u ice climb? back country ski? snowmobile? 

It varies year to year (and day to day), but Lander maybe has 4 months of proper "winter".  Sure, you'll get the occasional early/late snow, but there are so many nice days year round.  Some of the best climbing conditions are found at sinks in the winter. On a clear day without wind and you can conformably climb down into the teens.  Another perk of winter climbing is you'll get to know other local climbers as you'll repeatedly see the same faces every time you're up there.

IMO, there's a great community of people here.  Some tips for meeting people:

- The elemental bouldering wall is an easy place to meet other climbers (it's tiny so you're forced to be social)
- Attend/Volunteer WyoClimbers events
- Join Lander Cycling club & attend Jurassic Classic / other trail building events if you want to meet MTB or Road bikers
- Volunteer for the farmers market, join the Second St farm-share program, etc to make non-climbing connections
- There's a few different informal groups that play pickup soccer, volleyball, etc

Lander sucks 

Devin Scheid wrote:

From what I've read Sinks Canyon has a solar oven effect that allows for people to climb comfortably in the Winter, although I'm not sure how true that is. I already live in a super windy place so no problem there haha. I plan on taking up xc skiing though regardless of how the Winters turn out though so I should have plenty to do during Winter; I would hope.

I have climbed at Killer Cave during and immediately after a snow storm. Seeping can be an issue, but when the sun's out, it's pretty nice.

A friend of mine once road snowmobiles out to Cowboy Poetry on New Year's Day. Said it was the best day he'd ever had at Wild Iris.

I lived in Lander for 9 months.

It is a great town with awesome people and pretty good access to year round climbing.

Just be aware that Lander is not just a small town, but it is also very isolated from any other communities. It is a much different experience than living in a similar sized town pretty much anywhere else. Be prepared for more than just a lack of "night life". Other than Riverton (which is also small, but you will have to go there for walmart runs), the next closest towns with any type of amenities is 2.5 hrs one way.

Jonathan Marek wrote:

I lived in Lander for 9 months.

It is a great town with awesome people and pretty good access to year round climbing.

Just be aware that Lander is not just a small town, but it is also very isolated from any other communities. It is a much different experience than living in a similar sized town pretty much anywhere else. Be prepared for more than just a lack of "night life". Other than Riverton (which is also small, but you will have to go there for walmart runs), the next closest towns with any type of amenities is 2.5 hrs one way.

I try not to go too hard on this, but this really cannot be overstated. The roads into and out of just about every town in Wyoming will close several times every winter. It is lonely as hell if you don't have enough to keep you busy. I have seen several new transplants just give up and leave after the first hard winter storm of their stay, in relatively cosmopolitan Laramie. Lander is quite a bit more isolated, as it's nearest large towns (Riverton, Rock Springs, and Rawlins) are the first town stolen from the Wind River Indian Reservation, a good town to get meth or an oil field job, or a good town to get meth or a railroad job, respectively.

Lander is rad, the outdoor opportunities are awesome, but you need to think really carefully about whether or not rural Wyoming is a place you can live when you cannot do those outdoor activities. If you need nightlife, or good food, or a home Depot within an hour's drive, you are going to struggle.

Yeah don't go to Lander. That place is trash especially in terms of access.