Even so, many longtime residents hold on to a perception that prices have been driven up by part-timers who maintain second or even third homes in Jackson Hole. Typically these outlanders are lampooned for their conspicuous consumption and lack of community commitment. One local derided them as “Nantucket cowboys,” while another resident referred to them as 228ers: two people for two weeks a year in 8,000 square feet.
Unlike the newer compounds out in the valley, houses in town reflect more humble times. Parcels are small and homes are simple, although older structures are giving way to new ones, many in updated versions of Jackson’s traditional log cabin style.
Driving through the East Jackson neighborhood, architect Eric Logan acknowledges the pull toward Jackson’s rugged past and the noticeable influence of such national-park icons as Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Lodge.
Logan, a Wyoming native and an associate with Carney Architects, has lived here since 1995. He believes that Jackson’s architecture can tap into tradition while reflecting its modern realities. “The Yellowstone lodge is phenomenal,” says Logan, “but we don’t need another one.”
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| Glenn Oakley |
| Famed fly-fisherman Jack Dennis.
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Faced with the area’s real estate costs, Logan says he “bit the bullet and bought some dirt” and decided to design his own house, keeping costs down by serving as general contractor. He sought variances from his homeowners association to incorporate oxidized steel and other nontraditional materials. Some bruising battles he won; others he lost.
Jonathan Schechter believes that such conflicts arise when people’s personal visions of Jackson collide. “People come to Jackson and fall in love with what it was at that specific time,” he says. “Then someone else comes in with another vision that threatens to destroy the fantasy. The problem is that my idealized Jackson may be very different from your idealized Jackson. And you don’t want to mess with someone else’s thunderbolt.”
Even as millionaire entrepreneurs run their businesses via Wi-Fi from the banks of the Snake, a morning radio show called “Trash and Treasures” serves as a hi-fi bulletin board for people looking for rides to Denver or who want to sell an old sofa. There are both gated estates and picket fences made of old skis here, and while there is no storefront Starbucks, you will find the Jackson Hole Roasters, a coffee spot located in a 1920s-vintage cabin cluttered with sacks of beans and roasting equipment. Change has come to Jackson, but the soul of the valley survives.
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| Glenn Oakley |
| Biking outside of town.
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It’s a warm summer night and the county fair is in town. The fair’s climactic event, the demolition derby, is drawing big crowds to the fairgrounds. Crowded too is the upscale Old Yellowstone Garage, which hosts a pizza night on Sundays, when servers circulate with an ever-changing array of creations fresh out of wood-fired ovens. Shaking his head with a broad, disbelieving smile, the restaurant’s owner, David Gilbert, comes wheeling past a table and declares, “This is just too crazy,” before quickly disappearing again.
Across the Snake River in Wilson, the parking lot at the Stagecoach Bar is packed. There are Ford pickups with gun racks and Subarus with Thule bike racks. Inside, river guides in Tevas and Patagonia mingle with cowboys in Justins and Wranglers, all here to watch the house band run through Hank Williams and countrified Beatles.
The band rips into a gloriously ragged version of “Hey, Good Lookin’” before one member declares, “That was fun. That was so much fun we gotta take a break.” You don’t want to place the burden of metaphor on a joint that’s really all about simple good times. But the bar is not unlike Jackson Hole. The things that bring people here are still bigger than the things that might otherwise keep them apart.
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| Glenn Oakley |
| Jackson Hole Roasters is the local choice for caffeine.
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VITAL STATS
Population: 18,251 in Teton County
Growth: 63% between 1990 and 2000
Elevation: About 6,300 ft.
Average August High/Low: 80°/38°
Average January High/Low: 27°/5°
Median home price: $615,000
Median age: 35
FYI: Although it’s the voting residence of Vice President Dick Cheney, Teton County was Wyoming’s only county where John Kerry defeated President Bush (53% to 45% )
Moving to Jackson?You don’t have to be Harrison Ford to live in Jackson Hole, but it doesn’t hurt. Jonathan Schechter, executive director of the Charture Institute, offers a few points to consider.
Start with a thunderbolt. If there isn’t something about this place that touches your soul, you’re probably wasting your time. Jackson Hole is wonderful, but it’s also remote, with long winters. You really have to want to be here.
Have a portable income. It helps if your job or business can be done from any location.
Have a financial cushion. If you hope to start a business, you’ll need time to figure out your strategy after you arrive. Jackson has its opportunities, but fewer than in larger cities.
Manage expectations. Do you want a home on 5 acres with a stream? Or are you willing to consider a smaller property to live in Jackson Hole proper and enjoy a Teton view? Avoid disillusionment by understanding your goals.
