Ideal ski towns for the future factoring in all issues?

[Hastur]

1 year here, another year there...

yeah, I like that.

I mean, you don't get to know a place as well as if you spent many years there, but it will be special for that 1st year.

Plus, you can ignore the warts that inevitably arise anywhere you go for a year. Keep the honeymoon period going at each new spot.

 

[snoseek]

Our son and his wife just moved to Ogden and he is young, well 25. Going to school and working in Sundance as a sous chef. He decided to start now and live there while he can get after it!

You just described the last 3 decades of my life. He can work literally anywhere he wants to live. That's pretty much the biggest benefit...there are alot of drawbacks. Also cheffing and kids are a difficult balance if he goes that route

 

[thetrailboss]

I'll be moving out west this fall. Even with all the traffic woes it's tough to beat the skiing options of SLC and you can't beat the housing prices of the area. At this moment I'd like to work at Deer Valley or Sundance to escape the LCC traffic, although Alta/Snowbird has always been the dream. Midweek tho it doesn't seem like its any problem to get up there.

Also looking at Carson City, NV at the moment. 30 minutes to Heavenly and 45 minutes to Northstar. Cash in on those inflated CA wages.

I wouldn't touch Colorado with a ten foot pole. My understanding is that I-70 traffic makes LCC/BCC look like a Sunday drive. I70 sounds like it's a crapshow every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And there's no real way to improve it. LCC/BCC from my 2,000 mile away view is only a true problem on powder day weekends. I monitor the traffic from here near-daily, and at least it seems while volume is up on the weekends even when it's dry you're not going to be sitting for hours and hours. @thetrailboss

I hear good things about Bend and Bozeman.

Not sure what you are comparing SLC to, but housing is in short supply and high demand here. Costs are really high, relatively speaking. Good luck. Look me up when you get out here.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I'm not leaving New York City. But if I were to get a 2nd home, top of my list to choose that's relatively cheap and good skiing would be Reno.

Perhaps because I used to live in California and ski Tahoe. Reno is close enough to day trip to many of the best mountains there. (and if people don't spoil it, I will neglect to mention the closest mountain which is neither Vail nor Alterra).

The vibe is not something anyone would recommend. But with the casinos, there's sufficient level of services that you expect in a "city".

Tahoe has TONS of recreation in the summer. In that regard, it fits the cliché of "come for the winter, stay for the summer".

mount rose? highest base of all tahoe resorts i think. more reliable/earlier/later snow.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I had some interesting chairlift conversations during my recent three week stay in UT. My modus operandi was to ride the quad chairs with one other person, each of us sitting on the far ends of the lift with masks up. One of the memorable chats was with a guy about age 35 who lived and worked in Philly. We got going on the pandemic and he admitted that 2020-21 has been the best year of his life. He's been working remotely the whole time and has taken frequent ski trips while working remotely. He mentioned making a lengthy stay in Miami when his work team didn't even know he wasn't in Philly. He was an example of a white collar person doing well, when we all know many on the lower end of the scale have suffered great economic hardship.

This dichotomy reminded me of stories my Dad used to tell about the 1930s. He grew up in Quincy/Weston area of MA during the Great Depression, but had few memories of hard times. His father had a good job with Kellogg cereal company. They lived in a big house and my grandfather always drove a nice car. Cereal was one of those things that sold very well during the Depression, sort of like how grocery stores have done well during covid.

my buddy's been doing the digital nomad bullshit for years prior to covid. it used to be a tolerable quirk of his personality, but this year it just seems selfish and immature to me.

 

[Innitou]

I'll be moving out west this fall. Even with all the traffic woes it's tough to beat the skiing options of SLC and you can't beat the housing prices of the area. At this moment I'd like to work at Deer Valley or Sundance to escape the LCC traffic, although Alta/Snowbird has always been the dream. Midweek tho it doesn't seem like its any problem to get up there.

Also looking at Carson City, NV at the moment. 30 minutes to Heavenly and 45 minutes to Northstar. Cash in on those inflated CA wages.

I wouldn't touch Colorado with a ten foot pole. My understanding is that I-70 traffic makes LCC/BCC look like a Sunday drive. I70 sounds like it's a crapshow every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And there's no real way to improve it. LCC/BCC from my 2,000 mile away view is only a true problem on powder day weekends. I monitor the traffic from here near-daily, and at least it seems while volume is up on the weekends even when it's dry you're not going to be sitting for hours and hours. @thetrailboss

I hear good things about Bend and Bozeman.

Well they could make a good ski train from Denver to take the load of I-70...

 

[ss20]

Not sure what you are comparing SLC to, but housing is in short supply and high demand here. Costs are really high, relatively speaking. Good luck. Look me up when you get out here.

I should've added I'm in upper Fairfield county, CT...so to me, almost anything but CA, Seattle, Teton, Aspen, Telluride, and the I-70 corridor are gonna be less!! I've seen housing stock going for more there than here but rentals significantly less. A 2 bedroom apartment here is gonna run you $1,200+ here an it won't be pretty. Seems to be a solid number of options for the same thing in the SLC burbs for just over a grand.

 

[ss20]

my buddy's been doing the digital nomad bullshit for years prior to covid. it used to be a tolerable quirk of his personality, but this year it just seems selfish and immature to me.

I talked to an ICU nurse in Sandy, UT back in December who was gonna be there for a couple months. He worked 4 or 5 days a week and skied the rest. All expenses paid and of course, a salary and all kinds of bonus pay I'm sure. It was an odd sight...a male ICU nurse smoking a cigarette in a cheap hotel parking lot... all the power to him!

 

[deadheadskier]

I should've added I'm in upper Fairfield county, CT...so to me, almost anything but CA, Seattle, Teton, Aspen, Telluride, and the I-70 corridor are gonna be less!! I've seen housing stock going for more there than here but rentals significantly less. A 2 bedroom apartment here is gonna run you $1,200+ here an it won't be pretty. Seems to be a solid number of options for the same thing in the SLC burbs for just over a grand.

I would have expected much higher rent in Fairfield county. $1200/ month for a 2 bedroom is really inexpensive compared to many places in New England.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

I would have expected much higher rent in Fairfield county. $1200/ month for a 2 bedroom is really inexpensive compared to many places in New England.

hi from brooklyn heights. i'd murder for 1200.

 

[Smellytele]

mount rose? highest base of all tahoe resorts i think. more reliable/earlier/later snow.

The chutes are awesome there. Skied there when it was raining everywhere else in the region. The drive up from the lake was a little sketchy in the snow.

 

[deadheadskier]

Despite the skiing advantages out west, I don't see myself leaving New England. Water in the lakes is too damn cold out there. Boating and swimming sucks in anything under 70 degrees and I'd prefer water closer to 80 for July and August. If Rangeley had a bit more going on, it would be perfect. Still too sleepy for year round living for me .

 

[LonghornSkier]

I have no interest in moving to Salt Lake City. Reminds me of Plano with (crowded) mountains in the background.

There’s a lot more to a place to me than just its access to outdoor activities. I’d love living in Santa Fe, NM as a result. Great food and culture, good skiing and hiking, access to Texas where I still have lots of friends/family, and less of the “fleeing the cities” vibe/more of a sense of place.

 

[abc]

hi from brooklyn heights. i'd murder for 1200.

That'll probably get you a studio?

 

[KustyTheKlown]

That'll probably get you a studio?

definitely not in my neighborhood. maybe in bed-stuy and points east/south.

 

[abc]

mount rose? highest base of all tahoe resorts i think. more reliable/earlier/later snow.

Well, people do like to spoil it

The chutes are awesome there. Skied there when it was raining everywhere else in the region. The drive up from the lake was a little sketchy in the snow.

Coming from Reno, the drive is a bit less sketchy.

Perhaps I should take my own advice and start looking for something there...

 

[JimG.]

Arguably, if you are considering the Saratoga area, I would even throw in a bit further North in the Glens Falls/Queensbury area as well.

You have all the Saratoga features roughly 20 minutes away, you have the Lake George region less than 20 minutes away, you have some redevelopment in and around the original mill town heritage of Glens Falls, you have for local, quick skiing, West Mountain right there, as well as close to the ADK's and Green Mountains.

Out West, the Park City area has always caught my wife's and my interest as a potential retirement location, but even if you get down into KImball Junction it certainly can be on the pricey side We have also thought of the Bozeman Montana area as that area has been under a bit of a renaissance over the last decade or so and is becoming more than just a gateway to either the Northern Entrance of Yellowstone National Park as well as the Big Sky region

After years of planning to relocate to VT or NH I have come to the realization that I will wind up in the Lake George area. Great skiing nearby and Killington is only about an hour or so east. Maybe an hour further to Sugarbush. Whiteface is about 1.5 northwest. And Gore in my backyard.

Not to mention the great fishing and hiking in summer.

 

[JimG.]

my buddy's been doing the digital nomad bullshit for years prior to covid. it used to be a tolerable quirk of his personality, but this year it just seems selfish and immature to me.

Live and let live.

Don't blame him because his quirks insulated him from the covid crap.

 

[jimk]

I talked to an ICU nurse in Sandy, UT back in December who was gonna be there for a couple months. He worked 4 or 5 days a week and skied the rest. All expenses paid and of course, a salary and all kinds of bonus pay I'm sure. It was an odd sight...a male ICU nurse smoking a cigarette in a cheap hotel parking lot... all the power to him!

Yeah, I guess during covid a lot of hospitals in Utah and around the country are paying a big bonus for travel nurses to come in temporarily and help beef up their staff. I met one of them on a chairlift ride last month. I guess NYC hired thousands of them last year when the hospitals were crammed.

 

[thebigo]

I have lived in nh my entire life and really don't ever see leaving. Always figured I would retire in the MWV but not sure I want to be that isolated from an airport and medical specialists. Spent some time in Plymouth last summer and enjoyed that side. I would like to spend some more time in littleton, hear good things. NH does not tax retirement income and there are ways around the high property taxes. You can also access DHMC if needed from littleton and Logan is a reasonable drive for a few west/europe trips per year. Also doesn't hurt that NH seniors ski cannon midweek for free. Jay and Burke are also within day trip range.

Also small hospitals in both littleton and Plymouth, wife works in medicine and is the type to never retire. I could see her working a few days a week, well past retirement age. Opposite of me, closing in on 100 days this year; friends joke that I am already retired at 42.