Ideal ski towns for the future factoring in all issues?

[dblskifanatic]

A related question
- places to live where you can day trip (under 6hr roundtrip) to both skiing at least 1000' vertical and warm-enough-to-swim ocean beaches

Really only 3 options in the US

1. Philly-NJ-NYC region (fair to good skiing, nice beaches)
2. Boston region (very good skiing, beaches a bit cold)
3. LA region (best beaches and I believe best skiing of any of them - but I have never skied there)

I live in NJ so at least have access to both. And can be at a beach in 45 min and be booting up at Blue Mt in 95 min or at Hunter in 170 min.

LA definiely the best beaches, skiing local 1.5 hours Snow Summit and Mountain High are like skiing NE. Mammoth is 5.5 miles away
Boston good beaches along National Seashore but the best skiing is not a easy to get to I I want since I live here now and have dogs

I would prefer not to be around a larger city. Smaller city is good. Colorado Springs feels like a smaller city and 2-2.5 hours gets you where you need to be to ski but water is a limited quantity - mostly reservoirs.

 

[FBGM]

Can’t find a home within the 3 PC zip codes for under $1m right now. (Ok, there’s maybe 1 or 2 but still)

Idaho and Montana would be cheaper bets right now. Less people finding the goods up there. Sun Valley, McCall, Whitefish, Schweitzer.

 

[PAabe]

Yeah I have to agree, mid atlantic here is definitely not a bad place to be. I am not a big fan of the beach but I do like going down to the bay.
Great hiking, biking, and paddling where I am right now. Decent ski areas within 2 hours, however, cross country skiing here sucks - last year I got to cross country for about 1 hour here when it snowed in the morning in november and melted by noon. Most of the little towns and cities around here have relatively dense gridded downtowns.

Reading, Allentown, Scranton, or Williamsport would not be a bad place to be imo. Even further west like Altoona, Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Morgantown, you can still get to the snow in the Laurel Highlands or Canaan Valley easily - but then you really are getting far from Vermont and stuff.

Hot take, if you're not a vert snob maybe Michigan or Minnesota?

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

LA definiely the best beaches, skiing local 1.5 hours Snow Summit and Mountain High are like skiing NE. Mammoth is 5.5 miles away
Boston good beaches along National Seashore but the best skiing is not a easy to get to I I want since I live here now and have dogs

I would prefer not to be around a larger city. Smaller city is good. Colorado Springs feels like a smaller city and 2-2.5 hours gets you where you need to be to ski but water is a limited quantity - mostly reservoirs.

Thanks - LA is out then.
Think I will stick with NJ as long as I want both.
Easy day trip to Pokes, long day or easy overnight to Skills, VT or Adks worth it if I can spend 2 nights.
Belmar Beach a 45 min all highway drive. Might take longer than that on a weekend to find parking and haul gear from there to sand.
Proximity to NYC and Philly also a plus.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Yeah I have to agree, mid atlantic here is definitely not a bad place to be. I am not a big fan of the beach but I do like going down to the bay.
Great hiking, biking, and paddling where I am right now. Decent ski areas within 2 hours, however, cross country skiing here sucks - last year I got to cross country for about 1 hour here when it snowed in the morning in november and melted by noon. Most of the little towns and cities around here have relatively dense gridded downtowns.

Reading, Allentown, Scranton, or Williamsport would not be a bad place to be imo. Even further west like Altoona, Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Morgantown, you can still get to the snow in the Laurel Highlands or Canaan Valley easily - but then you really are getting far from Vermont and stuff.

Hot take, if you're not a vert snob maybe Michigan or Minnesota?

everything about this post makes me want to vom. no offense.

scranton?! michigan!? i dream of retiring to the rust belt, a stone's throw from really shitty skiing, and nowhere near the ocean.

 

[mikec142]

A related question
- places to live where you can day trip (under 6hr roundtrip) to both skiing at least 1000' vertical and warm-enough-to-swim ocean beaches

Really only 3 options in the US

1. Philly-NJ-NYC region (fair to good skiing, nice beaches)
2. Boston region (very good skiing, beaches a bit cold)
3. LA region (best beaches and I believe best skiing of any of them - but I have never skied there)

I live in NJ so at least have access to both. And can be at a beach in 45 min and be booting up at Blue Mt in 95 min or at Hunter in 170 min.

Gonna guess that you and I live within 15 minutes of each other...

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

Gonna guess that you and I live within 15 minutes of each other...

Lawrenceville NJ

 

[x10003q]

Yeah I have to agree, mid atlantic here is definitely not a bad place to be. I am not a big fan of the beach but I do like going down to the bay.
Great hiking, biking, and paddling where I am right now. Decent ski areas within 2 hours, however, cross country skiing here sucks - last year I got to cross country for about 1 hour here when it snowed in the morning in november and melted by noon. Most of the little towns and cities around here have relatively dense gridded downtowns.

Reading, Allentown, Scranton, or Williamsport would not be a bad place to be imo. Even further west like Altoona, Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Morgantown, you can still get to the snow in the Laurel Highlands or Canaan Valley easily - but then you really are getting far from Vermont and stuff.

Hot take, if you're not a vert snob maybe Michigan or Minnesota?

If you are going to deal with relentless cold and frostbite, do you want to earn it on 30 second runs on ice in the Midwest? You might as well stay in PA or NYS/Finger Lakes and at least you can drive to decent skiing.

 

[mikec142]

Lawrenceville NJ

I'm in Westfield...so closer to an hour between us. That said, it's 45 minutes to Long Branch with no traffic and 90 minutes to Blue. I really don't ski the Pokes anymore. Would rather tack on another hour and get to the Catskills.

 

[deadheadskier]

These are all great responses. For me, there is still so much unknown that I don't want to go too far down the planning road. For the most part, I've been a lifelong NJ resident. I have a college freshman and HS junior who I adore and I'd like to think they adore us back. My wife and I are very close with our parents who both live in the same town as us. When my kids were young, our parents were very helpful with our kids. If we needed to work late, there was always someone to help out. All four parents range in age from 75-78. They are still active and healthy, but who knows how long that lasts. Is it fair for my family and I to pack up and move just when they might start needing our help? We are very tight knit across the three generations and while I'd love to get out of the NJ rat race...I'm not sure it's happening anytime soon. The real thing will be to see where my kids settle down. My fondest wish is that they end up near each other and if so, wherever that is, my wife and I will end up there. If one ends up in LA and the other Florida...then all bets are off.

Definitely valid concerns. We live where we do because my MIL is 30 minutes up the road. She helps out all the time with our 2 and 6 year old. My parents split from New England to Florida when they retired as golf is more their thing than skiing. It's fun to visit them and will only get better as our kids get a bit older and travel better, but they miss out on a ton with their grandchildren.

Who knows where our kids end up 20 years from now when we retire, but hopefully it's New Hampshire. We have no desire to leave. NH isn't the best at anything, but it's very good for everything you could want for outdoor pursuits. Skiing, hiking, boating, beaches are all right here and within a reasonable drive. And we are 1:15 to Boston or Portland if we desire city entertainment.

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

I'm in Westfield...so closer to an hour between us. That said, it's 45 minutes to Long Branch with no traffic and 90 minutes to Blue. I really don't ski the Pokes anymore. Would rather tack on another hour and get to the Catskills.

2 years ago we got a steal on Blue passes ($600 total for me and 2 kids)

My most common ski trip last 2 years with Epic pass is to leave home ~730 am Sat, ski Hunter ~11-4 (cause also need time to get gas, food, hit head and boot up), get dinner a $75 room at Saugerties HoJo 30 min away, hit McD's drive thru for breakfast, ski from opening til I've had enough Sunday and get home by early eve.

Ski/drive ratio about the same as a day trip to Pokes and I get in better skiing and 2 days instead of one. Why I will hit 40 days this year for first time.

Long weekend or more and we go to VT

 

[jaytrem]

I'm in Westfield...so closer to an hour between us. That said, it's 45 minutes to Long Branch with no traffic and 90 minutes to Blue. I really don't ski the Pokes anymore. Would rather tack on another hour and get to the Catskills.

Oh you're right next door, I'm in Cranford.

 

[PAabe]

lol I have been convinced to abandon any hair brained ideas of moving to the midwest. Pittsburgh is a lot nicer than it used to be though, and you can ski the Laurels, Blue Knob, and Canaan Valley which is as good as you get between the Catskills and Colorado. Maybe not to retire but I would not mind working in that area - Laurel highlands and WV are really nice in the summer too.

And I still would not mind moving north a bit to Reading, Allentown, or Scranton, to get the poconos squarely in my backyard and get NY and VT into the day-tripping realm

 

[KustyTheKlown]

lol I have been convinced to abandon any hair brained ideas of moving to the midwest. Pittsburgh is a lot nicer than it used to be though, and you can ski the Laurels, Blue Knob, and Canaan Valley which is as good as you get between the Catskills and Colorado.

And I still would not mind moving north a bit to Reading, Allentown, or Scranton, to get the poconos squarely in my backyard and get NY and VT into the day-tripping realm

i havent been to either place, but i would bet that mount bohemia on the upper peninsula of Michigan disagrees with that canaan valley claim

*this is not an endorsement of moving to Michigan for the skiing. but i'm told there's 1000 vert of legit gnar with massive lake effect*

 

[deadheadskier]

I spent two years in West Virginia and western Maryland at Snowshoe and Wisp; both were employment related moves. I wanted to kill myself

 

[LonghornSkier]

I will have the opportunity to move to Minneapolis/St. Paul within the next 2 years if I desire for work.

Seriously considering it... Only been there once but seems to have a lot of things I like, except for big mountain skiing. But great summers, good winter activities, thriving economy (at least compared to the rest of the midwest), reasonable housing prices, big four sports teams, etc..

 

[PAabe]

Saving grace of Laurels and Canaan Valley(+Timberline+Whitegrass) is that they actually get snow but yes cannot be compared to new england haha

Indy Pass seems to have the best of the midwest bumps on it other than Bohemia?

idk maybe I have to move to michigan just for the bit now

 

[FBGM]

lol I have been convinced to abandon any hair brained ideas of moving to the midwest. Pittsburgh is a lot nicer than it used to be though, and you can ski the Laurels, Blue Knob, and Canaan Valley which is as good as you get between the Catskills and Colorado. Maybe not to retire but I would not mind working in that area - Laurel highlands and WV are really nice in the summer too.

And I still would not mind moving north a bit to Reading, Allentown, or Scranton, to get the poconos squarely in my backyard and get NY and VT into the day-tripping realm

I grew up in the Poconos. Scranton is a dump. Don’t go there.

Still some nice spots in Poconos here and there. Just avoid the drugs and needles all over. Farther north you go the better. North Pikr Co. Wayne Co. I mean it’s middle of fuck all up Wayne Co. can ski elk. And have 100 acres and no neighbors.

 

[Hastur]

nelson, BC

Yes nelson is definitely one of those towns. Rossland, Fernie, Golden, Revy, etc. Not exactly secret spots

 

[snoseek]

Scranton and ideal or ski town dont seem together but some people can find happiness anywhere. It's all about keeping up a routine and getting after it.