Ideal ski towns for the future factoring in all issues?

[skijay]

I'm looking to relocate to Berkshire County (MA) and I am getting close to making that a reality - once the market settles down.

 

[raisingarizona]

A friend and former client spent vacations his last few work years looking for a place to retire out west. He settled on Grand Junction, CO. Never been, but he is very happy there and he tells me cost of living is low. Powderhorn is nearby and has high ratings for a smaller, less crowded, no frills Colorado area. Several major ski resorts within 2 -3 hour drive as I understand it.

And he’s about to have one of the worlds best shuttle mountain bike epics right in his back yard. The Plunge i think is going to be around 30 miles long and over 6k of descending.

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

From my southern NH location I can be at Crotched in under an hour. They claim 1000 vert, but it's less. 1:15 to Sunapee with legit 1400 vertical.
For beaches it's under an hour to Hampton and a couple other beaches, or just under 2 hours to Cape Cod. I really want to relocate further north, but beach access is certainly a factor.

1:15 to Sunapee 2 hrs to Cape Cod sounds pretty nice. But what is that drive to CC like on a summer weekend?

 

[thebigo]

Littleton has Moore reservoir, but there's no marina on that lake.

What is the deal with the Moore reservoir? Why is is it not developed? Does the utility own the land? It is a 3000+ acre body of water in a gorgeous area with excellent high way access.

 

[deadheadskier]

1:15 to Sunapee 2 hrs to Cape Cod sounds pretty nice. But what is that drive to CC like on a summer weekend?

It can take two hours to get to Cape Cod from Cape Cod on a summer weekend.

 

[deadheadskier]

What is the deal with the Moore reservoir? Why is is it not developed? Does the utility own the land? It is a 3000+ acre body of water in a gorgeous area with excellent high way access.

Account Suspended

Conservation mainly

But also being NH largest hydropower station would make waterfront development for boat docks very difficult whether it's private or commercial as the water level fluctuates ten feet as the plant is used during power generation.

On the one hand it's kinda great to have such a huge body of water preserved for it's natural attributes and wildlife. On the other hand for those who like pleasure boating and would love to have a boat slip on a huge lake near Cannon, it stinks.

My boat lives on Winnipesaukee permanently for now, but I plan on getting a trailer someday to explore other water bodies and that reservoir is certainly on the list.

 

[drjeff]

It can take two hours to get to Cape Cod from Cape Cod on a summer weekend.

Isn't that the truth!!

My in-laws live in Falmouth near the Mashpee line. The community they live in is on an peninsula right off of 28. It's just over 3 miles from their house to the closest Dunkin Donuts in Falmouth (about 1/2 of that distance is on the low traffic main road in their community). On a weekend morning in the Summer season it will often take over an hour round trip to make the morning coffee and breakfast sandwich run!!

I don't go to my in-laws in the Summer season very much anymore because of the traffic!

 

[boston_e]

I've had a place in southern VT for coming up on 25 years now. I plan on moving on once the kids are grown up and the length of the car ride for a weekend trip is no longer the primary consideration. It just doesn't snow as much there anymore. Or maybe I should say it seems to rain more.

I don't know if another place further north might be the ticket. Sugarbush? Maybe Saddleback? I like the stowe area but Vail ownership makes it unappealing.


I also always think about getting a place in the interior of BC. At one of the lesser known areas. Someplace with great mountain biking too. there are a bunch.

Idaho seems like it has a few options as well.

I agree it just seems like its too l

I've also been toying with the idea of just AirBNBing retirement skiing. 2 weeks here, 2 weeks there, etc. More trips to Europe, etc.

As you describe, we hope finances allow for us to keep our modest place in Vermont but then do "extended" ski trips..... Go spend 3 weeks in Utah one year, a few weeks on Colorado the next etc etc

 

[jimmywilson69]

LOL at Scranton or Binghamton being good places to retire to. Sure they are ok places you could live a "normal" life and have reasonable access to ski country, but I sure as hell am not retiring to Scranton...

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

13 months ago if you had asked me where I wanted to retire I would have said Colorado - maybe Boulder. Back when hopping on a plane seemed like something one could do at a moments notice.

Having realized how fragile our ability to travel is, and could become again at any moment, I realize I would not want to live further than I could drive in a day from the most important people in my life. While other people may come and go, I am sure that will always include my now 13yo twins. So as long as they are both on the East Coast - which I will encourage more heavily in light of fragility of ability to travel - I will be as well.

If I were to move closer to a mountain area, it would quite likely be somewhere like Woodstock, NY - a nice liberal town with some fun stuff to do that is within 2.5 hrs of most of the folks in my life, within 30-60 min of Belleayre, Plattekill, Hunter and Windham, and within day trip range of at least Gore, Snow, Stratton, Magic, Bromley and Okemo - so 10 pretty nice options to have without needing a hotel.

That's assuming the climate doesn't change to the point that skiing at those places ceases to be viable. And if my WFH option becomes permanent, I could see making that move in 4 years and a couple months when my kids graduate High School.

 

[Smellytele]

Well my youngest son is heading to CO for college and says he wants to end up staying out there. Not on the high plains of Colorado Springs, Denver or Boulder but west of the tunnel.
my oldest who is graduating from college this year and his girlfriend are taking a trip out there in late August to see if they like it and are going to try to set up some interviews for jobs.
my in-laws live here for the summer and fla October to May so they aren’t holding us here for the most part. My parents passed away and not real close to any of my 4 siblings.
don’t care for much arts and entertainment (being west of the tunnel you can still make it back to Denver or red rocks for a show or 2) and can find a good unpretentious place to eat anywhere.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Well my youngest son is heading to CO for college and says he wants to end up staying out there. Not on the high plains of Colorado Springs, Denver or Boulder but west of the tunnel.
my oldest who is graduating from college this year and his girlfriend are taking a trip out there in late August to see if they like it and are going to try to set up some interviews for jobs.
my in-laws live here for the summer and fla October to May so they aren’t holding us here for the most part. My parents passed away and not real close to any of my 4 siblings.
don’t care for much arts and entertainment (being west of the tunnel you can still make it back to Denver or red rocks for a show or 2) and can find a good unpretentious place to eat anywhere.

frisco also has a music venue now (10 mile music hall) that books some decent bands. tho i heard they had a big issue with refunds to patrons and artists in connection with covid. they may not survive. but i would assume some other operator takes the space.

they also have shows at the very awesome dillon amphitheatre, on the water, like 10 min from copper

 

[trackbiker]

Binghamton NY wouldn't be a bad place to be for PA/NY skiing. 45 min from Elk or Greek Peak and 2 hrs from Belleayre or Plattekill - 4 pretty nice places an easy distance for a day trip. And probably a fair amount going on locally as a college town.

You obviously haven't been to Binghampton lately..... I have and no thanks!

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

You obviously haven't been to Binghampton lately..... I have and no thanks!

No I have never spent any time there other than driving through. Just picked it out on a map.

 

[Hawk]

That's why I'll never leave NYC.

I may get a place for a few years for the skiing, or other outdoor recreations. But I won't live there year round. I need to spend at least 1/2 year in NYC to satisfy my cultural craving.


The point is he's RICH. Renting can add up. Whilst owning maybe a big pain in the ass, you stands to gain in capital appreciation while living in it. Even if it doesn't appreciate in value, you still get to live "rent free" in exchange for your hassle/PITA.

So for those who aren't rich, owning is their way of renting, without paying rent. More precisely, they pay rent with their labor.

I can understand. Everybody is different. For me, and this is my opinion only, NYC is too big, too dirty, too many people. Where I am is just big enough, on the ocean and is rural just down the street and some of the best mountain biking right out my door. Boston 25 minutes away, Sugarbush is 3.25 hours away.

I have been tied down to Sugarbush because I bought there. Don't get me wrong it is very nice and I have loved it. But in retirement, we do not plan to be tied down. We don't have kids, mortgages, dogs, cats, anything. Just our families to consider. We are now accumulating the funds we will need to make this happen so we won't worry about cost. We are going to go everywhere and do things we never could because of commitments. We are going to do this before we can't. That is the plan.

 

[jimk]

Well my youngest son is heading to CO for college and says he wants to end up staying out there. Not on the high plains of Colorado Springs, Denver or Boulder but west of the tunnel.
my oldest who is graduating from college this year and his girlfriend are taking a trip out there in late August to see if they like it and are going to try to set up some interviews for jobs.
my in-laws live here for the summer and fla October to May so they aren’t holding us here for the most part. My parents passed away and not real close to any of my 4 siblings.
don’t care for much arts and entertainment (being west of the tunnel you can still make it back to Denver or red rocks for a show or 2) and can find a good unpretentious place to eat anywhere.

Frisco/Silverthorne/Summit County is great for lots of ski areas in close proximity, but I kind of prefer further west over by Avon/Minturn/Eagle. Like Summit County it looks like a chunk of suburbia tucked between the interstate and the mtns which may not be super picturesque, but there is convenience and familiarity in having Walmart, Home Depot, microbrewery, and plenty restaurants nearby. Over there you could use Eagle airport and stay away from Denver and Denver traffic for months at a time. I think real estate up at Beaver Creek resort is out of the question unless you have millions to spend, but down by Avon/Minturn/Eagle you might find something affordable. You might even find a condo within walking distance of the gondi that goes from the slopes into the town of Avon. Beaver Creek ski area is a big upscale ski tourist magnet, but still has a slightly lower crowd factor than many other large ski areas in that part of CO. BC also retains snow well and has great grooming. They open a lot of terrain quickly and it stays in pretty good shape until closing day. The full vertical of the trail layout is huge, something like 4k'. BC is mostly known for intermediate terrain, but has some decent trees and very respectable bump runs. You would quickly figure out how to get the best out of nearby Vail skiing too. And Vail has entertainment/culture all year. Avon/Eagle is only about 90 mins from Aspen too. Another plus for that area is base elevation is relatively low (~7400') for CO, which is especially helpful for short term visitors from lowlands.

There are dozens/hundreds of good candidates. It's fun to fantasize about any number of them.

 

[2Planker]

You obviously haven't been to Binghampton lately..... I have and no thanks!

Binghampton ??? Scranton ??? WTF are these people thinking ?

Stayed in both many times when road tripping 16 hours from Ohio to Maine.
Definitely NOT the type of places I want to spend my "golden years".

 

[PAabe]

Living retired in an RV and moving around for a few years could be an option although dealing with winterizing one and finding campsites definitely could be a PITA or even non feasibile for skiing.

Regarding Scranton, firstly, I am a dumbass for suggesting that, and secondly, that was regarding work opportunities definitely not retiring there - mostly named it for location as S2LL2S said - I realize scranton proper is pretty dumpy, no offense to scrantonians, however, it is marginally better than it once was. Tax rates are generally fairly favorable in PA particularly for retirees and public education is generally above average which is a consideration for families. Not stellar skiing in PA but ski areas around here exist, and lots of opportunity for outdoor recreation in the summer.

 

[raisingarizona]

Binghampton ??? Scranton ??? WTF are these people thinking ?

Stayed in both many times when road tripping 16 hours from Ohio to Maine.
Definitely NOT the type of places I want to spend my "golden years".

Putting off the things we really want to do with our lives until the “golden years” is probably a lot of peoples first mistake. They aren’t really so “golden” as our bodies are naturally on a steady decline.

I often call the American dream the American nightmare. In a lot of ways it’s a sham.

I worked in a hospice center for a few years as a nursing assistant. I didn’t meet a single person on hospice that wished they had spent more of their life working or being concerned with impressing others. Most would tell me that I better do exactly what I wanted to because before I would know it I’d be in their positions.

 

[Razor]

We're retired and could live pretty much anywhere we want. But we have chosen to stay here in SE Mass. Sure it's a drive to ski. We go every other week during the season, alternating between Sunday River and Lincoln, NH (no Vermont this year due to covid restrictions). Generally we leave Sunday or Monday and come home Thursday or Friday. We don't want to be tied down to one place.

What's nice about where we live is that we can road bike on back roads with little traffic right from our house. We have plenty of places to hike with the dog. And in 45 minutes or less we can be at the beach in Falmouth, Westport, Plymouth or Newport or in downtown Providence or Boston. We spend a lot of time in the summer biking on the Cape or around Newport and Bristol.

I don't think I'd want to live year round in ski country.