If you could pick up and move.....

[twinplanx]

Ever since I watched the Sochi Olympics, I've been fascinated with the idea of a relatively warm-weather location with skiing very nearby. That would be my ideal location. I'm not convinced that the skiing in Sochi is that good, especially when you read articles about the efforts the Russians took to make sure that there was snow for the Olympics. And let's not forget that the city of Sochi itself may not be such a great place to live.

But that's my holy grail. Winter temps in the 50's with decent skiing 45 minutes or less away.

I hear there's a place called California where this is possible. ;-) lol in all seriousness the good skiing is probably 2+ hours from the coast, which is where I'd want to be. Warmer climate in SoCal, but the water temperature (ocean) doesn't benefit from the Gulf Stream like we do. Just gotta figure out what to do with those pesky earthquakes.

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[podunk77]

I hope to be in this "pack up and move" situation in a few years when I retire. I currently live in Mass but hope to relocate anywhere from the Claremont NH area, northeastward up to the Berlin NH area. Housing costs and proximity to ski areas will be the prime factors.

 

[drjeff]

Park City - a whole host of GREAT skiing right there and even more within an hours drive! Lots of cultural opportunities year round. An easy 30 minute, all interstate ride to an international airport, great summer weather and activities. Plenty of good healthcare facilities in the region.

My wife and I have given some thought on multiple occasions to doing this. If we didn't have such strong family ties to New England, probably would of been done already

If it was "pick up and move" since you just won powerball and a 9 figure prize, then I'm moving to Maui, buying a private jet and then also a place in the Deercrest Development at Deer Valley (the airport in Heber that can easily handle private jets isn't much more than 15 minutes away from the Deercrest entrance )

 

[BenedictGomez]

Someplace with low taxes, non-excessive government regulation, a solid economic base (now an outprojected into the future), at least some culture, and excellent skiing. Sadly, that animal doesnt really exist. The closest thing might be New Hampshire, but that state's sadly headed into decline.

 

[Cannonball]

Someplace with low taxes, non-excessive government regulation, a solid economic base (now an outprojected into the future), at least some culture, and excellent skiing. Sadly, that animal doesnt really exist. The closest thing might be New Hampshire, but that state's sadly headed into decline.

2/3 of the way through your post I was thinking "that sounds like NH!!". I disagree about the decline. But knowing your politics I understand where you are coming from. Have you looked into Chile? Totally business-based, extraction economy. Very few restrictions or regulation. Granted, they will be paying for that later like we are now. But in our lifetime it could be pretty sweet.

 

[boston_e]

I gotta say, unless we are talking about the power ball winning type of move, I'd have to mostly likely pick right here in New England.

I enjoy the ocean too much in the summertime to go to Colorado / Utah etc. And while California does have the ocean it seems like the distances from Tahoe to the ocean etc are longer.

As someone mentioned previously in the thread, while New England might not be the best at any one thing, it sure is pretty darn good at a lot of things… and most of those things are within 2 to 3 hours.

 

[snoseek]

Someplace with low taxes, non-excessive government regulation, a solid economic base (now an outprojected into the future), at least some culture, and excellent skiing. Sadly, that animal doesnt really exist. The closest thing might be New Hampshire, but that state's sadly headed into decline.

If you can deal with the whole church/state thing Utah sounds sorta ok

 

[snoseek]

I can't even answer this question. I do like the idea of traveling around and experiencing different places. New England is a great place for so many reasons and I enjoy spending summers here and working seasonal. With that said if at some point I finally settle down there's no way it will be east of Denver. I actually like the central location of Grand Junction.

 

[deadheadskier]

The closest thing might be New Hampshire, but that state's sadly headed into decline.

In what regard

 

[steamboat1]

In what regard

Lousy neighbors

 

[abc]

I hear there's a place called California where this is possible. ;-) lol in all seriousness the good skiing is probably 2+ hours from the coast, which is where I'd want to be.

California isn't even close to being a good condidate for that.

Oregon, Washington, and this little known place call Vancouver has much closer skiing!

I heard the skiing were world class.

Damn long ski season too!!!

 

[BenedictGomez]

2/3 of the way through your post I was thinking "that sounds like NH!!". I disagree about the decline. But knowing your politics I understand where you are coming from. Have you looked into Chile? Totally business-based, extraction economy. Very few restrictions or regulation. Granted, they will be paying for that later like we are now. But in our lifetime it could be pretty sweet.

True. Great things are happening in Chile, GDP is soaring, poverty has been decreasing, and it might be one of the most economically "free" nations on the planet, but I was approaching the question from an "in America" standpoint. Its been a fantastic emerging market to invest in though.

If you can deal with the whole church/state thing Utah sounds sorta ok

Never been, but I really want to check the place out. Great skiing, economy is doing great, about the lowest taxes in America, little intrusion, etc...., but I dont know if I could live that far from the ocean. Maybe I'd get used to it though; I should definitely check the place out. I imagine it would be pretty awesome living an hour or so from all those incredible mountains.

In what regard

Predicting the future.

Basically New Hampshire is going to become New Hassachumont in 20 years or less, and there's no stopping it. Of course, my state will be the second state in America to declare bankruptcy in about 20 years, so there's that.

Lousy neighbors

Basically.

 

[deadheadskier]

Predicting the future.

Basically New Hampshire is going to become New Hassachumont in 20 years or less, and there's no stopping it.

disagree

The foundation of our state's economy is differentiation from our high tax neighbors.

One need to only look at the local economies of our border towns compared to neighboring communities across the border.

On the surface, the retail industry difference is obvious. However, there's more going on than that. NH aggressively pursues Mass businesses to move their companies and jobs here. http://www.boston.com/business/arti...secret_salesman_luring_massachusett s_firms/

and back to the retail side of things, you've got tax raising Mass Senators getting busted coming to our state to avoid the taxes they vote on.

http://gawker.com/5351011/booze-taxing-mass-lawmaker-caught-at-new-hampshire-packy

The great comedian Juston McKinney (lives in my town) sums NH up quite nicely

 

[Edd]

For example I love my job and it's very hard to find marine ecology jobs in the Rockies!

Yeah, but have you really looked? So lazy...

Money no object? Tahoe is pretty sweet, crap snow years aside. A place on the water while I'm staring at Heavenly sounds amazing.

But I like walkable towns, which brings me to Aspen. That is more skiing than I can handle, stupidly getting on the bus and being chauffeured to the skiing I can handle.

Money is an object and I've gotta worry about a job? That makes me consider so many variables that I'm probably just staying put in NH.


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[twinplanx]

California isn't even close to being a good condidate for that.

Oregon, Washington, and this little known place call Vancouver has much closer skiing!

I heard the skiing were world class.

Damn long ski season too!!!

Since surfing factors so highly in MY "no strings attached" decision, I thought California would be a better option then those to the North...

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[HowieT2]

Mad river valley. Great vibe, food scene, skiing, mtn biking, hiking and swimming in the river.

 

[VTKilarney]

Since about 1992, the Democratic party has made major inroads in New Hampshire. Make of that what you will - but it is definitely a change. New Hampshire's business base may be healthy, but that does not mean that social policies are bound to remain the same.

As someone who lives near the border, I see New Hampshire going through what Vermont went through many years ago. It may never be as pronounced, but there is change in the air.

Whether this change is a good or bad thing is entirely subjective.

 

[BenedictGomez]

disagree

The foundation of our state's economy is differentiation from our high tax neighbors.

See below. VTKilarny gets it.

Democrats will eventually overrun the Libertarians & Republicans in New Hampshire, taxes will increase, businesses will be driven away, social programs & social spending will dramatically increase, financial responsibility will become near non-existant, and the fiscal health will decline.

It is unavoidable. It is your destiny.

Since about 1992, the Democratic party has made major inroads in New Hampshire. Make of that what you will - but it is definitely a change.

As someone who lives near the border, I see New Hampshire going through what Vermont went through many years ago.

Vermont is still "going through" it, it's early-innings there. Economies of a region move SLOWwwwwwwlllly. It's like moving an aircraft carrier, not a PT-boat, and because the changes are almost imperceptibly slow, response comes inadequately, and too late to effect positive change. Vermonters are now some of the highest taxed people in America (my perception is the average Vermonter is obvious to this) and it's getting worse.

The irony of the situation is that many of these New Hampshire bound immigrant Democrats "fled" an area due to the expensive cost of living, tax structure, and lack of jobs (SEE: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts), only to continue to vote Democrat in their new environ (SEE: North Carolina, Eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia). It's quite extraordinary.

 

[VTKilarney]

Full disclosure, I'm a moderate with a libertarian leaning. I have issues with both major parties.

While I agree that Vermont has its issues, you really can't say that Vermont is a disaster. Vermont has a very low unemployment rate, and the economy is sound. While that sounds well and good, my anecdotal observation is that private sector jobs here are absolute shit. We may have low unemployment, but the manufacturing sector of our economy is absolutely devastated. The jobs we have are generally low paying service jobs. And while I understand that manufacturing jobs have suffered everywhere, just take a look at Bombardier, C&S Wholesale Grocers, and IBM (all of whom have abandoned, or are abandoning, Vermont) and you can see that other adjacent states have done a much better job keeping and attracting manufacturing. About the only private industry with high paying jobs is healthcare - but even they are under lots of pressure. Wages have been stagnant in the healthcare industry.

My other concern is that the Vermont economy is being propped up with government and teaching jobs. Vermont has an insane amount of both on a per capita basis. A lot of those jobs have depended on underfunded pensions and other such obligations. Just take a look at the ticking time bomb that Burlington has with its pension obligations and you will see what I mean.

In my area, I can't say that the economy is doing terrible, but I can't say that it's doing well, and I definitely don't see growth. People seem to be treading water, and no more. Even at Jay Peak, a much heralded success story, 98% of the jobs that have been created are low paying jobs.

It's also a myth that it's cheap to live here. Real estate prices are low, and car insurance rates are low - and that's about all that is low. Heating costs are tremendously expensive and property taxes are extremely high with no end in sight.

I would be very surprised if my children find success in Vermont - and it kills me to say that. I do know that the odds are a lot higher in other parts of the country.

 

[deadheadskier]

You can speculate all you want. I live here, vote and pay attention to what's brought to the table. The larger presence of Democrats in government here has not had the effect you'd think it would. None of the things you are speaking of have happened. In fact, if anything, social spending has decreased considerably over the six years I've lived here and the fiscal health of the state has improved.

The reason the Republican party has lost ground here is completely to do with their stance on things like Gay Marriage and very little to do with economics.

FTR I also spent the largest percentage of my adult life living in Vermont, so I'm well aware of how certain policies there retard economic growth - big reason why I and most of my high school and college buddies up and moved.