Life Style v. Standard of Living

[riverc0il]

horses for courses

its not about the money you make when you decide to live near the mountains, meaning not in an urban envoir. there are plenty of spots in cities near big mountains and great skiing, it much more than skiing, and if that is your primary concern then it isn't for you, you will quickly come to hate the rural life if all your eggs in the skiing basket, to me it isn't a sacrifice to live here, its a priveledge that goes far beyond skiing 6-7 months a year, in fact, as much as i love skiing and snow, winter isn't my favorite season up here, don't commit if your decision is based only on one aspect of your enoyment in life

This is sound advice. I work at the College and lots of city kids can't stand not having a mall in the area, 45 minute drive to the nearest Wal-Mart (that REALLY gets on some students nerves!), nothing open late, etc. It is certainly more than the skiing. Just to clarify when I referenced "sacrifice," I do not consider it a sacrifice to live here but I did need to sacrifice things I liked to do in the city as your typical flat lander. I completely agree that choosing a living location isn't all about skiing and all about one season, Spring and Fall are amazing as well. Though I could do without Summer... though that is a given regardless of where I live!

For me, even before I set my sites on VT, I wanted to get the hell out of the Metro MA area to get away from the congestion, people, rudeness, pavement playgrounds, no open space, no community, etc. I looked forward to driving long drives to the nearest shopping outlet only a few times a year for what I truly needed and looked forward to not having a mall within a two hour drive.

Oh yea, amazingly enough, everyone still complains about the weather up here. I dare say it is even worse in the winter, what a hoot! So, its still New England

 

[ski_resort_observer]

This is a good point. Though it is colder and it snows a bit more around here (I can deal with that), the persistent foggy and cloudy days have been really hard to adjust to. Much different weather patterns than north eastern MA. Probably one of the things I dislike most about where we moved to in VT, a day full day of sun shine is so rare regardless of time of year and waking up almost every morning to some form of fog or clouds before they burn off isn't my thing, but I deal with that.

To live in the mountains definately a number of sacrifices have to be made. Someone told me years back that Vermont is the 5th cloudiest state. I guess that's why bluebird days like yesterday are so awesome. Windows and front door open, cruise into town with the window all the way down for the first time in awhile. Tried but couldn't get any work done so I went for a hike. The brook and falls on the edge of our property is looking more like a raging river. Hopefully more bluebird days ahead.

 

[MadPadraic]

For me, even before I set my sites on VT, I wanted to get the hell out of the Metro MA area to get away from the congestion, people, rudeness, pavement playgrounds, no open space, no community, etc. I looked forward to driving long drives to the nearest shopping outlet only a few times a year for what I truly needed and looked forward to not having a mall within a two hour drive.

Recently I've split most of my time between a well known East Coast city and a suburb in a different East Coast state. Nearly every time we've been to a mall in the last few years has been when we are visiting relatives in rural areas and o stir crazy. We also visited the dead mall near Loon, in the hopes of visiting a bookstore that has ceased to be. The only times we venture into a mall has been when meeting people in a mall above the subway stop or visiting a whole foods/borders that happens to be in the mall. When we lived in a well known West Coast city, malls were more a part of our life, but there the malls included movie theaters, useful outdoors-ish stores, and a so so restaurant or two. Then again, I loathe the suburb that I spend some of my time in.

Sort of amusingly, we were talking about eventually moving to a rural area and my long standing dream to operate a ski lift, and reserve my summers for Block Island and the Red Sox.

 

[noski]

Even as a noski, I love living in a small resort community. I only drive 4 miles to work. I have beautiful vistas to enjoy on my way. I can choose between 2 "large" grocery stores, 3 hardware stores and 3 banks. The part that means the most to me personally about 'small town living' is how what I choose to do can make a positive difference in my community and its future. One can volunteer to belong to a non profit organization, volunteer for town office positions, ambulance and fire service, go to Town Meeting and discuss items like "should we spring for 8 hours a week of sheriff coverage? Nah...." etc. I can buy locally produced foods and support locally owned busineses, and it counts- it makes a difference. That is important to me.

 

[AdironRider]

Ill be making the sacrifice for the next year or so, but then its to graduate school and the business world. In an ideal situation I retire at like 50 with the kids out of college and a body that can still somewhat perform, but who knows.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Ill be making the sacrifice for the next year or so, but then its to graduate school and the business world. In an ideal situation I retire at like 50 with the kids out of college and a body that can still somewhat perform, but who knows.

Now here’s a post that hits me hard. Aride is a young man still in college, and he writes in an ideal situation I retire at like 50 with the kids out of college and a body that can still somewhat perform.

He has no kids now, or corporate job to retire from, and his body is a peek performance right now. Why do the next 30 years of work, kids, etc. to get where he hopes to be when he’s 50? Why not live the ski life now?

In no way am I pickin on Aride. I’m an 53 year old happily married guy putting kids through college, lookin to retire in 2 years, tryin to keep in shape to continue to ski hard. In a sense I'm what he hopes to be in around 30 years. I wouldn’t change a thing because I love my family.

However, when I read something like this from a young man with no responsibilities other then to himself, it makes me realize how very few of us break out of the mold. When it comes to major lifestyle issues, work, family, etc. we mostly all live our lives exactly the same.

 

[AdironRider]

I think the family thing, is at least for me, the largest reason. Work is work, no matter how you slice it, but family is pretty huge. No amount of skiing can replace that, so its worth the sacrifice. That and Im already 60g's down in student loan debt, Id like to see that money go to some use.

Who knows, Im still taking at least one season out there. Theres still plenty of time to decide.

 

[scharny]

Now here’s a post that hits me hard. Aride is a young man still in college, and he writes in an ideal situation I retire at like 50 with the kids out of college and a body that can still somewhat perform.

He has no kids now, or corporate job to retire from, and his body is a peek performance right now. Why do the next 30 years of work, kids, etc. to get where he hopes to be when he’s 50? Why not live the ski life now?

Maybe cuz "the ski life" doesn't pay college loan debt?;-)

 

[riverc0il]

Maybe cuz "the ski life" doesn't pay college loan debt?;-)

I am handling my student loan debt okay. Here is the deal, there are lots of ways through life and if you want to do something bad enough, you can find a way to make it work unless it requires megabucks. Going to college and paying off that loan, finding a honey to marry and have kids with, buying a house, and droning to work for 30 years can happen any where and is really irrelevant to where you want to live unless you really are dead set on having a six figure salary and the toys. It only took me four years after graduating college to figure out what is really important (to me, at least. different strokes for different folks and all that...).

 

[Greg]

I've been able to strike a nice balance with standard of living and my skiing. We bought a new construction in NW CT in 2005 and while it's a lot of work and costs a lot of money, it's going to be the home that my girls grow up in. It started as a house on a dirt lot and now is starting to take shape. I love the location, neighborhood, layout, etc. It's been a lot of work (and $) transforming it from the dirt lot to what I envision, but we're getting there. It's "home" to my girls and that's what's important to me. Financially, it's difficult now, but it should get easier in the coming years.

Sure, it would be nice to be able to live minutes from the larger NNE resorts. It would be awesome to be able to head out and take advantage of multiple powder days, but I wouldn't trade the rest of my life for an improvment to the skiing. My family is all here and it's important to my wife and me that the girls see their grandparents and other family often. My wife and I were raised in CT so this is really home for us.

I've come to the acceptance that I need to drive at least 2-4 hours for really good skiing and I'm okay with that. 35 days in this season and many were very good; some awesome. I logged a lot of miles on skis as well as the road. I still have several good local options within 90 minutes and as the girls grow up, we'll be spending a lot of time at the feeder hills anyway. Maybe someday we can afford a second place further north, but for now, this is home. No regrets.

 

[woodlandclown]

i took a 60-65% paycut to move up to the adirondacks. i dont necessarily get to ski more often, i still have a 9-5 job, but i have cut out the 4 hours of driving every weekend. just the thought of having to drive home sometimes ruined the whole day for me. i feel lucky to live in a place that people wait all year to come and visit. everything i like to do is right out my backdoor. granted, i rent now instead of owning, as housing prices up here are crazy, plus that gives me more free time too. who wants to spend all weekend mowing a lawn and pulling weeds? i liked doing some of that, in fact miss my perennial gardens, but i think i would rather go for a hike, bike ride etc, than do that every weekend. i thank the lucky stars too that not everybody wants to pick up and move, i kind of like seeing the hoardes leaving on sunday night and the quiet of monday.

 

[Goblin84]

well, i must say I skipped about the 2nd half of these posts....sorry guys but I am at work and cant read them all!!

Half the reason I moved to NH is because of a change of lifestyle. Given I knew nothing about NH (or even new england), never skied here before (only ME, VT, and NY) so I wasnt really sure what I was getting myself into when I took at job in Manchester. However it has treated me very well, short drive to the mtns, amazing biking (road), great places to hike, xcountry ski and snowshoe.

If I move again I actually want to go further north. I am always looking for jobs in Canadian Colleges (however the canadian educational system is a worlds different, thats another story). ideally I would want to live in the lebonon/white planes area, maybe work for dartmouth.

My cousin lives in the adk and works at St. Lawrence University....he has a house I would die for. The house is 100% off the grid and he does this without giving up a lot, it is amazing what one can do with a properly designed house. He runs the science library there so it isnt like he is making a fortune to do this. He is all that is lifestyle change.

 

[Phildozer]

For me, I look at as a quality of life issue. I can't imagine creeping along Rt 128, fighting traffic near Boston twice a day, every day to get to and from work. If it takes 1 hour to get to work each way thats 40 hrs a month. What a waste as we all have a finate time on this planet. Add in the crime, smell and general ugliness. No thanks, your welcome to it. :wink:

Crime, smell and general ugliness?

We're talking about Boston, not Houston.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

I moved to the MRV last January, and live at the base of Mt. Ellen at Sugarbush. About a 3 minute walk to the lifts. I have nothing but good things to say about it. I moved from a significantly more populated area of central Pennsylvania, and am very pleased to be in a more laid-back rural area. And really... there are things nearby; as noski has alluded to, we've got 2 grocery stores, 3 banks, plenty of restaurants, coffeeshops, a bookstore, antique shops, country stores, hardware stores, general stores, several churches, nearby schools, etc. It's only a 40-ish minute drive to the Barre/Berlin/Montepelier area. There's a mall there (albeit small), a McDonald's, and a Wal*Mart. That's not too bad, is it? Burlington/Williston area is only about 55 minutes, and everything you can possibly need is there.

I intend to spend the rest of my life in some ski town somewhere. Next fall, I head out to Leadville, CO to study Ski Area Operations at Colorado Mt. College. I plan to make a career out of the industry (specifically, Mt. Ops). Of course, in an ideal situation, I win the gold in moguls the Olympics on the freestyle team in 2014. However, I'll just plan on working in the ski business since since that's a pretty long shot :wink: .

Personally, I think the salary sacrifice is worth it for the lifestyle. If I can work up through the ranks of the industry as I'd like to, then the salary difference shouldn't be as vast as some might think. However, getting to that point could mean some financial struggle. But, as I said before, it's worth it. I've got 100 days or so in this year, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

[Sparky]

I don’t live in a ski town and I don’t think that will ever be financially possible. However I do live within 16 miles of my home mountain and within 120 miles of many of the East’s biggest and best. I would consider any of these day trips. So I think I’m in a excellent position. I still have to commute to work, but hopefully only for 2 years and 8 months, (who’s counting) and I can be at a decent mountain in 20 minutes and a large mountain in 110 minutes.(Killington and Pico are 2+ hours) I think this kind of situation is much more viable. From what I’ve heard about the cost of living in a ski town, from real estate to groceries, I think a little commuting is worth the time. I can afford a full size house and even though I do sleep on the couch from time to time, (we won’t go into why) I don’t have to couch surf.

 

[trusty]

The down side? We live in a 2 room apartment with no door on our bedroom.

You in VT or Brooklyn?

 

[JD]

Affordable housing in VT. Huge issue. The best things in life aren't things, and half the world lives on less then 2 dollars a day so a roof of any sort is enough for now. Exploring the Greens rivers, trails, and BC ski options has been a misty experience. With all the people in NE, it's still so easy to get away from everyone.

 

[wintersyndrome]

Ive done it...took the pay cut...and spent most of the winter in Summit County CO...

The lifestyle change was a shift I was not ready for. nor was I prepared for breaking an ankle which needed surgery. (no Insurance) Quickly realized I was not going to pay off a school loan, and an ankle surgery on Summit County wages and drove myself back east to get on with life.

I think in the future I would like to have a property somewhere in "Ski-Country" but I do far too much salt-water based summer activities to make that address change full time.

When i came back to Long Island I realized I where home really was for me.

 

[SkiDog]

Ive done it...took the pay cut...and spent most of the winter in Summit County CO...

The lifestyle change was a shift I was not ready for. nor was I prepared for breaking an ankle which needed surgery. (no Insurance) Quickly realized I was not going to pay off a school loan, and an ankle surgery on Summit County wages and drove myself back east to get on with life.

I think in the future I would like to have a property somewhere in "Ski-Country" but I do far too much salt-water based summer activities to make that address change full time.

When i came back to Long Island I realized I where home really was for me.

I think you have to choose the "ski town" wisely. I did MUCH searching for places to live that were much closer to the mtns. I researched NH, VT, CO, WY, MT, and UT. After much deliberation I settled on SLC, UT. It gave both good employment choices (the economy here is BOOMING), a good/great housing market (rentals included), and is SUPER close to some of the biggest resorts in the USA (im personally 20 minutes from Alta/Snowbird).

I seriously hunted in NH for about a year, but moving close to the whites there were no jobs. I think that with Summit County in particular unless you feel like being in the food service industry, or hospitality at a hotel then you dont have too many choices, and the other choices dont provide wages high enough to sustain living in that area. Devner was a thought for a brief moment but the skiing is to far away and that i70 is a bear...

SLC seems to have a great mix of everything. I think I made the right choice. Only time will tell though.

M

 

[woodlandclown]

I think you have to choose the "ski town" wisely. I did MUCH searching for places to live that were much closer to the mtns. I researched NH, VT, CO, WY, MT, and UT. After much deliberation I settled on SLC, UT. It gave both good employment choices (the economy here is BOOMING), a good/great housing market (rentals included), and is SUPER close to some of the biggest resorts in the USA (im personally 20 minutes from Alta/Snowbird).

I seriously hunted in NH for about a year, but moving close to the whites there were no jobs. I think that with Summit County in particular unless you feel like being in the food service industry, or hospitality at a hotel then you dont have too many choices, and the other choices dont provide wages high enough to sustain living in that area. Devner was a thought for a brief moment but the skiing is to far away and that i70 is a bear...

SLC seems to have a great mix of everything. I think I made the right choice. Only time will tell though.

M

good point and makes a lot of sense. I happened to luck out with a job myself, but upstate NY isnt known for its boooming economy. I do however heart NY, so i didnt want to leave. maybe someday though.