I want to live in the mountains: help please :)

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I want to live in the mountains: help please :)

Will Fraser
Real Estate Broker · Salt Lake City & Oklahoma City · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

My family is growing and as we grow in size we also grow tired of the mundane life of the plains.  There is a lot to appreciate other than natural beauty, but as native Natural Staters we love us some outdoors.  Particularly we are drawn to mountains and love skiing, hiking, camping, and the like.

What mountain town or town with easy access to mountains would you recommend for an outdoor-experiences-fueled lifestyle?  

Potential for investments doesn't hurt, but it's not required :) 

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Kenton LeVay
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 119 posts · 114 votes
5y

An underrated gem could be Reno, NV! Sits right at the base of the Sierra's, close to Lake Tahoe, 0% state income tax and relatively cheap real estate with opportunities for CF and appreciation.

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  • Cami Bustos
    ID · Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser I live here in the Sun Valley, Idaho area and I love it!! I am also a real estate agent so if you’re interested, let me know!

    Cami

    0Reply
  • Greg H.Pro Member
    Moderator
    Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    Take a look at the Western Slope of Colorado specifically Grand Junction. The weather is fantastic is you like a drier climate. Less than 20 inches of snow. Home prices are much lower than Denver area and outdoor activities are abundant 

    1Reply
  • Jen Hunt
    Member since 2020 · 16 posts · 8 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser

    I'm surrounded by mountains here in Northern UT, close to Utah lake, outdoor activities galore and jobs in abundance. I don't like downtown SLC so I'm halfway between SLC and Provo in a town called Eagle Mountain. I just listed and sold a 5 bed/3 bath home down the street for $375k super charming. Rental properties are an option as rents run approx 2k/month for a SFH. You can find properties under 300k still. Even brand new townhomes for $300k but rent would be closer to $1700 on those.

    Contact me anytime.

    JenHuntRealtor.com

    0Reply
  • Luke Weber
    Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2015 · 44 posts · 33 votes
    5y

    Figure out if you want big city or little city far from things, that will help narrow down your choices greatly!

    1Reply
  • Christen G.
    Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2017 · 383 posts · 248 votes
    5y

    Western Washington, Asheville, NC

    2Reply
  • Brendan Lawrence
    Rental Property Investor · Bend, OR · Member since 2020 · 33 posts · 18 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser hey man! I grew up in the northeast and have been hoppin around the west for the last 11 years. I’m a contractor and can grab work with ease after a few months of putting myself out there.

    With that. The west is growing fast. I lived in Denver (twice) and have been a part of its massive expansion. When I first moved there it was truly like you were a part of this great adventure. But it’s a massive hot spot now and instead of an adventure feel it’s more like waiting in line at a theme park. It takes foreverrrrrrrr to get anywhere. And. If you’re going into the mountains you’re merging onto a 2 lane highway with everybody from the 3 main front range cities, everybody vacationing, and the Midwest states driving in for a long weekend. It’s all year. You’ll literally spend 3 hours making that 45 mile drive to the divide more often than not. And Little Cottonwood Canyon of Utah can do the same as the city grows.

    We currently live in Bend, OR, but similar things can happen here. It’s 3 hours from the 3 main I-5 cities so come the weekends you’re not having anything to yourself. It’s quieter than Colorado is, and it’s great having the immense amount of climates in one state. It literally goes from desert to rainforest to ocean from one end to the other, as you pass over snow capped volcanoes and green mossy hot springs. But. Every house in town is the same as the house next door and it’s common to have to spend over $400,000 to get a 3/2 house.

    We’ve done Washington as well which is by far my favorite mountain zone but with the cost of living there we don’t bother. Bozeman, JH, and Tahoe are all insanely expensive as well. And Idaho is hot on the radar with Californians, making many house prices $200-300/sf.

    I think that Albuquerque is doing okay with prices and you can ski Taos. But where I’m going with this is we’re looking northeast again. Out west it’s beautiful and exciting. But you pay for that! And it keeps us in a small house tied down and not being able to leave town as often as you’d think we could. Burlington Vt, North Conway Nh, or the Adirondacks of Ny all have incredible mountains and it’s common to find real estate under $50/sf! With acreage! You’ll give up blower pow every week, but it does still come each year. It’s common especially in NY to find a single family home on 20 acres for about $150,000.

    Either way. Hope this helped a little. Don’t get me wrong, if we lived out East, it would be to get acreage and ALSO be able to afford to spend more time exploring the west, as backwards as that sounds. Good luck!!!

    5Reply
  • Connor Dunham
    Investor · Anchorage, AK · Member since 2013 · 229 posts · 133 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Andrey Y.:
    Originally posted by @Han T.:

    @Will Fraser

    How about Alaska? I have the same dream like you and thought that's a nice place for me.

     How's 8 months of winter sound? 3 of those months it's too cold to spend more than 3 minutes outside. I did that for 3 years. Summers are beautiful, but Alaska isn't as glamorous as it sounds.

    9 deg. F today. Could be worse.

    2Reply
  • Dave R Ludolph
    Specialist · Cape Girardeau, MO · Member since 2020 · 43 posts · 9 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser Johnson city Tennessee

    1Reply
  • Tim BoevingPro Member
    Boise, ID · Member since 2017 · 32 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser sku dis like us. 3 years ago we moved from Illinois to enjoy the same things. We went to Boise and love it. Glad we did it cause prices are insane now. I’d visit some places and get a feel we had family in area as well so that kinda sealed the deal. I think you have to look at location, price, as well as activities that you are into. Good luck

    0Reply
  • Forrest Faulconer
    Real Estate Agent · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2020 · 471 posts · 462 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser

    I’ll never tell !!!!

    1Reply
  • Traci Blain
    Member since 2018 · 2 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    The Huntsville/Morgan/Eden areas of Utah are also really nice. Those areas put you near Snow Basin and Powder Mountain resorts, and Pineview Reservoir. You're also about 25 minutes from Ogden, and about an hour from Salt Lake City.

    0Reply
  • Matt W.
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2018 · 157 posts · 83 votes
    5y

    @Nicko Ferguson

    Damn, that makes me sad. I lived in Big Billies as a lift operator 04-05, best ski season of my life! Is there any effort to build more affordable housing or is that rejected by the local government?

    1Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Steve K.:

    So many mountain towns have gotten ridiculously expensive. I'd look for ones that haven't "popped" quite yet, and ride the market up. For example Boulder, Aspen, Bozeman, Jackson Hole, Vail, etc. are all basically for the 1% at this point, and even Bend, Flagstaff, Moab, etc. are prohibitively expensive. If those aren't in your budget, and you're looking for somewhere that you can get in on the ground level and position yourself for a potential gold rush, look for areas with geographical/demographic similarities to the aforementioned (reasonable job markets with great soft value/access) that haven't yet become completely unaffordable. Check out Leavenworth, Grand Junction, St. George, the Black Hills of South Dakota, Ogden, Boone, Leadville, Fayetteville, Reno, etc... places the have access, are still affordable, and are likely to become more popular. If money is no obstacle: Wanaka, New Zealand or Zermatt, Switzerland would be at the top of my list. If you're not really looking for a "mountain town" but rather a major metro within an hour of mountains, then Denver and Salt Lake City fit the bill. 

    Steve some good ones you mention..  I lived in Leadville went to school there in 1975 LOL..  towns next to Bend are not super expensive.

    And Leavenworth is a very cool town..  But you can go down to Wenatchee for better pricing and closer to Lake Chelan and the river.  Spokane area offers a lot of out doors and of course no state income tax in WA.

    Portola CA is inexpensive and surrounded by some cool fishing lakes and the Sierra buttes and only 1 hour from Reno.  Along with Quincy .. 

    The Mountain West is a big place. 

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    3Reply
  • Rachel S.
    Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2019 · 127 posts · 63 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Michael Glunk:

    Lot's of great suggestions here and I agree with most of them. Comes down to what you and your family are really looking for. Any additional context? e.g. I live in Evergreen, Colorado which is great because it's in the mountains and has a "smallish town" feel but close to everything down the hill in Denver and the front range area. Personally, I could be in a smaller town which is more remote in the mountains like Southern Colorado, Montana, Idaho or Western Wyoming but my wife prefers to be closer to what proximity of a large city like Denver offers. (Salt Lake is another good area that would balance this.) @Will Fraser Are you looking for something more remote or closer proximity to a city?

    I have a friend who lives in Evergreen, it is so beautiful. Seems like it would be a big jump from OK in terms of real estate prices though.

    0Reply
  • Brett Lee
    Flipper/Rehabber · Member since 2018 · 102 posts · 103 votes
    5y

    @Kendal Lamb

    So tempting to want to head that way!

    I only know the name Kalispell from hearing about it on Fresh Life Church and it sounds amazing :-)

    0Reply
  • Dustin Allen
    Real Estate Agent · South Lake Tahoe, CA · Member since 2016 · 681 posts · 644 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser

    South Lake Tahoe, CA

    If you know, you know!

    0Reply
  • Andy Jenkins
    Realtor · Minneapolis MN · Member since 2018 · 84 posts · 61 votes
    5y

    Salt Lake City and surrounding area is the best I've found. I'm a ski and snowboard instructor and have worked in France, Italy, New Zealand, Canada and the USA (I'm English). This winter is season 21. I've found nowhere else on earth where my wife can work a regular city job and I can commute 45 mins to be in a world class resort. Within an 90 minute drive from my house, I could ski/ride at 9 different resorts. Now as a full time Realtor I still teach part time, and can catch some powder laps before getting to work showing houses. It's SICK.

    2Reply
  • Nicko Ferguson
    Investor · Telluride, CO · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 9 votes
    5y

    @Matthew Wilson

    There has been a few new deed restricted properties build since you were here but nowhere near enough and they're still relatively expensive. Its a pretty different place than when you lived here

    0Reply
  • Annie Johnson
    Realtor · Seward, AK · Member since 2017 · 136 posts · 79 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser

    My family and I have plans to house hack in Seward AK

    0Reply
  • Han T.
    Investor · Columbus · Member since 2017 · 105 posts · 46 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Andrey Y.:
    Originally posted by @Han T.:

    @Will Fraser

    How about Alaska? I have the same dream like you and thought that's a nice place for me.

     How's 8 months of winter sound? 3 of those months it's too cold to spend more than 3 minutes outside. I did that for 3 years. Summers are beautiful, but Alaska isn't as glamorous as it sounds.

    That's true. But I have lived in a tropical place near the equator for years...so i guess i kinda dun really like the heat and more incline to the cold. maybe after staying there for some time, i'll change my mind.

    0Reply
  • Dean Letfus
    Specialist · Memphis, TN · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    Come to New Zealand, you can live at the foot of mountains like this and enjoy them everyday :-).  And you're a few minutes away from a beach!

    3Reply
  • Grace Samsonow
    New to Real Estate · VT · Member since 2018 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    5y

    Check out vermont, new hampshire, maine and northern new York. Smaller mountains than the Rockies but still beautiful and we get all 4 seasons. Lots of outdoor recreation opportunities including lakes everywhere and not too far from the ocean depending where you are.

    0Reply
  • Krissi WyssPro Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbia, SC · Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Will Fraser If you aren’t picky about your skiing and want to be out without excess layers year round, Asheville, NC area is wonderful! We live in SC but love the mountains. My favorite town up there is Brevard NC.

    0Reply
  • Adrian Tanguay
    Rental Property Investor · Essex Junction, VT · Member since 2020 · 11 posts · 5 votes
    5y

    I grew up in NH near Canon Mountain ski area and it was an awesome place to live but didn't nhave tech jobs so I moved to the Burlington VT area and started a family here. It's a little bigger so you get some of the benefits of a small "city" and you can drive 30-45 min to the ski resorts. Not as big as out west but both areas are great.

    1Reply
  • Ryan Howell
    Rental Property Investor · Hendersonville, NC · Member since 2016 · 446 posts · 412 votes
    5y

    I second the Asheville area.  You have a mild climate with 4 distinct seasons.  Plenty of hiking and mountain biking.  

    0Reply
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