Sierra mountains. Id love to live in that location! (San Diego: car rental, ski resorts)

[Need_affordable_home]

Picture speaks all. Who lives there and how expensive? I believe for $150k to $200k thatll easily get you a decent house and some smaller, older houses can be had for $100k. The weather is great with mild summers and mild winters I would definately like to live there instead of Oil city if I could find something affordable. Maybe Gizmo wouldnt mind living there(north of the bay area) its soooooooo beautiful and shouldnt be too expensive

[gizmo980]

LOL... I actually did live in the Sierras for 2 years! I was in South Lake Tahoe, which is absolutely gorgeous:



Kiva Beach, my favorite spot:
http://ramaseshan.ravi.googlepages.com/KivaBeach.jpg (broken link)

It's a great place to live, but like I've said about other parts of Northern CA, there aren't enough jobs or "civilization". Oh, and in most of the Sierras, the winters are far from mild - we got so much snow, I'd sometimes lose my SUV in a matter of hours! I was there from 1997-99, so I'm sure the real-estate has changed since then... but it was pretty affordable, and is still cheaper than the Bay Area. You can expect to pay around $300-400K, for a medium-sized house in a decent location. Here's one for $335K, which is 1520 sq.ft., and very typical "Tahoe-Chalet" style (I love those!):

http://homepics.realtor.com/image9/http/southlaketahoe/listings/large/030/109979.jpg (broken link)

[Need_affordable_home]

Elevation=6300
summer high=75-90
summer low=35-50
winter high=35-50
winter low=10-25

Good weather id say. The summers are just a delight with springs cool but warmer than winters and autums a little warmer than springs. The strange thing is the high almost always exceeds 32 even in midwinter. This means I can go out without bundling up. Lots of sunny days too.

July 2003 had 3 days with a low of 32! Elevation sure causes strange temperatures but thats adiabetic process for ya Ive been to Wyoming and it didnt get as hot as the sierra(highs of 60-75) but the lows were comparable and I even saw snow once in the middle of summer!

Let me check house prices for Lake Tahoe. Whoa super expensive! Cheapest is 1/4 million and its a tiny one. Only a handful for under 1/3 million. Some of the $300k to $400k houses are under 1000 square feet! Average cost is equivalent to San Diego! Guess I could always go to Lake Tahoe for a 2 or 3 week gateway for the price of a plane ticket, car rental and motel or better yet drive there with friends and split the costs.

[Guingirl]

My sister in law moved to Gardnerville, NV and she is basically just on the other side of South Lake Tahoe. My brother in law looks out his family room window to one of the most beautiful views of the mountains you could even think of...

Housing was much more reasonable.

[cw68]

Originally Posted by Guingirl

My sister in law moved to Gardnerville, NV and she is basically just on the other side of South Lake Tahoe. My brother in law looks out his family room window to one of the most beautiful views of the mountains you could even think of...

Housing was much more reasonable.

Taxes are much more reasonable, too.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Picture speaks all. Who lives there and how expensive? I believe for $150k to $200k thatll easily get you a decent house and some smaller, older houses can be had for $100k. The weather is great with mild summers and mild winters I would definately like to live there instead of Oil city if I could find something affordable. Maybe Gizmo wouldnt mind living there(north of the bay area) its soooooooo beautiful and shouldnt be too expensive

Land with a home at any price without a extra digit behind it was from at least 5 years ago. We lived there and are returning within a couple months.

At the current prices accept that a 1200 sq ft home on one acre will cost minimum of $320,000.

Any home in the San Francisco bay area is going to run you about $650,000 plus. And you will not get much!

Any land within view of the pictures in this thread will cost you at least $1,000,000. A home might be included.

[Need_affordable_home]

Wow thats insane! Guess ill have to settle for visiting those places for vacation. Cheapest hotel could be near $100 a night. Probably will just drive there to save on the plane ticket per person and car rentals. Can take 3 for the price of 1. Me and bring two friends and enjoy those views for far cheaper than buying a house and living there.

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Elevation=6300
summer high=75-90
summer low=35-50
winter high=35-50
winter low=10-25

Good weather id say. The summers are just a delight with springs cool but warmer than winters and autums a little warmer than springs. The strange thing is the high almost always exceeds 32 even in midwinter. This means I can go out without bundling up. Lots of sunny days too.

You can read all the numbers in the world, but I actually lived there!! The weather is pretty good overall, but like I said, it can get a TON of snow! The weather's also extremely unpredictable, with occasional freak snowstorms in the middle of summer... and temps (in winter) drop near zero quite often, with high winds that make it feel even colder. Summers are very dry and almost too sunny, since you're so high up. I'm a redhead with light blue eyes, and suffered from lots of migraines because of the bright light. Not to mention, I became addicted to chapstick & lotion from the dry air! Bugs are also a problem, though really nothing compared to the Southeast.

Let me check house prices for Lake Tahoe. Whoa super expensive! Cheapest is 1/4 million and its a tiny one. Only a handful for under 1/3 million. Some of the $300k to $400k houses are under 1000 square feet!

What part of Tahoe were you looking in? There are some more affordable spots, mostly on the South Shore & Nevada side... did you check Nevada, or just California? It is obviously still not "cheap", and will be more than $250K - but it's less expensive than some parts of CA!

[gizmo980]

I want to add, the reason why those weather stats seem "mild", is due to the unpredictability there... one winter you'll get barely any snow, which is horrible for the ski resorts (and therefore the economy), and the next winter will dump 20+ feet in 2 months! Same with the summers, which can range from mild to hot, and even cold at times. So put that all together, and you have average temperatures overall.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Picture speaks all. Who lives there and how expensive? I believe for $150k to $200k thatll easily get you a decent house and some smaller, older houses can be had for $100k. The weather is great with mild summers and mild winters I would definately like to live there instead of Oil city if I could find something affordable. Maybe Gizmo wouldnt mind living there(north of the bay area) its soooooooo beautiful and shouldnt be too expensive

I had a house in an area like that. It was the the cheapest house I've ever owned. The cool thing about it was that when I woke up in the morning, I could just pick it up and shake it out to clean it, then I packed it up and stuff it in my backpack and headed back into that reality known as the "daily grind" in the big city.

Most of the high Sierra, like what was pictured, is either a wilderness area, a National Park, or a National Forest. The land is "public land," owned by all of us, but managed by the U.S. Government. The nice thing for those of us that don't own property like this of our own, is that we can visit these areas and enjoy the splendor several times each year. If the U.S. Government hadn't locked up these lands, then, most likely, only the super wealthy would be able to enjoy these views, and the rest of us would not be allowed into the area.

I am thankful that I can experience life in areas like the one pictured, without needing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars just to get the opportunity to stay there. With a tent and a backpack, or something equally versatile, it is possible to enjoy this type of landscape without breaking the bank. The other nice thing about seeing the landscape this way is that you get to see new places regularly, if that's what you choose to do. I love the view in the picture, but would like to see other beautiful places, as well. Besides the high Sierra, there are gorgeous places in the Rockies, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Idaho, Utah, and so many others that don't come to mind immediately.