Living in a "ski town" (Denver, Boulder: apartments, rent)

[j_rode]

I love the big city, but I also enjoy the feel of a small town, if it's right for me.

A few summers ago I visited Breckenridge and thought it was a great little town nestled into the mountains. I imagine Vail and Aspen are somewhat similar.

My question is, what kind of job opportunities are there in these types of towns? I'd imagine lots of serving, bartending, tourism, ski-instructing jobs, but is there anything else?

What does rent for a nice (not luxurious) studio or one bedroom apartment cost in one of these towns?

Also, I realize they're mountain towns, but are there any spider problems in these places? I had spiders of any shape or size in my house, so if I see one, I tend to freak out. I couldn't imagine dealing with a big black widow, wolf spider or whatever.

Thanks for the help/info!

[onthamove]

i'd give almost anything to live in the high country at breck or loveland or any of those areas along i70 but the price of living there is ridiculous when i was checkin out studio apartments in aspen i saw the lowest one start at 700 not including utlities oh i know 700 isnt too bad but i mean for a studio?????????? NO way here in ky and in cincy area studios are considered 350-400 lol

[onthamove]

lol my parents think that once i do move i should live in denver they dont wanna me snowboarding my life away lol so for me living in the metro area will work out better not only pricewise but at least i can keep my head straight and realize snowboarding is 2nd to work/school

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by j_rode

My question is, what kind of job opportunities are there in these types of towns? I'd imagine lots of serving, bartending, tourism, ski-instructing jobs, but is there anything else?

Mostly tourism-oriented as you guessed, but there are some "normal" jobs too. IT jobs seem to be somewhat prevalent. Our neighbor is a network manager for Vail Resorts, and my good friend is an IT director for a local clinic. For Summit County (which includes Breck) look at the classifieds in the local paper, Summit Daily News for Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper and Frisco Colorado for jobs. It seems that the resorts advertise for corporate office jobs every year (like in finance and accounting, IT, etc.).

What does rent for a nice (not luxurious) studio or one bedroom apartment cost in one of these towns?

Don't know about rents, but again, check out the newspaper. Obviously the cheapest way is to get roommates (the path for most ski bums).

Also, I realize they're mountain towns, but are there any spider problems in these places? I had spiders of any shape or size in my house, so if I see one, I tend to freak out. I couldn't imagine dealing with a big black widow, wolf spider or whatever.

Not much. While there are spiderwebs around, I've rarely seen spiders themselves. The few spiders around are pretty small.

[sunsprit]

Colorado's high country is "black widow" spider territory. We've had sizable infestations at our houses in Denver, Boulder, Adams, Eagle, Larimer, Grand, Pitkin, Park, and Weld county.

You may ... or may not ... have them nest around structures, or in basements and crawl spaces. Woodpiles are an especially popular nesting site, or undisturbed places in garages. You may even spot their distinctive webs in low lying shrubbery around your place.

Fortunately, they're relatively easy to control with readily available methods. An application or two of the sprays or powders seems to wipe them out and keep them away for years. Just be sure to follow the directions and cautions for use .... and keep your children and pets out of the area for a few days. You don't want them inhaling or tracking the stuff into your house.

We had a seasonal cabin by Fairplay that used to require using a "smoke bomb" every spring when we opened it up to clear out all the crawling critters in the place. The spiders like to come inside out of the weather every winter season. A fumigation bomb like that would kill them, and then we'd be able to air out the place and clean it all up for the summer.

[onthamove]

sunspirit are you kidding? i hate spiders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they have black widows 1 and 2 miles high? are they indigenous to colorado or did some fool think it'd be a funny prank? idk i mean is it because colorado is so dry? that is one part of colorado i def do not like

[jazzlover]

Plenty of black widows in Colorado. Also, brown recluse spiders, which are much more dangerous if you do get bitten. Also, hantavirus carried by rodents. Bubonic plague, too. Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick fever (though that one is misnamed--it actually started back East). And giardia in most mountain streams. Oh yeah, West Nile Virus from mosquitoes. Rattlesnakes up to over 8,000 ft. elevation in areas. The place is not pest-free.

[onthamove]

DANG i hate venomous things and creepy crawlers, are there scorpions in the montrose areas?

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by onthamove

DANG i hate venomous things and creepy crawlers, are there scorpions in the montrose areas?

Yes, smaller than ones in Arizona, but they can be found in the lower Uncompahgre and Gunnison Valleys in Colorado (Montrose, Delta, Grand Junction, etc.).

[onthamove]

huh wow colorado is truly amazingly diverse