Avon, Aspen or Steamboat for year-round family move? (Durango, Edwards: rental car, ski resorts)

[toomuchsun]

I understand 1.5 million dollar budget in Aspen puts us on the lowest end of single family homes but there are options that would work. Definitely only a handful of SFRs would fit the bill but they do exist. would have to bump budget to 1.5 to 2mil but that would be fine if it's all there is!

Steamboat is appealing but seems to lack the spectacular mountain views and be more tame rolling terrain. Am I wrong? Love the homes available at 1mil+. Much nicer than aspen options.

Avon seems to have really nice view homes on the North side of the highway within budget.

Tough call. Just have to make another trip soon to narrow down.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by toomuchsun

I understand 1.5 million dollar budget in Aspen puts us on the lowest end of single family homes but there are options that would work. Definitely only a handful of SFRs would fit the bill but they do exist. would have to bump budget to 1.5 to 2mil but that would be fine if it's all there is!

Steamboat is appealing but seems to lack the spectacular mountain views and be more tame rolling terrain. Am I wrong? Love the homes available at 1mil+. Much nicer than aspen options.

Avon seems to have really nice view homes on the North side of the highway within budget.

Tough call. Just have to make another trip soon to narrow down.

I think the pretentiousness level in Steamboat is significantly lower than it is in Aspen. I have family who live on a ranch outside of Steamboat and love it. I would do that before Aspen when raising a family. Some people like or don't mind being around a high level of pretentiousness. If so, Aspen all day.

[Dogmama50]

Originally Posted by toomuchsun

I understand 1.5 million dollar budget in Aspen puts us on the lowest end of single family homes but there are options that would work. Definitely only a handful of SFRs would fit the bill but they do exist. would have to bump budget to 1.5 to 2mil but that would be fine if it's all there is!

Steamboat is appealing but seems to lack the spectacular mountain views and be more tame rolling terrain. Am I wrong? Love the homes available at 1mil+. Much nicer than aspen options.

Avon seems to have really nice view homes on the North side of the highway within budget.

Tough call. Just have to make another trip soon to narrow down.

The north side of the Highway is called Wildridge, I lived there for 5 years, there is a very good reason real estate is less expensive up there. The views are great the drive sucks and it doesn't have a lot of kids hanging out together because families don't want to continually drive up and down the hill. Singletree in Edwards will give you great views without the hassle of Wildridge, you can ski in Arrowhead in 5 minutes, Beaver Creek in 10 and Vail in 20.

Once again I will advise you to look at Eagle-Vail, it's exactly the sense of community you are looking for and 5 minutes to BC, 10 to Vail. Singletree and Homestead in Edwards would also be great options.

There are plenty of ski town areas with a tight community, but those aren't usually ski in ski out.

[toomuchsun]

Originally Posted by Dogmama50

The north side of the Highway is called Wildridge, I lived there for 5 years, there is a very good reason real estate is less expensive up there. The views are great the drive sucks and it doesn't have a lot of kids hanging out together because families don't want to continually drive up and down the hill. Singletree in Edwards will give you great views without the hassle of Wildridge, you can ski in Arrowhead in 5 minutes, Beaver Creek in 10 and Vail in 20.

Once again I will advise you to look at Eagle-Vail, it's exactly the sense of community you are looking for and 5 minutes to BC, 10 to Vail. Singletree and Homestead in Edwards would also be great options.

There are plenty of ski town areas with a tight community, but those aren't usually ski in ski out.

This is exactly the kind of locals knowledge I was hoping to get from this thread! Thanks so much!

[whoisjongalt]

I lived in Aspen for a year and it's still one of my favorite places in the world. I didn't think there were any houses IN Aspen under maybe $2 - 3 million but maybe there are. The skiing is Snowmass is the best anyway. If you can find a house there, I'd go for it. I did the drive Aspen to Snowmass almost every day in the winter and it's really not that bad. They have the free shuttles running constantly too. I'm not sure about the schools, but you might also consider Breckenridge if you want that vibe of a real, historic town with great skiing (vs. the sort of Disney-esque feel of Vail).

[NW Crow]

Cosmic Wizard,

The UV Index for Ashland OR is one of the lowest I've ever seen at 3.2. (National average is 4.3.) GJ's is almost double Ashland's at 5.8. But almost any place can have too strong sun in early afternoon. Especially for some folks, like me. Avon is at 5.7. GJ & Avon are just a small fraction less than San Diego.

[Ruth4Truth]

Carbondale/Glenwood Springs area is nice for families. Great hospital in G'wood Springs, plus there are the hot springs. Carbondale is beautiful, small, creeks for kids to explore, a central park that's kept green, it's flat and bikable. Within an easy drive of Aspen.

Someone mentioned New Mexico: check out Taos, which has world-class skiing nearby, at Eagle's Nest. Olympic skiers sometimes train there. It's a very quaint little town full of art galleries/shops, all in the NM adobe architecture style. The Rio Grande gorge is just outside of town, good for river rafting when there's enough water. The entire area is very scenic.

[toomuchsun]

Originally Posted by whoisjongalt

I lived in Aspen for a year and it's still one of my favorite places in the world. I didn't think there were any houses IN Aspen under maybe $2 - 3 million but maybe there are. The skiing is Snowmass is the best anyway. If you can find a house there, I'd go for it. I did the drive Aspen to Snowmass almost every day in the winter and it's really not that bad. They have the free shuttles running constantly too. I'm not sure about the schools, but you might also consider Breckenridge if you want that vibe of a real, historic town with great skiing (vs. the sort of Disney-esque feel of Vail).

You are correct. Nothing in that price range in Aspen. Only in the lower end of homes in snowmass. When you drove from snowmass back to aspen... did you take the main hwy or the owl creek cut through? Does traffic back up quite a bit in winter around the round-a-bout that heads up to the schools?

[toomuchsun]

Any steamboat locals with input?

[wanneroo]

Myself, Vail is one of my hometowns you could say and I'd prefer the Vail Valley over any other ski town. For me the wealthy residents are what I would say are more "real people" in that they made their money in more traditional ways and people are not so extreme. The Aspen area, while interesting, and I did work there a lot while being based in Vail, is loaded to extremes in all ways. Aspen has your more showy "look at me" type attention seekers and weirdos. It has your celebs, rich celeb doctors, sports stars, trust funders, depressed trophy wives and people that have made big money in all sorts of weird one off ways. If you are into that sort of thing, well there you go.

Snowmass to me always felt a bit flat for some reason. It's a beautiful little valley and hill, but there has always been something missing and there is no sense of community there at all, IMO.

Sure you could live in Carbondale and stuff, but lets not fool ourselves, it's not Aspen and it's well separated from Aspen. I think people living there would like to think otherwise but it's like people living in Eagle saying they are living in Vail.

Steamboat, myself, I tried it for a season, after Vail it was a total letdown. Vail Valley has so much more going on and I got cabin fever in Steamboat. Unlike Vail, when you are in Steamboat, there are no other decent communities within good reach and it felt too remote for me. I just never connected at all with the community or the vibe there at all. I would consider it an acquired taste. In retrospect knowing what I know now, I would have remained in Vail and commuted up there for the job a few days a week and I would have been mega happier with that. In addition due to the topography, I found it much colder in Steamboat and often in Vail at night in winter it would be 20-30 degrees warmer in Vail.