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Old 09-19-2012, 12:22 PM
 
9,846 posts, read 22,580,892 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanek9freak View Post
That's the problem I'm having. I could afford to live there by myself, but with my GF and 3 kids between us, it's damn near impossible to find housing that's affordable.
My sister and her husband were living the high life in Vail back when they were single and then living together. Now with children, they have an average sized duplex and it's $2600 a month.

Add in the fact that in most cases you are making the same as a job on the Front Range, or perhaps even less, one can see why most people once they get married up there and have children, they leave. Maybe years later they come back when they are financially successful.

Summit County is slightly cheaper but only by a few percentage points.

I survived up there for years and even saved money, but that's because everything I owned fitted in my car and I lived mostly in employee housing with roommates.
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Old 09-19-2012, 02:09 PM
 
Location: Wherabouts Unknown!
7,841 posts, read 18,929,932 times
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wanneroo wrote: You compare that with what you are likely to get paid and the numbers don't add up.

Like Bill Clinton says....do the arithmetic. In real life you can't just make up numbers like the politicians do and expect to have a balanced budget.
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Old 09-19-2012, 03:05 PM
 
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Don't know if you have your own transport, but commuting from Alma or Fairplay & surrounding areas might get you into more affordable housing. Commute should be around 30-40 mins.

You will need a capable and reliable car. FWD with good snow tires will suffice. The weather up there is non joke and you should always have an emergency kit if you break down in winter.
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Old 09-19-2012, 04:35 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Colorado^ View Post
Don't know if you have your own transport, but commuting from Alma or Fairplay & surrounding areas might get you into more affordable housing. Commute should be around 30-40 mins.

You will need a capable and reliable car. FWD with good snow tires will suffice. The weather up there is non joke and you should always have an emergency kit if you break down in winter.
There are some people that do that, but I would not want to be driving that pass in winter early morning to work or late at night after work.

And to me that kind of crosses out the reason why most people move there for, to live in a resort town.
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Old 09-19-2012, 05:31 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wanneroo View Post
There are some people that do that, but I would not want to be driving that pass in winter early morning to work or late at night after work.

And to me that kind of crosses out the reason why most people move there for, to live in a resort town.
IMHO the drive is not that big of a deal provided you have good snow tires on all four corners and good driving skills. That last bit is KEY! And it's not much fun living in a resort town if you have no money left after rent either
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Old 09-19-2012, 06:28 PM
 
Location: Bend, OR
3,296 posts, read 9,652,206 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Colorado^ View Post
Don't know if you have your own transport, but commuting from Alma or Fairplay & surrounding areas might get you into more affordable housing. Commute should be around 30-40 mins.

You will need a capable and reliable car. FWD with good snow tires will suffice. The weather up there is non joke and you should always have an emergency kit if you break down in winter.
My thoughts, exactly! While it would be ideal to find a place in or near Breck, the reality is that most of the working class there either have a long commute or have to live with roommates.

I posted this on another thread, but realized it was in the Denver subforum so thought I'd put it here as well: My husband & I lived in Fairplay for several years many years ago. He worked in Breck at the mountain and I worked for the USFS in Fairplay. The commute isn't terrible, although it's not great during the winter, but Hoosier Pass does stay open. Rent in the Faiplay/Alma area is much cheaper (or at least it was, not sure these days) and you can usually find your own place. Fairplay has grown, compared to when I lived there, and has a small grocery store, a few restaurants, and a community rec center. We often drove to Frisco to do our shopping and if you are going to be working in Breck, you can easily do that after work one day. You might also look into Blue River. You wouldn't have to drive the pass everyday and it used to be a bit cheaper than Breck.
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Old 09-19-2012, 07:02 PM
 
Location: Wherabouts Unknown!
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I will echo wanneroos sentiment.....driving over a snowy pass all winter long would take all the fun out of it....for me. I can see it starting out as an exciting novelty, and deteriorating into a pain-in-the-ass ritual very quickly.
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Old 09-20-2012, 10:25 AM
 
404 posts, read 900,365 times
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If you're not gonna live in town, you might as well live in denver. 40 minutes to fairplay with equally crappy job opportunities or just over an hour to denver with tons more. If you're gonna be a ski bum, do it right and live in the town.
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Old 09-20-2012, 11:15 AM
 
Location: Bend, OR
3,296 posts, read 9,652,206 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicWizard View Post
I will echo wanneroos sentiment.....driving over a snowy pass all winter long would take all the fun out of it....for me. I can see it starting out as an exciting novelty, and deteriorating into a pain-in-the-ass ritual very quickly.
True, it can get old fast, but we were young and we actually preferred living there to Breck. Plus, the pass wasn't actually bad. When you live in the mountains, whether it's Breck or Fairplay, you are very used to driving on snow covered roads. It's just a part of the deal. And living in a resort town can also get old. No traffic in Fairplay, lol! Plus, my husband actually took a bus. Not sure that is still an option. Last I heard, they did away with that service. The only problem he ever encountered was occasionally missing the bus due to the Breckenridge Brewery, ha!

Quote:
Originally Posted by a bag of it View Post
If you're not gonna live in town, you might as well live in denver. 40 minutes to fairplay with equally crappy job opportunities or just over an hour to denver with tons more. If you're gonna be a ski bum, do it right and live in the town.
I was actually referring to ryanek9freak's post, as he stated he had a job offer in Breck. However, the drive between Breck and Denver is almost 2 hours long, not just over an hour. Sure, it may only take you just over an hour to get to the Dillon/Silverthorne area along I-70, but then you have the two lane highway 9 you have to deal with. And forget it on the weekends. It usually took us right around 30 minutes to commute between Fairplay and Breck, and there was very little traffic.
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Old 09-20-2012, 01:11 PM
 
3,105 posts, read 3,807,058 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by a bag of it View Post
If you're not gonna live in town, you might as well live in denver. 40 minutes to fairplay with equally crappy job opportunities or just over an hour to denver with tons more. If you're gonna be a ski bum, do it right and live in the town.
Are you serious? Fairplay to Breck is 25-30mins (22 miles) and Alma is even less at 18 miles. Denver to Breck is going to be 1:30 at best (80 miles). You can double or triple that time on the week-ends due to massive I-70 traffic. Fairplay to Breck doesn't get much traffic...

Heck Alma and Fairplay and know bedroom communities for Breck. Resorts are only fun if you have major cash to burn, or you're young and single. OP is going to be on a budget and has kids.
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