Tamarack ski resort vs. Sun Valley (Boise, Twin Falls: real estate, condos, lenders)

[illumin8]

Hi everyone!
I'm looking for some comparisons between Tamarack and Sun Valley.
I have lived all over the western U.S. as well as overseas twice, and my favorite place so far is Sun Valley. I lived there for a while in the early 80's, and I loved, loved, loved it!!! It was the climate - four definite seasons with lots of snow and sunshine but low humidity. It was the mountains - hiking, camping, hot springs and Mother Nature just a step away. It was the locals - outdoorsy, down-to-earth and friendly. It was the tourists - injecting energy and excitement into everyday life. It was the best of both worlds - small town community with international flavor.
These days I can imagine the cost of living in Sun Valley is probably beyond sky high... it was too expensive even in the 80's. Since I recently heard about Tamarack opening a few years ago, I'm extremely intrigued. I am considering relocating from soggy western Washington and would dearly love to get back to my four seasons.
How would the Tamarack area compare with Sun Valley of the 80's? I'm considering Donnelly, McCall and Cascade, as well as any other places that may be recommended. Should I decide that the Tamarack area will be my new home, I would ultimately like to work at Tamarack part time and wherever I live part time, my efforts to support both the ski resort/tourist trade and the town.
Any info or comparisons will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Stacey

[Perkinst]

Originally Posted by illumin8

Hi everyone!
I'm looking for some comparisons between Tamarack and Sun Valley.
I have lived all over the western U.S. as well as overseas twice, and my favorite place so far is Sun Valley. I lived there for a while in the early 80's, and I loved, loved, loved it!!! It was the climate - four definite seasons with lots of snow and sunshine but low humidity. It was the mountains - hiking, camping, hot springs and Mother Nature just a step away. It was the locals - outdoorsy, down-to-earth and friendly. It was the tourists - injecting energy and excitement into everyday life. It was the best of both worlds - small town community with international flavor.
These days I can imagine the cost of living in Sun Valley is probably beyond sky high... it was too expensive even in the 80's. Since I recently heard about Tamarack opening a few years ago, I'm extremely intrigued. I am considering relocating from soggy western Washington and would dearly love to get back to my four seasons.
How would the Tamarack area compare with Sun Valley of the 80's? I'm considering Donnelly, McCall and Cascade, as well as any other places that may be recommended. Should I decide that the Tamarack area will be my new home, I would ultimately like to work at Tamarack part time and wherever I live part time, my efforts to support both the ski resort/tourist trade and the town.
Any info or comparisons will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Stacey

I too lived in Ketchum in the 80's. The Sun Valley area is the best place (IMO) to live in Idaho, if you can afford it. Have not been to Tamarack, but the news reports that they are almost financially out of business. But Sun Valley keeps expanding, new gondola being built.

[boisefan88]

Tamarack is a ghost town right now. No jobs, lots of half-built condos, no local economy, extremely cloudy future.

I'd stay away. Look into Brundage, which is nearby to Tamarack. Again, though, the economy up in that area is in shambles. And the price of living is still horrendous.

Sun Valley is thriving, but also too expensive to live. It's actually hard to find a job there, too, unless you're in the construction industry. Most non-rich live in Twin Falls and face the hour and a half commute. Horrid commute because its a single lane highway the entire way - lots of wrecks.

Of course, if you know someone it makes getting a job a lot easier.

Best bet for wanting to work at a ski resort is to live in Boise and work at Bogus. Jobs there are easy enough to get.

[illumin8]

Originally Posted by Perkinst

I too lived in Ketchum in the 80's. The Sun Valley area is the best place (IMO) to live in Idaho, if you can afford it. Have not been to Tamarack, but the news reports that they are almost financially out of business. But Sun Valley keeps expanding, new gondola being built.

Thanks for the info. I know Tamarack fell on hard times, has changed hands and is reportedly operating fairly close to 'normal'. That's what the report said anyway. As for Sun Valley, I plan a visit, possibly Christmas, and if it feels half as wonderful as it did back then, I may never leave!!!

[illumin8]

Originally Posted by boisefan88

Tamarack is a ghost town right now. No jobs, lots of half-built condos, no local economy, extremely cloudy future.

I'd stay away. Look into Brundage, which is nearby to Tamarack. Again, though, the economy up in that area is in shambles. And the price of living is still horrendous.

Sun Valley is thriving, but also too expensive to live. It's actually hard to find a job there, too, unless you're in the construction industry. Most non-rich live in Twin Falls and face the hour and a half commute. Horrid commute because its a single lane highway the entire way - lots of wrecks.

Of course, if you know someone it makes getting a job a lot easier.

Best bet for wanting to work at a ski resort is to live in Boise and work at Bogus. Jobs there are easy enough to get.

Thanks for your reply! I'm looking at roughly 5 years from now for relocation, give the economy a chance to right itself and become stable. By then I plan to work mainly from home (so outside employment is not necessary for survival), but I would like to work in the community and/or at the ski resort as well. A day or two each week maybe.
I've been to neither Brundage nor Bogus, but plan to check them out, as well as Tamarack. I've been past all of them in a car, but that doesn't really count.
It has to be a small town. I've lived in the sticks so long I'd be a fish out of water if I had to live in a city. Yup, SV sounds better all the time!

[3~Shepherds]

Originally Posted by illumin8

Hi everyone!
I'm looking for some comparisons between Tamarack and Sun Valley.
I have lived all over the western U.S. as well as overseas twice, and my favorite place so far is Sun Valley. I lived there for a while in the early 80's, and I loved, loved, loved it!!! It was the climate - four definite seasons with lots of snow and sunshine but low humidity. It was the mountains - hiking, camping, hot springs and Mother Nature just a step away. It was the locals - outdoorsy, down-to-earth and friendly. It was the tourists - injecting energy and excitement into everyday life. It was the best of both worlds - small town community with international flavor.
These days I can imagine the cost of living in Sun Valley is probably beyond sky high... it was too expensive even in the 80's. Since I recently heard about Tamarack opening a few years ago, I'm extremely intrigued. I am considering relocating from soggy western Washington and would dearly love to get back to my four seasons.
How would the Tamarack area compare with Sun Valley of the 80's? I'm considering Donnelly, McCall and Cascade, as well as any other places that may be recommended. Should I decide that the Tamarack area will be my new home, I would ultimately like to work at Tamarack part time and wherever I live part time, my efforts to support both the ski resort/tourist trade and the town.
Any info or comparisons will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Stacey

I live in the McCall area, Tamarack is no where near, running close to normal. They might like to make everyone think so, but they are hurting and there are NO jobs. If you have to work even just a little bit this is not the place to venture and put down roots. The economy here, is really bad for most that have to work. Brundage is no different. They do have the people that are dedicated to the mountain, as far as jobs, not too likely.

Don't mean to sound doom and gloom, but the construction ,restaurants, gift shops, real estate has just come to a stand still or they are gone.

If you don't have to have a certain income then this is a beautiful place to live, we haven't even gotten very much snow this year and our economy depends on the snow. Best of Luck!!!!!

[boisefan88]

Tamarack has closed indefinitely.

Tamarack Resort to close next week | News Updates | Idaho Statesman

[TohobitPeak]

Too much infrastructure has been completed up there for it to not open again with a new owner in due time. It is only obvious someone will buy it and resume construction, so all of the negative people who have performed self gratification on themselves about the fact this has happened will have to come to terms that it will resume operations again in the future.
It is only obvious.
After all the main reason for this is because of Bank Suisse and a failing world economy, not necessarily the resort itself. Other upscale resorts in the West have been impacted by Bank Suisse so Tamarack is not alone.

illumin8, I am very familier with both areas and have lived in Sun Valley recently so I will give you some honest opinions when I have more time.
Tamarack is just a small sampling of what there is in that area. McCall is the big boy up there.
Gotta run.

[boisefan88]

Originally Posted by TohobitPeak

Too much infrastructure has been completed up there for it to not open again with a new owner in due time. It is only obvious someone will buy it and resume construction, so all of the negative people who have performed self gratification on themselves about the fact this has happened will have to come to terms that it will resume operations again in the future.
It is only obvious.

Self-gratification, huh?

I think what you are seeing is that many of us who warned about this type of irresponsible, unsustainable growth (of which Tamarack is but another example) are indeed basking in a bit of "I told you so" to those who refuse to consider the implications of their actions.

This economic crisis is going to be deeper and more revolutionary than I think many people realize, but it will be for the best. Indeed I feel extremely sorry for everyone who is negatively impacted by it, but at the same time we are all complicit. It's not just the banks and the lenders and the government - we all got ourselves into this mess.

Maybe going on into the future we'll learn to be a little more responsible, a little more risk averse, and these projects like Tamarack will be tempered with a bit more practicality.

By the way - unemployment up there is hovering around 25%. This is a bit of a bigger deal than you'd like to make it out to be. While I have no doubts that someone will buy it and, at the very least, operations will resume again...I do have my doubts about its long term viability.

Originally Posted by TohobitPeak

After all the main reason for this is because of Bank Suisse and a failing world economy, not necessarily the resort itself. Other upscale resorts in the West have been impacted by Bank Suisse so Tamarack is not alone.

Absolutely not true. Tamarack had it's problems well before this hit. Yes, the default of Boespflug was a significant factor, and the Bank Suisse thing was the final nail, but this project was rocky from the start. Agassi pulled out because of the problems, and this was well before the crisis. It was mired in litigation since well before the crisis.

The only thing that made it appear to be successful was the extremely ridiculous amount of construction in such a short time, and that it was/is a nice little 4 season hill.

[Perkinst]

It would be great if the Sun Valley Co. would take over running Tamarack. They know how to run successful fantastic resorts.