Best places to live near Squaw Valley mountain? (Truckee, Kirkwood: ski resort, rentals)

[aar0n]

Hello!

I'm researching possibly moving out to California at the end of this summer and I was curious to get your input on some good places to live and rent near the Squaw Valley ski resort. A little bit about myself...

I'm 27, single, no kids, and I work from home as a software engineer. I enjoy clean, quiet areas with great scenery and fresh air. I prefer small to medium sized towns. I live for the winters, so easy access to expert ski terrain is essential without sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic to get there. My budget is around $1500 (give or take a couple hundred) per month on a place.

Do you have any recommendations on what towns I could look into?

PS. I'm also looking into areas near Snowbird, Utah.

Thanks!

[DMenscha]

Living in Squaw Valley itself is going to be pricey. You might expand your search to Truckee, or Tahoe City. I've always found Squaw to be way too crowded for my tastes, Have a look at Kirkwood maybe. If you like big and crowded you might also look at Heavenly.

[coyoteskye]

This is a good and relatively inexpensive way to access housing rentals in the Truckee / Tahoe area.
Long Term Rentals for all Lake Tahoe, Truckee - Housing Connection, rental listing service
There may be a source that is better and that doesn't cost but i'm not aware of it and it's only $40 bucks for 3 months or something like that.
I have friends that live right in there (Squaw Valley) and like DMenscha said, it's pricey and it's too congested ... way too crowded for me.
If you live in Truckee (for example) you'll be about 20 minutes from Squaw.
Snowbird ... you can't live up in the canyon (if i'm remembering correctly) so if you want to be in close (relatively close) proximity of Snowbird and Alta, i imagine that that you'll want to live in Salt Lake which is actually a good little city with a lot of nice neighborhoods, it's affordable (especially relative to much of CA), and you can indeed live there as a non-Mormon without feeling out of it despite the fact that the Mormon influence is strong but that is, in my opinion, not a bad thing overall.

[Clarks]

First, I always kicked myself for not living in Squaw Valley itself. Primarily because the place is loaded, I meeaann llooaaddeedd with beautiful single women.

Baring Squaw, Tahoe City, West shore, Truckee are all great places to be.

Regarding traffic, living in Squaw you miss it. Living elsewhere? The lifts open at 9:00 If you are at Squaw by 8:00 you beat the traffic, 8:05, you are in it, yes, the cut off is that sharp. My son used to ski on the Squaw Valley Team, I made it a point to have him at the locker room by 8:00, that included leaving the house by sno mo for 5 miles to the highway, shifting into the truck and driving down to Squaw.

[aar0n]

Thanks all for your input. Is traffic bad from Truckee to Squaw?

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by aar0n

Thanks all for your input. Is traffic bad from Truckee to Squaw?

I haven't driven from Truckee to Squaw in the early morning but i do not imagine it's too bad.
It's a fairly straight and fairly wide 55 mph road and then you take another smaller road and it's a very short distance up to the mountain.
It's the main road that takes you from Truckee to Lake Tahoe but even in the midst of the summer (loads of people in the region), i've never been slowed down on that road between Truckee and Squaw but i'm not there that often either.
And of course if the weather is extreme, that will effect speed.
I was remembering today that there are some condos over by the base of the mountain and they're not really fancy as far as i can tell from the outside.
That might be an ideal place to rent if you want to be right in there.
I think i've seen a "for rent" sign on a window now and then but it would have been during the summer and / or early fall and i don't know the name of them.
If you can find and afford a place in Squaw Valley, i'd do it.
Despite the fact that it's somewhat congested, it's really beautiful and it would be neat to be right in that little valley and great to be so close to the mountain.
Don't give up on Squaw if you really want to be there.
Maybe call a property manager or a realtor to get a sense of the scene.

[Clarks]

Thanks all for your input. Is traffic bad from Truckee to Squaw?

Not before 8:00AM or after 6:00PM

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by Clarks

Not before 8:00AM or after 6:00PM

You're saying that the traffic is only good before 8:00 am or after 6:00 pm?
That's doesn't sound accurate unless you have an unusual idea of what "bad traffic" is.

[Clarks]

Read my prior post, I think I wrote it in English.

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by Clarks

Read my prior post, I think I wrote it in English.

I wasn't wanting to argue with you (believe it or not) but i responded to the post (i often don't read an entire thread) where you said that the traffic is bad unless it's before 8 in the morning or after 6 at night and that's not been my experience and the o.p. seems to have missed the one you wrote in English as well because she made a point of asking about the traffic so i was clarifying.