Resort town employment???

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Do the resorts bring in Russians and other Eastern Europeans to fill their seasonal jobs? A lot of resorts on the East Coast do that. It's done heavily in food service and lifeguarding (don't know about massage and other occupations). I think it sucks with so many younger Americans now looking for that type of work. I'm about to write my Congressman about it as it's hurting our teens where I live.

There are different visa options for all of that.

One is the J-1 visa for college students to work 4 months here.

Another is an employer sourced visa such as an H-2B.

Then there are some working holiday agreements between different countries that allow up to a year here.

Having been involved in recruiting of large numbers of people for seasonal positions it is very hard.

The reason is almost all American want or desire a full time year round job(can't blame them), so your market is limited to older transient people bumming from place to place, locals(limited number of those) and college age students.

The problem for ski towns is the college break falls in summer, so it is tough to source people for winter. Which is why in places like Vail you will find a lot of southern hemisphere college students working in the winter, which happens to be their summer break from school.

I will also tell you that Americans are given totally priority for hiring as the paperwork and other issues are easier to deal with.

Now when the economy changed, it became easier to recruit Americans. So that helped. But again most Americans are not interested in getting a temp job for 4 months.

[delta07]

I imagine (and as Cosmic said, this isn't based on hard facts but my opinion) the resort towns in Colorado have fared better than Flagstaff in this economy. The rural areas outside of the resorts are pretty dismal, but many people are still taking their vacations to the resorts. Of course, Colorado might be late to feel the the economic crisis, but I do know it has done much better than my current locale, Bend, OR (although tourism does help a bit).

[Mike from back east]

We've had similar threads, about working in the ski resorts, and if one searches on the term "ski bum" they can find and read a lot of very good info on living and working in these towns. Short version: a very rigorous life, long hours, high cost rentals, etc.

[wanneroo]

I have broken up your post Nicole to respond to the different items:

-I am a massage therapist, he is a cook
Massage therapists are really dime a dozen and none of the ones I knew did that full time and usually had another job as well. There are jobs though for that at some of the upscale hotels like the Ritz, Hyatt and so on. There are always jobs for cooks.

-We have a dog
Lots of other people do as well, but it is harder to find apartments and usually there is a higher price tag for renting as well.

-I have NEVER skied/snowboarded in my life. He has, although not extensively.

I never skied at all in my 8 ski seasons. I enjoyed the summer time activities and weather. The main hook for me in the winter was earning money, living and working with people from other countries and getting to know the associated international ladies as well

-We live simply and would be able to afford something in the 1000-1300 range, utilities included (or at least heat included!)

Getting harder to find, but not impossible. However at that price point, it might not be the quietest, nicest place.

-We both like the idea of downtime between seasons to travel

I did too. Each year I took about 3-5 months off a year. I also ran a part time business online in those spare months as well as travel. However you have to work your rear end off in the busy seasons to pull that off. A lot of people would have these big ideas about travel and then spend their spare time partying it up in the bars and finish the season with a return ticket home and a $100 in their pocket rather than traveling Europe as originally planned.

-How busy are the summer seasons? Are they worth it?

I found summers much more variable than winters. The main prime time season is July 4th weekend to Labor Day. You can count on that being busy. June and September are variable.

In a lot of these ski towns especially Vail, it depends on corporate group business and meetings in the summer time.

Typically when I started out, I expected to earn 2/3's of my yearly income in winter and a 1/3 in summer. However over time my summer seasons I earned as much as winter and the two became closer together in earnings. Also I always paid less and often much less in rent in the summertime, so that helped to balance out as I never had a year round lease.

I think a lot of these ski towns are doing a better job promoting themselves for summer and also providing things to do.

I would be prepared to earn less, but also use the time to get out and enjoy 80 degree and sunny weather.

-Which are the better towns to make money in. I have pretty much ruled out Aspen because of the huge cost of living. Vail is pretty high on my list right now....

For starters anyone that doesn't have a full time "real job" in these towns my next best recommendation is to have a job you will earn tips or gratuities in.

So with that I found with Aspen, Aspen was filled with hollywood and limo liberal types that talk the big talk about "the little people", but are the most tight fisted people around in reality and tip little or not at all. Or sometimes you have the showy people that have to show off so they throw wads of money around and tip well. Overall I found it wasn't as good as Vail.

Vail has a ton of self made businessmen and conservative type people know what it means to earn a living and overall I think that is one of the best places to earn excellent consistent tips from people.

Summit County is more upper middle class oriented so the tips come in, but at a much lower amount.

I am biased to Vail, but it worked out really well for me, I think overall it has the best mix of earning possibilities and a huge plethora of things to do.

Right now I have a VW Rabbit which is pretty good in snow, but would you def recommend getting a Subaru or something similar? Or would snow tires/chains be good enough?

Snow tires to me are essential for winter for your safety and ease of getting around. A car like a Subaru would be an advantage.

-I realize the economy blows right now everywhere, but how has it affected the resort communities?

I have many friends and family still out there. The winter of 2008-2009 was hard, but it has come back in recent winters. Not as strong as back in 2004-2007, not as many jobs available, but things are still moving along.

Another resort I have been looking at is the Broadmoor in COS. Cost of living there is super cheap. If we were to live there it would be a long term thing. Although they do not offer skiing so the outlook of winter employment there seems pretty dismal. Would it be feasible to commute up to Denver during the winter for work?

The Broadmoor seems pretty dependent on corporate groups and meetings, not tourists. I have a lot of friends and family that have done work for those groups there and it certainly seems like more of a summer place. I would imagine though that you would work in CO Springs if you needed extra work rather than commute to Denver.

[Dogmama50]

I live in Vail right now, have also lived in Aspen and Telluride. I prefer Aspen but the cost of living does make it harder than Vail to get by.

There are plenty of cook jobs, turn over is high, the average wage is between $10-$16 per hour depending on skill set and company. Some companies will include a free ski pass, others will finance it for you, sometimes benefits are a trade off in pay.

There also seems to be a fair share of massage therapist jobs, Sonnenalp, Cascade, Four Seasons, Sebastian, Westin, Beaver Creek Hyatt etc... All have good spas that are very busy in the winter, fairly busy in the summer. There is also a company called Simply Massage that is just massage and none of the drama that goes with the spa atmosphere. You'll have to be licensed in Colorado, not sure if it's a simple transfer of if the hour requirements are different than AZ.

hcareers.com is a great place for both of you to look for jobs.

As far as housing check the High Rockies section of craigslist and the Vail Daily newspaper. Dogs aren't a big issue up here, but fenced yards are hard to come by. Also weigh the cost differences of living in Vail or in an area on the bus line compared to one that you need to drive from, parking in Vail is expensive and busy in the winter, most places don't offer parking for line employees.

[Idunn]

As long as you are not looking for housing, October would be a fine time to visit the Colorado mountains.

At that time of year you may run into some snow, and that on the road, but more likely just fine if cooling weather. At this latitude and elevation Halloween is generally considered the date when autumn turns seriously towards winter.

Front wheel drive cars are perfectly fine on plowed roads. A good all-wheel vehicle, such as a Subaru, would be all the easier to drive with, but not mandatory. The biggest difference, no matter the vehicle, is determined by tires. Good mud and snow tires will do fine, dedicated winter tires better, but in either case all brands and types are not created equal: the specific tire you choose to use will make a significant difference.

Once it comes to securing housing then October would not be an ideal time to be looking. Early September will see one with less competition and more options in housing. Spring would be even better if one can justify a move at that time. That is when most everyone is splitting the scene, lots of properties available, and landlords might look favorably upon someone willing to begin a long and happy association at that time. Of course resort rental prices will prove higher than elsewhere in the lowlands.

As has been alluded to, these ski resorts will see some business in summer as well. One will have to decide to what degree that works for them, but as far as being in the Colorado high country come summer - totally worth it.

[Nicolelee927]

Thank you all so much for the info! We are excited to come and check out the different towns and get a feel for them in October.