Durango, Tahoe, Jackson Hole, or elsewhere? (Estes Park, Eagle: home equity, house, transfer)

[jrh22]

sunsprit, your perspective on your business was quite valuable. I know you think I'm discounting it, but I'm not. I do appreciate it. You've done it, of course I take that seriously.

Yes, I've been to all three locations, multiple times. But only as a visitor.

[jrh22]

Perhaps a more productive exercise is to reverse the table and simply ask, if you were moving your business, and your goals were:

1. to be outdoors with your family, within 30 minutes of a mountain range
2. in a climate where winter sports are accessible
3. within 45 minutes of a decent sized boating lake
5. have access to a regional airport that has flights to at least 3 hub airports within 1 hour drive
6. in a town that is considered attractive enough for employees to want to live and work there

All within a town less than 50,000 full time residents.

I'm all ears.

[rzzzz]

Out of the three you originally listed, definitely Tahoe.
Given your second post, Bellingham WA.

[Grovin2movin]

Park City?

[Happy in Wyoming]

Originally Posted by jrh22

Perhaps a more productive exercise is to reverse the table and simply ask, if you were moving your business, and your goals were:

1. to be outdoors with your family, within 30 minutes of a mountain range
2. in a climate where winter sports are accessible
3. within 45 minutes of a decent sized boating lake
5. have access to a regional airport that has flights to at least 3 hub airports within 1 hour drive
6. in a town that is considered attractive enough for employees to want to live and work there

All within a town less than 50,000 full time residents.

I'm all ears.

Evanston, Wyoming

1) There are mountains close to both the south and west.

2) Park City skiiing is less than an hour away.

3) There's a lake at Coalville, Utah less than thirty minutes away. Flaming Gorge is about ninety minutes, but it's the largest lake in the region.

4) SLC airport is less than an hour.

6) It's easy to recruit people from the SLC area. They like the much lower taxes as well as the more easy going atmosphere in Wyoming.

Evanston doesn't have the high wind that most of Wyoming does. It's west of the blizzard belt. The cost of living is relatively low. It's politically conservative. Crime is extremely low.

The population is about 17,000.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by jrh22

Perhaps a more productive exercise is to reverse the table and simply ask, if you were moving your business, and your goals were:

1. to be outdoors with your family, within 30 minutes of a mountain range
2. in a climate where winter sports are accessible
3. within 45 minutes of a decent sized boating lake
5. have access to a regional airport that has flights to at least 3 hub airports within 1 hour drive
6. in a town that is considered attractive enough for employees to want to live and work there

All within a town less than 50,000 full time residents.

I'm all ears.

Several very strong possibilities present:

Conifer or Evergreen, CO.

outdoor recreation essentially right on your doorstep, reasonably close to Dillon Lake and other mountain boating venues. Good access to numerous excellent skiing facilities/resorts.

good access to DIA via I-70

from my perspective, desirable towns for employees "to want to live and work there"


or perhaps some of the foothills communities near the West side of Colorado Springs.

Park City, UT, or some of the other corridor towns to the East from SLC; access to skiing, outdoor rec, a decent sized lake for boating, good airline service at SLC.

[jrh22]

Thank you, excellent suggestions.

[Idunn]

1) One is basically in the mountains, with high ranges to the east and west of this valley.

2) Definitely cold and snow in the winter. The Whitefish Mountain ski area is just 4 miles outside of Whitefish.

3) Sizable Flathead Lake is only about 30 miles south of Whitefish. There are a number of other small to medium size mountain lakes in the area.

4) Glacier Park International Airport is about 10 miles southeast of Whitefish. Among other locations, it has connections to Seattle (Alaska Airlines), Portland (Alaska Airlines), Salt Lake City (Delta Airlines), and Denver (United Airlines).

5) A quite attractive area, scenic. Whitefish is a Rocky Mountain town of about 6,649 population. The largest regional center in the area is Kalispell, about 15 miles south, population about 20,972.




Some negatives: One is rather isolated, with the closest urban areas of any size being Seattle, Portland, Boise, or Calgary, Alberta—all at a distance. Surely not the most progressive of areas, if that a positive to some. Unlike Colorado, expect colder temperatures and decidedly less sun in winter.

Some positives: An isolated mountain area of striking beauty. Magnificent Glacier National Park is basically at one's doorstep. Lower real estate costs than some Colorado mountain resort towns. Should prove relatively less congested than a town such as Durango, if as more or less the west gateway to the park, a favorite of summer tourists.

[NW Crow]

Income tax or no draws a lot of attention. Total state and local taxes and fees is better to look at. Still differences in states but generally not as much.

If swimming and / or waterskiing is important, the water temperature is a deterrant at a lot of mountain lakes outside of 2 months or even then.

Durango tourist load isn't overwhelming. Good chance Nighthorse will be no motor or low- horsepower.

Heber City Utah is one of the fastest growing towns near the mountains. Pretty nice location. Reservoirs nearby. Mix of resort crowd and local LDS community.

There is some waterskiing on narrow Lake Mary east of Flagstaff but most probably go to Lake Powell, Mead or Roosevelt to the south.

[jazzlover]

All I can say is that living in a resort town (and making a living there) is a whole hell of lot different than being a "visitor." But, the "Paradise Syndrome"--which I've watched for decades--is alive and well. There is a constant revolving door in resort towns like Durango, Jackson, Tahoe, ad nauseum of people who move in to live the dream. They find out--some immediately, some later--that the dream is much different than the reality and, in fact, may even be a nightmare for them. But, there is a never ending supply of greater fools to take their place when they leave. And, no, those dreamers are not all starry-eyed young granola-crunching ski bums, many of them are people who are quite successful in other parts of their life, but get blinded into poor judgment (business and personal) and wind up making stupid relocation decisions based on emotion, rather than good common sense. A short way of putting it is that a lot of those types "have more dollars than sense." And the resort towns can be very proficient in relieving people of their dollars . . . Sort of like the guy who has a mid-life crisis, divorces his wife and marries a young, beautiful trophy wife--conveniently ignoring the fact that she loves to spend his money, is not near as beautiful as he thought when she is isn't wearing makeup, and who has an expensive drug habit. And getting out that relationship turns out to be hugely expensive.

On a another note, I could second the recommendation of Evanston, Wyoming. Largely NOT a tourist town, near some great mountain country, and relatively close to Salt Lake. Though it would not be an issue for me, Evanston does have a substantial LDS population--and that population wields a lot of control over both the business and politics of the community. That may be a turnoff for the OP.