Avon, Aspen or Steamboat for year-round family move? (Edwards, Glenwood Springs: real estate, houses)

[toomuchsun]

Thanks for the suggestions on nearby towns but we are looking for a true "out the back door" lifestyle with the mountain as close as possible. Ideally a major mountain with plenty of terrain... 3k+ of vert and 3,000+ of acreage roughly is ideal. Steamboat, snowmass and vail/beav seem to fit the bill perfectly. We are leaning towards Aspen because of the excellent schools... I've read the high school was #1 in the state a couple years ago. Pretty impressive.

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by toomuchsun

Thanks everyone for the suggestions outside the core areas but the dream is to be "out the back door" or as close to that as possible. Drop kids at school and be at the slopes within a few minutes. And preferably a larger resort as well, 3k vert and 3,000 in bound acres roughly is ideal.

This might work out for you, but I feel like I should warn you that close to the slopes will be tourists and retirees. Nothing wrong with either group, but you won't have other families near by for play dates, BBQs, etc.

I live in Boulder, and it seems like 25% of the parents around here used to live near a ski resort until their kids got to elementary school age.

Maybe you could rent for a year and make sure you are in the right place.

Also, My kids raced at Beaver Creek, and all of the local families lived in Eagle or Gypsum. I have friends with kids that live in the Aspen area, and they live in Carbondale. In Steamboat the families tend to live closer to town. I hope that helps!

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by toomuchsun

Thanks for the suggestions on nearby towns but we are looking for a true "out the back door" lifestyle with the mountain as close as possible. Ideally a major mountain with plenty of terrain... 3k+ of vert and 3,000+ of acreage roughly is ideal. Steamboat, snowmass and vail/beav seem to fit the bill perfectly. We are leaning towards Aspen because of the excellent schools... I've read the high school was #1 in the state a couple years ago. Pretty impressive.

Please let us know where you end up. I think $1.5M is not going to go as far as you hope it will.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by toomuchsun

We are leaning towards Aspen because of the excellent schools... I've read the high school was #1 in the state a couple years ago. Pretty impressive.

I'm a bit skeptical of school rankings. They can have as much to do with the student population as the school itself. I'd expect a lot of kids in that district come from pretty high socioeconomic backgrounds.

Also, I'd be very cautious about expecting to drive your kids a long way to school in the mountains. The school year roughly corresponds with winter.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

This might work out for you, but I feel like I should warn you that close to the slopes will be tourists and retirees. Nothing wrong with either group, but you won't have other families near by for play dates, BBQs, etc.

That's a great point. Lots of absentee homeowners, and the population is more transient. I think it would get old living in close proximity to tourists all of the time.

Living close to a resort town appeals to me, but not right in the thick of it. Something like the already-mentioned Basalt or Carbondale, or parts of Steamboat that are not right near the ski area.

[NW Crow]

IF the OP has issues with too much sun, CO will either require consistent use of sunscreen, long sleeves even in summer, big hats, mid-day sun avoidance, etc. or it might not be the best choice. The northwest is much milder on UV index.

[toomuchsun]

It seems to be a common theme when ski towns are mentioned for year round living that several people will comment that there is no real community and mostly tourists... but what about the well established k-12 schools, public libraries, churches and community rec centers that towns like aspen have? Hoping you guys can clarify because these are the things that make up our everyday life now and they are all present in the communities I mentioned in the original post.

[Regajohn]

As mentioned, I think $1.5 is very light for a single family home in Aspen-Snowmass, where the average price of a home this year is $7.2 (in Aspen ... where as they say, the millionaires were long ago priced out of town by the centimillionaires who are now being priced out by the billionaires).

Another city to put on your "look at list" would be Park City Utah, average home price there is $1.5 and about $900 k in the basin just outside of the small city limits.

I have family that live full-time in both places (Aspen and PC); Park City folks have a regular family life and are involved in the community with high school children playing sports, etc.
The Aspen person is single, late twenties and does complain about lack of opportunity for quality relationships ... As did a female friend who lived in Park City when she was 25-30; taught school but got tired of the slackers working resort jobs and only interested in partying and skiing and the tourist who were just interested in a fling. One advantage of Park City is that you're 40 minutes from a major International hub airport, so if you need to travel at all it's very convenient.

[CosmicWizard]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

IF the OP has issues with too much sun, CO will either require consistent use of sunscreen, long sleeves even in summer, big hats, mid-day sun avoidance, etc. or it might not be the best choice. The northwest is much milder on UV index.

Perhaps in some parts of the Northwest. 3 years ago, I spent 9 months in Ashland Oregon. If anything, it was hotter there in the summer with more intense sunlight than it is right here in Grand Junction. That little bit of additional humidity in the air seemed to intensify the sunlight. And the constant smoky air that summer ( 2014 ) was a royal pain in the *ss!

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by toomuchsun

It seems to be a common theme when ski towns are mentioned for year round living that several people will comment that there is no real community and mostly tourists... but what about the well established k-12 schools, public libraries, churches and community rec centers that towns like aspen have? Hoping you guys can clarify because these are the things that make up our everyday life now and they are all present in the communities I mentioned in the original post.

I don't think there is no real community. There is just more community that isn't slopeside. I was up at my friend' s place in Snowmass this summer. There is only one other family who is year round in their neighborhood and they are retired. Before writing off Carbondale and Basalt, I would really recommend visiting. I have friends with kids who just moved there from Denver and they love it. Lots of families and tons of mountain activities. It's also much more down to earth than Aspen.

I live in an ~$2.0M house in Denver. There is no way I would sell and move to Aspen even if I could work from there. It's such a strange place and I love to ski mountains and surrounding areas. The pretentiousness is overboard. I would consider Telluride, but it's much more remote. I think Basalt and Carbondale are much more family friendly.