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My brother's long time girlfriend (they've lived together for over 15 years) has a lovely cabin in Driggs, ID. It's on the other side of the Tetons from Jackson. They do a lot of snowmobiling. They canoe, hike, fish. It's beautiful there. It's a pretty small remote town, just over 2000 people. You could probably find something there for 600K, that would be a nice place to live. For acreage though -- the billionaires have kicked the millionaires out of Jackson, WY and into Driggs and land has gotten more expensive. It's a 47 minute drive from Driggs to Jackson. It's an hour and 12 minute drive from Driggs to Idaho Falls. That's where my brother and his girlfriend live. Those would be places with more employment opportunities.
Just mentioning more about this due to how much you liked Jackson. And Driggs has much of that beauty.
Northern New Mexico fit's a good number of your reqs. FWIW I was looking at mountain towns in CO and ultimately decided Taos fit the bill better than anything in CO - which is astonishingly expensive, even compared to MT and ID and OR.
Pagosa Springs is a great spot if you love winter, but those roads out of it are hell if you have to leave any time during when a winter storm is possible.
I didn't want to be that isolated by tricky passes, so I went a little south and east and landed in Taos. It's about 1-2 hours for snowmobiling in the South San Juans, better than Woodland Parks options for sure. Skiing is up the road 30 minutes if you want to get into that, and passes are $500 for weekday passes. It's next to winter if you ever want it, but the area itself is flat and easy to drive on without tricky passes during storms. There's lots 1-2 acre lots and houses in your price range for that size. The views and sunsets are unreal out here.
Not nearly the hail and not as much wind here as the front range of CO. Similar climate to Woodland park. It's more liberal bent, but it's more the vegan off grid people than social justice warriors. Catholic roots throughout the whole area.
Here's a pic of my 1800 sqft $2100 a month rental house for reference, I've got an acre, but just prairie dogs instead of canines . Brand new very good construction house.
Taos is expensive, but just down the road southward, is Ranchos de Taos, which is more affordable.
Water rights and water availability are potential stumbling blocks, though...
Smaller cities in Northern Nevada...in particular Gardnerville, Nevada. Of course, this is a valley area, not up in the Sierra...but right next to it. Virginia City has some larger lots up there that are more affordable and you are on a mountain. Western mountain towns do have inherent wildfire risk, it is safer down in the valleys..something to consider.
It's very pricey in that area, but I do know several young couples that moved from big eastern cities with the same criteria you listed that love it here.
It's warmer in the summer at times, but has way more civilization than some of the other suggestions. All the mountain activities are right there and it fits your political preferences. Can be windy, but the harsh wind storms are not often, the cooling winds are common and very welcome for outdoor activities.
There are other areas in Northern Nevada that are less expensive you can research as well...also, lots of employment opportunities here.
There are some Central and Eastern Oregon towns that would seem to fit your desires petty well.
1. Probably the best fit: La Pine, OR. This is a small town of 2,500 people about 30 miles south of Bend, OR at 100K. La Pine is a bit higher in elevation, so gets quite a bit more snow than Bend proper. Plus, the road to Bend can be sketchy a few days each winter, so it's kept a lot of folks who've relocated from southern locations away. That means real estate prices are a bit lower. You should be able to find property right at your $600k budget. If you find the right property you likely could snowmobile/ATV ride right from your front door into miles of national forest.
Elgin, OR. Small town at the edge of the Grande Ronde Valley. About 20 miles to La Grande, OR and the I-84 freeway for a bit bigger town with most jobs in the area. Boise Cascade still has a stud or particle board mill in Elgin, so they would need drivers to move the finished products. La Grande, OR has another wood products mill, plus some other industry to include chemical, RV manufacturing, ag support businesses and Eastern Oregon State University. The closest small commercial airport is in Walla Walla, WA. Plenty of snow in the area. Some years LOTS!!
Baker City, OR - at least nearby. Baker City is a nice small town of about 10K people. It's at the edge of the Eagle Cap Mountains, but in town/around town is more open range type land. There are great mountain views and you'd be only a few minutes from trees and usable/playable snow. It's about a 2 hour to Boise International Airport and about 1 1/2 hours to the major shopping of the west Boise suburb cities down I-84. We have several friends that settled in Baker City and they tend to make the drive into the Boise area at least monthly for entertainment and shopping. Some people like that there is no Wal-Mart in town, so the downtown and smaller business are still going. The nearest Wal-Mart is about 40 miles away in La Grande.
OP, I think you'd benefit from a road tip to see these areas for yourself. Something like the following:
Assuming you come via I-80, start by exploring Alpine, WY and Swan Valley/Driggs/Victor, ID.
Then head west through Idaho Falls and Twin Falls through the Boise area. Points of interest along the way include Craters of the Moon and Shoshone Falls.
Alternatively, if you prefer to see the rugged remote interior of Idaho, head to Salmon and then take Rte 93 to Stanley, Rte 21 to Lowman Banks Rd, then Rte 55 to the Boise area (beautiful but long twisty drive on two lane roads).
From the Boise area head up I-84 to Baker City then Le Grande. Then up through central WA to Spokane/CdA. Explore North Idaho a bit, CdD and Sandpoint.
Next head over to Kalispell/Whitefish. Glacier National Park is right there, worth visiting if you have time.
Explore other towns in western MT, and maybe visit Yellowstone before heading home.
Ruby Mountains are spectacular there and the housing is more affordable.
I am unfamiliar with snowmobile opportunities in that area, snowmobiling is popular in winter up in the Sierra near the Gardnerville area I mentioned before.
Good, small city with lots of amenities. Plus several cultural spots like museums and historical sites. It snuggles up to the Shoshone National Forest. The ride into the east entrance of YNP is 1 of the prettier drives in America.
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