Does our desired western mtn town exist? (sale, 2015)
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Hi all,
I’m looking for suggestions on locations to research for a future move. We currently live in WNY, about equal distance between Buf & Roc.
My g/f and I have no real time line in mind but would like to make it happen within the next 10yrs or less.
Ive been to Jackson WY (Togwotee)several times between 2007-2015 snowmobiling but had never been in the summer. We went out Labor Day week 2019. I already had a love for the area for snowmobiling and seeing it in the summer only increased my love for the area. It also brought her around to the idea of moving west..However as you all know, COL in Jackson is not feasible for the average joe. So we decided to start exploring areas on vacation.
We visited the front range of CO Labor Day wk ‘21. I had hopes for Woodland Park for its proximity to the springs for everything but living in a small town away from all that, with general amenities similar to our current situation. .We also spent several days in the hills above Boulder. Both nice areas but neither really clicked, the COL in Boulder is out of our range and the stories of the hail storms for the area scared me as well.
So our checklists includes…
An area with a decent view of mountains.(required)
Preferably an area that tends to lean a bit red
Coming from NY,an area not overburden with taxes
Preferably a smaller town/city, say 15000 or less. Willing to stretch that number a bit if an area met a lot of other criteria and we could still not be right on top of neighbors. An hr or so to a bigger city for most shopping/airport is probably all she’s going to allow..
Not crazy about HOA’s/subdivisions but perhaps the right place and view I could be persuaded. I don’t do cookie cutter homes, prefer more rustic, timber frame,log houses. 2000-2500 sq ft range. 600k range. 1-2 acres preferably for the dogs to play.
No intentions of kids so schools are of no concern.
We are both catholic, but not active.
An area that receives a decent amount of snow. We see about 75-80”/yr where we are now, I actually wouldn’t mind a bit more, but certainly not less. We also love t-storms
Not oppressively hot in the summer. Low to mid 80s, low humidity. Ideally not much wind.
I’ve been out of snowmobiling since 2016 but I’d love to be able to get back into it, so proximity to riding would be nice.
She is a lab technician at a well known local college and part time vet assistant, w2 with both jobs around 50k.She’d like to get more into wildlife/reptile job in some form. Or perhaps a full time vet assistant job in the right scenario.
I’m a local cdl A driver and w2 80-85k. Been thinking I might drop back to a little propane delivery truck or something, slightly better money and pto(at least locally) Or getting back into an equipment operator.
Both her lab job and my job are about 40 minutes, her vet job is only 5 minutes. So a bit of a commute isn’t a huge issue. I understand that drives could be a bit more interesting in the winter than we currently experience.
Some areas that are on the list: (in no particular order)
Flagstaff AZ ( she’s mentioned it , but the heat down there is to much )
Kalispell Mt,Stevensville/Hamilton mt. I haven’t researched much, just noted it in a few articles and a recommendation from a family member)
** these first 3 havent been looking to good on a COL comparison calculator I’ve been using
Sandpoint through Coeur d Alene Idaho
Alpine WY/ Star river valley ( this is my top choice at the moment)
I’ve read some conflicting info that Durango CO/ Pagosa Springs could possibly meet some of our needs.
N Utah intrigues me but it seems like they bake in the summer more than I’d like.
1-2 acres with mountain views within 1 hr of a larger city in the $600k range is going to be tough to find. With remote work and pandemic migration what you're looking for is a lot more expensive.
Your top candidate of Alpine WY has potential. Would also look at Swan Valley, Driggs, Victor Idaho. This may be too remote for you, but the towns around Salmon Idaho may work. IMO, your main challenge is all these areas will be finding employment that pays enough.
BTW - Flagstaff AZ is not hot. It's on the Colorado Plateau, almost 7000' in elevation, which means it stays relatively cool in summer and cold and snowy in winter. If you have to run into Phoenix (3 hrs away) then, yeah, it's hotter than heck during summer down in the low desert.
Last edited by AnythingOutdoors; 04-23-2023 at 04:01 PM..
N Utah intrigues me but it seems like they bake in the summer more than I’d like.
you can likely find what you're looking for on either side of the wasatch. note that north UT gets pretty churchy. But outskirts of SLC came to mind as i read your post. Budget will be tight.
"Preferably a smaller town/city, say 15000 or less" does not match some of your listed possibles, unless you would consider satellites of them.
Bitteroot Valley is a pretty good target and has different niches. Stevensville MT is small. Hamilton is modest sized by itself but add up all the nearby towns and countryside and the local area pushes 25k and the county is 45k. Too big or ok?
I wouldn't recommend the big / popular places in Northern Idaho or NW MT at current prices but some figure it out, perhaps further out, and figure it is worth it.
Lincoln County altogether has 18k but it is spread out 500 here, 1000 there, 2500 tops in town. Is that enough? Plenty of snow, plenty of very cold.
Would you consider outskirts of Helena or Boulder MT? Deer Lodge or Boulder MT Baker City OR? Evanston WY? St. Maries ID? Spearfish SD? Richfield UT? Ashton ID?
All the really nice places have been discovered, thus, expensive. I know an acquaintance that lived near Caldwell ID. Had a good government job, lived on 11 acres with a small house. Got tired of the population explosion. Decided to sellout and moved to a small town between Bozeman and Billings. Got another job right away. But found out even with a chunk of money from the sale of his ID property, he couldn’t afford MT. So now he’s renting a travel trailer on a ranch hoping to find anything he can afford.
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