Cost of living in ski towns

Rachy

Rachy

Active member
Staff member
I'm in search for the best bang for the buck in regards to living, ease, and quality.

These are the requirements: Must be able to take public transportation to the mountain. Must be within 20 miles of a mountain. Mountain must have at least 1500ft skiable vertical and 1000 acres (size of Mt. Baker). I'm interested in everywhere really, just list what currency you are using.

Town:

Nearest resort:

Other resorts within 20 miles:

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?):

Length of average season:

Length of long/big season:

Cost of public transportation:

Ease of public transportation:

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease:

Distance to nearest regional airport:

Distance to nearest international airport:

Access to secondary education:

AirBnB allowed in town limits?

Best quality:

Worst quality:

Town: Mammoth Lakes

Nearest resort: Mammoth Mountain

Other resorts within 20 miles: June Mountain

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): $799 (I think it was $680 back in March), includes Mammoth Mountain, June Mountain, Snow Summit, and Big Bear, for $100 more you can get 50% off at mountain collective resorts.

Length of average season: November - Memorial Day

Length of long/big season: Mid October - July 4th

Cost of public transportation: Free

Ease of public transportation: Easy and convenient

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease: For nothing fancy, between $600 and $700 a month without utilities.

Distance to nearest regional airport: 8 miles

Distance to nearest airport international airport: 166 miles (reno)

Access to secondary education: In town, Cerro Coso Community College.

AirBnB allowed in town limits? not at the moment

Best quality: It's not the best at anything, but it's really good at everything (backcountry, sidecountry, park, pipe, terrain, snowfall).

Worst quality: Everything is more expensive, mostly due to location (ex. gas, internet, second most expensive Vons/Safeway in the country).
 
topic:Rachy said:
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Town: whistler



Nearest resort:whistler blackcomb



Other resorts within 20 miles:0



Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?):free with a mountain job about $1400 for other jobs in town

Length of average season:end of nov to end of may

Length of long/big season:start of nov beginning of June



Cost of public transportation: $60 for the month



Ease of public transportation: every 15min



Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease: $1250-1500



Distance to nearest regional airport:Vancouver 2 hours



Distance to nearest international airport: Vancouver 2 hours



Access to secondary education: Vancouver again 2 hours or squarmish I think for some courses



AirBnB allowed in town limits? Yes



Best quality: pretty big hill and usually plenty of snow



Worst quality:can get busy
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Whistler stats
 
What! You want others to do your research for you!?

Bend and Bachelor are awesome, but you need a bankroll big. Super hard to find a rental in Bend. You can find some less expensive rentals in the south county area around Sunriver ans south to LaPine. Both the road from Sunriver and Bend are about 20 miles to the Mt.

Good luck buddy.
 
13493662:DominatorJacques said:
What! You want others to do your research for you!?

Bend and Bachelor are awesome, but you need a bankroll big. Super hard to find a rental in Bend. You can find some less expensive rentals in the south county area around Sunriver ans south to LaPine. Both the road from Sunriver and Bend are about 20 miles to the Mt.

Good luck buddy.
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Because researching towns I don't know about is a bit tricky and people already living in these towns have this information available. That and this is the sort of information I'm sure a lot of members would like to know. There are always stories on affordable resorts as a tourist, not so much as a resident, and when there are, they focus on more major destination areas like SLC, Denver, and Tahoe.
 
13493709:Rachy said:
Because researching towns I don't know about is a bit tricky and people already living in these towns have this information available. That and this is the sort of information I'm sure a lot of members would like to know. There are always stories on affordable resorts as a tourist, not so much as a resident, and when there are, they focus on more major destination areas like SLC, Denver, and Tahoe.
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Yea, I hear you. I wish I could tell you more, but I can't. No dis bro. Like i said, good luck and i mean that in the best way. Bend has become way to expensive for a rental. They do have busses to the Mt., but you need to buy a pass for that too! Take care man!
 
In the US your best bet is Utah, or maybe Montana. West is obviously better than east. Colorado and PNW are a far drive from places of living to the ski areas, Jackson and California are expensive, Idaho hardly gets snow anymore (nor does California). I lived in Utah for a while so here's the info on that

Town: Sandy (or anywhere else in the south suburbs of SLC)

Nearest resort: Snowbird/Alta or Solitude/Brighton depending on where you live

Other resorts within 20 miles: See above

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): like $600 I think

Length of average season: 6-7 months

Length of long/big season: 7-8 months I think

Cost of public transportation: Not sure, didn't use it

Ease of public transportation: Very easy, ski bus stops everywhere

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease: $600-700/month

Distance to nearest regional airport: I think the SLC international is closest

Distance to nearest international airport: under 20 miles

Access to secondary education: It's a big city so yes

AirBnB allowed in town limits? idk

Best quality: Great skiing

Worst quality: Dry snow = it won't stick to really steep (i.e. >60 degree) faces like it does on the west coast

Montana is probably comparable in some ways but I have not skied or lived there so idk for sure
 
Also regarding Utah, if hiking to snow counts, then short season=10-11 months, average=11-12, long season=12 months

Similar in other states in the west
 
i'm also looking for somewhere cool to live, work and ski this season... people please post! also interested in off the beaten path ski towns
 
topic:Rachy said:
I'm in search for the best bang for the buck in regards to living, ease, and quality.

Town:Innsbruck

Nearest resort:Numerous, closest are Nordkette, Axamer Lizum, Patscherkofel and Glungezer

Other resorts within 20 miles: So many

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): 700 euros for the whole of Tirol, that is 77 resorts last time I checked.

Length of average season: oct-juli/agust

Length of long/big season:oct-juli/agust

Cost of public transportation: Cheap, getting to the nearest resorts is about 6-10 euros round trip

Ease of public transportation: Extremely easy and convenient, trains run almost everywhere, if not there is always a bus.

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease:This is the expensive part, prob around 4-700 euros a month, incl all bills. Get a room in a shared flat, can get those down to about 300

Distance to nearest regional airport:1 mile

Distance to nearest international airport: 1 mile

Access to secondary education:Innsbruck has it all.

AirBnB allowed in town limits? I think so

Best quality:Accessibilty to awesome skiing.

Worst quality:Cost of apartments, everything else is cheap.

Check it out!
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13494106:Jibberino said:
I'm in search for the best bang for the buck in regards to living, ease, and quality.

Town:Innsbruck

Nearest resort:Numerous, closest are Nordkette, Axamer Lizum, Patscherkofel and Glungezer

Other resorts within 20 miles: So many

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): 700 euros for the whole of Tirol, that is 77 resorts last time I checked.

Length of average season: oct-juli/agust

Length of long/big season:oct-juli/agust

Cost of public transportation: Cheap, getting to the nearest resorts is about 6-10 euros round trip

Ease of public transportation: Extremely easy and convenient, trains run almost everywhere, if not there is always a bus.

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease:This is the expensive part, prob around 4-700 euros a month, incl all bills. Get a room in a shared flat, can get those down to about 300

Distance to nearest regional airport:1 mile

Distance to nearest international airport: 1 mile

Access to secondary education:Innsbruck has it all.

AirBnB allowed in town limits? I think so

Best quality:Accessibilty to awesome skiing.

Worst quality:Cost of apartments, everything else is cheap.

Check it out!
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I've thought about taking up residency here. I can't legally take residency, but you're allowed 90 days of 180 days. So basically 6 months of the year if you plan your trips right.
 
13494131:Rachy said:
I've thought about taking up residency here. I can't legally take residency, but you're allowed 90 days of 180 days. So basically 6 months of the year if you plan your trips right.
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I'm in Norway now, and I love it here, but if I had a choice of anywhere, i'd go with Innsbruck for sure.

Hit me up if you wanna know more, I used to live all over Austria for 3 years.
 
Town: Park City

Nearest resort: Park City, Deer Valley

Other resorts within 20 miles: 8

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): Epic pass is 750? local pass is 550 or something. Other resorts are anywhere from 600-2000 (deer valley is 2000)

Length of average season: Mid Novemeber to Mid April

Length of long/big season: Earliest ive ever seen a resort open is halloween, latest is snowbird on 4th of july.

Cost of public transportation: Free

Ease of public transportation: 10/10

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease: Studios are expensive, anywhere from 800-1000 but you could live with a roommate for anywhere from 500-800 a month.

Distance to nearest regional airport: SLC 30 min

Distance to nearest international airport: SLC 30 min

Access to secondary education: U of U, Westminster in SLC

AirBnB allowed in town limits? Yes

Best quality: Great town, insanely close to skiing, not "too" expensive in comparison to other ski towns like aspen. Lots of great locals from ages 22-35, nightlife is super fun and summers up here aren't too bad either. I love the vibe of park city, ive been here for 3 years now and haven't regretted moving from slc at all.

Worst quality: Tons of tourists, we have pretty decent mud seasons (april - june and sept -nov) but in reality, its not that bad. The resorts are never as bad as summit county and the traffic isn't usually too bad either, but there are alot of tourists around holidays and Sundance is a great time to leave town if you can.

Terrain quality at PC/Canyons isn't great, I have a great time skiing there but if it dumps ill usually find myself driving an hour to the cottonwoods to ski some real terrain.
 
topic:Rachy said:
I'm in search for the best bang for the buck in regards to living, ease, and quality.

These are the requirements: Must be able to take public transportation to the mountain. Must be within 20 miles of a mountain. Mountain must have at least 1500ft skiable vertical and 1000 acres (size of Mt. Baker). I'm interested in everywhere really, just list what currency you are using.
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Town: Banff

Nearest resort: Norquay (don't go there)

Other resorts within 20 miles: Sunshine, Lake Louise, maybe Nakiska

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): $2000CDN for the big 3

Length of average season: early/mid november - mid/late may

Length of long/big season: early november - late may

Cost of public transportation:

in the town: $65/3month pass or $2 a ride

to the hills: $500ish/season or $15 a ride

Ease of public transportation: the bus drivers blow by all the stuck cars when the highway is shit.

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease: expensive

Distance to nearest regional airport: not sure

Distance to nearest international airport: 1.5h to calgary

Access to secondary education: there is a high school.

AirBnB allowed in town limits? not sure

Best quality: very beautiful, full of core skiers/adventure people, diverse terrain

Worst quality: tourists, loud foreign 18 year olds, and you'll probably get a core shot at some point.
 
Town: Bozeman, Montana

Nearest resort: Bridger Bowl

Other resorts within 20 miles: none, Big Sky is ~45/50 min away

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): $599, midweek is $399

Length of average season: early December (can hike before resort is opened though) - Late April

Length of long/big season: 6-7 months, if willing to hike.

Cost of public transportation: free, lots of people ride share as well.

Ease of public transportation: you'd better free up your we dual to get around. Streamline can suck.

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease: I've seen some for $450 a month

Distance to nearest regional airport: roughly 12 miles

Distance to nearest international airport: 400+ SLC or Denver, Portland are the closest

Access to secondary education: in town, Montana State University

AirBnB allowed in town limits? I think so?? I saw some from a quick google search

Best quality: small town feel, lots of outdoors activities all year round, lots of boys

Worst quality: Not a lot of "in town" things to do, no girls to hang with, jobs can be hard to find
 
13495579:FROGGINBULLFISH said:
if you meant post-secondary, there is an arts college or something at the banff centre
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haha nice catch. Completely didn't realize I did that.
 
Town: Aspen/Snowmass (I live in Snowmass but I'm generalizing for both)

Nearest resort: Snowmass

Other resorts within 20 miles: Highlands, Aspen, Buttermilk, Sunlight is 40 miles away

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): About $1100 if you get it super early

Length of average season: November-April.

Length of long/big season: Backcountry can go all the way til August if you know where to go.

Cost of public transportation: Free between Aspen and Snowmass and it runs until 2:15am

Ease of public transportation: Very easy and you can openly drink

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease: Subsidized employee housing is about $500-750. Private is $1200+

Distance to nearest regional airport: 4-5 miles depending on location

Distance to nearest international airport: Denver, so 3.5 hour drive

Access to secondary education: CMC is in Aspen and most surrounding towns.

AirBnB allowed in town limits? Yup. My Mom uses VRBO instead though.

Best quality: Away from Denver traffic, locals are awesome, 4 mountains on one pass

Worst quality: Expensive lifestyle, somewhat isolated (in terms of access to metro/city life), texan tourists
 
I've been doing a lot of research lately and Park City/SLC absolutely blows everything else out of the water. Also I have found studios for like $450 a month online in SLC. Banff would be my second choice but living there is a lot more expensive. I have a few friends that went to Banff so that is my source. Sunshine has some crazy good jumps too.

Also if someone 18-22 is looking for a roommate for next Winter in SLC than hmu. It would cut expenses quite a bit
 
Aspen no question about it if no car is a main thing and you can make it work financially.

THe bus will run you in super easy from Basalt/Carbondale/Glenwood where shit is way cheaper but living in Aspen itself or Snowmass would be baller.

Maybe a Southern Colorado resort or Taos would be good I've heard Crested Butte is has a sweet town that is like Aspen but less $. Most good US hills require a car for the most part though.
 
13516721:PeppermillReno said:
Aspen no question about it if no car is a main thing and you can make it work financially.

THe bus will run you in super easy from Basalt/Carbondale/Glenwood where shit is way cheaper but living in Aspen itself or Snowmass would be baller.
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True. I live in Snowmass, so thank you haha. In the winter time, I almost never drive anywhere. Free rides between Snowmass and Aspen every 15 minutes 'til 2:15am. And in the summer, you can put your bike on the shuttles in Snowmass and have free shuttle laps for mountain biking.
 
13517301:ThaLorax said:
True. I live in Snowmass, so thank you haha. In the winter time, I almost never drive anywhere. Free rides between Snowmass and Aspen every 15 minutes 'til 2:15am. And in the summer, you can put your bike on the shuttles in Snowmass and have free shuttle laps for mountain biking.
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Aspens paradise everything Summit CO has going for it Aspen has as well. Except you have Highlands and Ajax which are steeper and far more badass than any bullshit intermediate terrain in Summit. I shouldn't be posting this either since most on here think Vail and Breck are the ultimate.

-Too far from Denver for day trippers

-Actual town with banging nightlife

-NO lift lines

-Snowmass is Vail huge and wide open intermediate mountain but with legit steeps here and there

-Everyone is friendly easy place to make friends just ride the bus and talk to people and you will have a crew to roll out with at night I went alone and had to work a lot during the day inbetween runs but I immediately made friends to go out drinking with

-Skis well on low pack for whatever reason and has and uses snowmaking because they aren't cheap/poor and is probably ideal temperature easily cold enough for snow making but not east coast or Canadian Rockies cold

-Its in Colorado legal weed shops all over

Finding seasonal accommodation is near impossible but OP seems to be looking for a permanent 12 month place so she should be fine provided she isn't looking in early December for a spot.
 
13517346:PeppermillReno said:
Aspens paradise everything Summit CO has going for it Aspen has as well. Except you have Highlands and Ajax which are steeper and far more badass than any bullshit intermediate terrain in Summit. I shouldn't be posting this either since most on here think Vail and Breck are the ultimate.

-Too far from Denver for day trippers

-Actual town with banging nightlife

-NO lift lines

-Snowmass is Vail huge and wide open intermediate mountain but with legit steeps here and there

-Everyone is friendly easy place to make friends just ride the bus and talk to people and you will have a crew to roll out with at night I went alone and had to work a lot during the day inbetween runs but I immediately made friends to go out drinking with

-Skis well on low pack for whatever reason and has and uses snowmaking because they aren't cheap/poor and is probably ideal temperature easily cold enough for snow making but not east coast or Canadian Rockies cold

-Its in Colorado legal weed shops all over

Finding seasonal accommodation is near impossible but OP seems to be looking for a permanent 12 month place so she should be fine provided she isn't looking in early December for a spot.
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I lived in Breck for a year and can attest to this. But, like you said, unless you have already lived here for years, housing is near impossible and even then it's still difficult.
 
Town: Crested Butte

Nearest resort: Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Other resorts within 20 miles: Cranor Hill (wouldn't call it a resort; Monarch Mountain is 71 miles away)

Cost of full season pass at cheapest rate (bonuses?): Epic Local @ ~$600 if you get it early I think

Length of average season: Thanksgiving to first or second week of April for lifts; Nov-June good touring if you like to walk / have a sled. Can ski all year round if you hate yourself like me

Length of long/big season: same (can't extend lift season due to CBMR's lease & elk migration), but you get to add some good July touring and maybe some good October touring.

Cost of public transportation: free!

Ease of public transportation: great!

Expected cost of Studio with 1 year lease: ~$900?, but I don't know anyone with a studio. Can find $600-$700 rooms w/ roommates, but you kinda need to know landlords / realtors to get the good deals before they get taken.

Distance to nearest regional airport: ~30 miles

Distance to nearest international airport: 250 miles / 4.5 hours driving (DIA)

Access to secondary education: Western Colorado University (30 miles away in Gunnison, w/ free bus)

AirBnB allowed in town limits? yes

Best quality: Amazing steep skiing, minimal crowds for CO

Worst quality: isolated (typical higher prices for everything, but not insane)
 
I'll update OP's Mammoth stats slightly:

Cost of full season pass: IKON only, so get the early rates. Includes Mammoth, June, and opens up the possibility for cheap weekend trips to Squaw/Alpine.

Length of Average Season: Veterans Day to Memorial day

Length of Good Season: In '17 lifts stopped on August 6 last year it was July 31

Cost of a room: I don't know of many studios but a room with a couple roommates can be found for around $600-700 if you know the right people. A lot of spots on the market are advertised much higher.

AirBnB allowed: It is now.
 
I created a decision matrix for this a while ago in exceo. I think Bozeman was #1. Good thread. Following
 
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