Where to Live?

shocker611

Active member
So I'm in a unique position. It looks like I will be working for a virtual company meaning that I will be able to live anywhere that I want. I will be flying to my work location on Sunday night, work until Thursday, then I will fly back "home". The question is where should that "home" be. Everyone makes the same amount of money, so if I live in the hills of Montana with a $350 rent I will be making the same salary as the people that chose to live in San Diego paying $3k for rent (aka if I keep it somewhere cheap I can really save some money). The only real requirement is that I have to be able to make it to the airport within a couple hours. I have no idea where to start, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on areas to look into close to good skiing that would have a cheaper cost of living? Also, I don't know how the legality would work out, but should I also be considering BC?

Most of my work will be taking place in big cities, so I don't really need it to be a city for my home base.

Thanks for any ideas to look into.
 
Which cities will you be flying to most frequently? It would make sense to be within a shorter flight distance to those, to cut down on costs and flight time.

That said, Montana would be sick in the winter, but make sure you're ok with the summer climate there.
 
13159594:DIPED_IN_SAUCE said:
Which cities will you be flying to most frequently? It would make sense to be within a shorter flight distance to those, to cut down on costs and flight time.

That said, Montana would be sick in the winter, but make sure you're ok with the summer climate there.

Summer is pretty nice here. It's in the 90s a lot but it's dry heat most of the time so it's not bad. Bozeman has more flights than any other airport in Montana so that would probably be your best bet for convenient flights. The aiports actually in Belgrade though so I might look into living there if I were you. Apartments are cheaper there anyways, and I'd highly recommend getting a cheap place in your situation since it's essentially just your weekend crash pad.
 
13159594:DIPED_IN_SAUCE said:
Which cities will you be flying to most frequently? It would make sense to be within a shorter flight distance to those, to cut down on costs and flight time.

That said, Montana would be sick in the winter, but make sure you're ok with the summer climate there.

It could be anywhere in the US, and sometimes overseas clients, so being close to my work locations isn't even part of the equation. I was leaning towards Montana because I also fly fish, but was even considering places like Alaska. I should have quite a bit of disposable income so I will be able to get sleds and have thought about just living in the middle of nowhere and just sledding all over the place. Thanks for the insight so far.
 
13159623:caucasian_chad said:
Summer is pretty nice here. It's in the 90s a lot but it's dry heat most of the time so it's not bad. Bozeman has more flights than any other airport in Montana so that would probably be your best bet for convenient flights. The aiports actually in Belgrade though so I might look into living there if I were you. Apartments are cheaper there anyways, and I'd highly recommend getting a cheap place in your situation since it's essentially just your weekend crash pad.

Yeah that's the thought. I'm actually thinking more about living in the woods somewhere rather than right around an airport. Like I said, as long as the airport is within like 1.5 hours it wouldn't be an issue.
 
If youre flying around the lower 48 every week it makes sense to live there. As stated living semi close cuts down on cost and flight time. Canada seems like a pain in the ass. International flight twice a week? Also alaska would be more pricey and a longer flight. I guess if you the locatio. Is worth it to you go for it. Not surr if this is more of a question or subtle claim but either way i dont know you. There are a ton of options. What i like might not interst you. Its a big country
 
Living in a city with a major airport would probably be the best. Seattle would be prime with access to Snoqualmie, Stevens Pass and Crystal within a reasonable amount of driving. Also, Mt. Bachelor and Whistler are a nice road trip away.

Also summers in Seattle make living through the 9 month rain season worth it. SUP on Lake Washington, kite boarding on Alki Beach, hiking the cascades, bar hopping downtown is sweet from what I've heard.

The Seattle-area is the best.

I've lived in Idaho for too long.
 
13160102:theabortionator said:
If youre flying around the lower 48 every week it makes sense to live there. As stated living semi close cuts down on cost and flight time. Canada seems like a pain in the ass. International flight twice a week? Also alaska would be more pricey and a longer flight. I guess if you the locatio. Is worth it to you go for it. Not surr if this is more of a question or subtle claim but either way i dont know you. There are a ton of options. What i like might not interst you. Its a big country

Nah I'm honestly trying to get some ideas. I grew up in Ohio and have only been out west for the past 5.5 years, all in Salt Lake. With that said, I have very limited exposure to the good places to live. I've been to Jackson for a week, Sun Valley for 3 days, and Denver for a week. That is the total of my western exposure.
 
Bozeman, Montana. We have UNREAL fly fishing, killer skiing, and there's an airport in town.
 
13160216:.SillyGoose said:
Living in a city with a major airport would probably be the best. Seattle would be prime with access to Snoqualmie, Stevens Pass and Crystal within a reasonable amount of driving. Also, Mt. Bachelor and Whistler are a nice road trip away.

Also summers in Seattle make living through the 9 month rain season worth it. SUP on Lake Washington, kite boarding on Alki Beach, hiking the cascades, bar hopping downtown is sweet from what I've heard.

The Seattle-area is the best.

I've lived in Idaho for too long.

The issue is that that wouldn't be cheap. If there are areas a ways outside of Seattle that are cheaper I would be open to that, but I'm leaning towards out of a major city. One of the major reasons I'm taking the job is that it provides me with the opportunity to make the same amount of $$ as people living in expensive cities, while still being able to live (somewhat) cheaply elsewhere. A good amount of the people that work for the company live in SoCal, so the salaries are pretty damn high to support their living/lifestyles, which means I could go "ski bum" it somewhere and save a bunch of cash up. Thanks for the input though!
 
13160232:shocker611 said:
Nah I'm honestly trying to get some ideas. I grew up in Ohio and have only been out west for the past 5.5 years, all in Salt Lake. With that said, I have very limited exposure to the good places to live. I've been to Jackson for a week, Sun Valley for 3 days, and Denver for a week. That is the total of my western exposure.

Just look for places with good skiing reasonably near a decent airport. Id guess its decent but only flown go vegas. Id figure out the region you want to live first. You could live a lot of places. Airports all over. Maybe reno,slc. Just trying to think of airports near skiing
 
13160243:shocker611 said:
The issue is that that wouldn't be cheap. If there are areas a ways outside of Seattle that are cheaper I would be open to that, but I'm leaning towards out of a major city. One of the major reasons I'm taking the job is that it provides me with the opportunity to make the same amount of $$ as people living in expensive cities, while still being able to live (somewhat) cheaply elsewhere. A good amount of the people that work for the company live in SoCal, so the salaries are pretty damn high to support their living/lifestyles, which means I could go "ski bum" it somewhere and save a bunch of cash up. Thanks for the input though!

Anywhere north or south of Seattle is a butt load cheaper, and since freeways exist, travel to and from downtown is easy. The dynamic between urban/suburban living is huge once you get 30 minutes outside downtown.
 
13160793:.SillyGoose said:
Anywhere north or south of Seattle is a butt load cheaper, and since freeways exist, travel to and from downtown is easy. The dynamic between urban/suburban living is huge once you get 30 minutes outside downtown.

See that's also part of the decision. If I'm going to be living 30+ minutes outside of a city, I would much rather just go live way out in the middle of the boonies. At that point you're loosing the perks of living in the city, its not like you can easily go out on the weekends. I'm definitely not looking for the suburbs life, because at that point I don't see the benefit of being outside the city but not out in nature. Either I would want to live right downtown in a city, or out in the mountains somewhere. Thanks for the input.
 
13161184:shocker611 said:
See that's also part of the decision. If I'm going to be living 30+ minutes outside of a city, I would much rather just go live way out in the middle of the boonies. At that point you're loosing the perks of living in the city, its not like you can easily go out on the weekends. I'm definitely not looking for the suburbs life, because at that point I don't see the benefit of being outside the city but not out in nature. Either I would want to live right downtown in a city, or out in the mountains somewhere. Thanks for the input.

so bozeman
 
13159912:shocker611 said:
Yeah that's the thought. I'm actually thinking more about living in the woods somewhere rather than right around an airport. Like I said, as long as the airport is within like 1.5 hours it wouldn't be an issue.

Belgrade's not very big, you could be 5 minutes from the airport and be living in a rural area. That being said, probably the coolest places to live within reasonable driving distance are Gallatin and Bridger Canyons if you can find a place to live there. Do be aware though that there is essentially no cell service in both. I wouldn't mind that but some people wouldn't be ok with it.
 
SLC is the shit, you're in the city with a ton of awesome skiing 25-30 minutes away, amongst numerous other outdoor activities. It's a cool city, I love it here. I think it's really sweet that I'm in such close proximity to mountains/nature while still being able to live in a pretty big city. There's also an airport. It's also not very expensive. I dig it
 
13161549:FBGM said:
SLC is the shit, you're in the city with a ton of awesome skiing 25-30 minutes away, amongst numerous other outdoor activities. It's a cool city, I love it here. I think it's really sweet that I'm in such close proximity to mountains/nature while still being able to live in a pretty big city. There's also an airport. It's also not very expensive. I dig it

Yeah I actually live here now, and have really loved it. With that said, I feel like I haven't done enough exploring and would like to before I move into the married/kids phase of life (which SLC would be great for). Honestly Bozeman is looking better and better the more I look into it.
 
13161662:shocker611 said:
Yeah I actually live here now, and have really loved it. With that said, I feel like I haven't done enough exploring and would like to before I move into the married/kids phase of life (which SLC would be great for). Honestly Bozeman is looking better and better the more I look into it.

Come to Bozeman then! There's not much to lose really. If you're in SLC, take the 7 hour drive up, scope it out a bit. 9/10 would keep living here.
 
13161674:immas said:
Come to Bozeman then! There's not much to lose really. If you're in SLC, take the 7 hour drive up, scope it out a bit. 9/10 would keep living here.

Yeah I will definitely have to come check it out this winter. I don't move until May so I have some time to check out some options.
 
13161662:shocker611 said:
Yeah I actually live here now, and have really loved it. With that said, I feel like I haven't done enough exploring and would like to before I move into the married/kids phase of life (which SLC would be great for). Honestly Bozeman is looking better and better the more I look into it.

Yeah that's cool. My dad is prospectively moving to Bozeman next summer which is tight cause he'll be there and I'll be here and my mom will probably move to Park City, so I'll be so set for exploring/going back and forth. I've never been to Bozeman but from what I hear it's dope so hopefully my dad takes that job. Either way he'll be in Bozeman or Helena.
 
Come to Bozeman. There are daily flights to O'Hare, Atlanta, Newark, New York, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, etc. Having one connection is so much nicer than two or three.

Skiing is great, fishing is great, cost of living is real cheap(no sales tax either), winters aren't that bad except for a few cold days, and summers are awesome. Granted I have lived in the south so I think no humidity is the greatest thing ever.
 
Don't live in montana its way over populated and all the food has gluten in it and it will make your dick fly off.
 
If you're looking into montana look around whitefish, 30 minutes away from Flathead Lake which is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, 30 minutes from glacier, 15 minutes away from being on the ski resort which is my home mountain and is huge lots of pow and good terrain, and can find tons of places out in the woods. And the airport is 15 minutes away.
 
could live out in tahoe. 45ish minutes to the reno airport if you're in south tahoe, 2 hours from sacramento and a little longer to san fran
 
13162304:Peter. said:
could live out in tahoe. 45ish minutes to the reno airport if you're in south tahoe, 2 hours from sacramento and a little longer to san fran

That would be sick. Would definitely have to look into the rental market as I am sure its pretty scarce/expensive.
 
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