Affordable ski towns

[NWSkiGirl]

I can't speak to this area as a resident, so take this all with a grain of salt, and I've skipped the stuff that I have no business answering. But I've been going up there much of my life; we had a place we regularly rented near Mazama for years until the price tripled, but we still go up many times a year and I keep an eye on real estate even though I think we have finally been put off by the fire issue. I love it so much up there though and I still have a smidge of, maybe if the right place came along...

Here are some hopefully helpful links, including a Powder Mag article about what Loup Loup means to the community:

Methow Valley News – Locally grown, internationally known

Locally grown, internationally known

methowvalleynews.com

https://www.seattletimes.com/pacifi...e-of-community-shared-purpose-and-resiliency/

https://www.powder.com/stories/in-a-fire-ravaged-washington-town-skiing-takes-on-new-meaning

Very close to a ski hill
Long ski season, reliable snow
Ski programs for kids, ski bus, family friendly

Loup Loup doesn't get a ton of snow and as a non-profit, they don't make snow. They will close mid-season if the snow is too thin, then reopen when it snows. It's a short season. (The Nordic season is longer). Sure seems family friendly though. I think there's a bus for school kids from towns to the east; not sure that there's anything from the valley. This cracked me up the first time I went there.

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Reliable high speed internet
In Twisp and Winthrop yes. It's getting better outside of town--they just got some federal money to improve things--but you'd need to make sure any particular house had good internet. There are some developments that do have good internet but the provider isn't accepting new customers so you could be next door and have to rely on Starlink which is not great. A lot of people have Starlink. I have not been impressed with it.

Access to healthcare
My understanding is that there are 2 doctor's offices in the valley. Maybe you could call and see if they were accepting new patients, what waits are like, etc. The nearest hospital is an hour away. People go to Wenatchee for more options or Seattle for serious stuff. Emergency services are provided by the non-profit Aero Methow. Some people buy airlift insurance, like they do on the islands and Olympic Peninsula.

Beautiful scenery
Outdoor activities year round
I don't think there's anywhere better in WA for year round outdoor activities. That huge Nordic trail system, plus the mountain bike trail system, plus the alpine hiking in the North Cascades, plus the valley is SO nice spring and fall. The spring flowers, swoon. The birds, the wildlife (if you like nature, Methow Nature Notes newsletter is terrific). Even with all of us visitors it's far enough from cities and there's enough room that trails don't get crowded.

Summer Guide 2023

Methow Valley News Summer guide magazine, 2023

issuu.com

Winter Guide 2023

Methow Valley News Winter Guide 2023

issuu.com

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No wildfires or smoke
Very wildfire prone, and you will impacted by smoke. Some developments can't get homeowner's insurance. This is THE big issue. For me it's less that I think my home would be destroyed than it is that so much of the surrounding mountains has burned and will continue to burn. Maybe I'm being naive though. Entire towns or developed areas certainly have burned in CA, CO...

Health food stores
Healthy environment and lifestyle
Clean air
I really like the natural food store in Twisp (the Glover Street Market). The salad bar is very good and it sells local produce. (It's not like having a PCC though--this is a small town store). There's a farmer's market. The Mazama Store might count. It has good healthy food and the sneak locally grown spelt into their baked goods. Clean air except during wildfires.

Climate change friendly
The valley is certainly impacted by more/bigger/hotter fires.
Take a look at Resilient Methow, a group working toward making the valley carbon neutral. https://www.resilientmethow.org/

No state income tax
You know it.

Aw, thanks for this! Such a beautiful area. It's really too bad about the fires. :-) Still on my list to possibly visit. I'm not sure I could deal with skiing closing mid season...

 

[sibhusky]

I guess if you live in a town that's above tree line, the fire issue might not exist? What ski area doesn't worry about fire in the west? All I can think of would be places without trees. Given you want snow, you're not looking for a desert. That leaves you wanting a high altitude and all that entails.

You're not even safe with indoor skiing, given that place in NJ closed due to fire.

 

[contesstant]

Yes, we do get smoke even in Seattle in the summers now due to the wildfires, but this year was pretty good! I'd like to stay clear of the high wildfire dangers areas.

Walla Walla might be worth a trip. My boss moved out there during the pandemic, but his wife wanted to move back after a few years. Have you skied Bluewood yet? What were your thoughts?

I haven't skied Bluewood. If my kiddo ends up at Whitman or WSU, I probably will! The Blue Mountains and the area between Walla Walla and Pendleton are really pretty. Walla Walla is of course fairly small, but you do have the Tri Cities an hour away, with Costco and other large retailers and of course health care. (I have family there, too LOL. My parents both grew up there. I spent many a day in the summer floating the Columbia River with my cousin.)

Utah escaped wildfire smoke this summer, with the exception of maybe 4 days. The worst smoke is in areas that are closer to the fires. That's one positive of Utah: They rarely get huge forest fires here, and it's fairly easy to live outside of a high-fire danger zone. Trade off of course is the air quality in general is often bad, and we do get a lot of poor to bad are quality days from wildfire smoke that wanders in from the CA, OR, WA, ID, and BC.

 

[geargrrl]

For me it's less that I think my home would be destroyed than it is that so much of the surrounding mountains has burned and will continue to burn. Maybe I'm being naive though.

Once a major fire has come through, *that* particular acreage is much less prone to burn as it's already been torched severely. However, the surrounding, untouched areas...

One possible thing to look at is regional forest management. Thinning? Prescribed burning? Do they do any of that? It's interesting to see how excellent the health of the forests around Payette Lake area (McCall, ID) where they have done tons of interagency prescribe burning. The whole nature of the forest is different.

 

[geargrrl]

.

I guess... Does at least half the city vote democrat? I can't be too picky, I know! But if Trump fans rein then I will not be happy! lol

I'd like to stay away from the high wildfire risk areas. Or if the area is known for smoke throughout the summer. Also hurricanes!

I am sure you can look up how the last few elections have gone online.
Good luck finding an area that has skiing that doesn't' have wildfire risk. Seriously.

 

[geargrrl]

There is probably much lower fire risk in the east coast mountains than anything west of the Mississippi.

 

[sibhusky]

I recently came across this feature on Realtor.com (I'm usually a Zillow gal). It shows wildfire risk around an address.



Might be useful.

 

[sibhusky]

Although, zooming in makes me question its accuracy. Those blue areas are trees and they are not thinned trees... That property belongs to someone in Florida who has ignored it for years.

 

[NWSkiGirl]

I guess if you live in a town that's above tree line, the fire issue might not exist? What ski area doesn't worry about fire in the west? All I can think of would be places without trees. Given you want snow, you're not looking for a desert. That leaves you wanting a high altitude and all that entails.

You're not even safe with indoor skiing, given that place in NJ closed due to fire.

We must be spoiled in Seatte, and maybe very unique? We don’t have fires (yet?). The last several summers wildfire smoke has drifted into us from other areas, such as Oregon. But we weren’t really impacted this summer.

We have Crystal Mountain, Stevens Pass, and Snoqualmie Summit.

something for me to keep in mind that it may be very rare!

 

[NWSkiGirl]

You're not even safe with indoor skiing, given that place in NJ closed due to fire.

 

[Wanatuska]

Following!

 

[geargrrl]

We must be spoiled in Seatte, and maybe very unique? We don’t have fires (yet?). The last several summers wildfire smoke has drifted into us from other areas, such as Oregon. But we weren’t really impacted this summer.

We have Crystal Mountain, Stevens Pass, and Snoqualmie Summit.

something for me to keep in mind that it may be very rare!

I think it all depends on the quantity of fire, where it's at, the geomorphology (landforms) and the activity of the jet stream. We've been tracking this for years as my community will sometimes get smoke from as far away as far away as Northern Cal or northern BC. Seattle may somewhat be protected by the Cascade Range. Many of the fires are on the dry (er) /east side of the mountains but that could change as weather patterns continue to change.

When you DO get smoke in the Seattle area, where is it generally coming from?

 

[pinto]

Has anyone mentioned Wyoming? Laramie has Snowy Range, and it’s a college town, which can ameliorate some of the disadvantages of small Western towns, IYKWIM. No state income tax, very affordable housing. You can split off to Steamboat or JH or Utah when you want a bigger hill. But that’s all I know about that.

Also look into western Colorado, with Powderhorn and Sunlight. Politically, that could be tough though. There is definitely an inverse relationship between affordability and red/blue out here (and most everywhere, probably).

 

[geargrrl]

Although, zooming in makes me question its accuracy. Those blue areas are trees and they are not thinned trees... That property belongs to someone in Florida who has ignored it for years.
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I would seriously not trust this data.

 

[pinto]

And no, you cannot escape smoke anywhere anymore. This is the best summer I have had recently, but it was the worst for more places around the US. It just IS now.

Oh, I forgot to mention Salida/Poncha Springs/Buena Vista in CO, near Monarch. Don’t know about schools, and affordability is probably not great anymore, but it’s a nice lower-altitude (relatively speaking) option with more year-round residents than the more resort-y areas in CO.

 

[NWSkiGirl]

I think it all depends on the quantity of fire, where it's at, the geomorphology (landforms) and the activity of the jet stream. We've been tracking this for years as my community will sometimes get smoke from as far away as far away as Northern Cal or northern BC. Seattle may somewhat be protected by the Cascade Range. Many of the fires are on the dry (er) /east side of the mountains but that could change as weather patterns continue to change.

When you DO get smoke in the Seattle area, where is it generally coming from?

We did get smoke several summers in a row. And we hated it! Although I guess it only lasted for weeks and not months. Historically it was from Oregon and BC, but I think this year from Eastern WA. This year I only pulled out the Air Quality app once, but other recent summers we were trapped inside for an entire week or maybe even two at a time!

I'm not an expert by any means. I'm really impressed with others' knowledge of this. And I have only paid attention to it as it has affected my day to day...

 

[sibhusky]

We have Crystal Mountain, Stevens Pass, and Snoqualmie Summit.

Crystal: 2 hours from Seattle.
Stevens: 1.75 hours
I think Snowqualmie is 50 miles?

But what is it like in the town that is next to each of these places. The actual ski town. Comparing a place at a ski area to a major metropolitan area makes zero sense when it comes to fire danger.

 

[altagirl]

Ditto on the smoke. The past several years had us looking at moving to escape it (and the worst smoke is not from local fires but multiple states away, or from Canada). When we have had local fire the air is typically not that bad, oddly enough. This year was great though. Only a few days were bad air quality. But my parents in Michigan had terrible air quality from smoke this summer. I think there is no place to move to reliably escape it anymore. It's just going to be the luck of the weather patterns and you can't predict that we'll enough to make house buying decisions as far as I can tell. Unless you can afford multiple homes. Sigh.

 

[pinto]

Ditto on the smoke. The past several years had us looking at moving to escape it (and the worst smoke is not from local fires but multiple states away, or from Canada). When we have had local fire the air is typically not that bad, oddly enough. This year was great though. Only a few days were bad air quality. But my parents in Michigan had terrible air quality from smoke this summer. I think there is no place to move to reliably escape it anymore. It's just going to be the luck of the weather patterns and you can't predict that we'll enough to make house buying decisions as far as I can tell. Unless you can afford multiple homes. Sigh.

Isn’t that interesting? It’s all about the wind. The worst and closest fires blow away from me.

 

[geargrrl]

Sorry this is a NYT paywalled article,

Wildfire Smoke Is Erasing Progress on Clean Air (Published 2022)

New maps reveal a picture of daily exposure to wildfire smoke in better geographic detail than ever before.

www.nytimes.com

but here are some interesting screen shots with some historical data