Vacation condo/home considerations in NH?

[MissySki]

Thank you!
@RhodySkiBum that's really a great description. Unfortunately we are going to be tied to the school schedule for the next XX number of years (feels infinite atm!), so no great way to avoid weekend/holiday skiing.

@liquidfeet I think the glades at BW sound super fun! My DH would like the green trails. Doesn't really sound like he would like Cannon at all, for skiing at least.

@MsWax Thanks! We are just southwest enough from Boston to get stuck in traffic heading north almost every time.

Thank you all who contributed. I have to admit...I am having a hard time thinking about giving up Sunday River. I know that place so well now..and I have such good memories of my childhood there. I almost never wait in lift lines even during busy times (know how to avoid). DH and I have a lot of research and thinking to do on this!

What about if you just go up later in the evening? I’m south of Worcester, so I take 495 to 95 all the way up to Gray and then it’s the back roads. We usually leave around 6pm and by the time we get far enough north there isn’t much, if any, traffic. We are a solid 3 hours and 45 minutes away without traffic. Just depends what you want to deal with, but it’s certainly doable and many people make the trek every week from the same areas as us. I feel it is well worth it if you feel strongly about that being the best ski mountain for you. In my case my significant other doesn’t ski at all, but he comes up every week and finds plenty to busy himself with while I’m skiing. He is pretty content with watching sports, working, reading, cooking etc. though. He also has a good friend who lives around 45 mins away, so he will go visit him sometimes as well.

 

[Basil]

@MissySki

We are a stone's throw from 95, but north of 495, so it rarely makes sense for us to drive south and loop all the way around. 95 traffic seems like it doesn't let up until around 7...We usually try to leave right after school lets out (the bell rings at 2:55, I try to be on the road by 3:05!) and still hit some traffic. If I get a pizza delivered to my house before we leave, I can make it to Maine and reheat it by the time the kids almost die of hunger ;)

I think if we waited long enough for the traffic to die down significantly, we wouldn't be getting in until 10-11 pm. And that's just late for the kids, especially when I'm asking them to be getting up for an 8 am start.

I am the driver in the family and I don't mind the drive! It's my husband that needs convincing

I'm trying to separate the emotion out of it, which is hard for me. SR feels like home to me, but not to my husband, so he wants to look around, which is reasonable too.

 

[MissySki]

@MissySki

We are a stone's throw from 95, but north of 495, so it rarely makes sense for us to drive south and loop all the way around. 95 traffic seems like it doesn't let up until around 7...We usually try to leave right after school lets out (the bell rings at 2:55, I try to be on the road by 3:05!) and still hit some traffic. If I get a pizza delivered to my house before we leave, I can make it to Maine and reheat it by the time the kids almost die of hunger ;)

I think if we waited long enough for the traffic to die down significantly, we wouldn't be getting in until 10-11 pm. And that's just late for the kids, especially when I'm asking them to be getting up for an 8 am start.

I am the driver in the family and I don't mind the drive! It's my husband that needs convincing

I'm trying to separate the emotion out of it, which is hard for me. SR feels like home to me, but not to my husband, so he wants to look around, which is reasonable too.

Gotcha, yeah we don’t usually arrive until around 10pm but I don’t mind that and we don’t have kids to add to the equation. Definitely has to work for your lifestyle and needs overall.

 

[MsWax]

@Basil , not sure how old your kids are, but we started doing this every week when the kids were 3, 6, & 9. We would do an early dinner, then have the kids get in their PJ's and get ready for bed. We'd limit electronics in the car to 1 hr, and they'd all fall asleep on the ride. Leaving at ~6:30 meant a lot of the traffic had died down, and even though we didn't get to the house until ~9 (I know it would be later for you) the kids were still well-rested.

 

[RhodySkiBum]

Thank you!
@RhodySkiBum that's really a great description. Unfortunately we are going to be tied to the school schedule for the next XX number of years (feels infinite atm!), so no great way to avoid weekend/holiday skiing.

I understand - I work Tuesday - Saturday, so the weekday passes are good for our Mondays plus any additional days off we can get :-)

Best of luck in your search - I do love Sunday River as well. Its also on our Loon pass, so we try to get there a few times per year!

 

[lisamamot]

Thank you all who contributed. I have to admit...I am having a hard time thinking about giving up Sunday River. I know that place so well now..and I have such good memories of my childhood there. I almost never wait in lift lines even during busy times (know how to avoid). DH and I have a lot of research and thinking to do on this!

We are a stone's throw from 95, but north of 495, so it rarely makes sense for us to drive south and loop all the way around. 95 traffic seems like it doesn't let up until around 7...We usually try to leave right after school lets out (the bell rings at 2:55, I try to be on the road by 3:05!) and still hit some traffic. If I get a pizza delivered to my house before we leave, I can make it to Maine and reheat it by the time the kids almost die of hunger ;)

We live west of Boston, just south on 495 of where 495/Mass Pike intersect.

We also looked in the Loon area due to its proximity to MA and family back home in Northern VT, but also because we had always loved camping/hiking in that area before kids and when our kids were growing up. Ultimately we took a step back (thank you for the nudge @MissySki !) and realized Sunday River is where we wanted to ski long term. We purchased our place in Bethel in 2019, but our kids were in college so the incremental commute to Sunday River over the Loon area was less of an issue for us. There are plenty who do the drive to Sunday River with young kids, but as you well know it is a lot and there may be better options based on what your family enjoys outside of skiing. Best of luck centering on where you want to be.

It sounds like your parents still have the condo at Sunday River. They are sitting pretty in terms of investment! Our besties in MA used to have a condos in Fall Line and North Peak and sold after they built their house in Newry. They had rented for awhile, but are still kicking themselves for selling vs. continuing to rent because WOW did the on mountain prices sky rocket.

 

[Basil]

We live west of Boston, just south on 495 of where 495/Mass Pike intersect.

We also looked in the Loon area due to its proximity to MA and family back home in Northern VT, but also because we had always loved camping/hiking in that area before kids and when our kids were growing up. Ultimately we took a step back (thank you for the nudge @MissySki !) and realized Sunday River is where we wanted to ski long term. We purchased our place in Bethel in 2019, but our kids were in college so the incremental commute to Sunday River over the Loon area was less of an issue for us. There are plenty who do the drive to Sunday River with young kids, but as you well know it is a lot and there may be better options based on what your family enjoys outside of skiing. Best of luck centering on where you want to be.

It sounds like your parents still have the condo at Sunday River. They are sitting pretty in terms of investment! Our besties in MA used to have a condos in Fall Line and North Peak and sold after they built their house in Newry. They had rented for awhile, but are still kicking themselves for selling vs. continuing to rent because WOW did the on mountain prices sky rocket.

They do still own it, but it's off the mountain, about 10 minutes away. When they bought it, back in the early 90s, White Cap was being built. But a 1 BR there was the same price as the 2 BR they bought, so they went with the bigger place.

Before we moved back to New England, they weren't using it much. They were renting it seasonally and almost sold it in 2017 or 2018. Good thing they didn't, but still the on mountain place would have been a much better investment!!

I'd be more than content just to keep that condo, but it's just too small for our group. We can sometimes rent another condo in the same building, but it's tricky because a lot of people don't rent out there.