Author Topic: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach  (Read 2681 times)

clarkfan1979

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Anyone willing to share their secret retirement spot that is LCOL and within one hour of ski resort or beach? Anyone know of any remote spots in California, Oregon or Washington that have both?

lukebuz

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2022, 08:31:55 AM »
Inland Flordia is pretty cheap...

sisto

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2022, 08:40:53 AM »
More medium cost than low cost is the Sacramento area. Though the cost keep rising recently. Here you are within about 1-2 hours to several amazing destinations. Nearby Lakes, rivers, hiking and not far from the beach or ski resorts. Over the years I've searched for better places to retire, but have never found anywhere I liked better than here as far as bang for the buck goes and the fact that we have few natural disasters. Other cheaper places have things we didn't like, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or flooding etc. We get 4 full seasons with mild winters. The summers are hot, but not unbearable and we have lots of places to cool off.

SailingOnASmallSailboat

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2022, 08:55:29 AM »
Haven't looked but would think looking in New Hampshire or Maine or even upstate New York might net you that kind of scene. Or Michigan for that matter.

jiimmy

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2022, 09:46:26 AM »
Carson City

Maybe that’s more MCOL though

Morning Glory

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2022, 09:51:07 AM »
I am liking coastal North Carolina, but it's filling up fast and not really lcol either. I am 10 minutes from the beach by car.

roomtempmayo

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2022, 10:02:19 AM »
Are you only thinking out west?  Is anything else important?

I'll throw out Ironwood, Michigan (ski at Indianhead; more blue collar) and Grand Marais, Minnesota (ski at Lutsen; more artsy).

charis

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2022, 11:47:45 AM »
My suggestion is Vermont.

roomtempmayo

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2022, 06:46:01 PM »
Thinking about this a little more, I don't think LCOL + either ski resort or beach is even hard.  I bet most of us could name five places that would work pretty quickly.

I think it gets hard when you say the quiet parts out loud.  If "ski" really means big western mountains + sunshine/dry + not too cold + a majority of the local community has at least a college degree, then yeah, that's going to rarely be a LCOL area.  Likewise, if "beach" means sunny + warm + no hurricanes + a low average BMI, it's probably not going to be a LCOL area.  Often we use "ski" or "beach" to refer to a place, when really we imply a bundle of cultural and lifestyle goods.

FINate

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2022, 08:02:36 PM »
Eugene, OR gets you pretty close to both sand and snow. One hour fifteen minutes to Florence on the coast, and the same to Willamette Pass Resort. Not sure what qualifies as LCOL but you can buy a 3bd house in/near Eugene/Springfield for under 400k, closer to 300k for a smaller fixer.

To really hack LCOL near a ski resort, look for small community owned/run/managed ski resorts that service a small area. By small, I mean 1-2 old style lifts, or even the tow rope thingy. Not a lot of runs, but very affordable and not crowded. I'm not going to out the places I know of here :)

Better yet, get a hybrid touring setup, take some avalanche safety courses, and earn your turns - almost any small mountain town works. 

sonofsven

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2022, 08:37:33 AM »
One hour to beach/mountains is tough.
Longview, WA is approx 2 hours to White Pass ski area and one hour to Long Beach Peninsula.
Of course then you'd have to live in Longview! (It doesn't have the best reputation) You can still buy older fixer homes in the low 200k range, sometimes less. Don't let the zombie tweakers scare ya!
The north end of the Long Beach peninsula is pretty cheap oceanfront land; it is also unsurvivable in the dreaded near shore earthquake tsunami event.
North of Tokeland, WA ( who wouldn't want to live there?) is an area of the Washington coast known as "washaway beach". Cheap oceanfront land, no worries about long term maintenance ;-)

wenchsenior

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2022, 10:45:14 AM »
Williamsburg area or Blacksburg area of VA? 

Sandi_k

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2022, 10:50:38 AM »
My suggestion is Vermont.

Those aren't beaches. ;)

Sandi_k

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2022, 10:57:27 AM »
Anyone willing to share their secret retirement spot that is LCOL and within one hour of ski resort or beach? Anyone know of any remote spots in California, Oregon or Washington that have both?

Julian, CA is "mountainous" and close to San Diego. Housing is surprisingly affordable for SoCal. Don't think there is a ski resort there, though.

Davis, CA - a couple hours to Lake Tahoe, and an hour to NorCal (cold) beaches). If you need more affordable, you can move to the more rural outskirts - somewhere like Dixon, CA.

Sacramento has the river, and is close to Lake Folsom for beachy activities, as well as 3 hours from Tahoe. House prices are on the rise, but you can still get a decent hours for $400-$500k.

If you really want cheap - the Inland Empire. You can live in Redlands, CA - a charming small town set amongst not-appealing San Bernardino county - and get to Huntington Beach or Long Beach within a couple of hours. Big Bear and other ski resorts are close by - within an hour.

ChpBstrd

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #14 on: March 15, 2022, 12:18:23 PM »
For ski resorts, Las Vegas, New Mexico is 1h 6min from the small Sipapu resort and a little further to Angel Fire.
Here's a 1628sf house with an asking price of $160k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1005-4th-St-Las-Vegas-NM-87701/121760465_zpid/

There are also small-town Colorado locations:
Here's a 1312sf house 45min from Steamboat Springs asking $150k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/572-Colorado-St-Craig-CO-81625/104592107_zpid/

For beaches, things can get cheap a few miles inland in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississipi, and Texas, especially if you don't have to be close to a big city.

Here's a 1408sf house in Corpus Christi asking $139,900 within a few miles of South Padre Island beach: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1541-Melbourne-Dr-Corpus-Christi-TX-78415/28864826_zpid/

Here's a 1756sf 4BR house a few miles inland from Orange Beach, AL asking $157,000: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9713-Sherman-Rd-Foley-AL-36535/72764564_zpid/

This list is not including lost of manufactured homes and fixer-uppers in the vicinity, just to avoid those arguments!

sisto

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #15 on: March 15, 2022, 03:43:30 PM »
Anyone willing to share their secret retirement spot that is LCOL and within one hour of ski resort or beach? Anyone know of any remote spots in California, Oregon or Washington that have both?

Julian, CA is "mountainous" and close to San Diego. Housing is surprisingly affordable for SoCal. Don't think there is a ski resort there, though.

Davis, CA - a couple hours to Lake Tahoe, and an hour to NorCal (cold) beaches). If you need more affordable, you can move to the more rural outskirts - somewhere like Dixon, CA.

Sacramento has the river, and is close to Lake Folsom for beachy activities, as well as 3 hours from Tahoe. House prices are on the rise, but you can still get a decent hours for $400-$500k.

If you really want cheap - the Inland Empire. You can live in Redlands, CA - a charming small town set amongst not-appealing San Bernardino county - and get to Huntington Beach or Long Beach within a couple of hours. Big Bear and other ski resorts are close by - within an hour.
Sacramento is only 2 hours from Tahoe and Reno

Arbitrage

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #16 on: March 15, 2022, 03:54:05 PM »
Part of the reason that I moved to Bellingham, WA, is that we have ocean, lakes, rivers, islands, waterfalls, mountains, forests, volcanoes, etc. all within one hour...and really it's just about all within 10 minutes of my front door.  Exception would be the ski resort, which is more like 1 hour 20 minutes.  The beaches, of course, are not sunny SoCal beaches if that's what you're looking for.

However, LCOL it is not.  Cheaper than the Seattle area or coastal CA, but trending toward the high part of what I would consider MCOL. 

Now, if you were ok with being outside of the city, you could save a fair bit on housing and still have most of the same access to nature.  There are tradeoffs, of course, but there's essentially no traffic to deal with anywhere in the county (or the adjacent one).

CNM

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #17 on: March 15, 2022, 04:11:18 PM »
For ski resorts, Las Vegas, New Mexico is 1h 6min from the small Sipapu resort and a little further to Angel Fire.
Here's a 1628sf house with an asking price of $160k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1005-4th-St-Las-Vegas-NM-87701/121760465_zpid/

There are also small-town Colorado locations:
Here's a 1312sf house 45min from Steamboat Springs asking $150k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/572-Colorado-St-Craig-CO-81625/104592107_zpid/

For beaches, things can get cheap a few miles inland in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississipi, and Texas, especially if you don't have to be close to a big city.

Here's a 1408sf house in Corpus Christi asking $139,900 within a few miles of South Padre Island beach: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1541-Melbourne-Dr-Corpus-Christi-TX-78415/28864826_zpid/

Here's a 1756sf 4BR house a few miles inland from Orange Beach, AL asking $157,000: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9713-Sherman-Rd-Foley-AL-36535/72764564_zpid/

This list is not including lost of manufactured homes and fixer-uppers in the vicinity, just to avoid those arguments!

Also, Espanola, NM is 1 hour from Ski Santa Fe.  Espanola is LCOL-- maybe even lower than Las Vegas, NM!

WSUCoug1994

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #18 on: March 15, 2022, 04:13:09 PM »
California - Copperopolis/Jamestown/Murphy's/Sonora - 30-45 minutes to Yosemite, multiple lakes, Dodge Ridge Ski Resort (not amazing skiing but its close), great wine country, great fishing.

Sandi_k

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #19 on: March 15, 2022, 07:52:43 PM »
Anyone willing to share their secret retirement spot that is LCOL and within one hour of ski resort or beach? Anyone know of any remote spots in California, Oregon or Washington that have both?

Julian, CA is "mountainous" and close to San Diego. Housing is surprisingly affordable for SoCal. Don't think there is a ski resort there, though.

Davis, CA - a couple hours to Lake Tahoe, and an hour to NorCal (cold) beaches). If you need more affordable, you can move to the more rural outskirts - somewhere like Dixon, CA.

Sacramento has the river, and is close to Lake Folsom for beachy activities, as well as 3 hours from Tahoe. House prices are on the rise, but you can still get a decent hours for $400-$500k.

If you really want cheap - the Inland Empire. You can live in Redlands, CA - a charming small town set amongst not-appealing San Bernardino county - and get to Huntington Beach or Long Beach within a couple of hours. Big Bear and other ski resorts are close by - within an hour.
Sacramento is only 2 hours from Tahoe and Reno

Not on Friday nights it's not.

Askel

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #20 on: March 16, 2022, 06:10:02 AM »

I'll throw out Ironwood, Michigan (ski at Indianhead; more blue collar) and Grand Marais, Minnesota (ski at Lutsen; more artsy).

You shut your pie hole! The hills around the northern midwest are mere pimples not worthy of even strapping on the skis for and lake superior is only not frozen solid 2 days in august so best keep looking elsewhere.   :D 

But if your 'stache is sufficiently large, you could just buy Indianhead. 2 for 1 special going on right now: https://www.joshsteinland.com/listing.php?target_mls=1124055
« Last Edit: March 16, 2022, 06:17:14 AM by Askel »

sisto

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #21 on: March 16, 2022, 08:31:31 AM »
Anyone willing to share their secret retirement spot that is LCOL and within one hour of ski resort or beach? Anyone know of any remote spots in California, Oregon or Washington that have both?

Julian, CA is "mountainous" and close to San Diego. Housing is surprisingly affordable for SoCal. Don't think there is a ski resort there, though.

Davis, CA - a couple hours to Lake Tahoe, and an hour to NorCal (cold) beaches). If you need more affordable, you can move to the more rural outskirts - somewhere like Dixon, CA.

Sacramento has the river, and is close to Lake Folsom for beachy activities, as well as 3 hours from Tahoe. House prices are on the rise, but you can still get a decent hours for $400-$500k.

If you really want cheap - the Inland Empire. You can live in Redlands, CA - a charming small town set amongst not-appealing San Bernardino county - and get to Huntington Beach or Long Beach within a couple of hours. Big Bear and other ski resorts are close by - within an hour.
Sacramento is only 2 hours from Tahoe and Reno

Not on Friday nights it's not.
I guess it depends on which part of Sac you are coming from too.

YttriumNitrate

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #22 on: March 16, 2022, 09:28:05 AM »
Had another great morning today at the beaches of (relatively low cost) Northwest Indiana ... although the water was a tad bit chilly.

HPstache

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #23 on: March 16, 2022, 09:37:53 AM »
Bellingham is great, but definitely not LCOL these days and the beaches are a little more barnacle-y than most people have in mind when they think of a "beach".  I spent my university years in Michigan, and I feel like lake Michigan has some incredible sleeper beaches that people forget about when they think of beaches.  White sand, fresh water, hot weather... they are spectacular IMO.  There is some skiing in Michigan, but it's not like the mountain skiing one might picture.  With that being said, my pick would be Grand Rapids, or one of it's suburbs if someone is looking for a hip town with access to beautiful beaches and mediocre skiing.

ChpBstrd

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #24 on: March 16, 2022, 09:48:08 AM »
The truth is, I prefer a day spent at one of the clear freshwater lakes in the Ozark or Ouachita mountains to saltwater beaches. Beaches are harsh, blowing sand environments with no natural shade, jellyfish, monotonous scenery, and relatively few fish within east snorkeling distance. Sitting around trying to change one’s ethnic appearance or get skin cancer appears to be the primary beach activity, and one could do that more comfortably in a back yard. Lakes vs beaches is an example of how superior experiences can be had for a fraction of the cost for those willing to go against the herd who believe what they are told about how to have a good time.

Check out housing costs around Table Rock Lake or Greer’s Ferry. It’s stupid cheap compared to those half million dollar Florida beach condos with obscene insurance and association fees that will be gone in 25 years.

terran

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #25 on: March 16, 2022, 09:55:31 AM »
More medium cost than low cost is the Sacramento area. Though the cost keep rising recently. Here you are within about 1-2 hours to several amazing destinations. Nearby Lakes, rivers, hiking and not far from the beach or ski resorts. Over the years I've searched for better places to retire, but have never found anywhere I liked better than here as far as bang for the buck goes and the fact that we have few natural disasters. Other cheaper places have things we didn't like, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or flooding etc. We get 4 full seasons with mild winters. The summers are hot, but not unbearable and we have lots of places to cool off.

How is the wildfire/smoke situation there? I'd be interested in any insights you have on other parts of CA in terms of natural disasters too.

joe189man

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #26 on: March 16, 2022, 10:46:14 AM »
a quick search found the Grand Mound or Napavine area of Washington, 1.5 hr to beach 2.5 hr to ski

Arbitrage

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #27 on: March 16, 2022, 10:59:59 AM »
Bellingham is great, but definitely not LCOL these days and the beaches are a little more barnacle-y than most people have in mind when they think of a "beach".  I spent my university years in Michigan, and I feel like lake Michigan has some incredible sleeper beaches that people forget about when they think of beaches.  White sand, fresh water, hot weather... they are spectacular IMO.  There is some skiing in Michigan, but it's not like the mountain skiing one might picture.  With that being said, my pick would be Grand Rapids, or one of it's suburbs if someone is looking for a hip town with access to beautiful beaches and mediocre skiing.

I grew up in Grand Rapids and still have family there, so I can definitely provide the perspective on that one.  It's fine in a lot of ways, but don't go looking for any real mountain activity, skiing or otherwise.  I learned to ski there, but our family basically never went to any nearby resorts after getting a taste of western skiing.  You can drive 'up north' for 1.5-2 hours and get skiing that might be just enough to scratch the itch, as long as you don't need decent snow.  The beaches are nice enough during the summer (though an hour away); the water is cold but it's nice to have the fresh water.  The inland lakes can be fun but aren't really 'beaches.' 

Grand Rapids is fine if you don't mind cold/snow, but I wouldn't live there either for skiing or beaches.  If I really wanted beaches (but no chance of skiing) I'd head southeast.  Warm water in that direction.  If I really wanted skiing I'd head west.  Pretty tough ask for both, LCOL, within 1 hour as stated.

HPstache

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #28 on: March 16, 2022, 11:06:53 AM »
Bellingham is great, but definitely not LCOL these days and the beaches are a little more barnacle-y than most people have in mind when they think of a "beach".  I spent my university years in Michigan, and I feel like lake Michigan has some incredible sleeper beaches that people forget about when they think of beaches.  White sand, fresh water, hot weather... they are spectacular IMO.  There is some skiing in Michigan, but it's not like the mountain skiing one might picture.  With that being said, my pick would be Grand Rapids, or one of it's suburbs if someone is looking for a hip town with access to beautiful beaches and mediocre skiing.

I grew up in Grand Rapids and still have family there, so I can definitely provide the perspective on that one.  It's fine in a lot of ways, but don't go looking for any real mountain activity, skiing or otherwise.  I learned to ski there, but our family basically never went to any nearby resorts after getting a taste of western skiing.  You can drive 'up north' for 1.5-2 hours and get skiing that might be just enough to scratch the itch, as long as you don't need decent snow.  The beaches are nice enough during the summer (though an hour away); the water is cold but it's nice to have the fresh water.  The inland lakes can be fun but aren't really 'beaches.' 

Grand Rapids is fine if you don't mind cold/snow, but I wouldn't live there either for skiing or beaches.  If I really wanted beaches (but no chance of skiing) I'd head southeast.  Warm water in that direction.  If I really wanted skiing I'd head west.  Pretty tough ask for both, LCOL, within 1 hour as stated.

That's funny that we have both lived in the same places, GR & Bellingham.  Maybe it was because I was there during my college years, but I really thought Grand Rapids was amazing.  The OP was asking for Beach OR Ski Resort, so I thought GR certainly ticked the beach box and as I mentioned, the ski areas are nothing like mountain ski areas, but it is SOME skiing in proximity to the amazing beaches.  We always went to Holland State Park as college students, it was only about 45 minutes away IIRC.  We also liked Tunnel Park and Grand Haven.

roomtempmayo

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #29 on: March 16, 2022, 11:42:45 AM »

I'll throw out Ironwood, Michigan (ski at Indianhead; more blue collar) and Grand Marais, Minnesota (ski at Lutsen; more artsy).

You shut your pie hole! The hills around the northern midwest are mere pimples not worthy of even strapping on the skis for and lake superior is only not frozen solid 2 days in august so best keep looking elsewhere.   :D 

But if your 'stache is sufficiently large, you could just buy Indianhead. 2 for 1 special going on right now: https://www.joshsteinland.com/listing.php?target_mls=1124055

:-)

I'm sort of surprised Vail hasn't bought it yet.  Seems like they've bought much worse places.

Maybe it doesn't have enough local skiers to be an Epic Pass western resort feeder?

Arbitrage

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #30 on: March 16, 2022, 11:44:55 AM »

That's funny that we have both lived in the same places, GR & Bellingham.  Maybe it was because I was there during my college years, but I really thought Grand Rapids was amazing.  The OP was asking for Beach OR Ski Resort, so I thought GR certainly ticked the beach box and as I mentioned, the ski areas are nothing like mountain ski areas, but it is SOME skiing in proximity to the amazing beaches. 

Yeah, weird coincidences.  I was focused more on the second half of the question "places with both" that's not in the thread title, but in the actual post, since I figured that one OR the other is easily doable as long as there aren't other hidden constraints.

Arbitrage

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #31 on: March 16, 2022, 11:48:20 AM »

I'll throw out Ironwood, Michigan (ski at Indianhead; more blue collar) and Grand Marais, Minnesota (ski at Lutsen; more artsy).

You shut your pie hole! The hills around the northern midwest are mere pimples not worthy of even strapping on the skis for and lake superior is only not frozen solid 2 days in august so best keep looking elsewhere.   :D 

But if your 'stache is sufficiently large, you could just buy Indianhead. 2 for 1 special going on right now: https://www.joshsteinland.com/listing.php?target_mls=1124055

:-)

I'm sort of surprised Vail hasn't bought it yet.  Seems like they've bought much worse places.

Maybe it doesn't have enough local skiers to be an Epic Pass western resort feeder?

Ugh.  My only memory of Indianhead is very negative.  Not so much because of the resort itself, but more because my dad got the crazy idea to drive up there (again, from Grand Rapids) on opening day, as the first day to ski of the ski season anywhere in the midwest.  Driving eight hours each way to ski just because there was one lift and one blue run open was not my idea of a worthwhile trip. 

Askel

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #32 on: March 16, 2022, 11:56:11 AM »

Ugh.  My only memory of Indianhead is very negative.  Not so much because of the resort itself, but more because my dad got the crazy idea to drive up there (again, from Grand Rapids) on opening day, as the first day to ski of the ski season anywhere in the midwest.  Driving eight hours each way to ski just because there was one lift and one blue run open was not my idea of a worthwhile trip.

Are you sure it wasn't Ski Brule? They always push hard to for the "First to Open/Last to Close" title.  Opening day is always free and a wonderful shitshow to attend. The profits are clearly made at the bar that day.  But probably not worth the drive from GR.   

Askel

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #33 on: March 16, 2022, 12:09:25 PM »


:-)

I'm sort of surprised Vail hasn't bought it yet.  Seems like they've bought much worse places.

Maybe it doesn't have enough local skiers to be an Epic Pass western resort feeder?

Maybe not? That area has been struggling a bit lately- a big portion of their profit base is skiers coming up from WI/MN. A lot of those folks are a direct flight to real mountain skiing now and already hooked into the Epic pass through places like Wilmot and Afton.   

Skiing a little to the northeast of Indianhead last weekend. Terrible conditions, long lift lines, bad weather. THE WORST. 


However, they do redeem themselves with an excellent chef at the ski lodge that's really hard to get to. 

« Last Edit: March 16, 2022, 12:17:56 PM by Askel »

roomtempmayo

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #34 on: March 16, 2022, 12:12:41 PM »
Looks like a perfect day, @Askel .

What sort of gear do you use for conditions like that?

Askel

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #35 on: March 16, 2022, 12:47:59 PM »
I have a disturbingly large quiver of skis to use depending where I want to end up on the ability to cover ground/ability to turn matrix, but my usual goto setup are madshus epoch skis/voile 3 pin bindings and rossi x6 75mm boots.  Good kick and glide along with float and enough ski to generally get me down any incline I'm going to find around here. Although the boots are a little floppy so sometimes less than gracefully. :D 



(The après ski bartender is also quite good!) 

joe189man

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #36 on: March 16, 2022, 01:34:02 PM »
this is in your back yard,

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/450-Castello-Ave-Fairplay-CO-80440/13991170_zpid/

has a few adjacent lots to parse out and build a second home

Arbitrage

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #37 on: March 16, 2022, 02:12:18 PM »

Ugh.  My only memory of Indianhead is very negative.  Not so much because of the resort itself, but more because my dad got the crazy idea to drive up there (again, from Grand Rapids) on opening day, as the first day to ski of the ski season anywhere in the midwest.  Driving eight hours each way to ski just because there was one lift and one blue run open was not my idea of a worthwhile trip.

Are you sure it wasn't Ski Brule? They always push hard to for the "First to Open/Last to Close" title.  Opening day is always free and a wonderful shitshow to attend. The profits are clearly made at the bar that day.  But probably not worth the drive from GR.

The name Indianhead has stuck in my head as a pain point for the past 30 years due to that experience.  It was a long time ago, so I'll admit it could be off, but the mention of it here did trigger that memory.

wenchsenior

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #38 on: March 17, 2022, 09:44:09 AM »

Ugh.  My only memory of Indianhead is very negative.  Not so much because of the resort itself, but more because my dad got the crazy idea to drive up there (again, from Grand Rapids) on opening day, as the first day to ski of the ski season anywhere in the midwest.  Driving eight hours each way to ski just because there was one lift and one blue run open was not my idea of a worthwhile trip.

Are you sure it wasn't Ski Brule? They always push hard to for the "First to Open/Last to Close" title.  Opening day is always free and a wonderful shitshow to attend. The profits are clearly made at the bar that day.  But probably not worth the drive from GR.

The name Indianhead has stuck in my head as a pain point for the past 30 years due to that experience.  It was a long time ago, so I'll admit it could be off, but the mention of it here did trigger that memory.

How dare you impugn my wonderful childhood memories of skiing while it was it 45 degrees outside. THOSE WERE THE BEST DAYS! (Granted, snow quality was sketchy, but who cared?)

JetBlast

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Re: nice LCOL area that is within one hour of ski resort or beach
« Reply #39 on: March 22, 2022, 01:34:01 AM »
For ski resorts, Las Vegas, New Mexico is 1h 6min from the small Sipapu resort and a little further to Angel Fire.
Here's a 1628sf house with an asking price of $160k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1005-4th-St-Las-Vegas-NM-87701/121760465_zpid/

There are also small-town Colorado locations:
Here's a 1312sf house 45min from Steamboat Springs asking $150k: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/572-Colorado-St-Craig-CO-81625/104592107_zpid/

For beaches, things can get cheap a few miles inland in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississipi, and Texas, especially if you don't have to be close to a big city.

Here's a 1408sf house in Corpus Christi asking $139,900 within a few miles of South Padre Island beach: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1541-Melbourne-Dr-Corpus-Christi-TX-78415/28864826_zpid/

Here's a 1756sf 4BR house a few miles inland from Orange Beach, AL asking $157,000: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9713-Sherman-Rd-Foley-AL-36535/72764564_zpid/

This list is not including lost of manufactured homes and fixer-uppers in the vicinity, just to avoid those arguments!

Also, Espanola, NM is 1 hour from Ski Santa Fe.  Espanola is LCOL-- maybe even lower than Las Vegas, NM!
And an hour and a half from Taos Ski Valley which is excellent terrain.