Best mountain towns to relocate to?

[Frugalman19]

Hi all!
The wife and I want to move out of our 1 bedroom apartment in SoCal which is currently $1,500 a month (no garage and not the best neighborhood). We want to move to the mountains, something rural but not in the middle of nowhere. We have been looking at resort towns for their activities available year round. Plus we still want to be near a Costco/Walmart if possible (30 min or so). She works with state/fed parks, so close to some parks would be nice.

Thanks for your input. We plan on making a massive trip out of the recommended towns haha.

[Frugalman19]

Haha I had just private messaged him. We are more open to out of CA. Or at least some really big mountains like Mammoth. 

[big_slacker]

Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. Lived there most of my adult life, will retire there.

[SingleMomDebt]

Mammoth is my fave place. Following with interest as I want to do the same in a couple of years.

[Telecaster]

Coeur d'Alene, ID

[Frugalman19]

Mammoth is really hard to beat. Amazing hiking/backpacking in the summer, and of course skiing in the winter.

[powskier]

I could tell you but then they would all be less good because of more people...... hahahahha, just messing with you...

Travel around and test out a few, there are many.

[HPstache]

How about Maple Falls, WA.  Bellingham is not far away and has a lot of the amenities you're looking for.  In the other direction is Mt. Baker which is an incredible ski area.  There are a lot of trailers in Maple falls but also a lot of very nice houses & cabins... Not a resort town though.

[lizzzi]

I used to love Estes Park, CO, although it's been thirty  years since I actually lived there. I have a lot of in-law type family connections  there, though--two of the families have built second homes and one couple has retired there. The other couple comes in from England and uses their house in Estes for vacations. The original family home was sold a couple years ago when the last grandparent died. Anyway, you've got Rocky Mt. National Park close by, and the elk herds parading through your front yards...as I'm sure you know. I don't know about a Costco...no idea.

[Goldielocks]

Mariposa, CA  --- but may be smaller than what you want.  about 40 minutes to Merced and its big box stores.

[Bearded Man]

Shelton, WA. 2 hr drive to Seattle, but near Olympic mountains.

[HPstache]

Shelton, WA. 2 hr drive to Seattle, but near Olympic mountains.

Oh hell no!  Shelton?  Shelton??!

[dude]

Haha I had just private messaged him. We are more open to out of CA. Or at least some really big mountains like Mammoth.

FYI, spartana is a HER.

[Frugalman19]

Haha I had just private messaged him. We are more open to out of CA. Or at least some really big mountains like Mammoth.

FYI, spartana is a HER.

Oops!!

[Jesstache]

Bend, OR.  I love it here, we have Costco, Walmart AND the big hospital for the region.  Sounds like exactly what you'd like.  Also, if you need a place to live, I have a house for rent... :)  As an aside, lots of Californians have relocated here, much to the dismay of the locals, but you can't keep great places to live a secret forever.

[Clean Shaven]

I really liked Bend when I visited a few years ago. It seemed a little remote though - for air travel, what do you do? Drive to Portland, or take a short connection from Bend?

[Jesstache]

Air travel depends on the price differential between the two.  $100-200 more from Bend/Redmond over Portland and I'll take Bend flights every time.  Otherwise it's worth the 3 hour drive to PDX, especially in the summer.  That is the main downside of living here (and housing costs) though, especially because we have family in Upstate NY and the Midwest.  It's almost always 3 flights from RDM or 2 from PDX. 

[Clean Shaven]

Thanks for the info. Bend seems like an ideal smallish town for livability, biking and skiing nearby.

[Frugalman19]

We have been looking at Oregon quite a bit. I like wine so the Willamette Valley looks pretty awesome. We have been to Salem and Portland/Vancouver as well as toured around Mt. Hood. We will have to check out Bend, it will be a trip on its own.

[Eric]

Shelton, WA. 2 hr drive to Seattle, but near Olympic mountains.

Oh hell no!  Shelton?  Shelton??!

Can you expand on this objection?

[Jack]

Gatlinburg, TN or Cherokee, NC (or one of the other towns in that general area).

[HPstache]

Shelton, WA. 2 hr drive to Seattle, but near Olympic mountains.

Oh hell no!  Shelton?  Shelton??!

Can you expand on this objection?

 My appologies if you live there, please correct me if I am wrong.  But when I hear Shelton I don't really think of a place to "retire in the mountains".  Also it seems to have a drug usage/manufacturing stigma attached to it... at least in my circles.

[Eric]

Shelton, WA. 2 hr drive to Seattle, but near Olympic mountains.

Oh hell no!  Shelton?  Shelton??!

Can you expand on this objection?

 My appologies if you live there, please correct me if I am wrong.  But when I hear Shelton I don't really think of a place to "retire in the mountains".  Also it seems to have a drug usage/manufacturing stigma attached to it... at least in my circles.

I've never even visited.  I just wondered what the issue was.  I am scoping out areas on the Olympic peninsula as possible retirement places, so every data point helps.

[Bearded Man]

Shelton, WA. 2 hr drive to Seattle, but near Olympic mountains.

Oh hell no!  Shelton?  Shelton??!

Can you expand on this objection?

 My appologies if you live there, please correct me if I am wrong.  But when I hear Shelton I don't really think of a place to "retire in the mountains".  Also it seems to have a drug usage/manufacturing stigma attached to it... at least in my circles.

I've never even visited.  I just wondered what the issue was.  I am scoping out areas on the Olympic peninsula as possible retirement places, so every data point helps.

Manufacturing? In Shelton? Lol. And as far as drug stigma, welcome to the rural nw. It's everywhere. The more rural the worse it is.

[HPstache]

Shelton, WA. 2 hr drive to Seattle, but near Olympic mountains.

Oh hell no!  Shelton?  Shelton??!

Can you expand on this objection?

 My appologies if you live there, please correct me if I am wrong.  But when I hear Shelton I don't really think of a place to "retire in the mountains".  Also it seems to have a drug usage/manufacturing stigma attached to it... at least in my circles.

I've never even visited.  I just wondered what the issue was.  I am scoping out areas on the Olympic peninsula as possible retirement places, so every data point helps.

Manufacturing? In Shelton? Lol. And as far as drug stigma, welcome to the rural nw. It's everywhere. The more rural the worse it is.

Maybe manufacturing was the wrong word... what I was trying to say is that a lot of drugs are made (not the grown type) there... but again, just rumors.  Only been there once.  Again, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but Shelton does not come off as a good mountain town to retire in

[Zamboni]

Following.

[spokey doke]

scads of discussions related to this - so do your searching

here is one: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/looking-to-move-to-washington-or-oregon-help-us-choose-a-city/

[Bracken_Joy]

Bend, OR.  I love it here, we have Costco, Walmart AND the big hospital for the region.  Sounds like exactly what you'd like.  Also, if you need a place to live, I have a house for rent... :)  As an aside, lots of Californians have relocated here, much to the dismay of the locals, but you can't keep great places to live a secret forever.

Bend also gets MUCH more sunny days per year than the Willamette valley. Some of those days may be COLD sunny, but they are sunny. The valley.... well, depending on the year you can go a couple weeks without seeing the sunshine a single time. Hasn't been that bad the past couple years though. Just be sure to visit in the winter before you decide if you're up for living here.

[CabinetGuy]

Gatlinburg, TN or Cherokee, NC (or one of the other towns in that general area).

SHUSH! Don't tell people this.  I dream of retiring to Cashiers/Highlands area.  150k will get you a decent 2 bed 2 bath cabin...

[Frugalman19]

We are looking at 3 serious options, so far.
Bend has a lot of followers, and according to the weather service, gets less rain than San Diego??? But it still gets snow in the winter, which is huge. It's close to some state and local park systems.

Port Angeles, WA. Not really a mountain town, but just outside of Olympic national park. It gets a lot less rain than Seattle surprisingly, plus you are still close to the ocean.

Missoula, MT. This one is making its way up the list fast. A simple search on Zillow shows the types of houses/cabins one can get with under $300k, it's amazing Plus a large town.

Thoughts?

[Jack]

Gatlinburg, TN or Cherokee, NC (or one of the other towns in that general area).

SHUSH! Don't tell people this.  I dream of retiring to Cashiers/Highlands area.  150k will get you a decent 2 bed 2 bath cabin...

Don't worry, I recommended the "resort towns" (a.k.a. tourist traps) as the OP requested. The good towns he'll have to find for himself. ; )

Not to mention, roughly the entire area bounded by Chattanooga, TN; Knoxville, TN; Asheville, NC; and Dawsonville, GA is really nice. MMM is popular these days, but not so popular that the whole thing will fill up from people reading this thread.

(By the way: it takes $150K to get a 2-bedroom cabin in Highlands because Highlands is super-fancypants. I'd expect to pay $75-$100k near a more reasonable, but still scenic, town.)

[MandalayVA]

Gatlinburg, TN or Cherokee, NC (or one of the other towns in that general area).

I got married and spent my honeymoon in Gatlinburg so I approve of your choice!

[CabinetGuy]

Gatlinburg, TN or Cherokee, NC (or one of the other towns in that general area).

SHUSH! Don't tell people this.  I dream of retiring to Cashiers/Highlands area.  150k will get you a decent 2 bed 2 bath cabin...

Don't worry, I recommended the "resort towns" (a.k.a. tourist traps) as the OP requested. The good towns he'll have to find for himself. ; )

Not to mention, roughly the entire area bounded by Chattanooga, TN; Knoxville, TN; Asheville, NC; and Dawsonville, GA is really nice. MMM is popular these days, but not so popular that the whole thing will fill up from people reading this thread.

(By the way: it takes $150K to get a 2-bedroom cabin in Highlands because Highlands is super-fancypants. I'd expect to pay $75-$100k near a more reasonable, but still scenic, town.)

I know it's fancy pants...its just so nice and quiet, and soooo cool during the summer.  But that being said, my sampling is rather small.  I've only been there once, and Bryson City once (did not like it.  We went in the winter, which was nice, but after seeing all the touristy whitewater signs and gambling in Cherokee EVERYWHERE, I can only imagine how crowded and noisy it must be in the summertime.

We're headed to Maggie Valley for a holiday and looking forward to it.  Besides, it's a friends cabin and we get to stay for a week for 100.00!!! 

[Bracken_Joy]

We are looking at 3 serious options, so far.
Bend has a lot of followers, and according to the weather service, gets less rain than San Diego??? But it still gets snow in the winter, which is huge. It's close to some state and local park systems.

The mountains make ALL the difference in the PNW. The cascade range changes everything. The majority of Oregon's population is all in one big-ass valley: the willamette valley. It extends from Portland to Eugene/Springfield. That's where all the rain is, all the bright green growing stuff is, all the pollen is, and most of the people. Bend is central Oregon, and has a totally different climate. And then there's eastern Oregon... I think at last count, all of E OR had like 7% of the state's population.

Density map:

That yellow blip in the center is Bend area.

So re: central Oregon. You're up in the mountains, essentially. Pretty low moisture overall, just the snow basically. Cold winters, hot(ish) summers, quickly changing volatile weather patterns... and stinkin' beautiful. So much hiking, skiing, horses, mountain biking, whatever you're into outdoors, Central OR does that. You're not going to have much success gardening out there though.

Personally, I recommend Sisters over Bend itself. Close by, but a totally different feel. Sisters doesn't come cheap though. The whole area is super popular right now.

[use2betrix]

I don't know if you mentioned, but like how close exactly do you want to be to mountains. 10 mins, 30 Mins, an hour? I'm following this closely as I hope to partially FiRE into a similar area in 8-10 years.

Also, must these be mountains with ski resorts or simply hiking/biking, etc.   

I have been researching a ton and the two places that keep coming back are Bend and Bellingham. I believe Bend is closer to a ski resort, but also much dryer to the extent it almost seems mildly desert-ish. I like green, but also don't know if I could handle weeks of rain. Bend is a bigger city and more opportunity for work likely.

I wish both were closer to a major airport, however. I've spent much of my life 3 hours from an airport and it can be a pain for visiting others and having visitors.

Unfortunately, it seems like all the mountains are a good few hours from the major cities as well.

[Bearded Man]

Shelton, WA. 2 hr drive to Seattle, but near Olympic mountains.

Oh hell no!  Shelton?  Shelton??!

Can you expand on this objection?

 My appologies if you live there, please correct me if I am wrong.  But when I hear Shelton I don't really think of a place to "retire in the mountains".  Also it seems to have a drug usage/manufacturing stigma attached to it... at least in my circles.

I've never even visited.  I just wondered what the issue was.  I am scoping out areas on the Olympic peninsula as possible retirement places, so every data point helps.

Manufacturing? In Shelton? Lol. And as far as drug stigma, welcome to the rural nw. It's everywhere. The more rural the worse it is.

Maybe manufacturing was the wrong word... what I was trying to say is that a lot of drugs are made (not the grown type) there... but again, just rumors.  Only been there once.  Again, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but Shelton does not come off as a good mountain town to retire in

Yeah, I've been there more than once. It's fine...

[MrGreen]

Gatlinburg, TN or Cherokee, NC (or one of the other towns in that general area).

SHUSH! Don't tell people this.  I dream of retiring to Cashiers/Highlands area.  150k will get you a decent 2 bed 2 bath cabin...

Don't worry, I recommended the "resort towns" (a.k.a. tourist traps) as the OP requested. The good towns he'll have to find for himself. ; )

Not to mention, roughly the entire area bounded by Chattanooga, TN; Knoxville, TN; Asheville, NC; and Dawsonville, GA is really nice. MMM is popular these days, but not so popular that the whole thing will fill up from people reading this thread.

(By the way: it takes $150K to get a 2-bedroom cabin in Highlands because Highlands is super-fancypants. I'd expect to pay $75-$100k near a more reasonable, but still scenic, town.)

As an East Coaster, the Asheville, NC area is my choice for a mountain town. Good water means craft breweries, so good beer. There's a regional hospital. You have the Great Smoky Mountains and Cherokee National Forest right at your door step, and there's a number of other larger cities within a couple hour drive.

[clarkfan1979]

I would look into living in eastern Idaho near some of the ski resorts in Wyoming. Not sure about the Costco.

There are some ski resorts in the Fresno area that will be affordable.

Snobowl in Flagstaff, AZ is finally able to use snow makers to extend their ski season. They have been fighting the Native Americans for a long time. I think they finally won about 2 years ago.

[spokey doke]

We are looking at 3 serious options, so far.
Bend has a lot of followers, and according to the weather service, gets less rain than San Diego??? But it still gets snow in the winter, which is huge. It's close to some state and local park systems.

Port Angeles, WA. Not really a mountain town, but just outside of Olympic national park. It gets a lot less rain than Seattle surprisingly, plus you are still close to the ocean.

Missoula, MT. This one is making its way up the list fast. A simple search on Zillow shows the types of houses/cabins one can get with under $300k, it's amazing Plus a large town.

Thoughts?

Bend is great - exceptional weather, mtn biking, hiking, and beer.  Skiing is close by and good in many ways, but Cascades snow is pretty wet (the Rockies are much better IMO). It is spendy.

Port Angeles is in the smallish/relative rain shadow of the Olympics, and a neat area, but it is still wet and gray a lot.  The mountains are right close by, but they are rather wet and best suited to backcountry excursions (largely wilderness, no ski resorts).  My sense (having lived in the Puget Sound area for a few years) is that a potentially significant downside is just getting places, off the peninsula.  The ferry system is neat but limited, and you often end up in places that have heavy traffic for some ways before you are free and clear.  I don't know the town.

Lived in Missoula for a number of years and it is a really cool town in a fantastic area - hiking and biking are great, as are the rivers you have access to, but it is getting more crowded.  The Missoula valley also gets pretty bad inversions in the winter, and the skiing is not that great.  From my perspective, housing is pretty expensive, but I am in a LCOLA.

Look at the greater Wenatchee area and Boise while you are at it.

I'm a bit into smaller towns and fewer crowds with access to incredible mountains, with skiing (on great snow), mountain biking and hiking as big priorities...and my short list includes:

Driggs/Victor Idaho
Whitefish Montana
McCall Idaho
Joseph Oregon

[Bracken_Joy]

We are looking at 3 serious options, so far.
Bend has a lot of followers, and according to the weather service, gets less rain than San Diego??? But it still gets snow in the winter, which is huge. It's close to some state and local park systems.

Port Angeles, WA. Not really a mountain town, but just outside of Olympic national park. It gets a lot less rain than Seattle surprisingly, plus you are still close to the ocean.

Missoula, MT. This one is making its way up the list fast. A simple search on Zillow shows the types of houses/cabins one can get with under $300k, it's amazing Plus a large town.

Thoughts?

Bend is great - exceptional weather, mtn biking, hiking, and beer.  Skiing is close by and good in many ways, but Cascades snow is pretty wet (the Rockies are much better IMO). It is spendy.

Port Angeles is in the smallish/relative rain shadow of the Olympics, and a neat area, but it is still wet and gray a lot.  The mountains are right close by, but they are rather wet and best suited to backcountry excursions (largely wilderness, no ski resorts).  My sense (having lived in the Puget Sound area for a few years) is that a potentially significant downside is just getting places, off the peninsula.  The ferry system is neat but limited, and you often end up in places that have heavy traffic for some ways before you are free and clear.  I don't know the town.

Lived in Missoula for a number of years and it is a really cool town in a fantastic area - hiking and biking are great, as are the rivers you have access to, but it is getting more crowded.  The Missoula valley also gets pretty bad inversions in the winter, and the skiing is not that great.  From my perspective, housing is pretty expensive, but I am in a LCOLA.

Look at the greater Wenatchee area and Boise while you are at it.

I'm a bit into smaller towns and fewer crowds with access to incredible mountains, with skiing (on great snow), mountain biking and hiking as big priorities...and my short list includes:

Driggs/Victor Idaho
Whitefish Montana
McCall Idaho
Joseph Oregon

Oh god I LOVE Joseph and John Day areas.

OP, if you can deal with small town, distance from an airport, and no close costco, I would highly recommend looking into that area. Untapped gem of the outdoors, very cheap.

Uhhh, second though, you're tired of being surrounded by conservatives. Might not be a good option at all then.

[Glenstache]

You might want to look at Sequim as an alternative to Port Angeles.  Port Angeles felt very strip mall-y to me, and it smelled bad -- not sure if that was due to a pulp plant or the sewage that Victoria dumps directly into the Strait.  I haven;t been to Sequim, just drove past, but it comes up frequently on "good places to retire" lists.

PA and Sequim will provide access to the Olympics. Both have their plusses and minuses, but will not fulfill much of the ski access the OP was looking for unless they are die-hard backcountry skiers... and then other parts of WA would fit that bill better.

The Leavenworth-Wenatchee corridor of WA offers great access to lots of mountain biking in the summer, 2 ski resorts, piles of backcountry access and world class rock climbing. Cost of living is relatively low and the towns are big enough to sport reasonable amenities. Leavenworth is a beautiful place but overrun with tourist kitsch. 2-3 hours drive to Seattle depending on specific location in that area. The climate is much drier than the Seattle area because it is east of the Cascades. I have a cabin in the area and absolutely love it, so yes I am biased.

Truckee/Tahoe area sports some great mountain access, though the Sierra snow forecast is just not that great for the future.

Mammoth-Bishop area is amazing with access to the high sierra. Very little economy outside of tourism.

Bend is awesome, as has been stated above. Lot's of delicious beer and bike trails potentially out the back door.

If the net is widened to mountains within 60 minutes, then pretty much any of the towns sandwiched between 97 and I-5 in Washington and Oregon will fit the bill, just choose the town to your particular liking and needs.

[Frugalman19]

OP here, just an update,

We do not ski, our rational behind the resort towns is that the resort towns always have something going on. Concerts, farmers markets other kinds of community events year round to help keep us occupied. We do want to live in a smaller mountain town, but we do not necessarily want to be hermits. We are young and still would like a brewery near us as well as some good hiking trails. Bend seems really nice. We will have to make a trip out there.

I did grow up in Seattle so I know Washington very well, we are not opposed to Wenatchee area(Leavenworth is a little much haha), we recently drove on the 2 through the mountains and that is an amazing place. We need to explorer the areas with the eyes of living there and not just vacationing.

[Debts_of_Despair]

Park City?

[spokey doke]

OP here, just an update,

We do not ski, our rational behind the resort towns is that the resort towns always have something going on. Concerts, farmers markets other kinds of community events year round to help keep us occupied. We do want to live in a smaller mountain town, but we do not necessarily want to be hermits. We are young and still would like a brewery near us as well as some good hiking trails. Bend seems really nice. We will have to make a trip out there.

I did grow up in Seattle so I know Washington very well, we are not opposed to Wenatchee area(Leavenworth is a little much haha), we recently drove on the 2 through the mountains and that is an amazing place. We need to explorer the areas with the eyes of living there and not just vacationing.

with those priorities (and the others you've posted) Bend and Missoula seem like good options if they fit your budget, but Bend is much closer to a major city and airport...Msla is about 8-9hrs from SLC, PDX, SEA

[BigHaus89]

Sandpoint, ID. Awesome community and a lot going on.

[JoeBlow]

Joseph Oregon

Wallowas are great.  I did Eagle Cap the year before last.  Amazing (F'ing Amazing).  Also, Hells Canyon area is pretty nice if you can put up with all the rattlesnakes.  I think I might try and find a good spot in SE Washington to claim as home in retirement to get away from the Oregon Income tax.  I am not sure how the numbers add up between the Oregon Income Tax and the Washington Sales Tax when RE.  I will have to crunch the numbers when I am closer to pulling the trigger.

[NorCal]

Placerville is a nice town if you're looking to stay in CA. 

[gillstone]

For Fed/State parks near mountains and no pale kids who are their own uncles sitting on porches picking banjos (looking at you Appalachia) you should consider Montana.

The Bozeman area has a number of state parks and is just outside Yellowstone and the Kalispell is near to Glacier.  Both are growing communities with all the amenities you'd expect and have cheaper housing than SoCal.

[spokey doke]

Park City?

in THAT case, let's include Jackson and Ketchum

$$$$$$

Bozeman is also quite spendy on the real estate front

[honeybbq]

I'm surprised by the lack of Colorado responses. Maybe that's because they lack a Costco?

I'd do Steamboat Springs, Dillion, Durango, etc. in a heartbeat!