Best places to move to for convenient mountain access that aren't already popular and expensive

But it's Reno.

Long time ago I had to stay for work there a few times. What a horrible place it was.

These comments prove you have no world view as much of it is incorrect.

"I want to move somewhere fun and desirable but I'm mad other people who moved there think it's fun and desirable too"

That's the right answer.

NYT, yesterday

nytimes.com

As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces An ‘Environmental Nuclear Bomb’

By Christopher Flavelle and Bryan Tarnowski

Climate change and rapid population growth are shrinking the lake, creating a bowl of toxic dust that could poison the air around Salt Lake City.

Open link

From a lifetime intermountain US resident:

Utah:

The entire Wasatch Front has exploded with people. Real estate is the type of place where a house has doubled in value in a couple years and if you don’t offer $30k over asking the day it’s listed, you aren’t getting it. Not exaggerating. Places like Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons are such close yet world class ski destinations (both for on piste and backcountry) that the traffic jams and over capacity parking lots at 6am for uphill skiing access are getting insane. It’s to the point that you have to wait in line on trails now. No such thing as solitude.

Beyond the Wasatch Front is where Utah is good. St George is phenomenal but also has been overrun. It’s Utah’s Florida. Or “Dixie”, whatever. Places like Cedar City are great options still. Maybe Logan, on the northern side. Perhaps even Heber City on the Wasatch Back which is like 25 min from Park City. Moab is awesome but getting busy. You could even look into places like Kamas which is at the foothills of the biggest mountains in Utah, the Uinta range.

Wyoming

Outside of Jackson, it’s relatively undiscovered. Towns like Casper, Cody, Star Valley, etc might be worth looking into. With the territory comes remoteness and difficulty getting anywhere else. You’re going to have to drive clear in to Salt Lake or Bozeman to find a decent sized airport. And if you’re a left-leaning person, don’t expect a lot of commonalities with the locals.

Idaho

Gets a bad rap as a white supremacist enclave due to the extreme northern chunk of the state up by Coeur D’Alene and Univ of Idaho in Moscow. Beautiful area but plenty of KKK militia types. But you can ignore that stereotype for the rest of the state. Boise is world class but I’d call it beyond the “undiscovered” state. Access to mountains is good including places like Bogus Basin. Boise River adds a cool layer to town. The eastern half of the state is cool. Twin Falls looks boring on its face because it’s out in farm land but you can get down to Pomerelle (gets almost 500” per year but pretty mellow slopes) or up to Sun Valley fairly quickly on a weekend. Pocatello is probably one of the most underrated places in the state. Immediate access to mountains, trails, etc. Pebble Creek is still a local ski hill and costs about $40 for a weekend lift pass. It’s mostly black diamond runs. It’s about 20 min from the city center. Idaho Falls is a nicer place and growing quickly. Access in town isn’t good but a short drive and you’re in some of the best territory in the US. Grand Targhee and Kelly Canyon are just down the road and Jackson isn’t too far. You can also get up to Yellowstone in about 90+ min.

Montana

Cities like Bozeman and Missoula are fantastic. But don’t think you’re the first to figure that out. A cheap motel 6 in summer goes for $130/night or more, if that tells you anything. You could look into towns like Helena or Butte for a bit less of a tourist trap. The whole area around Flathead/Glacier is incredible but unless you’ve got $2 million for a place, good luck. There’s plenty of real small off the grid places up in the forest but unless you’re the unibomber it’s not that pleasant without more than the 50 people there to talk to.

Oregon/Washington

Yes the costal areas are well discovered. I’m not as familiar with these states but the eastern halves of them are a totally different world from the west side of the Cascades. Bend is going to cost you but it’s really a cool area. Places like Le Grande might be cool? You’d be surprised how dry places like the Tri Cities area can be. Spokane is beloved by its residents but real estate is getting steep. Which might be a good sign.

Duluth in MN. Extremely affordable and tons of year round community and formal town support of outdoor activities. Only miss on the list of things you gave are big mountains. Just a short drive from Duluth is Lutsen and the Sawtooth mountains. Though technically mountains, they don't hold up to mountains out west.
The superior hiking trail runs through Duluth and is beautiful. It goes all the way up to the Canadian border. There is lots of cross country skiing, mountain biking, trail running, camping, stuff on lake Superior, the list goes on all year round. Check it out.

there are lots of places out there I know of, but the last thing I want is for all y'all coming out there, so good luck with that!

South Fork, CO

Cody, WY

Walsenburg or La Veta, CO

Bayfield, CO (little expensive)

Centennial, WY

Dubois, WY

Paonia, CO

Naturita, CO

Baker City, OR

Reno has changed rapidly in the last 10-15 years. There are still plenty of sh!t areas (downtown where most of the hotels/casinos are -- visitors stay there if they don't know any better), but large parts of Reno have transformed. It's getting really expensive though.

This is an underrated Tweet.

Reno is where is at, problem is the secret is out.

- convenient mountain access

- not already popular/expensive

- reasonable access to highways, grocery stores, airport, etc.

Pick 2.

Wyoming gets you the first 2 but not the 3rd. So if you are okay with spending a LOT of time in your car that's what I'd pick. Get a car that can handle very bad roads because I remember even the interstate was riddled with potholes. Also even if the mountains are convenient Wyoming probably doesn't have a lot of trails outside of the major tourist areas, which would be expensive anyway. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the thing you seek doesn't really exist in the U.S. anymore. In the past couple decades being "outdoorsy" has become incredibly trendy with an acceleration during covid. At least I'll always be able to say I liked camping/hiking/etc. before it was cool!

This is a pretty good list. I live in Colorado (denver) and will say you're 100% wrong on it being over-priced. Colorado has about a million less people than Massachusetts but about 13x the size, so there's honestly just not a lot of people, they're just really condensed into a few cities/towns.

It depends on what you need for housing, but you can find insanely cheap houses near almost any of the non-major mountains like Loveland, Arapahoe, Cooper, Silverton, or even all the way out to Powderhorn. Anywhere between Denver and the San Juans is likely going to be pretty affordable and in the mountains. Even Estes has pretty cheap housing (no ski mountains tho).

I think the challenge is you probably want a cool town too, which is where it gets pricey. Aspen and Telluride are expensive because they have both nature and culture.

I'd suggest staying for a month or so in any place you're considering moving because you might end of finding you actually hate it (i.e. people are weird, too remote, no good takeout..etc).

There is a town in Colorado with more than 10,000 people that NEVER comes up in these types of threads. Every activity that can be done in the Boulder vicinity can be done in this town but with no crowds. This town is not hip, not sexy, not a "scene" at all. It meets every criteria the OP is looking for. It has aspects that make it undesirable which will be the case for any place that is not yet a mobscene. Let's just state a hard fact: The undiscovered Boulder, Moab, Flag, Durango, Aspen DOES NOT EXIST. You were born too late to experience these places undiscovered, deal with it.

There are also at least 100 places in California that hit the requirement, but not for a Red State fanatic like the OP is.

As for the towns all over this thread, it's 10-25 years too late.

BTW: Wyoming is not where you want to go, but you do you.

I drove from Southern California to Yellowstone this past December and most of Wyoming is empty right along some large and long mountain ranges. Utah as well, but Utah is getting more popular so housing prices may be less affordable than Wyoming.