Best mountain towns in America to live semi-cheaply and enjoy the outdoors?

Lots of good mountain towns in the east. Yeah, I know people from Rocky mountain states call them hills. BUT, a lot more affordable and much less pretentious. And no worries of having to kill a mountain lion with your bare hands while out on a trail run.

Johnstown, Williamsport, Altoona, or Jim Thorpe, PA

State College, PA or Boone, NC if you want a semi expensive college town.

Cumberland or Frostburg, MD

Roanoke, Harrisonburg or Staunton, VA

Good info above. For anywhere West of the Mississippi, you can't go wrong with SoCal. (As illogical as that sounds.)

Rockies are beautiful but you aren't running up and down the ski slopes. Altitude is obviously an advantage.

Boone is nice but expensive and remote.

Roanoke, Harrisonburg and Staunton are nothing compared to the training in Blacksburg VA. Although, it's a remote college town full of liberal townies who hate students and expensive.

I'm not reading all 6 pages so I have no idea if these have been brought up yet, but the 5 that come to my mind are

Manitou Springs, CO

Buena Vista CO

Salida CO

Ogden UT

Ouray CO

juanito wrote:

I'm not reading all 6 pages so I have no idea if these have been brought up yet, but the 5 that come to my mind are

Manitou Springs, CO

Buena Vista CO

Salida CO

Ogden UT

Ouray CO

To live semi cheaply part is missing on this list.

I don't know about Ogden, UT but all the Colorado places are frickin' expensive.

Leadville, CO

High and dry wrote:

Leadville, CO

Ha, ha.

Leadville is pretty expensive too. Especially for a place with 8 month of winter.

Trust me on this, you don't want to live in Leadville.

Great place to visit but it's also a great place to leave behind again.

Mountain guy wrote:

Good info above. For anywhere West of the Mississippi, you can't go wrong with SoCal. (As illogical as that sounds.)

Surprisingly, this is accurate. There are many inexpensive mountain towns all up and down the state, but for a place where you can live at altitude relatively cheaply and have the weather mostly mild in the winter and easily access low altitudes and city life, the San Bernardino Mountains are tough to beat. Kills me to say it since I’m a nor cal guy, but yeah.

Staunton and Harrisonburg, VA are great towns. I have no idea about cost of living or places to train. But, given the opportunity, I would absolutely consider living in either location.

jorvack wrote:

Places I have thought of living

ashland, or

Good choice

tarckstar wrote:

Greenwater, WA

One house for sale: $1.4 million or something.

Zero rentals.

Good idea.

That one is actually a business with a house attached to it. I guess you didn't read the bold print. There are a few other houses in Greenwater, WA for sale, even zillow.com has more listed. You can also buy lots and build your own home or just park an RV on it. Other small mountain towns nearby are Packwood and Ashford. They are all very accessible although in the winter some of the highways are closed due to snow for 4-5 months.

A lot of people here recommending places in CO. It is going to be crowded and very expensive. If it isn't, it will be extremely snowy. Most likely, it will be both. Flagstaff is reasonable price and super duper snowy in winter.

Kind of hard to live in a mountain town without having it cost money and be very cold in the winter time.

Santa Fe is OK for both, but not really a mountain town (although mountains are right there and trails are awesome) but this year snow has been more than anywhere in CO because of El Nino.

I second the Gila Wilderness for your criteria.

Santa Cruz isn't a "mountain town" but the trails are great as is the weather year round. its insanely expensive, but you could live in Aptos or up in the "mountains" a little more (Boulder creek, etc).

Otherwise you're looking at Appalachia.

Been there, dne that wrote:

A lot of people here recommending places in CO. It is going to be crowded and very expensive. If it isn't, it will be extremely snowy. Most likely, it will be both. Flagstaff is reasonable price and super duper snowy in winter.

Kind of hard to live in a mountain town without having it cost money and be very cold in the winter time.

Most places mentioned in Colorado are not particularly snowy - Salida, Durango, Buena Vista, Carbondale, etc. Leadville and Ouray - yes, but those a smaller and more expensive then other options. Let's not pretend it's "super snowy" in CO/AZ/NM either. Nothing in comparison to the deluge storms that hit the Sierras or Cascades. Night and day reality for "living in the mountains."

Davis, WV

or Thomas, WV

81611 wrote:

Most places mentioned in Colorado are not particularly snowy - Salida, Durango, Buena Vista, Carbondale, etc. Leadville and Ouray - yes, but those a smaller and more expensive then other options. Let's not pretend it's "super snowy" in CO/AZ/NM either. Nothing in comparison to the deluge storms that hit the Sierras or Cascades. Night and day reality for "living in the mountains."

Salida and Buena Vista are in the frickin' nowhere. And for that it is quite expensive.

Carbondale is where the workers for Aspen live. Super expensive.

Durango is a decent town but also too pricey I would think.

Ouray is pretty, in the middle of nowhere, touristy and pricey.

Leadville is basically a shithole with poisoned water from the mining. Great place to visit but you don't want to live there, in 10,000 ft.

Mountain guy wrote:

Good info above. For anywhere West of the Mississippi, you can't go wrong with SoCal. (As illogical as that sounds.)

Oh my, no. Please don't listen to this guy. You can go very, very VERY wrong in SoCal. Wildfires, mudslides, traffic, and the cost of living is off the charts. I could go on but why bother.

Some shack within 20 miles of Mammoth Lakes, CA

Consider towns close to Bethel, Maine. Olympian Anna Willard comes from there.