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

Markus Injenia wrote:

Try Banff, Alberta

Not close to semi cheap. Nice place though. also not in US. If you're thinking Canada. Nelson, Fernie, Invermere, Kimberly are all BC towns I'd live in.

A quick look at Bishop shows a wide range.

Here is a very small, cheap place ($165K) that is up above Bishop...not sure about access in the winter:

http://www.trulia.com/property/3087518269--S-Lake-Rd-Bishop-CA-93514

Mobile home in town for about $170K:

http://www.trulia.com/property/3093381782-293-N-Tumbleweed-Rd-Bishop-CA-93514

Something a little nicer for $700K+:

http://www.trulia.com/property/3095558760-2298-Sunrise-Dr-Bishop-CA-93514

Some suggested SW New Mexico. Not bad.

Try Southeast Arizona. Safford has Mt. Graham 10k+, uncommercialized, largest telescope in the world. Clear skys at night, warm temps in the day, not hot like Pheonix,2hrs to Tucson(university town) Gila Mountains to the north. Great location for winter training. Plenty of cheap housing due to closing of copper mines etc... I lived there for several years. May go back in retirement.

Easy access to other cooler spots in the summertime. I took grad classes in Flagstaff. Great place to get a lot of high altitude miles in on pine forrest trails. Other towns nearby could be Payson, Show Low, Egar. All smaller towns at altitude with milder winters yet mountains and forests. One of the things I liked most about the Safford location is that you could go a lot of directions to visit other great outdoor sites within a day or two drive. You can be in the sun and warm one minute and be playing in snow within 30 minutes.

Other places to look into. Pinedale, WY was pretty cool. Newer oil/gas fields have brought a lot of money into town but won't last forever. Lot of outfitters taking people into the nearby Rocky mountains and the Continental Divide.

Hurricane, Cedar City, St. George UT are all beautiful SW US places but can get hot in the summer.

Been to Lake Tahoe, expensive but beautiful. I'm sure they could use another house painter/stainer if you are up to the task in the summer months. Snow removal/ski tourism jobs in the winter.

I have a friend that owns a place in Anaconda, MT near Missoula. Affordable enough to own that home and another here in central USA at the same time on middle class income.

Passed through SW North Carolina on the way to Charleston, SC. Beautiful mountains there as well.

Won't be long and my career will be coming to a close. What you are proposing is what I intend to do a lot of in my retirement. Taking a walkabout for a few years.

If you're willing to consider resort towns, which might be a little more expensive but should have decent seasonal employment opportunities, here are a few that I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Telluride, CO

Silverton, CO

Truckee, CA

Kirkwood, CA

Burlington, VT

Annecy, France

Innsbruck, Austria

North Conway, NH

Lake Placid, NY

Steamboat Springs, CO

Heber, UT

This is a good post about s.e. arizona. Ignore that other turd talking about how sw nm is ruff area. thats a bunch of hogwash. theres no even any latinos in that area. From Deming to Tombstone is all caucasions. I-10 in nm is kinda boring, but anywhere 20miles away from I-10 is really scenic. Not just catttle farms.

utah is by far the most underrated state in the west, maybe the country. very diverse landscapes (mountains, forests, deserts). only alaska has more national parks. easy to get a diverse range of altitudes/training situations. mormons are annoying but at least they wont rob you, kick your ass, steal your car/girl/etc. close enough to vegas and salt lake city if you want/need to let off some steam and party. if you dont think SLC is a good place to party, let me put it this way: the city is 50/50 mormo and regular humans. the half that are regular humans are made up of one of two groups: ex mormons trying to make up for lost time and people from all over the country/world who are crazy themselves because they live in mormoville - makes for wild times.

Flagstaff is pretty amazing, as is Boone, NC. Both are fairly inexpensive to live in and both have decent sized colleges, so there is always a lot of energy and events taking place.

Bryson City NC. Honestly though. There are a lot of great towns in North Carolina. Asheville is a bigger city that is great too. Boone is great too. There are many others.

My requirements were a bit different but Steamboat is what I picked. In my case I was looking for something midsize, moderate altitude (5k-7k), with in-town trail access and close wilderness access. I wanted something upscale, but not a pure resort town. A vibrant downtown area with decent dining options was important to me. I also considered Durango but Steamboat just felt right.

kohlberg wrote:

If you're willing to consider resort towns, which might be a little more expensive but should have decent seasonal employment opportunities, here are a few that I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Telluride, CO

Silverton, CO

Truckee, CA

Kirkwood, CA

Burlington, VT

Annecy, France

Innsbruck, Austria

North Conway, NH

Lake Placid, NY

Steamboat Springs, CO

Heber, UT

ecin wrote:

I'm suprised by the multiple Ashland, Or suggestions. Being from and currently living in Oregon...this would be the last place on earth I'd want to live, unless of course I was a huge fan of shakespeare. To each their own though.

Yes, please do not move to Ashland. The last thing Ashland needs is another former hippie.

No one suggested Estes Park Co, I think its gorgeous.

I think to choose a place you need to ask what are the top two or three things you want or love the most about the mountains.

For me its wildlife, hands down! I want to see moose or elk from my own yard. I want to fish from my own yard. But theres a price to pay. Cold. All you can do is stay outside all summer and find indoor winter hobbies.

If skiing is your thing, start your search there. Goodluck.

This thread was from a year ago. I'm sure the person picked a place, moved there, figured out it sucked, and has moved back into their parent's basement by now.

Jeffster!!! wrote:

have you thought of something in the NC mountains? Outside of Boone or Ashville somewhere?

Ding ding ding. Friends in Boone love it there. Not pricey and huge running scene.

In the off chance the OP is still looking for places, my choice would be Victor, Idaho. Small town across the mountains from Jackson, Wyoming. Basically has all the plus sides of Jackson - beautiful scenery, backdoor access to Grand Teton National Park and the Targhee National Forest, tons of wildlife, world class skiing, etc - but it's really cheap and has the homey, small-town feel that Jackson lacks.

Bigtool05 wrote:

In the off chance the OP is still looking for places, my choice would be Victor, Idaho. Small town across the mountains from Jackson, Wyoming.

That is a really cool looking town. I cannot imagine being more surrounded by mountains. Almost claustrophobic in how remote it is.

We moved to Durango recently, and it is EXPENSIVE!!

Burlington,VT is not a mountain town.

I think this has naïveté has already been done to the extreme by another bright eyed city boy. Go watch "into the wild". Judging from your initial post, you're DEFINITELY in that category.

NJ Possible wrote:

Jeffster!!! wrote:

have you thought of something in the NC mountains? Outside of Boone or Ashville somewhere?

Ding ding ding. Friends in Boone love it there. Not pricey and huge running scene.

Ummm, wrong. Cold & windy in winter.

Why do you people never factor in "year-round living"?

There is only one mountain town for this = Prescott, AZ.

Also has two vibrant JC's & Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.

For the life of me, I don't understand why runners avoid this place.....please explain.