A nice place to retire, with good skiing & biking

[Mark Guzowski]

Re : A nice place to retire, with good skiing & biking Date: May 28 2003 22:47:14

[ ...I'm too lazy to fix the pgp signature stuff...some time perhaps in the next month or so... ]

Looking for a place to buy a house? I looked a *lot* of places over the years (and many again, just
recently), and settled on Idaho Falls. Ignore the magazine articles/ads on top places to live imho -
I looked at a lot of them (i.e., actually traveled to the places, stayed there, checked out the
housing/feel of the area, etc), and for the most part those places often are junk. Here's some of
what I like about IF:

1. 300 days of sunshine a year
2. Average housing price of ~120K
3. Great skiing within a short drive (grand targhee - much better than Jackson Hole imho...and
I've ski'ed a *lot* of places all over North America...)
4. Small town, yet has enough amenities to not really be a small town (e.g., far more than 1
grocery store, shopping mall, home depot, walmart, barnes & noble, espresso stands,
airport, etc),
5. What would be a $300K+ house in NE ohio (a cheap place to live mind you) cost less than half
that here...in a REAL nice neighborhood
6. Awesome biking routes (e.g., sunnyside - that says it all to those who are serious bikers)
7. Decent, sustained, historical growth (there aren't a lot of jobs here per se, but they do seem
to have managed to keep housing prices basically growing over the long haul - not major like
CA, but at a nice rate)
8. Lots of major forest lands/parks within an easy drive
9. Salt Lake within an easy drive, for those who like/need serious shopping (no Nordstroms et al.
here in IF)

IF is definitely better from multiple perspectives than Maine (nicer, cheaper housing, more
sunshine, better skiing within an easy distance, etc) or AK (much cheaper/nicer housing supply, and
better skiing). ...yet Idaho truly is one of the few lower 48 wilderness states...

Want a wilderness state in the lower 48, with a nice housing supply & a decent level of amenities?
Consider IF.

-----

Mark Guzowski [email protected] http://guzowski.20m.com

This message has been digitally signed. Authenticity can be verified upon request.

A few of the words I live by: "Live life day to day, on your own terms (not someone else's). Set
your own moral compass, let it not be set for you. Define your own self worth, let it not be
defined for you. Your creativity (i.e., intellectual property) is yours to do with as you please;
in absence of an explicit agreement to the contrary (signed by you) it is not for others to do with
as they please."

About the email content: This email reflects my opinions. If the content offends, and you are a
member of law enforcement (e.g., local police, fbi, nsa, or rcmp), first ask yourself if you have a
legal wiretap. If not, stop reading the email Ass. Otherwise, chill out - they're only my opinions
after all.

 

[*John*]

No offense to anyone who lives there........

Most of my family lives in Idaho Falls. My mother grew up there and doesn't even like to visit.
Rethink it. It's so miserably cold in the winter you couldn't pay me enough to live there. I do
think that it's a beautiful place, but seems like staying inside so that you don't get frostbite
puts a big damper on the whole thing. I guess if your favorite pastime is shoveling snow then go for
it, but I always hear my family (most of them) *****ing about it and talking about moving.

FWIW.

"Mark Guzowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:3ed56c64_2@newsfeed...
> Re : A nice place to retire, with good skiing & biking Date: May 28 2003 22:47:14
>
> [ ...I'm too lazy to fix the pgp signature stuff...some time perhaps in the next month or so... ]
>
> Looking for a place to buy a house? I looked a *lot* of places over the years (and many again,
> just recently), and settled on Idaho Falls. Ignore the magazine articles/ads on top places to live
> imho - I looked at a lot of them (i.e., actually traveled to the places, stayed there, checked out
> the housing/feel of the area, etc), and for the most part those places often are junk. Here's some
> of what I like about IF:
>
> 1. 300 days of sunshine a year
> 2. Average housing price of ~120K
> 3. Great skiing within a short drive (grand targhee - much better than Jackson Hole imho...and
> I've ski'ed a *lot* of places all over North America...)
> 4. Small town, yet has enough amenities to not really be a small town (e.g., far more than 1
> grocery store, shopping mall, home depot, walmart, barnes & noble, espresso stands, airport,
> etc),
> 5. What would be a $300K+ house in NE ohio (a cheap place to live mind you) cost less than half
> that here...in a REAL nice neighborhood
> 6. Awesome biking routes (e.g., sunnyside - that says it all to those who are serious bikers)
> 7. Decent, sustained, historical growth (there aren't a lot of jobs here per se, but they do
> seem to have managed to keep housing prices basically growing over the long haul - not major
> like CA, but at a nice rate)
> 8. Lots of major forest lands/parks within an easy drive
> 9. Salt Lake within an easy drive, for those who like/need serious shopping (no Nordstroms et
> al. here in IF)
>
> IF is definitely better from multiple perspectives than Maine (nicer, cheaper housing, more
> sunshine, better skiing within an easy distance, etc) or AK (much cheaper/nicer housing supply,
> and better skiing). ...yet Idaho truly is one of the few lower 48 wilderness states...
>
> Want a wilderness state in the lower 48, with a nice housing supply & a decent level of amenities?
> Consider IF.
>
> -----
>
> Mark Guzowski [email protected] http://guzowski.20m.com
>
> This message has been digitally signed. Authenticity can be verified upon request.
>
> A few of the words I live by: "Live life day to day, on your own terms (not someone else's). Set
> your own moral compass, let it not be set for you. Define your own self worth, let it not be
> defined for you. Your creativity (i.e., intellectual property) is yours to do with as you please;
> in absence of an explicit agreement to the contrary (signed by you) it is not for others to do
> with as they please."
>
> About the email content: This email reflects my opinions. If the content offends, and you are a
> member of law enforcement (e.g., local police, fbi, nsa, or rcmp), first ask yourself if you have
> a legal wiretap. If not, stop reading the email Ass. Otherwise, chill out - they're only my
> opinions after all.

 

[Steve McDonald]

Bend, Oregon. Mt. Bachelor ski area is close enough to reach by bicycle and most years, they have
some runs open all through the Summer. They have numerous slopes and lifts for all levels of skill
and some good cross-country trails. HooDoo ski area is within easy driving distance in the other
direction and has a long Winter season.

There's numerous bike paths and roads with low traffic in the region. There's a nice 100-mile
loop through the Cascade Lakes territory, that is appropriately called Century Drive. If you
have a bit more money, nearby Sun River is an upscale housing area and resort with a huge golf
course and is closer to Mt. Bachelor. There's a great river for fishing and paddling, that runs
through the middle of town.

One drawback is a strong conservative element in the community, but they're all on the numerous
golf courses and wouldn't compete much for space on the bikepaths. The elevation is about 4,500
ft., but there's not a lot of snow in town, compared to most places that high. There's sunshine
about 75% of the days in the year. Another problem is when the Three Sisters Mountains
(volcanic peaks) re-erupt, Bend will be covered with ash fallout, but this might be another 20
to 100 years from now.

Steve McDonald

 

[Bandjhughes]

[email protected] (Steve McDonald) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Bend, Oregon. Mt. Bachelor ski area is close enough to reach by bicycle and most years, they have
> some runs open all through the Summer. They have numerous slopes and lifts for all levels of skill
> and some good cross-country trails. HooDoo ski area is within easy driving distance in the other
> direction and has a long Winter season.
>
> There's numerous bike paths and roads with low traffic in the region. There's a nice 100-mile
> loop through the Cascade Lakes territory, that is appropriately called Century Drive. If you
> have a bit more money, nearby Sun River is an upscale housing area and resort with a huge
> golf course and is closer to Mt. Bachelor. There's a great river for fishing and paddling,
> that runs through the middle of town.
>
> One drawback is a strong conservative element in the community, but they're all on the
> numerous golf courses and wouldn't compete much for space on the bikepaths. The elevation is
> about 4,500 ft., but there's not a lot of snow in town, compared to most places that high.
> There's sunshine about 75% of the days in the year. Another problem is when the Three Sisters
> Mountains (volcanic peaks) re-erupt, Bend will be covered with ash fallout, but this might be
> another 20 to 100 years from now.
>
> Steve McDonald

Another good choice for year-round biking is Albuquerque NM. The weather averages 310 sunny days
per year. There's a strong bicycle advocacy group here and plenty of bike routes to get around
town (and bikepaths too if you dare). The weather is nice, warm and dry in the summer, mild in
the winter--which, again, works out well for year round biking. For off road riding, there are
plenty of world class mountain bike trails around Cedro Peak/Rocky or Oak Flats. For skiing,
there's Sandia Peak Ski area practically in town and several others within a short drive with
great skiing (Toas, Santa Fe, etc). Elevation is 5,250 ft, but you get used to it. It rarely
snows in town and when it does, it doesn't last too long--it mostly snows in the mountains where
it belongs.

One drawback is a strong liberal element in the community. They are often found on the bikepaths,
walking dogs while listening to headphones, and/or walking 4 abreast while holding hands. The
liberal element also has established laws which encourage transients to live on the bikepaths,
sleep under the bike path bridges, and in turn, leave piles of broken bottles behind. Most
conservatives realize that bikes are vehicles too and stick to bike-friendly roads instead where
the riding is safer, leaving the dangerous bike paths to others. Interesting enough, a
conservative city council member sponsored and got a bill passed that required new businesses
constructing buildings of over 20,000 sq ft to install showers and bike racks for bike commuters.
But our liberal democratic mayor Martin Chavez vetoed the bill. Guess he believes that bicycles
are only for recreation use and should stick to competing for space on bikepaths.

Brian

 

[Scott Lindstrom]

bandjhughes wrote:
> [email protected] (Steve McDonald) wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
>
>>Bend, Oregon. Mt. Bachelor ski area is close enough to reach by bicycle and most years, they have
>>some runs open all through the Summer. They have numerous slopes and lifts for all levels of skill
>>and some good cross-country trails. HooDoo ski area is within easy driving distance in the other
>>direction and has a long Winter season.
>>
>> There's numerous bike paths and roads with low traffic in the region. There's a nice 100-mile
>> loop through the Cascade Lakes territory, that is appropriately called Century Drive. If you
>> have a bit more money, nearby Sun River is an upscale housing area and resort with a huge
>> golf course and is closer to Mt. Bachelor. There's a great river for fishing and paddling,
>> that runs through the middle of town.
>>
>> One drawback is a strong conservative element in the community, but they're all on the
>> numerous golf courses and wouldn't compete much for space on the bikepaths. The elevation is
>> about 4,500 ft., but there's not a lot of snow in town, compared to most places that high.
>> There's sunshine about 75% of the days in the year. Another problem is when the Three Sisters
>> Mountains (volcanic peaks) re-erupt, Bend will be covered with ash fallout, but this might be
>> another 20 to 100 years from now.
>>
>>Steve McDonald
>
>
> Another good choice for year-round biking is Albuquerque NM. The weather averages 310 sunny
> days per year. There's a strong bicycle advocacy group here and plenty of bike routes to get
> around town (and bikepaths too if you dare). The weather is nice, warm and dry in the summer,
> mild in the winter--which, again, works out well for year round biking. For off road riding,
> there are plenty of world class mountain bike trails around Cedro Peak/Rocky or Oak Flats. For
> skiing, there's Sandia Peak Ski area practically in town and several others within a short
> drive with great skiing (Toas, Santa Fe, etc). Elevation is 5,250 ft, but you get used to it.
> It rarely snows in town and when it does, it doesn't last too long--it mostly snows in the
> mountains where it belongs.

How does the amount of sun/snow in a climate determine whether you can bike? I don't understand.

I think a great place to retire would be one where all the hills run downhill and the wind is always
tailwise

Scott

 

[Buck]

"Scott Lindstrom" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:3ed755f6$0$1168
> How does the amount of sun/snow in a climate determine whether you can bike? I don't understand.
>
> I think a great place to retire would be one where all the hills run downhill and the wind is
> always tailwise

While I can agree with your thoughts about hills, I'm not sure I would want to live in a place where
all wind came from peoples' tail-end. The smell must be atrocious!

-Buck

 

[Doug Milliken]

On Fri, 30 May 2003, Scott Lindstrom wrote:

> I think a great place to retire would be one where all the hills run downhill and the wind is
> always tailwise

In that case, stay away from Durango CO -- when I went for a road ride the local I was with remarked
that the winds shift around the canyons and are always headwinds(!) Certainly seemed to be true on
the loop we rode that day... Still, it was fun to see the cliff where Butch and Sundance jumped (in
the movie), our ride went past the spot where it was filmed--
http://www.durangorailway.com/movies.htm

 

[Bandjhughes]

Scott Lindstrom <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<3ed755f6$0$1168>
> How does the amount of sun/snow in a climate determine whether you can bike? I don't understand.
>
> I think a great place to retire would be one where all the hills run downhill and the wind is
> always tailwise
>
> Scott

Well the guy who started this string was talking about a place to retire with good skiing and
biking. Snow is definately a positive factor in good skiing--but tends to be a negative in biking
(but it can actually be kind of fun to bike in it too). I agree, sun is less of a factor in either
sport, but most people like plenty of it anyway.

Brian

 

[Bob]

"bandjhughes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Scott Lindstrom <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<3ed755f6$0$1168>
> > How does the amount of sun/snow in a climate determine whether you can bike? I don't understand.
> >
> > I think a great place to retire would be one where all the hills run downhill and the wind is
> > always tailwise
> >
> > Scott
>
> Well the guy who started this string was talking about a place to retire with good skiing and
> biking. Snow is definately a positive factor in good skiing--but tends to be a negative in biking
> (but it can actually be kind of fun to bike in it too). I agree, sun is less of a factor in either
> sport, but most people like plenty of it anyway.
>
>
> Brian

Unless you spent 15 years in Arizona -- I hate the sun. Bring on the rain, sleet and hail!

--
Bob ctviggen at rcn dot com

 

[Info@Mytrailsig]

No matter where you decide to live, if you love mountain sports you should adorn your condo,
mountain house, trailer house, etc. with an authentic custom-made ski or mountain bike trail sign
from www.mytrailsign.com. New this year! You get to pick the color, level of difficulty and even the
trail name.

Check it out at www.mytrailsign.com - we even make signs for liberals.| ;-)

[email protected] (JTHouse) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > One drawback is a strong liberal element in the community. They are often found on the
> > bikepaths, walking dogs while listening to headphones, and/or walking 4 abreast while holding
> > hands. The liberal element also has established laws which encourage transients to live on the
> > bikepaths, sleep under the bike path bridges, and in turn, leave piles of broken bottles
> > behind. Most conservatives realize that bikes are vehicles too and stick to bike-friendly
> > roads instead where the riding is safer, leaving the dangerous bike paths to others.
> > Interesting enough, a conservative city council member sponsored and got a bill passed that
> > required new businesses constructing buildings of over 20,000 sq ft to install showers and
> > bike racks for bike commuters. But our liberal democratic mayor Martin Chavez vetoed the bill.
> > Guess he believes that bicycles are only for recreation use and should stick to competing for
> > space on bikepaths.
> >
>
> What drivel. How one can correlate political persuasion with these bicycling issues is a stretch.