Skiers: If You Could Move Anywhere... ?

[Warp daddy]

Try em before ya buy em . Oftentimes our fantasies turn into nightmares as our expectations based on short-term evaluations may have been totally unreal.

Just a few common Sense thoughts rent a place in the offseason for 3 months and see if you still like the region .

Keenly observe the downsides during that trial period and see if you can abide them be they social be they political, b-they colloquial narrow mindedness.

It's wonderful to have dreams and expectations but take time to check them out for more than just a short-term before you make the commitment.

And first and foremost know thyself and realize that oft times "whatever we think it is it isn't" in terms of dreams and expectations.

To be sure you will rethink some of your expectations and b willing to make compromises.

But you are all smart dudes and will figure this out. keep dreaming

 

[tirolski]

On bureaucracy:

In the late 80s, I flew to Italy with co-workers from my employer - Italian wine importer and distributor. Flew from JFK to Rome. In Rome, we had to walk across the air terminal to catch a domestic flight to Bari. This was the end of the time of the Red Brigade, and there were soldiers with machine guns and German shepherds patrolling. One dog came up and sniffed one of my co-workers. He and I were whisked off and grilled, "where are the drugs?" It took an intervention from my employer to get us outta there to catch the flight.

Melpensa, big airport a bit north of Milan, also had German shepherds, machine guns, the whole 9 yards.

Crazier than that was the clusterF at the baggage claim carousel of the plane load of folks coming from Iraq before the war with the folks in white robes trying to figure out which big clear bag containing what I figured most likely was their Holy Water.
The bags all looked the same and the only distinguishing feature was the baggage claim sticker.
Around & around the bags went...Figured it’d take several hours to sort ‘em all out.

In 16 days, I only had one bad meal.

Gained at least ten pounds in 6 weeks and it was well worth it.
The local folks we worked with told us where we should via a mangiare.
Ya could gain weight just looking at the “salad bars” at some places...

 

[westcoastben]

Bellingham, WA

I'd sail the sound with orca in the warmer months, and ski Baker all winter.

Being a stone’s throw from
Whistler and having the Boundary Bay Brewing Co. doesn’t hurt. Bellingham is a super cool town.

 

[tirolski]

Try em before ya buy em . Oftentimes our fantasies turn into nightmares as our expectations based on short-term evaluations may have been totally unreal.

Just a few common Sense thoughts rent a place in the offseason for 3 months and see if you still like the region .

That’s kinda where a nice camper van comes into play.
If ya know folks all over the place, just hit the road and then leave before ya wear out yer welcomes.

 

[Benny Profane]

Taos.

You mean the town? It's got issues. There's a lot of crime, lots of drugs, lots of people who will immediately not like you because you're a white dude making their life just a little more unaffordable.
From what I saw, I'd take Sante Fe instead. Not that its perfect, no place is. It's also got a ski area on a ridge up above it that looked ok when we drove up and visited it (didn't ski), and you could pretty easily do day trips to Taos.

 

[Low Angle Life]

Saguache County Colorado if I was looking to disappear, the Mad River Valley if I was looking to get off grid, and more realistically Ulster County New York as thats currently where I am looking to relocate.

 

[chumpomatic]

Ha, I just saw this:

"It's The Thing I Will Really Miss When I Move Back To The US": Americans Are Sharing Everyday Aspects Of Life In Europe That Feel Like Luxuries If You Didn't Grow With Up Them

"I studied abroad in Italy and there was just so much less of it everywhere."

www.buzzfeed.com

We were skiing in Alagna two weeks ago. Not a good snow year for them but still just an amazing time. It's off the beaten path, super authentic, super small. I highly recommend it.

Alagna SKI - Your Holidays in Valsesia and Monterosa - Alagna

Alagna merges freeride, mountaineering, trekking, ski touring, sport fishing with the millenary Walser tradition, giving life to an authentic atmosphere, ...

www.alagna.it

 

[Benny Profane]

Yup & gelato was left out in the buzzfeed piece Benny put up.
Alps are awesome too.
We think a couple hundred year old stuff is old here. Italy’s old stuff is much older.

The Italians are really really good at renovation. Puts This Old House American attitudes to shame.

We stayed at a farm in Tuscany one time and the owner invited us into his house for a glass of wine, and we stood on a glass floor in the living room that looked down on an Etruscan ruin from pre Roman times that the house was built over. Lord knows what was under the ruin.

 

[Benny Profane]

It hardly rains

And, thus, this is why millions have moved and will continue to move to, essentially, a desert, and then wonder why there is no water coming out of their faucet someday.
Somebody told me one time in Colorado that what they most missed from living in the northeast was the green. Living in dirt gets old.

 

[chumpomatic]

...where would you move? Why?

I'll go first.

North River, NY.

Why: Mountains, trees, rivers, lakes, fishing, mtb, hiking, wilderness, clean air and water, snow, nordic, BC, alpine, paddling, community, owls, otters, loons, roots, space. East coast. NY.

I like to believe that I can move anywhere. It's a matter of what I'm willing to give up, how I'm willing to live, etc.... It might seem nitpicky but it's important. I know some folks on this forum have just gone for it and dirtbagged for years at a time. I admire that.

That said, I think it's wise to have a relationship with place before moving there. Lately I've been spending a lot of time looking for places that I want to have long term relationships with in the coming years. (Thankfully these are not monogamous relationships!) We don't have kids, have some means, and retirement for me is probably a decade or less away. My ideal situation would be a place in a big city, and a place in the mountains (the French or Italian alps are the leading candidates right now). My wife and I have lived abroad both as a couple and before we met. For me having a place abroad is a priority as I wind down my life. In the meantime I'm really enjoying the research.

ps: I don't think we would ever give up our home in Wilmington. We both see it as our future home base in the US.