Buying A Lot In Driggs

[NW Crow]

If you are thinking you would want / need a local job, check the pay rates. Besides the work situation, would you really want the small town life full-time? Any experience with it?

How much time have you spent in Driggs? Would you be OK with driving to Jackson WY or Idaho Falls for many things? Beyond basic shopping, lot of services that may nor be local and may or may not drive out if paid travel, entertainment, social life, airport, medical specialists, etc. Would you be a 2-3 times per week traveler, 2-3 times per month or less? Don't buy unless you are pretty darn sure you want to live there at the next life stage, whatever you envision that as. Some people plan for rural life but have no experience with it and don't end up wanting it after actually living it.

OK going from 250 restaurants in Bozeman to 26? The 26 is pretty good quantity and quality for a small town because lots of folks want to run a restaurant and / or find it to be one thing that maybe works because of tourism. Take anything and everything in Bozeman and cut it by 90-100%.

Political climate may not matter to some folks... until it does. Social climate matters to more. Different niches. Is your niche big enough? Are you confident you can get in and be happy with it?

[Mister Torgue]

I would not recommend buying property if you won't be building in 10+ years. I'd save that money and put it away in savings and build on it. Eventually you'll be ready and have a large chunk of cash to use to buy/build. You cannot predict what will happen in such a long time. I know it sucks but you cannot predict the future.

I was going to go the same exact route as you about 5 years ago. I'm glad I didn't. Because we found a great place we like back in May last year.

[WesternRockiesSkier]

Originally Posted by Cnynrat

You didn't experience Schweitzer at its best, it's been a really slow start to the season so far this year. That said, we do have a lot of lo-viz days. The recent rainy weather was unusual for this time of year. They say Schweitzer is an old German word that means "Can't see @&>/."

We thought about Driggs before settling on North Idaho. We like the forests here, so that sealed the deal for us. The abundant forests do come with wildfire risk, and that leads to frequent smoky times during late summer and fall. Something to be aware of if you ever consider moving up this way.

Buying land as a long term investment always has its risks. As others have pointed out various external factors can change which affect the value. In a suburban type environment I don't foresee that being a big risk, but you never know.

I don't know what the political environment is like in Driggs, but in general idaho is a place where property rights are highly valued, so I don't think it's as likely that you would see restrictions put in place that create huge barriers to building. The AG's office would take a dim view of that. BTW, I serve on the Bonner County Planning Commission, so I have a pretty good handle on how that all works here.

Dave

Dave, yeah, the conditions were not the best, but towards the end of my stay, they had about 8-12 inches of snow, which allowed the Lake View left to be opened for the first time all season, so that was nice.

I still haven't eliminated North Idaho. Would be sick to own a property at Schweitzer. Majestic to be able to ski down to my house.

[WesternRockiesSkier]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

If you are thinking you would want / need a local job, check the pay rates. Besides the work situation, would you really want the small town life full-time? Any experience with it?

How much time have you spent in Driggs? Would you be OK with driving to Jackson WY or Idaho Falls for many things? Beyond basic shopping, lot of services that may nor be local and may or may not drive out if paid travel, entertainment, social life, airport, medical specialists, etc. Would you be a 2-3 times per week traveler, 2-3 times per month or less? Don't buy unless you are pretty darn sure you want to live there at the next life stage, whatever you envision that as. Some people plan for rural life but have no experience with it and don't end up wanting it after actually living it.

OK going from 250 restaurants in Bozeman to 26? The 26 is pretty good quantity and quality for a small town because lots of folks want to run a restaurant and / or find it to be one thing that maybe works because of tourism. Take anything and everything in Bozeman and cut it by 90-100%.

Political climate may not matter to some folks... until it does. Social climate matters to more. Different niches. Is your niche big enough? Are you confident you can get in and be happy with it?

I won't be moving anytime soon (unless I have to switch jobs/economy tanking). I'm just trying to plan ahead. Always been a dream to have to a house in close proximity to epic skiing. I'm more into outdoor activities/active lifestyles than partying.

I have lived in college town pretty much entire life. Cities that have a population of around 45-50K. Never lived anything smaller than that, but I don't mind some peace and quiet.

Honestly, the restaurants in Bozeman are pretty bad due to a lack of workers. Too expensive for people to live here and work a service job, so there's always a revolving door of staff.

By the time I'm able to build my house, Driggs might be transformed into a "Jackson light" (wink). I do most of my shopping at Costo, so I wouldn't mind making the trip once or twice a month to Idaho Falls for that.

[WesternRockiesSkier]

Originally Posted by Mister Torgue

I would not recommend buying property if you won't be building in 10+ years. I'd save that money and put it away in savings and build on it. Eventually you'll be ready and have a large chunk of cash to use to buy/build. You cannot predict what will happen in such a long time. I know it sucks but you cannot predict the future.

I was going to go the same exact route as you about 5 years ago. I'm glad I didn't. Because we found a great place we like back in May last year.

I'm afraid that it will get too expensive, and I won't be able to afford anything. It would be nice to have something immediately, rather than waiting 5-10 years. Just don't want to get priced out. It seems like all the ski areas are getting discovered, and hordes of people are thinking the same thing.

[AnythingOutdoors]

Originally Posted by WesternRockiesSkier

I'm afraid that it will get too expensive, and I won't be able to afford anything. It would be nice to have something immediately, rather than waiting 5-10 years. Just don't want to get priced out. It seems like all the ski areas are getting discovered, and hordes of people are thinking the same thing.

Get into alpine hybrid touring. Take some avalanche safety courses, get the touring and safety gear, find some like-minded friends, and leave the expense and crowds behind. No outrageously priced passes. Best of all, lots of suitable terrain nowhere near resort towns with jacked up prices. Live in almost any mountain west city and earn your turns. So much flexibility.

And/or live in a city near less than perfect resorts. Bogus Basin is our local hill, about 30 minutes away. It's a non-profit, run by folks with a passion for skiing, they keep things simple. By acreage it's the second largest ski resort in Idaho. The snow is okay, not great. But good enough for us. These days I consider this a massive benefit, since we don't have people coming in from all over the world to ski here. I get 40-50 days without really trying. I go cat skiing if I really want powder.

Or... just move to Salt Lake City. Prime skiing within 1 hour of a city with plenty of jobs and somewhat reasonable COL.

[AnythingOutdoors]

Another option to consider, similar to my second idea above: Something like Chewelah, WA near North Idaho. 49° North Mountain Resort is about 15 minutes up the road and it's pretty decent. Not crowded. The town is small, but housing is reasonable. See this house (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5...08184904_zpid/) listed for $250k. It needs work, but if you're willing to put in the sweat equity you could fix it up over time. The usual warning applies about jobs and pay in small towns, so you could live a bit further south (e.g. Deer Park) for access to jobs in the Spokane area while still being close to a ski resort.

Not trying to dissuade you from buying a lot, just giving a bunch of different ideas to consider.