Mammoth Lakes and Bishop Area... Looking for some information (Los Angeles: low income, for sale)

[njg86]

My girlfriend and I are looking into the Mammoth lakes/Bishop area. We have been doing our research on the area but I am looking for some more basic information. Cost of food, Gas, Taxes, Electric, Basically all the essentials for every day life. We understand Apartments are going to be around $600-800 a month, But we also found a couple of mobile homes for sale($20,000 range) which we are considering pending we can get a mortgage.

We will be Re-locating from Tampa,FL. We do not currently know another soul in that exact area, but we do have friends in San Fran, LA, and The grand canyon.. Although getting away from everything we know is apart of the experience. We are both going to be turning 25 in the earlier part of 2011, What is the typical age of the locals in Mammoth lakes/Bishop? Here, most of the people are elderly.

Another question I have is how big is the Mammoth Lakes airport?

Any comments on the area or anything we should know ahead of time will be greatly appreciated, Looking for anything about the area.

[.highnlite]

If you ski, climb, hike, mountain bike you are moving to paradise, if you don't do these things, there isn't much else. Mammoth and Bishop have a young vibrant outdoorsy athletic culture. It is about as far from Florida as Paris is from a Texas cowtown.

People from the East have a tough time understanding the following, there is a 3,000 foot elevation difference between 4,000 ft Bishop and 7,000 ft Mammoth, they are two completely different environments. In the Summer you can reach Stockton CA in about 100 miles, in the winter, 3-400 miles. There are no passes over the Sierra open in the winter between Tahoe and Tehachapi somewhere around 300 miles.

There is commercial service into Mammoth, usually, but it is a small airport.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by njg86

My girlfriend and I are looking into the Mammoth lakes/Bishop area. We have been doing our research on the area but I am looking for some more basic information. Cost of food, Gas, Taxes, Electric, Basically all the essentials for every day life. We understand Apartments are going to be around $600-800 a month, But we also found a couple of mobile homes for sale($20,000 range) which we are considering pending we can get a mortgage.

We will be Re-locating from Tampa,FL. We do not currently know another soul in that exact area, but we do have friends in San Fran, LA, and The grand canyon.. Although getting away from everything we know is apart of the experience. We are both going to be turning 25 in the earlier part of 2011, What is the typical age of the locals in Mammoth lakes/Bishop? Here, most of the people are elderly.

Another question I have is how big is the Mammoth Lakes airport?

Any comments on the area or anything we should know ahead of time will be greatly appreciated, Looking for anything about the area.

Why Mammoth Lakes, Bishop?
What line of work are you two in?
Do you have jobs lined up?

You can get gas, fuel and utilities information online easily.

What you you mean by "big" of an airport?

[njg86]

Originally Posted by Charles

Why Mammoth Lakes, Bishop?
What line of work are you two in?
Do you have jobs lined up?

You can get gas, fuel and utilities information online easily.

What you you mean by "big" of an airport?

A job opened up for her there, she works in the Airport. What I mean by "big" is higher volume. Coming from Tampa International Airport where thousands of people fly through a day, thats considered big. A couple hundred would be "small". I myself are not into a set career as of now, Ive been doing mechanic work for the last 2 years and have done it for 2yrs in the past. She has a Job lined up and I will have to find something when we go.

What is more cost effective to live in, Mammoth lakes or Bishop? Is there another town in that area we are missing that is less than a Hr to the airport?

[.highnlite]

You are looking at a part of the state that resembles Wyoming or Montana more than the rest of the state. It is an isolated wild area. Bishop lies in the worlds deepest valley, the mountains rise 10,000 feet on either side.

There are 4 soakable hot springs within 5 miles of the airport. The airport is essentially a private plane field with some skier flights coming in from Los Angeles, last time I checked. Towns? Mammoth and Bishop are it, unless you want to commute south over Deadman Summit or from Big Pine. Remember, the drive from Bishop entails a climb up Sherwin Summit, a steep several thousand foot climb from 4,200 feet to near 7,000 feet.

Mammoth airport lies at 7135 feet. Density Altitude mis judgements kill pilots from low elevations there.

The area is a raw wild land. Sierra peaks rise to 13,000 feet within a few miles.

The airport sits in Long Valley Caldera, which is rising at about an inch a year, and will be the site of a major volcanic eruption any minute (geologic time).

There are a number of settlements with cabins to rent, Tom's Place, Rock Creek, Rovana.

The area is god's country, if you are outdoors people, if you aren't the winters are unlike anything back east, coming in October and staying until May. Mammoth Mountain Ski Area tries to stay open until July 4.

It is possible for Bishop to have lower rents, but, you will eat up your savings on the commute, it is surprising how much gas you will use climbing Sherwin summit.

[Count David]

Gas will always be a lot in comparison to the rest of the nation and even CA.

Unspectacular apartments in Bishop might go for $600-$800. That price might get you a condo for a weekend in Mammoth.

I don't think it'd be too easy to get a $20,000 mortgage on a trailer. Trailers that cheap in Bishop will also have lot rents, which might almost cost the same as an apartment.

The median age in Bishop is 40.5. The average age in Mammoth is 34.3.

Judging from your post, you really need to visit the area. Bishop is a small town, miles from anything but great views. Not much to do but drink and do drugs, besides the outdoor stuff of course. The town is pretty darn working-class.

Mammoth is upper-crust/trust-fund central. The playground of the wealthy from SF and LA. A place for upper-middle class CA'ians to ski. A very beautiful place where I've seen snow on the ground in June. The only poor (or regular) people you'll ever see there come up from Bishop (not exactly a short commute) to work in its restaurants and Vons. Mammoth's middle class probably makes low-to-mid six figures in a year. I'd imagine the airport is laughably small in comparison to TPA.

Bishop it is, or will likely be (there isn't much else nearby, Lee Vining, perhaps?). An hour commute each way for her (sans snow), and you hoping to break in somewhere in Bishop. Good luck, most people don't get the opportunity to live/work in an area like that.

[1200RT]

Where to start?

MMH is a signal runway, hard surface airport, runway length is about 7k, off the top of my head. Much smaller than Tampa. Mammoth gets daily flights (Horizon and United) from LAX, SFO and SJC. United operates CRJ700's (maybe 200?) and Horizon operates Bomb Q400's. Both aircraft carry +/-70 people ..... and there are only a handful of arriving flights a day. If MMH sees a couple hundred people a day, on average, I would be very surprised. I've been flying in/out of MMH well before commercial service, and I haven't noticed a difference in air traffic, meaning its not all that busy.

I lived in Mammoth Lakes for several years (early 2000's). It is definitely not an inexpensive place to live, due to high prices for resort goers. There are only a handful of gas stations in town, so expect to pay $3.50+ for regular fuel. This isn't a huge deal if you live in town (mammoth lakes) because there isn't a whole lot of driving to be done. Fuel in bishop will be less expensive.

I cannot comment on housing prices, but there is a decent amount of "reasonable" housing for resort/support staff.

Work for you ..... Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) is the major employer in Mammoth (obviously). They are usually hiring mechanic type positions to work on any number of stuff they operate (snow cats, chair lifts, light trucks, etc). The town of Mammoth Lakes employs mechanics as well. Other than that, there are *maybe* 4 auto repair shops in town, so work may be slim.

On the automotive note - you WILL need at least 1 4x4 vehicle. It snows A LOT in the eastern sierra. This holds ESPECIALLY true if you're commuting from another town to Mammoth. Whats nice, however, is that the airport is outside of Mammoth Lakes, so your wife won't have to get up into town to get to work.


IF you decide to live in Mammoth, be prepared to pay for it - not just in housing. There is ONE grocery store in town (ralphs, i believe). Would you keep prices competitive if you had the only food store? Nope. There are no "general" stores (kmart, walmart, target). Be prepared for bimonthly trips to KMart (Bishop) and/or Target (Carson CityReno, NV) to get things that you need.

Look into Lee Vining, Bishop, Crowley and Mammoth Lakes. PLEASE keep in mind, Bishop looks like only 35 miles on map, but its a HUGE grade. If the weather sucks (almost all winter), it is a huge drive, and sometimes required snow chains or dedicated snow tires to get up the grade.

With all that being said, its a wonderful area to live in. Quiet, low crime, etc. Just know what you're getting into - you're thinking about moving to a VERY remote part of the state. I got cabin fever living there, but that was before I could fly and there was no commercial service at the time. Carson City is the only real "city" in the area, and thats a 4+ hour drive (could be longer, i dont remember).

Good luck.

[njg86]

Everything I just read sounds discouraging. But I suppose that is the reality of the situation.

She said she found an apt 4 miles from the airport for $650 a month. Living that close to the airport, would $2,000-3,200 a month be enough to survive(aside form our existing bills already). And being 4 miles from the airport, what is my commute going to look like to find some work?

[njg86]

Also, what is going to be my best bet to find work? And what amount of pay should I expect?

[1200RT]

4 Miles from the airport is probably Crowley. Off the top of my head, the closest residential areas in the town of Mammoth Lakes are at least 5 miles to the airport. $650 for the area seems extremely low for the area. Keep that in mind.

Commute shouldn't be a big deal, keeping snow in mind.

I don't know what your expenses are, but I know there are a fair amount of people that live in the area that live off low incomes from the resort. It is possible. Keep in mind heating costs .... its chilly.

I dont know how qualified you are, but as i said, there are mechanic jobs in the area. For example, it looks like MMSA is hiring a lift maintenance tech, which is a good job, if you don't mind working long-ish hours.

Career Opportunities

I don't mean this as rude, but you'll have to do you own leg-work to find a job.


What are you goals for this move? Its kind of an odd area to pick to relocate to, especially because it seems like you don't know much about the area.