Definitely still cheaper than CA (Seattle: ski resorts, house, transfer)

[Omegaraptor]

Originally Posted by MrJester

I have skied several times before, including Big Bear, near LA, and Park City, Utah. Highly enjoy it, but if I ski, it would more be like a once a year, weeklong vacation in the Colorado Rockies. That's the most hassle free way. One plane trip to ski for seven days in a row vs. driving every weekend for three hours to the nearest ski resort that is nowhere as good as the Colorado Rockies.

Last time I checked, Seattle is not within a days drive within any Rocky Mountain Ski resort. Snoqualmie Pass is not on the level of any resort in the Rockies.

And no, I would not go to Big Bear again were I a serious skier. I'd save my vacation days to buy a plane ticket from Los Angeles to fly to Salt Lake City and do some world class skiing there than ski on some lame man-made hardpack snow in a puny Big Bear resort. Plane tickets to SLC from LA are very cheap.

Whistler is 4-5 hours from Seattle, isn’t it?

Whistler is huge, very well known, and comparable to Rocky Mountain resorts.

[Returning2USA]

Originally Posted by Stonepa

I have homes and work in the Bay area and Seattle. I wouldn't call either 'bad', but I would call them 'changed'. Population growth and the steady concentration of jobs means we are no longer living in the 1990's from a COL, traffic, and stress standpoint. This is typical all over the world. I'm frequently in Toronto, London, Paris, Beijing, etc for work. It's the same there as well. It's the price you pay for living there.

That being said, you could always live somewhere else. Contrary to popular opinion, the US South and the Midwest have just as high of salaries for the same work as does the coasts. COL, primarily driven by real estate, transportation, and food costs, is maybe 25% of what SoCal or Seattle cost. Sure, the weather may not be as good as SoCal for 4 months a year but the other 8 months are pretty spectacular. So, you make the choice. Don't complain about it as you can move any time you want.

It sounds like you have a very interesting job.

Curious of what you do.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by Omegaraptor

Whistler is 4-5 hours from Seattle, isn’t it?

Whistler is huge, very well known, and comparable to Rocky Mountain resorts.

Few would not drive 4 or five hours plus cross Canadian customs to ski every weekend. Would only do that once a year. At that rate most people would rather live somewhere cheap and take a two hour flight to the Colorado Rockies to ski for several days in a row.

[Gaylord_Focker]

This is relevant to me. Looking at relocating to OC or Seattle. Seattle burbs are definitely less than the OC

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

This is relevant to me. Looking at relocating to OC or Seattle. Seattle burbs are definitely less than the OC

Anywhere worth living, like in OC, will be about the same price as OC but with the bonus of higher property taxes in WA to make up for the (current) lack of income tax

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by MrJester

Few would not drive 4 or five hours plus cross Canadian customs to ski every weekend. Would only do that once a year. At that rate most people would rather live somewhere cheap and take a two hour flight to the Colorado Rockies to ski for several days in a row.

for those interested...

CO skiing from WA is nice with a direct flight to Aspen, or Steamboat...

Denver, !!! (halfway to Kansas)

You might find SLC, Boise, Reno skiing far more accessible

otherwise... consider Northern / Eastern BC or MT for 'long-distance' drive + Ski.

Spokane / Sandpoint are a tad closer.

[Stonepa]

Originally Posted by Returning2USA

It sounds like you have a very interesting job.

Curious of what you do.

We write a lot of code.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Stonepa

We write a lot of code.

lol

Hopefully its good code.

[Returning2USA]

Originally Posted by Stonepa

We write a lot of code.

Cool.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by MrJester

Few would not drive 4 or five hours plus cross Canadian customs to ski every weekend. Would only do that once a year. At that rate most people would rather live somewhere cheap and take a two hour flight to the Colorado Rockies to ski for several days in a row.

The border crossing is the time killer. A 4 hour drive, if that's all it was is not a big deal. We lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and would drive 3-4 hours to ski in the sierras (Tahoe area) and return home late the same day many times. Many people did it, and many more would stay the weekend. In fact we did that every Super Bowl Sunday, because there were no lines at the lifts.