Why Warren Miller, Why?

[Erik J]

Justin, I lived in Aspen from '96 to '98. I loved every minute of it. There was a HUGE local scene - not just rich transients. If you are still following a culinary career path, it's a great town to be in. I felt I had the best of both world's while there. Aspen has really great restaurants in an outdoor minded community. It can be expensive but I lived right in town making not a whole lot of money. I took my job to get a foot in the door and worked my way up and it was one of the best working experiences I've had, with FULL benefits and a four mountain season pass included. I think one would be hard pressed to find a mountain town with that much culture.

There are quite a few different housing options - the farther you get from town the less expensive it gets. I would assume it's still about the same. There were free shuttles taking people down valley pretty far. Basalt & Carbondale aren't all that far from this world class town.

Visiting first (like others have said) would be your best bet.

[Guest GeoffG]

...the town always seemed like it was the place to be, but I had always been here in summer or winter, never after the leaves fell. I didn't realize just how much the local vibe that this town has was dependent on the tourists . We need a town that is obviously better during the main seasons, but still has a community and some distractions between seasons...at least a gym to go to to keep occupied, maybe a music shop so I can learn a new instrument or ANYTHING.

I can understand this, which is why I'd choose a town with other industry, so it's not completely dependent on the resort. Here in BC, we have some towns (like Whistler) which have developed around the ski area--basically there was nothing there before the resort was built (actually, the current Whistler Townsite is built on the old town dump...). Other towns (like Rossland and Nelson, both in my area) have long histories, and are simply complemented by their respective resorts (which are, mind you, absolutely tiny compared to Whistler...). While Whistler is kinda dead during "shoulder" season, stuff is happening the "real" towns year round.

[Allee]

Good luck Justin. Just don't be like the tour guide I had in Italy - an English girl who went to Italy for a summer vacation, and went home six years later to get her clothes...

Or a New Zealander I knew who went to Canada to see what it was like, and has now been there five years and counting.

[Justin A.]

I think we've found a place to live! It's in downtown Telluride, $1600/mo + utilities. It's a penthouse suite on top of one of the condoplexes(steal heat from the lower floors), 270* worth of windows (passive solar heat), 1br + loft....now to find out what pay looks like out there to see if we'll be able to afford it .

I'm shopping Aspen a little bit too now, thanks to what Erik J had to say.

[Steve Prokopiw]

When we were moving to Vail back in the day the tradeoff was a little less pay for a little less rent and alot more convenience with our original commute since the free shuttle system was already well established there.Even when we moved 37 miles west to buy a house it was much less money and a faster drive (with no bottleneck in traffic)than it would have been to be 30 minutes from Aspen.In the Aspen area I would have done a bit better in with instructor pay but it would have been outweighed by the cost and location of lodging.I can guess that is similar now

between Telluride and Aspen if you found such a cool place available close in .Also,Aspen is less isolated from a bigger town(Glenwood),but not nearly as beautiful as Telluride in it's surroundings.

As others have said nothing like going in person to feel the vibe and get a sense of what strikes you as the right decision with so many tradeoffs possible.

[willywhit]

don't rule out Vail. Lots of restaurant jobs, can live 20 minutes away and get cheap decent housing in Avon.Ride at Beaver Creek,study under Dr Hart and you'll be close to Bomber.

[RDY_2_Carve]

I've been to both...

Telluride is a small town, amazing mountain views, and a super nice mountain. My biggest complaint would be the lifts. It seems like you have to take 3-4 lifts to get to the top of that mountain, but at least they are all high speed. OTOH you can take very fast-short runs on the mid mountain lifts. They also have some amazing backcountry/bowls as well. Other close ski areas worth mentioning are Durango and Silverton ( ).

Aspen is very pretty but not quite the same spectacular views. The town of Aspen definately seemed bigger and it's not in the middle of nowhere like Telluride is. I'd say Aspen has the better terrain with the four mountain choices...especially for carving. Aspen would definately be my choice for carving, plus the benefit of SES being there every year is a huge bonus. I'm sure Aspen has some nice bowls/backcountry but I can't vouch for it. Close ski areas around Aspen...Summit County anyone?

Views: Telluride

Industry: Aspen

BFE Factor: Telluride

Carving Terrain: Aspen

Lifts: Telluride marginally (Aspen still has some slow lifts)

Backcountry/Bowls: Telluride

Annual Snowfall: Aspen

Other ski areas nearby: Aspen, but Silverton near Telluride is a HUGE boon

Crowds: Telluride easily but Aspen lift lines aren't too bad with the four mountain choices. As a local you would probably get first tracks and be done by 10am anyways.