Tag: Real Estate

Posted on

What Were Frisco and Copper Mountain Like Before the Great Recession?

Part One: Summit

With the help of our knowledge bank, you can choose for variations in your new neighborhood by:

An excerpt from Book Three in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams.

5-Year Time Frames — 2003 – 2008

What about Frisco and Copper Mountain Resort?

Comparing lifestyle changes over the next five year period, what happened?

Shouldn’t you expect a similar abrupt change in community neighborhoods?

Source: Google Maps

First of all the Dillon Reservoir separates Dillon and Frisco by 6 miles and the route takes under 15 minutes to drive.

But the distance between Breckenridge and Copper Mountain resorts, 21 miles by car on 1-70 and CO 9, may take 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic and road conditions.

Getting there takes time, but if you could travel as a crow flies, you’d soon discover their ski runs share opposite sides of mountain peaks  fairly close together.

I-70 delivers you within minutes of Copper’s entrance.

Will that fact make a difference over the ensuing five years?

Location At-A-Glance

Region: Western United States

Google Maps

State: Colorado

Travel Region: Northwestern Colorado

County: Summit County

Patchwork County: Monied Burbs

Town: Frisco — Copper Mountain, Copper Mountain Resort

Population Density: Town and Country

Real Estate Phase: Early-Maturity

Zip Codes: 80443

Profile At-A-Glance (Summer 2008)

Life Stages: Singles, Couples, Families, BabyBoomers, EmptyNests, Midlife,

Ages: 20-29, 25-54, 30-44, 45+, 45-65

Community Neighbors:

Wireless Resorters

Premier Resorts – WRPR

09M1T1, Big Fish Small Pond, 45+, Couples, Affluent Empty Nests, Accumulated Wealth, Landed Gentry (Mammoth Lakes, CA)

05F1T1, Country Squires, 45+, Family, Accumulated Wealth, Landed Gentry (Lake Arrowhead, CA)

Maturing Resorts — WRMR

11Y1T1, God’s Country, 30-44, Couples, Midlife Success, Landed Gentry (Boulder, CO)

23Y2T2, Greenbelt Sports, 25-54, Mainstream Singles, Country Comfort (Aspen, CO)

Distant Exurbans – WRDE (Declined, Evolved or Moved)

48Y3T4, Young and Rustic, 20-29, Striving Singles, Rustic Living (ParkCity, UT)

You’ll find out a little later that Frisco and Copper Mountain “lost” their only Distant Exurban lifestyle.

Those 20-29 year old singles used to rustic living – 48Y3T4 “flew” to Breckenridge and Durango in Colorado,  Incline Village in Nevada, Truckee, South Lake Tahoe, Bishop in California and to Whitefish in Montana.

Not only that, unlike Breckenridge, two community neighbors with four core lifestyles did not change.

Why?

Or why not?

Did the Great Recession treat the mountain communities differently?

Highlights and Headlines.

Winter 2007 – 2008

Arresting Development Copper Style

Photo: Visual Hunt

Snowball Trial

SNOWBALL. FIGHT. ARREST. Colorado. Copper Mountain. A seasonal worker from Australia is scheduled to go on trial Thursday for allegedly injuring an acquaintance when he launched a snowball at her last season at Copper Mountain.

High Alpine Bowls, Not Enough?

Backside Of The Mountain Preserved For Wildlife

MOUNTAINS.WILDLIFE. Colorado.  Copper Mountain Resort has begun to open portions of their high alpine bowls on the backside of the mountain preserved for wildlife.

Environmental Report Card vs. Development

Photo: Pixabay

Copper and Breck on Bottom of Environmental Report

Top 10 ski resort scores, by score 1. Aspen Mountain Ski Resort – Colo. A 88.9 2. Buttermilk Mountain Ski Resort – Colo.

IntraWest owns Whistler, Copper and Steamboat.

MOUNTAINS. VAIL RESORTS. INTRAWEST. Colorado. Vail.  Bill Jensen, the top executive at Vail Mountain and president of its mountain division, is leaving Vail Resorts to work for rival ski company Intrawest that owns Whistler, Copper and Steamboat.

Base Area Redevelopment Plan

Density, parking and transportation will be some of the key topics as the Board of County Commissioners starts to scrutinize Copper Mountain Resort’s latest base area redevelopment plan at a 1:30 p.m. work …

10-Story Hotel

Copper Mountain’s proposal to concentrate density in the core of the resort includes preliminary plans for a 10-story hotel on the site of the existing Chapel parking …

Leadville to Minturn

Photo: Visual Hunt

Interstate 70 Is Closed At MM 195

Westbound Interstate 70 is closed at MM 195 due to multiple accidents. An alternate route is to use Highway 91 from Copper Mountain to Leadville and then take Highway 24 to Minturn.

Leapers and Super Pipes

Photo: Visual Hunt

Main Vein Super Pipe

Copper Mountain’s Main Vein Super pipe will be closed Monday, Feb. 25, re-opening Friday, Feb.

Leap Day Take The Day Off And Ski And Ride Day

Today, leap day, Copper Mountain Resort is holding their first annual National take the day off and ski and ride day or N.T.T.D.O.A.S.A.R.D. Leapers get to ski for free, while everyone else just gets to play

Summit County Community

Summit High School Alpine Team

Coach Tory Hauser was pleased with the Summit High School alpine team’s performance in Friday’s giant slalom at Copper Mountain, even though the Tigers were unable to top the podium.

Fundraising For Summit Community Care Clinic

Summit Community Care Clinic will be holding its first ever major fundraising event on March 8 from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Copper Mountain Conference Center.

Spring 2008

Season Passes Lowest Possible Prices

Season passes for three of Colorado’s favorite resorts –

” Winter Park, Copper Mountain and Steamboat, all of which have enjoyed incredible snow this season – ” are available for the lowest possible prices …

Which is Worse?

Photo: Visual Hunt

Bicycling Accidents, Snowboarding Emergency-Room Visits

Not counting bicycling accidents, snowboarding injuries accounted for a quarter of all emergency-room visits related to outdoor sports injuries in 2005-2005, according to a new federal report.

What’s Right Around the Corner?

Summer Music Acts, Cycling, And Running Events

Copper’s Summer schedule features national music acts, cycling, and running events.

Summer 2008

Run the Rockies

Colorado. Copper Mountain.  Frisco.

Photo: Visual Hunt

Johannes Rudolph celebrated his 43rd anniversary of being alive by winning Run the Rockies Saturday in Frisco with a time of 1 …

Half-Marathon Is 75 Percent Downhill

COLORADO. MOUNTAINS. SKI-TOWNS.  Colorado. Copper Mountain. The half-marathon is 75 percent downhill and the Tenmile Creek is 100 percent downhill.

Just Like That

Surprise Road Closure

Denver Water closed our road without communicating with anyone in Summit County, the towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne, Dillon, Montezuma and the Keystone community.

Cross Promotion Beery Good

Promotional Use Of The Resorts’ Logos By MillerCoors

MillerCoors LLC has reached a joint marketing deal with Colorado’s Copper Mountain and Winter Park ski resorts that includes event sponsorship and promotional use of the resorts’ logos by the brewer.

Master Plan Development

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Copper Mountain’s Development Proposal

Tenmile Planning Commission hearings on Copper Mountain’s development proposal When: Wednesday and Thursday, 5:30 p.m. Where: Ptarmigan Room, Copper Mountain Conference Center.

Master Plan With 600 New Residential Units

The Tenmile Planning Commission gave Copper Mountain Resort the green light to build nearly 600 new residential units under a reconfigured master plan.

Fall 2008

What About Jobs?

Local Job Fair

The Frisco Workforce Center and the Town of Silverthorne will host a free job fair this Thursday from noon to 5 p.m. ‘We had a steady group of …

Reduce and Realign

Photo: Visual Hunt

Intrawest Will ‘Reduce And Realign’ Its Workforce

MOUNTAINS. Colorado. Copper Mountain. Intrawest announced Wednesday that it will ‘reduce and realign’ its workforce, but the Canadian-based resort company did not specify if any of the cuts would be felt at Copper Mountain.

Intrawest – Think Global, Act Local

10 Ski Resorts In Canada And The United States

Intrawest owns or manages 10 ski resorts in Canada and the United States, 16 resorts and “villages” in Canada, the United States and France and both Canadian Mountain Holidays Heli Skiing and Whistler Heli Skiing.

Solitude, Squaw Valley, Mammoth Keystone, Copper and Winter Park

Intrawest is best known as the developer of mountain villages in Whistler BC, Panorama BC, Blue Mountain ON, Mt. Tremblant QC, Stratton VT, Mountain Creek NJ, Snowshoe WV, Solitude UT, Squaw Valley CA, Mammoth Lakes CA, Keystone CO, Copper Mountain CO, Winter Park CO and Arc 1950 France.

Developing Or Re-Developing “Villages” June Lake And Steamboat Springs

Intrawest is also currently developing or re-developing “villages” at June Lake CA, Steamboat Springs CO

Mountain Resorts By The Numbers

The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition Rates 53 Of The 83 Resorts

MOUNTAINS. SUSTAINABILITY SCORECARD. Colorado. Utah. The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition says that region-wide, 53 of the 83 resorts it reviewed this year boosted their scores, but seven received failing grades.

Colorado Copper Mountain’s “F,” Expansion And Real Estate Development

The resort with the lowest score was Colorado’s Copper Mountain, which ranked at 31.9 points for an “F,” the coalition said. Copper Mountain’s score was almost entirely due to an expansion of terrain and real estate development, coalition research director Hunter Sykes said.

Colorado’s “A” Aspen Mountain to “F” Copper Mountain

# Name Grade

1 (A) Aspen Mountain Ski Resort 85.7%

20 (F) Copper Mountain Ski Resort 31.9%

The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition. Intrawest Ski Areas

# Criteria Maximum Points Awarded Points

10 ski areas totaling 21,913 acres of skiable terrain.

# Name Grade

1 Copper Mountain Ski Resort 31.9% (F)

2 Steamboat Ski & Resort 61.1% (C)

3 Winter Park Resort 48.9% (D)

Winter 2008 – 2009

Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Business Could Drop Between 5 And 15% This Season

The leadership of the Aspen Skiing Co. anticipates business could drop between 5 and 15 percent this season.

Practice, Practice, Practice

U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix

MOUNTAINS. SNOWBOARDING GRAND PRIX. Colorado. Copper Mountain. Halfpipe superstars from across the globe have descended upon Copper Mountain this week in preparation for the season’s first U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix coming up …

Part Three:

Steps:

25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.” 

28) Which lifestyles profiled in the western resort towns during 2008 – 2009 remained five years later in 2013-2014?  Which disappeared entirely? Why? Which new lifestyles emerged, grew or moved in to shift the neighborhood mix? Have longtime locals been forced out by escalating property 

30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.

 

 

Posted on

Chains that Bind – Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and No Snow

It verified the drip, drip, of snow melting and sliding off brown wood shingles would not turn into ice cycles any time soon.

 

Winter Road Trip in the Easter Sierras
But one year, the highway patrol flagged you down at a blinking yellow light to check out your chains with one of those abnormally long flashlights they always carry.

 

An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.

Part One:  Mammoth

Part Two: What Was Mammoth Like Before the Great Recession?

5-Year Time Frames

2009-2014

By the fall of 2010, with the help of local business owners, the Village had seen a resurgence of new restaurants and stores.

But, if you and the Swall Meadows family had Googled “Mammoth Real Estate Market” in 2011, you would have come across links to realtor blogs discussing foreclosures and distressed properties.

In August Jeff Warwick reported on the sales of bank-owned (REOs), foreclosures, pre-foreclosures and short sales.

  • Of all those closed 2011 sales, 89 of them were distressed (REO’s or Short Sale) transactions.
  • 43.4% of all 2011 fell into the distressed real estate category.
  • He pointed out that only 5% of the listings are distressed, but 43% of closed sales are distressed.
  • And nearly 1/3 of all closed sales were cash buyers — a market indicator that the investor-buyer accounted for a stronger component.

Wikipedia picks up the story thread:

The California Court of Appeal, Third District, affirmed the judgment in December 2010, and the California Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal on March 23, 2011.

On Monday July 2, 2012, Mammoth Lakes filed for bankruptcy in the face of the judgement.

Later the same year, the bankruptcy was dismissed as a result of a settlement between the town and their largest creditor.

Having guessed right all those years, maybe we were due for a Thanksgiving-like winter in February of 2012.

Bad news for the rest of the family, but not so bad for me because I hadn’t fully recovered from my skiing accident surgery.

Sure, I’m easy with solitude, but even I can catch cabin fever.

Upstairs there’s a loft between the third bedroom and second bathroom.

Where the bunk beds accommodate the younger and single family members

Usually you can look directly out through the top window across from the bunk beds to see snow laden fir trees giving way to streams of snow blowing off the mountain peak.

Only this year, not so much.

Yes, lots of snow packed the upper third of the mountain.

But in town not so much.

Even the black pavement, often treacherous at night with black ice patches, dried to gray.

There’s a huge round thermometer in the glassed in porch overlooking the hot tub where we dip into a winters supply of firewood,.

It verified the drip, drip, of snow melting and sliding off brown wood shingles would not turn into ice cycles any time soon.

You couldn’t grab the green disc or red plastic sled out of the closet to slide in the deep snow   on the two stage slope along the side of the condo complex.

Well you could, but you wouldn’t make much progress.

Unless you slid a foot, hopped up and ran to the next patch sat with your feet and knees pulled up for the next two feet, and so on and so on.

But the lack of deep snow meant one thing.

Another off road adventure exploring the area on the opposite side of the turnoff to Mammoth Lakes.

We backtracked on Meridian Blvd to where it dumped into CA 203 (or Main Street in town) turned right and drove to US 395 intersection.

Winter Road Trip in the Easter Sierras

In years past we collectively held our breath, arriving near or past midnight in our SUV at that intersection.

During a normal snow season roadside signs told you you needed to put on your chains before you could climb the final hill into the town and your condo.

We wanted to take our chances each time.

But one year, the highway patrol flagged you down at a blinking yellow light to check out your chains with one of those abnormally long flashlights they always carry.

Reluctantly I flipped open the hatchback.

Grabbed some gloves and a flashlight.

Pulled out the rear tire chains and fumbled for 45 minutes fastening them.

Not noticing that the blinking yellow check point closed.

Oh well.

Other years, having learned from my ordeal, we’d shell out the going rate to locals for installing our chains, while we stayed warm inside listening to the final songs on our road trip playlist.

But enough about that.

Part Four:  Stuck in the Middle with You

Steps:

25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.” 

28) Which lifestyles profiled in the western resort towns during 2008 – 2009 remained five years later in 2013-2014?  Which disappeared entirely? Why? Which new lifestyles emerged, grew or moved in to shift the neighborhood mix? Have longtime locals been forced out by escalating property 

30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.

 

Posted on

Lunch Over a Hotly Contested Cold Case

“We all have our moments when we wonder what the hell we’re doing, why we’re doing it, why we’re doing it here … and then something like this happens and it all becomes perfectly clear.“

 

Eluding Sheriff Deputies like a kid soaping neighbors’ windows on Halloween she sneaks her way closer to her home.

 

Putting Mary aside, ever since I wrote the three-chapter series, I’ve wondered what happened to the Round / Swall Meadows survivors.

Who knew I’d get closer to finding out what it was like by simply picking up a copy of The Sheet for February 10, 2018.

The Sheet was founded in May, 2003 by Jack Lunch and is independently owned and operated.

Which is about five years before the Great Recession.

And, during our original 2003 – 2009 Time Frame.

Hmmm.

If they have an online version, I can follow my own “Step” and update Mammoth profiled in The Knowledge Path series:

25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.”

Yup, I found their Monthly Archives.

It made it easy for finding out the back story you almost always miss in extended weekend visits or vacations chock full of Easter Sierra outdoor adventures.

Or …

30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.

Let’s see.

I discovered as publisher and editor Jack “writes a lot of page two’s.”

And, they’ve got a Facebook Page in addition to their website.

That’s where I noticed yet another coincidence.

Comments. “Thank you for writing this. I was hoping you would write about your experience, and you didn’t disappoint. Great read. And … sorry about your house.

Today Jean told me about the fire. You know I had to see what you had written in The Sheet. You didn’t disappoint. Glad to read everyone made it out ok. Now I’ll keep you in my prayers that everything goes according to your wishes.

I am curious will you rebuild? Mother nature may take ten years to rebuild the beauty that once was Swall Meadows. Then again the beauty in Swall is more then just the trees. God Bless you all.”

And that’s what I’ve been curious about, too.

Like randomly trying to solve a cold case after all these years.

Straw-Bale House Construction

Like the family who lived in their house built using an environmentally friendly straw-bale-construction method “living in their forever house,” the editor lost his home in the Swall Meadows Round Fire.

Jack, if that’s his real name (and not “Ted Carleton – Jack of all Lunches“) devoted a “Page 2” to his ordeal.

Oh, and, what’s up with the scandals and degree of truthiness in that part of the Eastern Sierras?

Is there been something in the Rock Creek water?

Headlines and Highlights

Time Frame 2015 – 2020

Winter 2015

Page 2: The year of the goat (saver)

Jack Lunch. “Pretty quiet week …

Most of you know that mine was among the many homes burned to the ground in the Round Fire.”

How can you not learn a lot about surviving from such a horrendous ordeal?

Jack realized something was up, something way out of the ordinary when he and his two-year old ran into a road block near Tom’s place on Lower Rock Creek Road.

The Swall Meadows mandatory evacuation.

He can’t get through on his cell to his wife still in Mammoth at Snowcreek.

Lunch. “So I drive back to get her.

One of us needs to rescue our animals (three dogs, a cat and two goats).

And I know my wife well enough to know she’s gonna make it happen, evacuation order be damned.

She drives down like a bat out of hell to Tom’s Place – well, as much as one can be a bat out of hell in a Honda Element.”

There’s a secret route known only to locals, the forest service access road down the hill.

Lunch. “It’s bumpy and rutted and thank God she’s got all-wheel drive and pretty good clearance.

Her cellphone is dying.

It’s getting darker.”

Eluding Sheriff Deputies like a kid soaping neighbors’ windows on Halloween she sneaks her way closer to her home.

Lunch. “The Sheriff’s Deputy sees her and lights up his siren – bloop bloop.

He yells something to her she can’t understand.

She replies with “I know, I know.” He tells her to “come here.” She yells

“No way!” and takes off running.

He’s got to drive down and around.

In that time other units are mobilized as well.”

Stealthily she ditches the authorities.

She finds her neighbors figuring out how to scoop up and save their livestock too.

Her luck changes.

Busted.

But, his wife explains how now she’ll load up the animals and evacuate.

Lunch. “My wife tells him, ‘I don’t know the law. I do know I’ve got about 15 more minutes of light.’

She tells him she’s going to load up the animals and go.

At this point, he softens a bit and asks what he can do to help.

She tells him to come back in ten minutes.

By that time, she’ll be ready and will need some muscle to lift our large-ish pregnant goat into the back.”

But, things turn ugly in a flash.

It couldn’t get worse for her in the moment of crisis.

The first sheriff’s deputy she outsmarted appears with only one intention.

And that wasn’t to volunteer to help her.

Lunch. “He keeps asking for her I.D. and she keeps telling him to wait.

Finally, he tells her to turn around and put her hands behind her back.”

But to arrest her.

She manages to escape once more into the sanctuary of her home and locks the deputy out.

Lunch. “Law enforcement had no choice but to leave.

The neighbors came running over right after (Brian and Janet, heroes both) and it took the three of them to get the pregnant goat inside.”

“My takeaway from this event is not in mourning all the relics of my past that have burned up, but in celebrating the present and future of the land and the people whom I love so much.“

31) Do your due diligence so you don’t regret your decision after it is too late. If you plan to move, invest in real estate, work, start a business or retire affordably, you are making a longer-term commitment. Drill down with city-data.com.

And, in this case, nose around a little more until you find Jack’s accounting of the hidden costs for clean up not covered by fire insurance policies.

Page 2: More than $141,000

Lunch. “That was the final tabulation of what it cost to clean up my property, burned in the Round Fire in Swall Meadows.

Others have received similar bills.

What was initially estimated as a $2.2 or $2.3 million project was ultimately a more than $5 million project.

To put this in perspective, when I was debating whether or not to sign up for the state-contracted cleanup, my friendly insurance adjuster recommended I shouldn’t, citing an estimate he received from a Bishop-based contractor who said he could clean up my lot for $15,000.

That’s a pretty serious discrepancy.

Or consider this. I sold the lot two months ago for $115,000.

I just received a letter from the Mono County Assessor, who, citing the fact that the fire-ravaged lots all now have a clean bill of health, recently restored my former lot to its pre-fire valuation of $125,000 – still well below cleanup cost.

According to the terms of my insurance policy, Farmers will cover $20,000 of the cleanup, leaving $121,000-plus to be footed by my fellow citizens of the State of California.”

Steps:

25) Compare what “life” was like in those communities before the Great Recession, how resilient each was during the economic downturn, and to what degree did each bounce back after with any “economic hangover.”

30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.

31) Do your due diligence so you don’t regret your decision after it is too late. If you plan to move, invest in real estate, work, start a business or retire affordably, you are making a longer-term commitment. Drill down with city-data.com.

32) Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months. Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity – with only a week or two vacation time to spend, we recommend organizing your itinerary by travel regions.

Posted on

Swall

“This is our forever house,” the wife said. They even kept in mind the possibility of becoming infirm as they age. “We built it with one story so we can just roll in our wheelchairs,” she said.

Winter Road Trip in the Easter Sierras
In this case a Gen-X couple in their mid- to late- 40s with a 9- year old  son lived in the rustic, remote community.

 

An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.

If on our return trip to our epic, awesome suburban life in Southern California we had taken the scenic route, we would have discovered Swall Meadows.

U.S. Highway 395 in California’s Eastern Sierras

Instead of jumping on US 395 again, we could have taken Crowley Lake Drive from Tom’s Place and headed towards Bishop on what becomes Old Sherwin Grade Road and Lower Rock Creek Road for about 7 miles.

I first read about Swall Meadows in the Fall of 2010.

The LA Times used to print a financial planning column.

Basically, volunteers divulge their current economic and lifestyle situation.

If selected, a financial planner meets with them and assesses their goals, evaluates the gaps and challenges that would keep them from retiring the way they want to and prescribes a change in habits in the best possible way.

In this case a Gen-X couple in their mid- to late- 40s with a 9- year old  son lived in the rustic, remote community.

In this small neighborhood their neighbors overwhelmingly own their own primary or secondary homes.

Swall Meadows, California

Swall Meadows, however, is large enough to warrant its own Wikipedia page:

There were 128 housing units at an average density of 28.7 per square mile, of which 90 (91.8%) were owner-occupied, and 8 (8.2%) were occupied by renters.

The 2010 census counted 220 living the outdoor-loving life that only the four Eastern Sierra seasons can bring.

Zip Code 93514

One that Dave McCoy fell in love with in Independence, on McGee Mountain, while developing Mammoth Mountain and ATV-ing in the canyons, foothills and mountain trails surrounding Bishop.

While Swall Meadows falls within the Bishop zip code, 93514,  the downtown Bishop area is about 21 miles south (and Mammoth Lakes is roughly 25 miles north.)

 

Our financial case study couple commute to their jobs in public education.

  • There’s one major fuel cost that’s not in keeping with their green lifestyle. 
  • Mostly because husband and wife each commute two hours, round trip, to jobs, they spend a combined total of $250 a month on gasoline.
  • The family’s main source of income is the $65,622 annual salary the husband earns as a high school math teacher in the Mammoth Unified School District. 
  • His wife brings in an additional $13,000 a year as a special-education teacher’s aide for middle-school children.

Swall Meadows, in southern Mono County sits within just under 5 square miles below Wheeler Crest at about 6,500 feet above sea level.

Without any commercial enterprises, other than a firehouse near the meadow, it it’s primarily a residential community just southeast of  the “old Sky Meadows Ranch” and northwest of the Pinyon Ranch development

Mountain Peaks Surrounding Swall Meadows

The seasonal views are to die for — there’s Mt. Tom and White Mountains on the east of Owens Valley.

Wikipedia adds:

Mule Deer

It is also well known in the area as an important deer migration route for the Round Valley Mule Deer population, which cherish the grazing in the meadow and apple falls from the old orchard trees.

A year after the financial makeover article, in 2011, to protect the migrating deer, the Eastern Sierra Land Trust brought an additional 104 acres of the meadow area near an historic homesite under the control of a conservation easement.

No wonder the teachers chose the location to build their home in 2005.

They found …

Swall Meadows Willows and  Streams

permanent and seasonal streams and the eponymous meadow with wetter-habitat vegetation such as Jeffrey pines, willows, stream and bog orchids, and the remnant trees of the old commercial apple orchard. 

Sometime in 2000 or 2001 the couple became a family and put down roots.

In Swall Meadows they constructed and completed, for the most part, a 1,200 square foot, two- bedroom home by 2005.

The LA Times article described it as an …

Straw-Bale House Construction

environmentally friendly straw-bale-construction method — in which thick walls are built around the bales, which provide insulation — helps keep the 1,200-square-foot home’s electricity bill at an average of about $28 a month.

Five years later the financial planner revealed how they got by on a disciplined, frugal budget living just seven miles from where my son wanted to find out how he could live in a place like there.

Their total budget came to $4,000 a month including the mortgage payments on their $270,300 home.

Also included in it were:

  • $250 a month for fueling their commutes
  • $90 a month on propane for cooking and to heat water.
  • $28 for electricity
  • $40 a month for basic cable

They willingly cut corners to live in their pristine community.

They grow their own food, as much as they can.

Cost-Cutting Measures

Without a clothes drier, they simply fall back on the more traditional way — hanging clothes outside, even in winter.

Why buy new clothes, when you can find bargains at thrift stores, even ski outfits?

If you live in a mountain paradise, why take vacations, except to visit friends and relatives?

When they do, they make a point of camping in national parks to enjoy Mother Nature’s wonder and save on lodging.

What keeps the couple up at night?

Steps

(30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.

Posted on

Eco-topia

Some of us were stumped for a while trying to figure out something about “Birds of a Feather,” and two more clues, “Father Serra biting off more than you can chew and Red Ryder.”

Father Serra at the San Juan Capistrano Mission
Neighbors matter. If you plan to move, invest in real estate, work, start a business or retire affordably, you are making a longer-term commitment.

 

An excerpt from Book Three in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams.

Colorado Dreaming!

In the summer of 2003 we played a “Where’s Waldo” game described in the “Journal of 2020 Foresight.”

Clues to Find Waldo

He’s in a destination that the local Indians called “Healing Water“ for the thermal springs that became a popular spa in the 1800s. 

Naturally Heated Hot Springs

He says this place is known for the water that reaches 153 degrees Fahrenheit. 

It also heats some of the town’s buildings.

We also know the location is surrounded by a national forest. 

The area enjoys abundant recreational activity supported by the melting snow flowing into summer lakes.

Some of us were stumped for a while trying to figure out something about “Birds of a Feather,” and two more clues, “Father Serra biting off more than you can chew and Red Ryder.”

But we recalled …

Legend of Swallows Flocking to the Mission in Capistrano

“The swallows returning to Capistrano – San Juan Capistrano, near Dana Point in California. 

But Red Ryder doesn’t make sense and the last set of clues stumped us for a while – ‘the basic math of howling in the water that runs both ways?’

Splitting the Difference at the Continental Divide

Remember when we discussed gold and silver mining and dividing the shares. 

Think about it. 

Where does water run both ways? 

At the Continental Divide. 

That’s the basic math.”

So the destination, we reasoned, must be near the Continental Divide in the San Juan National Forest, but where?

Well, we reviewed the winter ski resorts and considered the springs – as in Steamboat and Glenwood.

Steamboat Springs

But, not there!

Finally.

Pagosa Springs – about 20 miles from Wolf Creek – fits a quality-of-life profile we pursued.

Where the Clues finally make Sense

“Pagosa Springs … The Colorado You’ve Always Dreamed Of.” 

Pagosa Springs during the Winter

It made the Colorado “innovation – growth” list along with Basalt and Redstone.

But, just exactly where is Pagosa Springs?

San Juan National Forest

In southwestern Colorado surrounded by the San Juan National Forest.

Two US highways bisect the region – US 550 cuts through the forest along the north / south, while US 160 divides along the east / west axis.

Southern Colorado’s Pagosa Springs

A game is one thing.

But to keep it on the bucket list, how does it stack up against the quality-of-life criteria for an innovation resort town?

Does it offer a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities?

Check.

Play in Pagosa

Year round recreational opportunities satisfy lovers of fishing, hiking, bicycling, rafting, hot air ballooning, skiing, ice-skating and snowmobiling.

Hiking and Biking Trails

Mountains, canyons, waterfalls and unusual landforms give life to wide variations of vegetation.

Scenic Water Falls

“Covering 1.9 million acres in southwestern Colorado, lies the San Juan National Forest, with elevations in the forest range from 6,800 feet at Junction Creek to 13,000 feet at Wolf Creek near the Continental Divide, and over 14,000 feet at Mount Wilson in the Lizard Head Wilderness.” 

Do the weather patterns in winter or summer make you want to live there year round, or only on a seasonal basis.

Melting snow flows into summer lakes.

Summer in Pagosa Springs

For ski enthusiasts, a 23-mile trek brings you to Wolf Creek Ski Area on US 160 at the top of aptly named Wolf Creek Pass.

How much falls in the winter?

Winter Fun for the Whole Family

Better investigate.

Does it have potential over the long-term to develop into a high appreciation real estate investment while being affordable for mid-life or empty nesters?

At the time, Pagosa Springs claimed one of the more trend-setting neighborhoods – New Eco-topia.

But as often happens the resource we used changed their lifestyle categories and then were acquired by another company.

In 2003 we searched the Claritas PRIZM website for New Eco-topia as well as for Blue Blood Estates, Money and Brains, God’s Country, Gray Power or Young Influentials – the other neighborhood growth lifestyles.

Keep it on the list for now.

We’ll have to research our own updated neighborhood lifestyles fitting “Wireless Resorters” and “High Country Eagles” profiles we’re pursuing…

Adventures of Red Ryder

When we move, will our established neighbors share our same values?

Unknown at this point.

Great excuse for a road trip to find out.

You might want to check out the Red Ryder museum too.

If you plan to move, invest in real estate, work, start a business or retire affordably, you are making a longer-term commitment.

Pagosa’s Neighbors

Neighbors matter.

Community norms around “outsiders” and “development” matter.

Do your homework.

Or you may live to regret your decision.

Nothing replaces spending a vacation getting to know “the locals” during two seasons – summer and winter.

Steps:

(29) Investigate each community’s local attitude towards development. Is there a fear that someone, usually from outside of their community, state or country will be tempted by the raw natural beauty and try to develop it into an exclusive, high-end resort destination?

Posted on

Pristine

“Qual·i·ty of life — the degree of enjoyment and satisfaction felt in everyday life.” 

Celebrating the Moment
How to make healthy, wealthy and wise choices for living, loving, working, playing, investing and retiring in vacation communities.

An excerpt from Book Three in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams.

Follow your passions.

Why not?

Nobody can follow your passions for you.

Don’t stop there.

Choose to live anywhere you want.

Preserving the World

“In wildness is the preservation of the world.”  Henry David Thoreau.

The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.

In case you forgot just what that is …

“Qual·i·ty of life — the degree of enjoyment and satisfaction felt in everyday life.”  

The West.

Live, love, work, play, invest and retire anywhere you want.

From the Desert to the Mountains to the Sea and all the Pristine Rivers, Lakes and Islands in Between.

Western Skies and Island Currents!

Winter in the mountains and summer at the beach.

Snowboarder Performing Jump Silverton, Colorado, USA

The story of the Wild West celebrated a spirit of adventure.

Starting over with new beginnings full of promise.

Fueled by dreams of striking it rich.

We have a rich history of mining and panning for gold nuggets in the West.

Making a life based on ingenuity, resourcefulness and self-reliance.

Back then, whenever travelers met each other on the road, they swapped info about the places they came from and asked questions about places they were going.

But for us, every day we follow the rules.

Go to work.

Keep our nose to the grindstone.

Marry our sweet hearts.

Raise our children.

Save for their college education.

And, finally retire sometime off into the distant future to a glorious second half of our life.

That’s the way it’s supposed to be, but one day everything changed.

Employers shipped our jobs overseas.

We worked longer and longer in jobs we couldn’t stand.

But, at least we had a job.

But, the stress piled on.

And on.

Because of that we had to escape.

If only for a vacation.

There’s nothing quite as all-American as a road trip…

especially in the West, where a wealth of culture, natural beauty and excitement unfolds before you. 

What is it about traveling back to nature?

Where you feel most inspired?

Where the yellow aspen do that shimmering dance beside the deep green of the lodgepole pines.

But, there’s a dark side to vacations.

We notice our predicament when we return to work.

Are we who we really, really are when we keep our head down with our noses to the grindstone?

What about those expansive western skies?

The majestic mountain peaks?

The rushing babbling creeks and brooks?

The taste of salt in the air along the coast?

We keep those nagging questions at bay.

Maybe bubbling up only occasionally in dreamland.

Until finally we wake up and realize we don’t live in our bubble any longer.

We make a commitment to ourselves.

We can make healthy, wealthy and wise choices for living, loving, working, playing, investing and retiring in vacation communities.

Where we feel the most alive.

Steps:

(21) Spend the time to find the best places to live and invest. It will be worth your while. The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.

 

 

 

Posted on

Resort

Rafael told me on one of our earlier trips that they had grown tired of Hawaii, where they had run a restaurant for years.

Cabo San Lucas
“When is this real estate bubble going to pop?”  

 

Words of wisdom from Harry Dent.

“Spend the time to find the best place to live and invest. It will be worth your while.” 

From the days of the original beachfront resort – the Hotel Hacienda Beach Resort, in a sleepy little fishing village – the number of hotels rooms available has exploded.

In the 5 years prior to 2003 they almost doubled.

Sun Setting on Paradise

A clear sign back then that Cabo had passed the “Innovation” stage and entered the 10% to 25% breakout “Growth” phase.

It’s easy to see why, watching the sun setting, overlooking Medano Beach and the Sea of Cortez?

Or sitting at a bar table underneath the azure blue umbrella on the patio, steps away from the lower pool.

Relaxing Pool Side

The word on the street estimated it would take 15 years before Cabo hit world-class resort development status – moving through “emerging and rapid growth stages.”

But, the word around the pool in casual conversations was actually a question.

“When is this real estate bubble going to pop?”  

Dent projected it to begin sometime in 2009, more than 5 years away.

In the evening I walked up a dirt lined street and a short hill to the pink restaurant, Casa Rafael’s, between the Hotel Hacienda and Marina Sol.

Time to Dream New Dreams

Ah, this is the life, isn’t it?

It’s real easy to fall in love with a tropical resort.

Syncing Your Bio Rhythms

Once your bio- rhythms synchronize with the pace of life and the prevailing trade winds, you can see why resorts top the list of nine types of places to invest in, can’t you?

After interviews with David and Johnny over at the Pueblo Bonito Pacific Resort I was introduced you to our dinner’s hosts — Rafael Arraut’s wife and brother.

I had heard rumors that the owners came to visit Cabo San Lucas some time in the 1980s and never left.

They opened the restaurant in the early ’90s.

Rafael’s brother mentioned the same 15-year period David did earlier, but when I asked him what he’d do after Cabo became too developed for his tastes, he said, “Move to Cuba.”

Explosion of Growth

When it comes to resort areas, these guys like to get in at the innovation or early growth breakout stage.

Casa Rafael’s

Rafael’s brother regaled us with fishing stories on pristine beaches and ultra friendly people.

It turns out his family is from Cuba.

And that may be why, in addition to the six course meal, they offered Cuban cigars.

Beginning a Six Course Meal

Rafael told me on one of our earlier trips that they had grown tired of Hawaii, where they had run a restaurant for years.

Cabo at Night

When we finished, Rafael’s wife suggested we take the taxi, instead of walking down the hill above Medano Beach to the Marina and Sancho Panza for Jazz entertainment.

Steps:

(9)) Conduct a preliminary marketing study of the top 4 or 5 favorite places — focus on the intersection between ease of acceptance and degree of support for your Mobile KnowCo.

An excerpt from Book Three in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams.

Posted on

Lifestyle

“Where do you really, really want to live, work and play?  Why not live where it’s a vacation all year round?”

Live, Love, Work and Play
In a tropical paradise less than 1000 miles from the U.S. Mexican border, enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, great food and drink –

Start over.

Where can you go to make a fresh, new start?

Don’t limit your imagination.

Think anywhere — across the globe.

Where do you really, really want to live, work and play?

Why not live where it’s a vacation all year round?

Why Not Live Where Others Visit for Vacations?

At the beach, of course.

Like 30 – (or 40–) something, Charlie Harper.

On “Two and a Half Men” – when it was funny.

He chose Malibu Beach in California.

As television shows go, it was an upgrade to Pawnee and Eagleton.

Right on the beach next to Pacific Coast Highway with a killer view of the Pacific Ocean.

A magnet for attracting all those younger, single women to his bachelor lair.

Oh, and an attraction for his alimony-paying, suddenly single brother – Alan the divorced-father of Jake.

Where the Land Ends and the Fun Begins

Or, how about something less expensive, say Cabo San Lucas?

In a tropical paradise less than 1000 miles from the U.S. Mexican border, enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, great food and drink –

“where the land ends and the fun begins” – 

where you can golf, fish, snorkel, swim or dive, kayak, surf or sail.

It was there where I interviewed David and John, who wanted to be called Johnny, in the Pueblo Bonita’s lobby for “The Journal of 2020 Foresight.”

Johnny’s story sounded similar — the golf and fishing drew him originally from Boston.

Boston

You see a lot of midlife transitions — a divorce, kids living with their mothers, or a split from an empty nest.

But, after a while of living in the Cabo fast lane, they settle down a little and find a line of business to fill some of the hours in the day.

David said he came down from Toronto a few years ago and stayed.

Toronto

He bought a place next door to the resort, which will overlook a planned golf course.

He told me that he and a partner had figured out and patented a bridge repair process that took off and allowed him to partially retire.

He purchased 4 or 5 timeshares, including one of the two sister resorts.

David took me on the tour and showed me how they built the place so no room will be blocked from the gorgeous Pacific Ocean and beach view.

Although the surf is rough and no one can swim at their beach.

But the meandering blue tiled pool with swim-up bar more than compensates for that sacrifice.

The rooms with luxurious tile, top of the line furnishings and expansive patios speak to their affluent market.

So Johnny from Boston and David from Canada — two refugees from the cold weather– what my retired parents in Florida used to call “snowbirds” — migrated to Cabo.

They’re now what we’re calling Wireless Resorters.

At midlife they flock to resort boomtowns in exurban towns and satellite cities.

Luxury Lifestyle

They’re often middle-class, with some college education under their belts.

They pursue a lifestyle heavy on leisure and recreation.

Many of resort boomtown residents are twenty-something singles and couples just starting out on their career paths – or starting over after recent divorces or company transfers.

As consumers, the residents in these segments score high for outdoor sports, movies and music, fast food and inexpensive cars.

Steps:

(8) Sit down with your spouse, partner or friends and write up your bucket list of places.

An excerpt from Book Three in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams.

Posted on

Life On Your Own Terms

 

“Contrary to local belief, Aspen is not recession-proof.”

Sidewalks, holes and habits: Where can you find an authentic quality-of-lifestyle you want and deserve?

 

An excerpt from Book One in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find more meaning and passion in your life.

These were the nagging questions that launched my journey. 

  • Where can you live an authentic quality-of-life? 
  • Why does the meaning of life elude you as you pass through time?

From “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters,” by Portia Nelson from her book, “There’s A Hole in My Sidewalk.”

I

I walk, down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in

I am lost … I am helpless

It is my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place,

but it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk, down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in … it’s a habit

my eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

Where’s your sidewalk taking you?

Are you …

  • Going through the motions?
  • Stuck in a rut?

Is it time to launch your journey on a new and different path?

  • What are your alternatives for becoming unstuck?
  • Where can you find an authentic quality-of-lifestyle you want and deserve?

One with financial appreciation that can secure your future?

If you’re like me you still haven’t shaken off the far-reaching effects of the Great Recession.

We all know friends and family members who suffered.

You pinched pennies.

Went without for so long, that you feel guilty with each little splurge .

“Dessert?” 

“No thank you. Wait … No.”

Before 2008 the world looked much brighter.

But by the 2008–2009 winter ski season, even the local Aspen, Colorado papers reported …

“Contrary to local belief, Aspen is not recession-proof.”

Their real estate was no longer a billionaire’s market, Mariah Carey’s Ski Chalet not withstanding.

Bernie Madoff’s scandal (remember him?) even scorched local affluent residents.

Times change.

The world looks as bright as then, but then few of us anticipated the next recession. Or the opportunities it brought.

You don’t want to mortgage your family to the hilt, only to lose everything.

But, you deserve so much more.

  • Who would turn down more money?
  • Or a little more prestige?
  • Feel a little more at peace with yourself?
  • Travel in certain circles?

This is a great time to sit down with your spouse, family, or friends and really consider how you can get ahead and where you would want to live.

And just plain enjoy yourself.

Just play a little more.

 

Proudly powered by WordPress