# Best US cities to live for frequent snowboarding?



## TallKat (Nov 15, 2019)

I live in Portland and we go up every weekend - and sometimes during the week for night ski -- drive is about 1.5 hours. There are shuttles.. not sure about all of them but at least one i know is about $25-$30 round trip. There are also meet up groups where you can meet someone and hitch a ride. I like Portland, moved from Atlanta in 2013 -- I have friends that live in Denver that love skiing but never go anymore because they say because of traffic it takes 2-4 hours to get to the resort. one way. As far as cost of living.. i think if you are open to roomates you can find a place for 500-600 a month ... also public transit in town is pretty great - i didnt have a car for 4 years.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

If riding was my only concern and I wanted to live in an urban environment, I would live in the Salt Lake City. Epic terrain, ton of resorts <1 hour drive, night skiing options. I'm not super hyped on SLC overall as a place to live, but if you want to live in a City and your primary goal is to snowboard as much as possible, no better spot.

Portland or Seattle are options with <2 hours drives. Vancouver if you can get a work visa.

I like Denver as a town, but think it's super overrated as a home base for snowboarding. I-70 traffic is a shit show, the resorts are crowded, and the terrain is meh compared to other options in Western North America (in fairness, I've never ridden A-Basin and that spot sounds like more my speed in terrain and vibe).


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## TallKat (Nov 15, 2019)

also just to add ... we dream about being able to live near some sweet spots in Montana or Idaho ... so could be some good options there as well.. with cheaper cost of living ... resorts we love in MT and ID are ... Brundage - Silver Mountain - Snow Bowl Montana -- loves of great spots with no lines,


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## micaelaf (Mar 9, 2019)

TallKat said:


> I live in Portland and we go up every weekend - and sometimes during the week for night ski -- drive is about 1.5 hours. There are shuttles.. not sure about all of them but at least one i know is about $25-$30 round trip. There are also meet up groups where you can meet someone and hitch a ride. I like Portland, moved from Atlanta in 2013 -- I have friends that live in Denver that love skiing but never go anymore because they say because of traffic it takes 2-4 hours to get to the resort. one way. As far as cost of living.. i think if you are open to roomates you can find a place for 500-600 a month ... also public transit in town is pretty great - i didnt have a car for 4 years.


Thank you so much! Appreciate all the info, Portland is actually my 1st choice.
What is the best season pass for the PNW? I have an epic now but is not good for Oregon, was looking into the fission but for some reason there aren’t any passes for 2021 on sale.


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## micaelaf (Mar 9, 2019)

kimchijajonshim said:


> If riding was my only concern and I wanted to live in an urban environment, I would live in the Salt Lake City. Epic terrain, ton of resorts <1 hour drive, night skiing options. I'm not super hyped on SLC overall as a place to live, but if you want to live in a City and your primary goal is to snowboard as much as possible, no better spot.
> 
> Portland or Seattle are options with <2 hours drives. Vancouver if you can get a work visa.
> 
> I like Denver as a town, but think it's super overrated as a home base for snowboarding. I-70 traffic is a shit show, the resorts are crowded, and the terrain is meh compared to other options in Western North America (in fairness, I've never ridden A-Basin and that spot sounds like more my speed in terrain and vibe).


 Thank you! I love Utah and powder mountain is one of my favorite spots but I don’t think I’ll enjoy living there all year round.


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## TallKat (Nov 15, 2019)

micaelaf said:


> Thank you so much! Appreciate all the info, Portland is actually my 1st choice.
> What is the best season pass for the PNW? I have an epic now but is not good for Oregon, was looking into the fission but for some reason there aren’t any passes for 2021 on sale.


I dont know what the best pass is. We generally always go to Meadows (season pass) - hands down best terrain on Mt. Hood. -- only go to Timberline about once a year and thats usually in the summer. But I alot of people say Tline is pretty mellow and can be boring. SkiBowl is good for midweek night skiing (bc its a little bit closer than meadows and they have ladies night -$20) ..but poor skibowl this year was only opened like a few weeks.. its the lowest resort elevation wise.. so they open a bit later and close earlier.. 

We also go to Bach a couple times a year in Bend.. but pay day pass rates or find some sort of day pass discount in town during stoke season (sept-nov)

anyways thats all i know about PNW boarding -- have never been to Crystal or Whistler or Alpental (sp?) but they are on the list


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

TallKat said:


> I dont know what the best pass is. We generally always go to Meadows (season pass) - ...
> 
> anyways thats all i know about PNW boarding -- have never been to Crystal or Whistler or Alpental (sp?) but they are on the list


And that is all there is to know about PNW


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

kimchijajonshim said:


> If riding was my only concern and I wanted to live in an urban environment, I would live in the Salt Lake City. Epic terrain, ton of resorts <1 hour drive, night skiing options. I'm not super hyped on SLC overall as a place to live, but if you want to live in a City and your primary goal is to snowboard as much as possible, no better spot.
> 
> Portland or Seattle are options with <2 hours drives. Vancouver if you can get a work visa.
> 
> I like Denver as a town, but think it's super overrated as a home base for snowboarding. I-70 traffic is a shit show, the resorts are crowded, and the terrain is meh compared to other options in Western North America (in fairness, I've never ridden A-Basin and that spot sounds like more my speed in terrain and vibe).


Everything this guy's said. I've lived in Denver and currently live in Boulder. Both are good places but over priced and overrated when snowboarding is concerned. Yes there are several mountains closeish but with traffic you're looking at 3 hours each way... This is when something like bad weather or accident isn't a factor otherwise it's worse.

I lived in RI and was excited to move back west to Colorado to go snowboarding again. I grew up in Salt Lake from age 12 to 24... Snowboarding there was never more than a 1hr drive typically 40min. Definitely not the same experience in Denver/Boulder. I miss salt lake! I loved it there both for snowboarding and in general.

From latest post looks like you made it out to salt lake. Congrats!


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

By the way if you get a chance you need to hit up power mountain in Ogden area. It is not part of any of the multi resort passes. But it's worth paying a day pass there. The experience is amazing!


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## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

Redacted missed year


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## Powdertrax (Jan 28, 2018)

I would say no where in Washington State, unless that is you enjoy these types of lines.


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## Jkb818 (Sep 28, 2019)

Definitely don’t move to Utah. [emoji1304]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

The boarder on the near left has the right idea--just take it off and stand.


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## Apex (Sep 23, 2021)

Donutz said:


> The boarder on the near left has the right idea--just take it off and stand.


tbh it looks like every boarder in the picture has taken their board off


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## MountainMystic (Apr 24, 2019)

Powdertrax said:


> I would say no where in Washington State, unless that is you enjoy these types of lines.
> 
> View attachment 159890


Reasons to Buy a Split-board.


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

Anywhere near large ski resorts is okay IMO. However, that also needs to line up with your work situation too. I moved to Denver 2 years ago to be near the mountains and having more job opportunities. I also considered SLC before moving. With that being said, my goal is working towards a more flexible work schedule career and have more passive income so I don't have to work as hard and can retire early.


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## RobPowderjunkie (Oct 7, 2021)

micaelaf said:


> Hey guys, I apologize if I am posting in the wrong place, is my first time posting here, if so, please feel free to send me in the right direction.
> 
> So I've been living in New York for 5 years and this past winter was the worst, barely any snow, all ice, I am ready to move to a city with access to better mountains but I am not sure where.
> 
> ...


hi! Just curious, what kind of work wouldn´t allow you to live in a small mountain town? If you said you can´t afford a car for the moment, then why not moving directly to a mountain town if snowboarding as much as possible is your goal?  I just say this because living in the city and taking public transportation / resort shuttle to get to the mountain is a pain in the ass.... it would just make everything more complicated.....for snowboarding purposes I mean


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

RobPowderjunkie said:


> hi! Just curious, what kind of work wouldn´t allow you to live in a small mountain town? If you said you can´t afford a car for the moment, then why not moving directly to a mountain town if snowboarding as much as possible is your goal?  I just say this because living in the city and taking public transportation / resort shuttle to get to the mountain is a pain in the ass.... it would just make everything more complicated.....for snowboarding purposes I mean


I for example is an electronics engineer. I have to have access to lab equipment to do my work.
If I knew I would start snowboarding, I would have picked a different career. Something software based so I don't have to be physically there to do my work.


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## GregT943 (Apr 1, 2019)

Become a fire fighter. Very condensed schedule. I do 24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 hours on, 5 days off. It's a 48 hour work week condensed to 3 days. Those 3 days are exhausting and can be brutal, but it allows me to have plenty of time to live life and do the things I love. I drive up to my little one bedroom condo and snowboard for that 5 day break, then I drive home for my shifts, and just repeat the process. The wife works in tech so she can work remote anywhere. Best job in the world and couldn't imagine doing anything else, not only is it enjoyable and rewarding, it allows you to have plenty of time to live life and have hobbies. Just make sure you don't live in a "right to work for less" state.


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

MountainMystic said:


> Reasons to Buy a Split-board.


some of the formerly "back-country" areas are almost as crowded as this now-a-days.. (slight exaggeration to make a point)... there really is no escape from over demand for the resource

There is also this threat to every place:








Snowpack Change From 1982 to 2016 Over Conterminous United States


Annual maximum snow mass decreased significantly by 41% on average for 13% of snowy pixels over western United States Snow season was shortened significantly by 34 days on average for 9% of snowy p...




agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

GregT943 said:


> Become a fire fighter. Very condensed schedule. I do 24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 hours on, 5 days off. It's a 48 hour work week condensed to 3 days. Those 3 days are exhausting and can be brutal, but it allows me to have plenty of time to live life and do the things I love. I drive up to my little one bedroom condo and snowboard for that 5 day break, then I drive home for my shifts, and just repeat the process. The wife works in tech so she can work remote anywhere. Best job in the world and couldn't imagine doing anything else, not only is it enjoyable and rewarding, it allows you to have plenty of time to live life and have hobbies. Just make sure you don't live in a "right to work for less" state.


That is pretty cool. I didn't know that is the kind of schedule firefighters have. I would imagine it's pretty intense when you are working.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Become a writer. Learn to like cat food.


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## GregT943 (Apr 1, 2019)

speedjason said:


> That is pretty cool. I didn't know that is the kind of schedule firefighters have. I would imagine it's pretty intense when you are working.


Out west they tend to work 56 hour weeks for some reason, but same idea, still a condensed schedule. It can be very exhausting, as sleep on those nights on shift is a luxury. Usually you can grab a couple hours in between runs at night, but often you get no sleep. Pay is another thing that varies greatly between departments and states. Some departments have 6 figure base salaries for fire fighters, and others are below or close to the poverty line. It's the best job and allows me to snowboard 60+ days a year and also mostly midweek when it's not crowded.


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## Prizzle78 (10 mo ago)

What department do you work for?


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## RiceCake (4 mo ago)

idk id feel as if salt lake city be nice to live in. if you work remote, then steamboat


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