Finding Home

Rent is fucking insane.

At this rate, you'd think that having a roof over your head is a privilege, not a basic human right.

I have no idea how I got so lucky to find a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment in Breckenridge that I actually can afford, has a full kitchen, washer/dryer, utilities included, and allows two cars. All I had to pay to move in was first month's rent and a very reasonable security deposit.



These days, when looking for housing, you'll see insane shit like this...

This is for an apartment in Frisco, Colorado:

"Very, Very, Very, Very Small Unfurnished 2 Bedroom / 1 Bath Apartment on Main Street in Frisco. If you are not looking for a small place, do not call on this add. One year lease begins June 1, 2016. HEAT IS INCLUDED!!! $1400 per month, plus last month rent, plus security deposit. Or $1500 per month with approved pet."

This place is listed at 500sq feet. I wonder if it even has a kitchen? Or allows vehicles? It's very likely that the maximum occupancy is 2. It is also common practice for landlords to charge a month's rent for security deposit, so we can assume that it will cost $4,200 to move in that very, very, very, very small unfurnished 2 bedroom. $4,500 if you have an approved pet. Welcome to Summit County! I wonder if I can offer up my first-born for housing when the time comes that I have to move?

I just renewed my lease. I am entering my third year of living in Stabbin' Cabin with Cobie and Gypsy. We love living here, we love our cool landlords, but the only thing is it's Breckenridge. It's out of the way. We honestly don't spend a lot of time here. We always snowboard at Copper and we work and spend a lot of time in Frisco. It makes much more sense for us to move to Frisco or Silverthorne, but we literally can't find a fucking place. 

I go to the local college here and a teacher was talking about the housing crisis here. She mentioned that many students received scholarships to go to our college, but they had to turn them down because they cannot find a place to live. People are losing out on valuable education that they could have gotten for free.

I started reading this great book called Downhill Slide by Hal Clifford. It's about why the corporate ski industry is bad for skiing, ski towns, and the environment. I live in a Vail-dominated world so that book immediately caught my interest. Holy crap, it's a great book and explains why there's so many fucking empty second homes and condos just sitting here. 

Apparently the ski industry is dying. There are no new skiers, they're getting older. The ski industry wants to keep making money, and they knew baby boomer's parents were starting to die off, so they built all these condos right at the slopes. The baby boomers who inherited money from their parents bought them and only use them maybe 5 days a year. Fun fact: The elk migrate through the Vail Valley. All these condos and development are blocking their migration routes and are also built right onto their prime grazing grounds.

I haven't finished the book, I am 150 pages in and I already would recommend you read that book, especially if you live in a ski town. Damn it, I need to move to a small, quiet ski town. Here's a great John Muir quote:

If it doesn't make dollars, it doesn't make sense! Isn't that right, Vail Resorts & greedy landlords?