Living somewhere near the mountain ranges (Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho)

Check out Bend, Oregon.

 

These areas, Jackson, Sun valley, are extremely expensive. Turns out the rich folks really like mountain views for their holiday homes.


The way to get around the extreme expense is to live in the middle of nowhere, but at that point, amenities are hours away. If you find a nice town / city with beautiful mountain views, a good hospital and grocery store that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg, let me know.

And then yes, they are, for the most part, extremely white, that far north. That being said if you look around NM, southern Colorado you will large Hispanic populations. Denver probably has the highest % of black people.

 

unless you are remote which is likely ..your choice will need to be denver for work..

denver is a bit blah but does have a racial mix..it has best buy and target and normal "city" stuff..
living in sticks is an undertaking I would keep to bnb for a month first. i have been looking at bnbs and in general in usa you can get something decent for family of 4 for 2k -$2500

i would do that way before moving anywhere and i would try to give it as much as 90 day test if could.

also why not fly to denver if you are ok with covid..flights there are 100 roundtrip. even less than that mid week. go scope get a rental car and decent hotel for under 80. as single you can do the whole trip for 2 days scope for under $300. i know lots of people that will go on own for few days.. its cheap. you can drive to wyoming too

 

Are you really familiar with the winters in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, The Dakota’s? Winter is over half the year. If you don’t like extreme snow and cold, then you can rule out all of the places I listed.

Colorado is possible but it is expensive and in most places are not loaded with minorities.

 

FWIW Colorado is mediocre in my experience. It has some beautiful scenery but lacks any real culture and is quite boring.

 

My understanding is the "natural pristine beauty" isnt as natural or pristine as it used to be relative to other places mentioned.

Maybe good, maybe bad, depending on what you are looking for.

 

No it isn’t as pristine as people think. It has had pollution issues as well. I have a friend that owns a ranch outside of Denver.

There are worse places to live, it is just a very boring place when it comes to personality and culture.

 

@Outlier

We go to Colorado annually for a few weeks. I can say at first you definitely are awed by the scenery and everyone seems happy, you know.

but after a number of years the scenery somewhat wears off... the “dryness” gets to you (May be personal... will describe below), you realize a lot of people can be real douchey there (sorry don’t know how else to describe it), etc. I’d definitely agree with @Nook comment about it being potentially boring. It is a little ... I guess plain vanilla (not necessarily a race thing just a saying). I mean I’d describe its culture as a “Subaru” culture, lol, whatever that means.

Still is take Denver over Houston anytime. Not over Austin though where I live.

that said... my wife loves the mountains. I’ve learned that I need/want some kind of water. So we’re really considering the PNW.

I know you are currently I. Awe of the Rocky Mountains, but the PNW has insane mountain ranges, too. Of your choices id say Denver is obvious ... but I’d choose Seattle probably over it. Depends on your tolerance for low sunshine.

Finally... look.. Texas is cool. Parts of all the cities are nice. Austin is a solid place to live. But yeah if you’re about the outdoors, nature, weather that doesn’t try and melt you nonstop for 3+ months, a beach or coast scene that is legit amazing (as opposed to the very meh that is the Texas gulf coast, no offense). Obviously to each their own. Just for me, some places are just better.

check out/research:
Olympic National park
North cascades national park
Mt. Rainier
Mt. Hood
Columbia River Gorge
Seattle
Portland
Bend
Coastal Oregon/Washington
San Juan Islands

 

It's highly dependent on location



This area that I circled is arguably the most "pristine" in mainland America, water and air quality is extremely good due to topography and lack of development. Of course, the Denver area has significant pollution, but Park, Summit, Grand, Eagle, Pitkin, Lake, and Chaffee counties are as pristine as this country gets.

Personally, I think these areas are extremely beautiful, but amenities are very slim picking outside of Aspen, Breckenridge, Silverthorne, which are astronomically expensive areas to live.

 

everything this guy said. And I’ve lived in Montana and spent a lot of time in Wyoming and a fair amount in Idaho. I LOVE Montana, but I wouldn’t want to be a minority there, and the lack of ethnic food available is a constant bother.

 

Salt Lake? I have never spent an extended amount of time there. My wife has a girlfriend from there though and for business I have been there a number of times.

The Mormon church controls Salt Lake City. If you are not a practicing Mormon, you will be at a huge disadvantage. Utah is very pretty though.

 

Park City is the happening mountain town outside of SaltLake @Outlier

 

Utah is very safe, especially such an affluent area like that, you might have a hard time making friends, people might stare, but I don't think you'd be in much danger for being black if that's why it worries you.

There are tons of mountain towns in this country, that you could look into all day. It comes down to your job, your budget, your proximity to amenities, your willingness to be frozen for half the year, and coming from Houston, accepting a much less diverse environment. There tons of very beautiful places in this country, like I mentioned earlier, they are just extremely expensive and mostly inaccessible to ordinary people.

Bozeman is another mountain city that is very nice, the economy is doing well and you'd probably have a good opportunity to find a decent paying job, but, living expenses are very steep.

 

Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the surrounding national parks - its called Gods Country for a reason.

 

you’d have to research both. I suspect it’s as safe as any big city. Both it and Portland.

weather wise, total rainfall is not extreme. Instead from Late a September into April and it’s often overcast, and there is a lot of drizzle. It rains frequently just not in high quantity. Conversely.... summers are insanely amazing.

I’m personally not big on super cold lots of snow winters. I wouldn’t be out and about much in that... so I’d be ok with somewhat cold and overcast. Granted Texas probably has better winter weather if you don’t love cold.

 

I haven't found the crowd you're concerned about in the areas with beautiful views and outdoor activities. Those places see tourists so it's normal.

I've personally only experienced problems because of the way I look (outside of Houston) in really small towns where there's practically no one visiting. And, I was only there for work or passing through.

But, Colorado's the way to go if you value the big city outdoor activity combo. If that's not an interest don't sleep on Montana