One thing I like about the ski hill in my not-really-a-mountain-town is that pretty much anyone I ride with lives here too. If they're from out of town, they're here visiting kids/grandkids. So we'll talk more about what they do, or I do. And there'll definitely be some discussion of our respective most recent runs, and most recent powder day.
We've been here 14.5 years, not nearly long enough to be local: in a college town, having gone to high school here is a significant division point. I did live in Montana 1978-88, though, and so there's a 2-3 degrees of separation thing going. (Montana is said to be all one small town with really long streets -- at my granddaughter's birthday party yesterday, the grandma of one of the other girls knew someone from her young adulthood that my wife had known -- 300 miles away from here -- in the mid-1980s.) We're getting a lot of new people, but it kind of seems like they're mostly here not because they want to be a part of our community, but because they didn't want to be a part of the community where they lived before.
Kelton, your little town and the bigger one nearby probably isn't attracting many of the 'fleeing diversity' type of migrant, and it's not nearly as big a deal here as in some other parts of my state, but this is a non-trivial part of the 21st century West, and I sure wish it wasn't.
Same thing here in a central Idaho previously small ski town. Used to know everyone in town simply by what vehicle they drove. Now those who came in the last decade are complaining about the "newcomers" who keep relocating here (and greatly escalting housing prices). My grandparents moved there in 1954 so I just shake my head when I hear that.
I had a couple of housemates in 79-80 who'd moved up to Whitefish from McCall, and I always enjoy passing through, whether on the way to an eclipse or on the way home from getting beat up by the Idaho Supreme Court. I couldn't live in a town that small these days -- my work requires a federal courthouse -- but I sure see the appeal. But it never holds still. Businesses/restaurants come and go, new people come, then age out of skiing. (I think of this re Whitefish. Rich people come, love it, buy an expensive condo/home that sits empty most of the year, kids age out of vacationing with the parents, people's knees age out of skiing even the blue cruisers, and the dream gets passed along to someone else to ride for a while. Everything is transitory, but lifestyles/communities based on youth and health more so than most.)
I’m living my “off the beaten path but not completely off the grid dream” vicariously through your exploits. The oft insatiable yearning to belong, balanced with the need to be FAR from the trappings of shallow unsatisfying relationships, is what echoes in my soul when I read your posts. Prayers for a beautifully healthy baby! I hope you have a wonderful holiday, with no chimney catastrophes!
Love the venn digram! I also love your approach of find the place and you’ll find the people you’ll love. And I had never heard pizza and french fries in regards to skiing until like this week and now I’ve heard it three times. OK so I didn’t ski ever as a kid and the only times I skied were in my 20s so maybe that’s why I never heard it. My skiing life was short, basically ended by a guy I was enamored with leaving me stranded, face down, skis, planted in a mogul, unable to move or reach the ski release, people zooming by me and no one stopping to help but a few yelling at me as they nearly ran over me, on a black slope I had no business being on, while he skied to the bottom and stood there and laughed.
Wonderful piece. Love when preggos surprise people. And, of course, the flow chart was great. As an experienced delivery driver, I can honestly say I would have listened closely to your instructions. Poor guys...
Your town sounds a lot like my neighborhood, which is really just two roads in a rural farming area. I love that people of all ages live here and we can get together and talk about anything. We are some of the newer neighbors, so it's really nice to have the long-time residents treat us like we've always been here. I'm grateful for that!
Great piece, and I love the Chairlift diagram... I'm currently the "just visiting" branch, but sometimes learn about a viable path to becoming a local down the line.
Love this one, Kelton. Reading this made me realize we did something similar in thinking that if we chose the right place for us, we’d be able to find more people who loved the same things (and also us). The mountain town I call home has also taught me that age doesn’t matter, and some of our closest friends here are 10, 20, 40 years older. These intergenerational friendships have been such a gift. So glad you guys are finding your people! The avocado is going to have such a crew looking out for them.
Your chairlift diagram is spot-on—I had similar conversations yesterday (though it turned out that they were friends with my friends) and wound up with two numbers!
One thing I like about the ski hill in my not-really-a-mountain-town is that pretty much anyone I ride with lives here too. If they're from out of town, they're here visiting kids/grandkids. So we'll talk more about what they do, or I do. And there'll definitely be some discussion of our respective most recent runs, and most recent powder day.
We've been here 14.5 years, not nearly long enough to be local: in a college town, having gone to high school here is a significant division point. I did live in Montana 1978-88, though, and so there's a 2-3 degrees of separation thing going. (Montana is said to be all one small town with really long streets -- at my granddaughter's birthday party yesterday, the grandma of one of the other girls knew someone from her young adulthood that my wife had known -- 300 miles away from here -- in the mid-1980s.) We're getting a lot of new people, but it kind of seems like they're mostly here not because they want to be a part of our community, but because they didn't want to be a part of the community where they lived before.
Kelton, your little town and the bigger one nearby probably isn't attracting many of the 'fleeing diversity' type of migrant, and it's not nearly as big a deal here as in some other parts of my state, but this is a non-trivial part of the 21st century West, and I sure wish it wasn't.
Same thing here in a central Idaho previously small ski town. Used to know everyone in town simply by what vehicle they drove. Now those who came in the last decade are complaining about the "newcomers" who keep relocating here (and greatly escalting housing prices). My grandparents moved there in 1954 so I just shake my head when I hear that.
I had a couple of housemates in 79-80 who'd moved up to Whitefish from McCall, and I always enjoy passing through, whether on the way to an eclipse or on the way home from getting beat up by the Idaho Supreme Court. I couldn't live in a town that small these days -- my work requires a federal courthouse -- but I sure see the appeal. But it never holds still. Businesses/restaurants come and go, new people come, then age out of skiing. (I think of this re Whitefish. Rich people come, love it, buy an expensive condo/home that sits empty most of the year, kids age out of vacationing with the parents, people's knees age out of skiing even the blue cruisers, and the dream gets passed along to someone else to ride for a while. Everything is transitory, but lifestyles/communities based on youth and health more so than most.)
I’m living my “off the beaten path but not completely off the grid dream” vicariously through your exploits. The oft insatiable yearning to belong, balanced with the need to be FAR from the trappings of shallow unsatisfying relationships, is what echoes in my soul when I read your posts. Prayers for a beautifully healthy baby! I hope you have a wonderful holiday, with no chimney catastrophes!
Thank you very much!
Love the venn digram! I also love your approach of find the place and you’ll find the people you’ll love. And I had never heard pizza and french fries in regards to skiing until like this week and now I’ve heard it three times. OK so I didn’t ski ever as a kid and the only times I skied were in my 20s so maybe that’s why I never heard it. My skiing life was short, basically ended by a guy I was enamored with leaving me stranded, face down, skis, planted in a mogul, unable to move or reach the ski release, people zooming by me and no one stopping to help but a few yelling at me as they nearly ran over me, on a black slope I had no business being on, while he skied to the bottom and stood there and laughed.
Wow, that is terrible.
Eh, it saved me from further infatuation in a one sided relationship that was going nowhere. All good!
Wonderful piece. Love when preggos surprise people. And, of course, the flow chart was great. As an experienced delivery driver, I can honestly say I would have listened closely to your instructions. Poor guys...
I love your chart for the ski lift conversation, had me laughing :)
Your town sounds a lot like my neighborhood, which is really just two roads in a rural farming area. I love that people of all ages live here and we can get together and talk about anything. We are some of the newer neighbors, so it's really nice to have the long-time residents treat us like we've always been here. I'm grateful for that!
Sounds very much like here!
The ski lift convo flowchart 💀💀💀
😏😏😏
”A homesickness that I didn’t have any inherited right to. When I got the chance to live there, I loved it and then I lost it.”
Relate to this very much. ♥️ solidarity in our search for Home!
Great piece, and I love the Chairlift diagram... I'm currently the "just visiting" branch, but sometimes learn about a viable path to becoming a local down the line.
Love this one, Kelton. Reading this made me realize we did something similar in thinking that if we chose the right place for us, we’d be able to find more people who loved the same things (and also us). The mountain town I call home has also taught me that age doesn’t matter, and some of our closest friends here are 10, 20, 40 years older. These intergenerational friendships have been such a gift. So glad you guys are finding your people! The avocado is going to have such a crew looking out for them.
Your chairlift diagram is spot-on—I had similar conversations yesterday (though it turned out that they were friends with my friends) and wound up with two numbers!
I love when the lift conversations end in connections. It's the best.