Where would you like to retire????

[flyover]

What's a bug season?

So I ran a google search with two terms ("Uintas" and "mosquitoes") and got this as my first result:

Mosquitoes are public enemy number one in the Uintas. They are everywhere, and they can drive you crazy. Bring strong repellent - it really helps.

http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/uinta_mountains.htm

I've never backpacked in the mountains of Utah, but I've backpacked enough in the mountains of Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming, Alberta, British Columbia, and Kenya to form the impression that where mountains (1) receive enough precipitation to maintain high altitude lakes, streams and wetlands, and (2) have some period of summertime average overnight lows above freezing, mosquitoes will be present sometime during the summer months.

[Admin]

Mosquitoes in Utah are limited to only a couple of places, most predominantly the Uinta Mountains actually. But even there they only last a week or two in my experience. Compared with anywhere east of the Mississippi they are essentially a non issue.

[Harvey44]

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Yes a nice rich relative could come in handy.

[flyover]

Mosquitoes in Utah are limited to only a couple of places, most predominantly the Uinta Mountains actually. But even there they only last a week or two in my experience. Compared with anywhere east of the Mississippi they are essentially a non issue.

Just yesterday, it was reported that West Nile Virus has been found in Utah County. http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/w ... d5e3b.html

SLC has a Mosquito Abatement District. Who knew?

Even so, I'd assume Mosquitoes aren't much of any issue around SLC.

I spent a summer working and hiking extensively in the Whites. I've also logged hundreds of miles of wilderness canoeing over the last twenty plus years in Northern Minnesota (BWCAW), Western Ontario (Quetico, Woodland Caribou provincial parks), and Eastern Manitoba (Atikaki provincial park). These vast wilderness areas (the BWCAW, alone, is 1.5 million acres and 150 miles across) are technically North of the Mississippi, but seem to me to have more intense bug seasons than what I experienced in NH.

However, my hands-down most intense mosquito experiences occurred at high-altitude campsites in late July in the Beartooths (Montana) and Jasper (Alberta). I wonder if the short alpine growing (hatching and breeding) season makes the bugs that much more intense when they are around.

[Admin]

Find all the anecdotal evidence you wish to dig up, I can tell you through personal experience and with 100% honesty that I have seen precisely two mosquitoes all summer long. Think about that in the context of just how much time I spend recreating in the outdoors. And neither one was particularly interested in me.

What you've found online can be explained by the fact that both Utah County and Salt Lake County include extensive marshlands and wetlands along Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake, respectively, that create an environment that does not extend anywhere beyond those shorelines. There are even pelicans out there in that part of landlocked Utah. No one lives anywhere even remotely close to the Great Salt Lake, so any mosquito issues that may exist out there are non-issues for the human population other than duck hunters.

You may well have a point about the shorter life cycle in the high alpine areas. That may be the subject of research, and the Northern Rockies are a remarkably different climate then anywhere within Utah's borders. But I find it hard to imagine that anywhere could possibly be worse than the wilderness canoe waters of northern Minnesota and Ontario. At least when I lived in Florida they sprayed for mosquitoes there. Florida, though, is a true Jurassic Park for every other kind of creature imaginable, insect and otherwise, so I'm not really sure that I should throw that out there as a shining example .

The key to breeding mosquitoes is standing water, but my comments regarding bugs in Utah are not limited to mosquitoes. There's really not much here at all besides ants, a single week of biting black flies in the Uintas and the occasional spider or beetle, for any insect requires reliable water to breed and survive. There's certainly nothing here that would annoy you persistently. The Northeast is insect hell by comparison. Scratch that... There really is no comparison.

[Tony Crocker]

You may well have a point about the shorter life cycle in the high alpine areas.

That's the way in seems to be in the HighSierra. There was one Memorial weekend hike in Tuolumne Meadows when I opened the car door and realized we weren't going anywhere until we were coated with bug repellent. But I've been up there or similar places 15-20 other times with no bug issues at all. We had no bug issues in Yellowstone, Waterton or Glacier NP's on our June 2013 trip either.

[Admin]

Once again, there's no comparison between those two environments either.

[Admin]

There's really not much here at all besides ants, a single week of biting black flies in the Uintas and the occasional spider or beetle, for any insect requires reliable water to breed and survive.

I forgot about the butterflies and moths. This year, especially the moths. We seem to have had an usually a large hatch of moths this summer. Seems like you get another one in the house every time you open a door.

[Geoff]

My posts to this thread back in 2008 were food critic hijack posts.

My plan is to keep doing what I'm doing. I've already downsized to my retirement home. Salt water and the boat in the summer. Skiing in the winter. My summer house is intentionally very low cost to own. My ski condo isn't given the high Vermont property taxes and nutty condo fees. At some point, I'll sell it since the ownership costs would easily cover 2 or 3 months of western resort skiing with monthly rental and a season pass.

I can't even think about retiring until I turn 65 and become Medicare-eligible. I'm 56 now and telecommuting with high tech wages is really tough to walk away from as long as I can keep it up.

[jimk]

Geoff, you sound prepositioned very well!

My wife is talking like she wants to stay in our current home near Wash DC. Neither of us like the actual structure that much, but we like the neighborhood/neighbors and all four adult kids are nearby. Wish we could take advantage of equity tied up in current home. If sold, could buy two places in cheaper locations; a retirement home and a ski condo. But for now near term retirement plan sounds like: remain in current home, but take more extended visits to ski country. I can deal with that

[Geoff]

Geoff, you sound prepositioned very well!

I'm 56. I've done a ton of financial planning around it over the last half-dozen years. That drove the whole "small house near the ocean" decision five years ago. My goal and financial modeling revolves around being able to be able to retire to my two small homes, own a small boat, and ski all winter with a few trips thrown in. Basically, retire with no significant lifestyle change. With a bigger house, it just wasn't going to be possible given the size of my 401-K/IRA portfolio.

Tony Crocker and the Utards will sneer at my choice of Killington as my winter retirement spot but I have the continuity of 30+ years there and it's 3 hours 40 minutes drive time between houses.

[Tony Crocker]

No need for me to sneer, since Geoff has already outline the sensible ski retirement scenario.

At some point, I'll sell it since the ownership costs would easily cover 2 or 3 months of western resort skiing with monthly rental and a season pass.

While he's working the proximity of the ski condo makes some sense. Once retired, much less important. At any rate, quote above is EXACTLY why I've stayed away from the vacation home scenario.

[Geoff]

No need for me to sneer, since Geoff has already outline the sensible ski retirement scenario.

At some point, I'll sell it since the ownership costs would easily cover 2 or 3 months of western resort skiing with monthly rental and a season pass.

While he's working the proximity of the ski condo makes some sense. Once retired, much less important. At any rate, quote above is EXACTLY why I've stayed away from the vacation home scenario.

Yep. I have several Killington retiree friends who buy the Vail empire Epic Pass and drive out to Beaver Creek for a month or two. When you're doing a longer term rental like that, the cost is manageable. The frugal ones go out in early January and are back east before Presidents week when the rental is steeply discounted. Your routine is to hop on the bus loop to Beaver Creek most days with a brown bag lunch in your boot bag. A few days per week, you venture out to hit the other Vail empire resorts as a change of pace. You don't ski much on weekends when the hordes drive up from Denver and you only go out if you have house guests visiting from the East. You could do the same thing in Utardia as a temporary neighbor of His Editorship.

[jimk]

Here's a short 2013 article on how "snowbird" retirees do it in Summit County, CO:
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/03/colorado_ski_slopes_attract_a.html

BTW, author Ted Heck out of central PA has done a ton of very entertaining pieces over the years on European skiing. WWII vet and still going at age 90+.
A 2014 example of his fine writing, this on PA ski areas: http://www.snocountry.com/snonews/ski-resort-news/snonews-featured-stories/entry/personal-recollections-camelback-roundtop-resorts-look-ahead-and-back

[jimk]

So I'm retiring in a few weeks. Have EpicPass and building ski plans around it. Skiing locally in mid-Atlantic until the end of Jan 2015. Then driving solo out to stay first half of Feb in Eagle County, CO. Plan to spend second half of Feb visiting Park City and Lake Tahoe areas. Side trip for a few days up to Jackson Hole, then joined by wife for one month in Summit County, CO. Return home to mid-Atlantic in early April. Open to connecting with peeps here to share some turns along the way. Might contact Admin about whether he'd publish a travel story from me at some point during my journey. Prime directive: survive the experience so I can do it again in future winters:-)