Three years ago I made a decision that would forever change my life. I left my home state of Washington and moved to Colorado. It feels like forever ago that I moved and have adapted to resort town living. Resort town living is not for everyone, it’s a lifestyle that can bring out the best or worst in people. What’s important is to find a place that works for you, that gives you a fun environment to live in and see if you enjoy it.
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The unknown is scary, moving away from your friends and family to a place where you know few people is tough. When I packed up my life in Washington, I was moving to Colorado without a place to live, without a job and in debt to make the move. Within a month I had all of those, the place to live came first and then the job and the debt eventually went away. That’s not to say that the first year wasn’t tough because it was but a lot of it was transitioning and moving on.
By moving to a resort town, I happened to find friends who share the same passions and the need for snow. I can always spot a friend on the mountain, an acquaintance, a co-worker and end up making turns with them. Same goes from grocery stores, bars, really anywhere you go in town you are going to see someone you know.
This post is really directed to the many people who face the same decision I did. For me, moving opened up a whole new world of opportunities, I found a living doing something I enjoy, I found friends with the same passion I have, I have met new people and I have endured some hard times to get here but I’ve come out and tried something with no regrets. Who knows if this is my final destination…but the journey sure opened a lot of experiences and opportunity for fun along the way.
Ben
May 9, 2009 at 10:09 amIm starting to get into a situation similar to that. Im finishing up my junior year of college, and my roommate and I were thinking of just moving out west after college next year to ride.
I will get a little taste of the good life this summer when I head out to windells for my internship.
Good read. I think you talked me into it.
Allen
May 9, 2009 at 10:21 amJust out of curiosity, what part of Washington did you leave? Washington has a plethora of great mountains as well, no? Im actually thinking about moving there, Seattle specifically, and am curious to know what your gripes were with it. I know its not a mountain town but it seems to have a good mix of city and outdoor living. I visited this winter and hit up stevens, snoqualmie, and whistler. What really stood out to me was that I could go ride at snoqualmie for a night session and had enough time to get back to seattle to go catch a music show in the city.
Anywho, your blog rocks. please keep it up.
Pam
May 9, 2009 at 2:32 pmThat’s awesome! Living the dream. I want to move closer to a big mountain, but I’m stuck in NY for about 3 years. I’m still undecided on whether to move to a resort town or somewhere close enough for weekends and whether or not it will Colorado or Vermont. Have a lot of time to think about it.
Hanh
May 9, 2009 at 2:36 pmim having a hard time pulling the trigger from sf bay area to tahoe. great job on making the jump though shay congrats
Shredding Stuff
May 9, 2009 at 4:06 pmOh yeah, once I’m outta college, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.
And while it’s not exactly the same, I can relate to the moving part being uncertain or even frightening, since I just moved to this town about a year ago.
It’s really awesome that your blog isn’t all just snowboard talk and incorperates your life so we can realy connect to you!
Anonymous
May 9, 2009 at 5:56 pmzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Shayboarder
May 9, 2009 at 7:27 pmAwesome to hear so many people’s thoughts on going through a similiar situation or just thinking about it. I’m all for trying something and seeing if it fits you. I waited till I was finished with college and I’m very glad for that, it helps to have a college degree. Definitely moving to CO is a big part of my life, at last has changed since I moved and I’ve changed since I made the move.
Allen. I grew up in Renton, WA just south of Seattle. Lived in Seattle (Queen Anne, University District and Wedgwood) before moving to Monroe, then Skykomish, then Leavenworth…then from there to Colorado. I pretty much moved from the city to the WA mountains and that wasn’t enough so moved to CO. Definitely living in Seattle it’s not a bad drive especially to Snoqualmie…my big gripe was the amount of time to commute to the mountains and traffic. The riding is amazing there and you have good mountains nearby. The other thing is I was in WA during the rough season where there was no snow in January, rain…and it sucked. I wanted to move to a place where the mtns didn’t rely on mother nature. Plus the seasons are longer here, I drive 1.5 hours to ride A-basin from October to June…pretty happy with that. But yeah I grew up there, it’s still home and I have family there so I go back to visit and ride…just different. I used to love it, but I found something I love more.
ZZZZZ…sorry I forced you to read it…forgive me.
Huckleberry Hart
May 11, 2009 at 9:57 amYour words bring inspiration to me Shay. I am wrapping up my current gig, and wondering what comes next. Thanks for the peer pressure. I just hope I don’t end up on the streets of Mexico for some reason.
Shay
July 3, 2009 at 8:19 pmAh some peer pressure is good Hart! Nah I have yet to end up in Mexico but I have had some fun nights where I could have. I think change is good, for me it was and I’m always up for trying new things.