An authentic boomtown also thrives largely on its local business base, not primarily on commuters.
Mammoth Lake’s Paul Oster said the town and mountain business community solved many of the issues plaguing most ultra affluent resorts.
An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.
Part Four in a 4-Part Series.
Part Two: Taking Calculated Risks
Mammoth Lakes appeals to a healthy mix of residents.
- The affluent lifestyles are drawn to its quality of life.
- And, the “immigration nation community” and service workers like lift operators, ski and snowboard instructors, restaurant servers and bartenders.
Mammoth Lake’s Paul Oster said the town and mountain business community solved many of the issues plaguing most ultra affluent resorts.
As the lessons of the Great Recession made clear and evolution of Mammoth’s lifestyles and real estate market illustrate, Dent cautions.
Although smaller boomtowns will exhibit a clear tendency to attract the kinds of businesses that support a specific lifestyle, you want to look for business diversity.
Is there a hidden, festering problem that will potentially trigger an economic disaster?
If the area is sustained by one key business, say tourism, and the weather patterns change, as in the cases of Mammoth Lakes and Lake Tahoe, the local economy – your business – and the value of your property will take financial hits.
Isolated small towns, like Silverton, Colorado struggled during its transition from a gold mining town to a tourist town.
And the legacy toxic tailings from the area’s gold mining operations and a cyclical history of “blow outs” are gifts that just keep on giving.
But, not in good way.
Just ask Durango, Colorado residents.
And Animas River businesses like “Wet and Wild” devastated by the giant orange sludge flowing through town at the peak of the summer tourist season in 2015.
How can you prevent those kinds of losses?
Choose wisely.
- If there are different kinds of businesses in the area, the decline of one is likely to have a more limited effect on property values.
- Consider both the short- and the long-term value of your real estate investment when evaluating the local businesses.
You don’t want to keep potentially attractive boomtowns on your bucket list, if like in Santa Barbara, California traffic clogs the main artery.
An authentic boomtown also thrives largely on its local business base, not primarily on commuters.
This gives the town stability in growth.
It represents the lifestyle it is catering to.
Not simply making it available to people who earn their incomes elsewhere.
It also indicates that this boomtown supports the ideal of a quality lifestyle that offers enough leisure time to enjoy your family, your friends and your new community.
Ask around.
Find out where they live and work.
Observe.
- Look at the traffic patterns during rush hour to determine if most people are commuting to a nearby city or suburban area.
- If they are, think twice about investing in this boomtown!
Steps:
(8) Sit down with your spouse, partner or friends and write-up your bucket list of places.
(21) Spend the time to find the best places to live and invest. It will be worth your while. The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.