Rules Of Finding Sweet Ski Town Housing

front porch view of paradise

So…you are planning to move or just showed up to Jackson Hole/Vail/Telluride/Mammoth/Big Sky etc.  Here are some rules to make finding a place to sleep besides the back of your vehicle a little easier (unless that’s what you are going for):

1. Arrive a month or more in advance of the ski season.  There is a magic time between when summer seasonal workers take off and winter gets in gear.  The papers will be (relatively) full of rooms available, and landlords will be more willing to work with you when the supply of rooms is higher than the demand for them.  If you are looking for a place as the snow is falling, you are too late.

2. Use a variety of resources to find housing. There are housing available ads in the paper.  Find out which day of the week new ads are posted, and get the paper early in the morning of that day.  Start calling people right away and reserve that day for going to see potential housing.  Remember, a dozen or more other people are also going to be calling the same new posting.  You have to be aggressive.  Local radio shows often list housing available that isn’t in the paper.  Listen every day.  Also, don’t wait for the housing to find you - take a proactive approach.  Put up a sign at local coffee shops or libraries with your phone number on little strips people can tear off.  Make a drawing or something creative or funny on this sign to catch peoples’ eye.  Put an ad in the paper.  Go on the local radio show and advertise that you are looking for a room. 

3. Please, PLEASE don’t assume (or worse yet financially plan) that you are going to walk into a caretaker position for some rich person’s house.  This is a long shot.  You are probably wasting your money if you put an ad in the paper stating you are available for this kind of position.  People do this, yes, but usually only after building a reliable reputation and references within that ski town.

4. Have first, last, and deposit for a room in your price range saved up and put aside.  This is a lot of money for most people, but it will broaden your options.  If you end up not having to pay F/L/D, sweet!  New skis!

5. Try to have a job lined up before you arrive in town.  People will be more inclined to rent to you if you are already gainfully employed.  This one is not always possible.  In that case, if you are planning on renting a place with 4 walls, running water and heat and not living in your car, have F/L/D and one month’s rent saved up on top of that.  It is a lot of money, but will be worth it in the amount of stress you save.  If you can’t get that much money together, try to hustle as soon as you get to town.  Do anything - work with the temp service (or as a flagger, a leaf-raker, construction site cleanup person, etc) – to get a little money together in case you run out before you get your first paycheck at the winter job you find once you arrive in town.

6. Prepare a small card to leave with potential landlords.  It could be a handwritten card.  Include your name, job if you have one, and two or three housing references.  This will make you stand out from other potential renters.  Little do they know you will soon be doing kegstands in the living room, muhuhaha!

7. If you can secure housing through work, do it, but beware of mixing work and pleasure.  If employee dorms have a no drinking or no drugs policy, you might end up screwing yourself out of a job AND a place to live if you choose to violate these rules (seriously, you think you won’t?).

8. This is one time when networking – however distant – really pays off.  Your mom’s co-worker’s sister’s daughter moved to Big Sky?  That girl one grade below you who was in outdoors club with you for 2 trips in high school now lives in Jackson?  Get those phone numbers, or better yet, those Facebook contacts, and introduce yourself.  Meet and offer to buy this person a beer or coffee when you get to town.  They might not have a room available, but will probably know someone who heard that someone’s buddy does.

9. Be deliberate – and choosy – about the kind of environment you want to live in, even if it seems like the only option at the time.  Are you in a ski town to party your ass off (YAGER BOMBS!!! WOOHOO!!!!) or to be an outdoor professional (like you’re not going to drink yager bombs)?  Be as up front about it as you can be to your potential roomies as possible.  Want to do a job where you are going to be waking up at 4 to throw bombs or work the breakfast rush?  Don’t live with people who are just going to bed at that hour.  Want to be the other guy?  Don’t live with people who are going to be constantly pissed at your party habits.

10. IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR ROOMMATES, DON’T PUT YOUR NAME ON THE LEASE.  Oh, did you miss that?  DON’T PUT YOUR FUCKING NAME ON THE LEASE, especially if your roomies are a bunch of (bong-ripping PBR shotgunning pallet burning) partiers.  At the very least, co-sign the lease with your other roomies.  If it is only you on this legally binding rental agreement then when holes get punched in walls and the bonfire in the backyard gets out of control and the cops show up, you will be the one responsible.  When someone loses their job or runs out of money in the middle of the winter, you are still responsible for the entire rent, subletters or no.  Having people point in your direction or your roommates ditch because you don’t have anything in writing is pretty much the biggest buzzkill possible in the housing game.

i am worth the trouble

11. Consider leaving your best four-legged buddy at the home of your parents/aunt/brother/friend.  Leave this person an abundance of food for your furry friend and make sure they have a good way to reach you if your buddy needs to go to the vet.  Always pay vet bills incurred in your absence.  If you find housing that takes pets and you want to be in town for more than a season, take a trip back when it’s convenient and get your dog/kitty/rabbit/chinchilla etc.   If you cannot leave your furry buddy with someone, have a pet deposit (I have seen people ask up to $200 for cats and $500+ for dogs) ready to pay along with F/L/D.  This tip can seem too sad for some, and I myself have broken this rule for 10 years.  It has made things harder for me in the way of housing, but has been worth having my kitty friend Juniper along for the ride!

12. Think about spending a bit more for a totally sweet place.  Hot tub.  Walking distance to the lift or bar.  Huge living room.  The difference in cost between having an awesome place to bring the party back to (or start it off) might equal out to money spent out on the town.  Also, consider all the free beer people will bring to/leave at your place.  Plus, when you are done for the night you are already at home.

13. Try to pick a place with an entryway/tile floor/heated garage where snowboards, skis, skins, helmets, ropes from ice climbing, and all your clothing can drip all over the place and dry.  It might be sunny and 65 degrees when you show up, but that house with nice carpeting or hardwood floors is going to get messy in a hurry when the season revs up to full speed.  Things hanging outside on the porch will not dry.  They will freeze.

14. If you are going to cram as many ski bums as possible into one house/apartment, MAKE SURE THERE IS ENOUGH PARKING.  There is nothing worse than having to shuttle half the cars to the public lot every night or waking up to pissed off neighbors or a tow truck or boot on your car when it’s a powder day and/or you have to be at work.

15.  Make sure there is a washer and dryer.  If there is not, pool your money with your roommates and buy them used.  Split between 2-8-however many people a used washer and dryer are not that much money. They will save you time.  They will save you money.  And if you and your roomies do not have to go to the laundromat when it’s a powder day every day to wash your clothes and sheets your house will smell a LOT nicer.

1. Trust your gut.  You read it right.  It should be #16, but it is in fact the #1 rule of finding shared housing in any town.  If something feels shady or uncomfortable, trust your instincts.  Don't let desperation or discouragement lock you into a situation that you know deep down is going to be wrong, sketchy, or dangerous later.  This is especially true if you are female and get weird vibes from male potential roommates or are very uncomfortable with anything illegal that you know will be going on (cough cough).  Don't put yourself in a bad situation when the door is wide open to walk out of it and into a great one.

I am sure there are many other tips I could give for finding ski town housing.  In closing I will say living in a ski town for at least one winter is totally worth the trouble.  Some of the rules on this list are ones I have not always followed, especially the ones about having a bunch of money saved up for moving expenses.  It has been harder, but I have gotten by.

bottoms up bitches

Don’t wait.  If the mountains are calling, go for it, even if you don’t have a pile of cash saved.  Show up with a willingness to work hard and play hard, don’t expect any freebies, keep your eyes and mind open and don’t be a douche.  Things will work out for you.  May your days be full of sunny bottomless pow and your nights full of good people, good food, woodstoves, bonfires, hot tubs, and an endless supply of high quality beer.  Happy hunting.