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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Mar 29, 2014 - 12:08am PT
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Bishop is a great place to visit... but I sure wouldn't want to live there. West christ nailed it.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Mar 29, 2014 - 12:51am PT
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Ekat...You should have bought that cabin at tamarack you were living in...rj
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Lurking Fear
Boulder climber
Bishop, California
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Mar 29, 2014 - 10:11am PT
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I've been in Bishop for over ten years and plan on staying here into my retirement years in 2027. If you like to climb, run, ski, and fish, I think you'll be hard pressed to find many places that offer so much year round. I love the summers in Bishop. 20 minutes to the mountains and trailheads around 10,000 feet. We have a swamp cooler that costs almost nothing to cool the house. Traffic is almost non existent except during Mule Days; then it takes about ten minutes to cross town.
As far as being "cursed with an artificial land shortage," it's not artificial; the DWP and BLM have bought up all the land around Bishop, so there are very limited lots or homes available. The curse is when you're looking for a home, the blessing is that once you own a home, no one is going to come in and over develop Bishop.
It's a hassle to travel by air, and we don't have a lot of the amenities of a larger city; i'm used to it. Lots of down sides to living on the Eastside although nothing comes to mind quickly. If I had it to do all over, I'd do it again. Buttermilks is ten minutes away and I'm on my way this morning.
Andrew
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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Mar 29, 2014 - 11:16am PT
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Lived here fifteen years now. Ain't leavin' either. Went "home" to visit family in Bozeman last week. Made me realize how much I love living in Bishop. Now,what to do today?? Seems like a mellow kind of day. A bike ride to the river for some fly-fishing sounds about right. It's rough I tell ya. :-)
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Ryan Tetz
Trad climber
Flagstaff, AZ
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Mar 29, 2014 - 11:17am PT
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I dig it! I only knew it for a road trip before! Highly active community of 20/30 somethings and rad lifer old dads too. It feels like people don't stop. It's got to the point of my phone going off waking me up or a knock on the door to go climbing and other activies like biking, skiing, (kiteboarding is my recent big experiment). I get out way more than I did living in a college town in Flagstaff, AZ. Best year round weather I've ever known. A bit transient, but that is a positive and negative! If you can make it work I'd give it a shot. See what you think? Why not? Just saying..
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Mar 29, 2014 - 12:07pm PT
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it's not artificial; the DWP and BLM have bought up all the land around Bishop,
That is precisely what I meant by "artificial". There is no actual shortage of undeveloped or build-able land, it is just not available due to DWP, BLM, and Tribal ownership. Hence, artificial.
The eastside of the Cascades may be an option. Similar climate and accessibility to quality biking, fishing, climbing, skiing. Better value in housing.
The Moab, Fruita, G-Junction zone is worth looking at. I've always told people that Grand Junction is the most underrated climbing town in the country. For accessibility to super high quality areas, reasonable cost of living, hard to beat Junction. Multi pitch granite in Unaweep, great sandstone bouldering also in Unaweep, quick access to the Creek, the Black, Rifle, and Ouray.
If you can handle the social aspects of small town Utah (by small town I don't mean Moab, that's big city!) the options get really interesting.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Carson City, NV
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Mar 29, 2014 - 01:35pm PT
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I'd be there in a minute if I thought I could get a job that pays enough to cover rent. Forget about buying ANYTHING. ($350k affordable? Not in my reality, be more like 75k)
And this has been my conundrum for almost 20 years. I moved to the Eastside on a dream that had someone yelling BISHOP! in my ear over and over until I woke up. So I packed my bags and moved to Bishop. Except that didn't work out and I found myself in Mammoth working at the ski area. Every season, I would look for a job and a place to live in Bishop, and it NEVER worked out.
Don't get sucked into Chalfant or Hammil, unless you LOVE the wind, and dust, and an aquifer that is being robbed by Bunny Love. (Yup, carrots)
Mustang Mesa and Pine Creek are not too far out of town.
I have not totally given up on Bishop, but there is no way I could afford to retire there. Or anywhere in Cali. (state income tax would eat up too much)
Dean, listing your house? Really? I hope this is a good thing.
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hossjulia
Trad climber
Carson City, NV
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Mar 29, 2014 - 01:53pm PT
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Well, they obviously have enough deductions to hire you, right?
That's not the bracket I'm in.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Mar 29, 2014 - 01:58pm PT
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I'd be there in a minute if I thought I could get a job that pays enough to cover rent.
Yupppers. Hospital, Caltrans or DWP are remote possibilities.
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Bad Climber
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 30, 2014 - 12:40am PT
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For those who live in town, what are typical utility expenses (assuming swamp cooler, of course) for a small house?
Gas?
Electric?
Water?
Garbage?
High speed Internet?
I'm crunching numbers, working up a mock budget.
If my wife and I go with ONLY my teaching pension and her SS, I'm thinking our bottom line income will be in the mid 3K/month. If we're careful, we shouldn't have to dip into savings much at all, and we do have a decent nest egg but NOT huge. It will provide a modest income, I think, but I'm not sure what that will be, so I'm going with what I figure will be a pretty solid low number. I'm thinking we could be pretty comfortable on that $3k and change, yes? Certainly our travel costs to the mountains would be WAY down!
Thanks,
BAd aka East Side Dreamer...
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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Mar 30, 2014 - 12:49am PT
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Bad--You'll be just fine on that budget. Hell,you'll be well off. See ya' soon. ;-)
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ruppell
climber
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Mar 30, 2014 - 02:38am PT
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Bad
You'd be pretty comfy. My wife and I own a house and are total monthly out is lower than that number. Propane is expensive in the winter but we have a wood stove that does most of the work. Unless I'm tired and lazy. Our largest propane bill was just under 100`bucks. Water and sewer are about 50 a month. Garbage another 20. Electric varies from 60 to 100ish. Internet will run you 35-45 depending on whether you have your own modem or rent one from Suddenlink. Figure about 2000ish yearly for property taxes if you buy a home. Gas for work is honestly the biggest expense I have monthly. I drive up the grade every day and gas eats about 200 bucks. It's a great place to live and is doable for sure on the budget your talking about.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Mar 30, 2014 - 02:42am PT
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will be in the mid 3K/month.
Yeah... you should be fine. Heck, I lived off half that in San Diego.
BAd
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Mar 30, 2014 - 03:11am PT
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I drive up the grade every day and gas eats about 200 bucks. What are you, a neurosurgeon?
I drive down the grade a couple times a month, but on assignment perse - miles and gas paid on top of whatever job it is.
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Bad Climber
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 30, 2014 - 09:48am PT
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Thanks, guys! This is great and encouraging news. Right now, we're battling a lot with the emotional realities of making a hard decision. We have some good friends here in Tehachistan, and by the time we move, if that happens, we'll have lived here for 20 years. But here's the rub (bonus points if you can tell me where that expression comes from), every damn stinkin' time we leave the East Side for home, we look at each other and say, "Do we have to leave?" Indeed, it is my wish to have my ashes scattered there when I take my last lead.
I've battled a little with the extra $$ I could make by sticking it out a few more years in my job, but based on what you've been telling me, that's probably not necessary. To be honest,I'm getting pretty burnt out dealing with so many lazy students, especially this semester. If I had only three years until my escape, I could look the obnoxious, lazy-assed punxs in the face and think to myself: Yeah, good luck with that "dream" of becoming a lawyer when you can't even be bothered to read a ONE page editorial for a class discussion! McD's is always hiring. Here's your broom. Okay, I think that now. I get tired of putting in more heart and effort than they do. Maybe it's time to engineer my exit before I get truly bitter....
I'm rambling here, but other thoughts: We don't know, of course, how much time we have left. We never do, but when you've crossed the half-century mark, you KNOW you're on the other side of the slope. With my wife being about 9 yrs. ahead of me on the life curve, I want to maximize our time together and live in a place like Bishop while we still have the vim and vigor to truly enjoy it. We're both pretty fit now, climbing easy 10's regularly, hiking, cycling. We've been looking at a foreclosure that needs some work. Sounds like a good retirement project. We've got zero outstanding debt and a house that should bring a decent price when the time comes. I'm having a hard time finding reasons to stay. The main issue will be finding a place my wife is happy with. I guess worse case scenario is that we don't move, stay in our pretty nice place, and get up to the Promised Land as often as we can, which ain't bad. But all my life, since I fell in love with the mountains in my teens, I've wanted to live in a mountain town. Sometimes it's felt like a physical ache, you know? If my wife is game, I think we need to go for this and see what happens.
Thanks for everything.
BAd
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crusher
climber
Santa Monica, CA
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Mar 30, 2014 - 12:00pm PT
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Bad,
If you don't mind saying, what do you think your wife wants or wouldn't have in Bishop? Other than some friends in Tehachapi (who would probably be more than happy to spend weekends with you in Bishop) what else?
I am a woman, so I'm curious as to what she thinks she has in Tehachapi that she won't have in Bishop - Bishop, in my mind, has more to offer in terms of a "town" than Tehachapi (but maybe I'm wrong) and Mammoth is not far if you need something different or more "upscale" (should I say "uppity"?). I don't live in Bishop (yet) but I do spend some time there and have met quite a few people of all ages who live there.
Is it proximity to L.A. or somewhere else that she has now and would miss? Or do you think it's just the idea of uprooting from what's familiar at this age since you've been there for 20 years?
I'm curious because I battle with this question a lot - whether I could retire someplace like Bishop while my close and extended family and most of my close friends are here in LA or in SF (not that far but still a drive and gas costs).
If you have work in Bishop and can still make a living, I would say go for it. Maybe you can rent your Tehachapi place out for a while until you really decide if Bishop is for you and then sell it later?
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
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Mar 30, 2014 - 12:16pm PT
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Bad....Watch some " Green Acres " re-runs to get a taste of the culture shock in store for you when you move to Bishop...
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Bad Climber
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 30, 2014 - 12:29pm PT
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Hey, Crusher:
I think the main issue is just the uprooting. Personally, I think we'd find A LOT more folks in our particular kind of "tribe" then we have here. Tehachistan is pretty darn podunk. My wife's not super resistant, but her siblings are in the LA area. We're both being cautious, I think. My resolve is toughening as I converse with you all, and I think I'll be making the case more intensely with her over the next few days.
One element of urgency is that the real estate stars seem to be in particularly good alignment right now: We're still pretty close to the bottom of what has been a long downturn; there are still a few foreclosures available at damn good prices; we have a fat chunk of cash sitting around we could use for a solid down payment. Since we have no debt, we could manage to cover a mortgage until my retirement in three years, sell our current house, and probably pay off the entire Bishop residence--or close, anyway.
The whole thing is a huge, committing undertaking and more than a little frightening--and exciting. I haven't been sleeping well lately just thinking about it.
Well, the rain is general over these cloud-cloaked mountains, and a stack of essays awaits my critical eye (ire?). Be well, Tacoans, and please continue to throw bones my way....
BAd
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Bad Climber
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 30, 2014 - 12:30pm PT
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Oh, Chief: That photo? DAMN!
BAd
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ruppell
climber
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Mar 30, 2014 - 12:39pm PT
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Bad
Just a heads up. Forclosures are actively pursued here and often go for way more then the bank is asking. They can be a great thing or a heartbreaker. In this town there usually the latter. Same goes with short sales. You've got time to play that game for sure but you may be better getting in to a livable place now and renting that for the next few years until you retire. Rent would easily cover the mortgage and most likely some of the property taxes.
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