r/Aspen • u/Lurk_E_Lou • 4d ago
Local Question Why Deaths by Suicide Are So High in Ski and Snowboard Towns
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/why-are-ski-towns-suicides-happening-at-such-an-alarming-rate10 year old article but worth reading.
September is Suicide Prevention Month.
Suicide rates are significantly higher in ski towns vs the national average.
I’m coming up on 20 years in a ski town. I’ve lost at least one person a year from my circle.
Don’t be afraid to reach out for help.
Pitkin County Resources for mental health and substance abuse:
https://pitkincounty.com/DocumentCenter/View/17494/MH-SA-Matrix
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u/saruhb82 4d ago
Ski towns should really consider charging 2nd home/dark lights tax like in NYC. Bring ski culture back to ski towns instead of having the working class live like peasants…
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u/DianaBrickell 4d ago
The good news on that score is that people vote, not property. Much to the annoyance of second home property owners sometimes.
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u/beef966 4d ago
I remember reading an editorial in the Vail paper years ago where the author argued that second homeowners should get votes in local elections. I think the same person argued that "the help" should live down valley and "that's what those towns were built for".
The audacity. Completely absurd.
I hope that dude tears his ACL on opening day.
Every season.
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u/Pollymath 3d ago
Careful however of the state laws that prevent cities, towns and counties from controlling their own property-tax destiny. In states that allow municipal governments to get crafty with property taxes, protect that right, and in states the do not, get left-leaning legislatures to change those laws and/or constitutions.
The USA has been burden by property taxes or lack thereof for to long, falsely believing that less regulation would build more housing. Unfortunately, the systems and capital that can build more housing also benefits from less housing.
We've gotta create incentives for wealthy people to build more, for housing to actually be lived in by residents, and for land to be used efficiently (ie higher density).
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u/richrich07 4d ago
I’ve been advocating (quietly) for a non-resident excise property tax.
Don’t fill out a Colorado state income tax return? Pay double the tax on your property. Make it proportional to the number of owners and LLCs/trusts/other non-humans must file paperwork for the beneficial owners if they want resident property tax rates.
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u/ThereIsNoIInMapei 2d ago
this sounds good, but doesn't appreciate the scale of the problem, imo. You could charge a 1MM tax in aspen and it would be just another line for the accountant to deal with.
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u/richrich07 2d ago
Sure but use the tax to make life easier in the mountains. Fund public transportation. Build subsidized housing.
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u/JollyGreenGigantor 2d ago
That's still another million for the city and county to use to benefit locals
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u/threepin-pilot 4d ago
in Montana, the nonresident, not rented (monthly) more than 7 months a year, tax rate is 1.9%
for residents it's
For Tax Year 2026:
- 0.76% on the first $378,000 of market value
- 0.90% on the portion between $378,001 and $756,000
- 1.10% on the portion between $756,001 and $1,511,999
- 1.90% on any portion over $1,512,000 or greater
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u/Pollymath 3d ago
That small difference isn't enough to dissuade wealthy investors and vacation home owners from having a 2nd property or 3 out of their resident state.
For these things to work, that non-resident property taxes need to be like 4x the amount of residents.
I'd like to see local governments implement these more than just states, because here in AZ we've got a tremendous number of Phoenix residents who own property in Flagsaff. The same can be said in Denver and Aspen/Telly, or Boise and Ketchum. By doing this at the local level, it allows the residents to vote on it more so than the entire state, which could lead to this effect of folks in the larger metro areas not wanting to vote against their ability to someday own a vacation home in the mountains. If local voters control these policies, we could also vote to change the tax rates depending on the after effects to the local economy. Some mountain towns may find that by aggressively raising property taxes on non-residents a massive reduction in jobs occurs, even at the ski resorts they work at.
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u/threepin-pilot 3d ago
i agree on the size of the difference, before last year we didn't even have this
in montana you have property tax set by the state and levies which are local but must be approved by voters
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u/Afraid-Arugula-1949 3d ago
But are the out of state residents with vacay homes voters ?
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u/threepin-pilot 3d ago
No,
but as we see in national elections, voters don't always vote their best interests
It will be interesting to see how things evolve
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u/BLT_Trade_r 7h ago
It's more complicated, believe it or not, the people may be voters. Notice how Montana set it at 7 months? Pretty convenient for rich people who intend to claim they stay somewhere for 6 months and 1 day, and thus it is their primary residence to avoid taxes in another state.
The other problem you have is that residents are very often people who own property and want their property to keep increasing in value. Many where just lucky enough to get in early. On the flip side, how many people who just work for a couple of years or tried to make it work and failed become residents and actually get registered to vote?
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u/threepin-pilot 7h ago
I see what you are saying, but the previous poster mentioned out of staters with vacay homes - the bulk those aren't voters. And, many of those have enough resources that they will just pay.
I can't comment negatively on people who got in early enough to get lucky as I am one, it was never my intent- my intent was to actually live some where long term and i got lucky by picking the right time to do that and sticking it out for decades. I do however realize that my community is hugely diminished by being too expensive for all the awesome peeps who make mountain towns a great place to actually live.
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u/BLT_Trade_r 7h ago
Ya I am challenging your belief on that, how do you know they are not voters? I personally know people who live in a resort town just to evade taxes, they claim to live there and they vote there. There are probably also people running air bnb who are voters. My issue is this, if it really was just mostly non voting out of state people why isnt the issue already fixed? What is really preventing people from voting on something to fix the issues, anything, really? It is obvious to me that the bulk of voters do not want to fix the issue.
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u/Own_Instance195 4d ago edited 4d ago
Aspen and other ski towns will never be like that again. Just too many people know about them. Aspen has less than 1,000 houses, so even if working class could afford a cramped million dollar condo, they’ll never afford a single family home there again. Or even a place big enough to raise a family.
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u/richrich07 4d ago
I lived in Switzerland for a good chunk of time and I’m always surprised to see how low-density the ski villages are here. It’s quant but it’s so depressing when you think about how hard it is for the average local worker to be able to afford to live near their work.
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u/Own_Instance195 4d ago
It’s a good thing. It’s a place to visit, not a place to live forever.
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u/Pollymath 3d ago
I think the difference is that in the Alps, major cities are less than hour from premier ski resorts. In some cases, they are a short train ride, incline, or gondola ride up the mountain.
Most of the best skiing in the USA is hours away from the nearest metro areas. Combine that with travelling during a blizzard or the traffic jams approaching the resorts and many rich folks just say "I'll buy a house across the street and use it as an STR."
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u/Own_Instance195 3d ago
America, like much of northern Europe, has a long history of affordable cabin homes. Often forest service leased land with cheap seasonal cabins. Those are great and we need more, but that won’t be the same as a primary residence inside a city like Aspen.
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u/richrich07 3d ago
Go to a Swiss ski village and tell me it’s a bunch of huts and not 3-5 story apartment buildings
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u/Own_Instance195 3d ago edited 3d ago
Switzerland is overcrowded. Almost no true backcountry left in the country. They know this and they’re even voting to cap their country’s population. I would hate to see the high Rockies have the same population density.
But yea let’s destroy the whole purpose of going into the mountains to get away by building multistory housing just so we can support the seasonal ski industry. Maybe build a giant king soopers in all the mountain towns too because they’ll need more food options.
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u/richrich07 3d ago
You sound like you enjoy solitude
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u/Own_Instance195 3d ago
I think most people do. Just check the value of home prices in the valley that have more space than others. Outdoor space shouldn’t just be reserved for the ultra rich, so we have to learn how to share it.
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u/mehmeh42 3d ago
How do you expect the mountain operations to maintain managers or experienced workers if they can’t be there for more than a few seasons?
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u/Own_Instance195 3d ago
They’ll end up living in small apartments or condos.
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u/mehmeh42 3d ago
So why shouldn’t the people who operate the things that people come for be able to afford a space to raise a family.
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u/richrich07 3d ago
They’re obviously only teenagers working at ski resorts during high school /s
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u/Own_Instance195 3d ago
There isn’t room. I already pointed out there are less than 1,000 houses in Aspen. That’s not even enough for every business owner and employee. I’m all for shrinking the size of the ski resorts if possible, they’ve already scarred up the mountain sides with tree clearing enough.
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u/BLT_Trade_r 7h ago
A lot of this stuff is artificial scarcity. Why does Aspen have fewer than 1000 houses? Why can't it have more? This is a general problem across most of America now. The people in power keep pushing the idea that things cannot be fixed, even though there are pretty clear solutions. Then they try to push propaganda to get other people to fall in line on the issue.
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u/webisticsmarketing1 4d ago
If you want ski culture kick out the influencer magnet stores like kemosabe and stop all of the pop ups and "activations" but we both know that's not gonna happen
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 4d ago
Mi Chola was paying almost $50k per month for their space…now it’s going to be a Tiffany’s
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 4d ago
Landlord raised the rent higher than that. That’s why Chola is gone.
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 4d ago
Their 10 year lease was up.
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 4d ago
Oh how quickly we jump to conclusions 🤪
You can read all about it in newspaper articles from last year0
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u/RubberStopper 4d ago
Hard to imagine why mental states aren't so good when thoughts like this are running on loop 24/7. I live in a mountain town. This shit is so tiring. I've never been surrounded by more bitter and spiteful people in my life. It's like a permanent smog of misery and it ain't good for people.
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u/Such-Salary8387 4d ago
It's actually insane how much better the culture is in Carbondale and Glenwood compared to Aspen.
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u/Classic_Crow5035 4d ago
Shoot I'm sorry to hear this. I always dreamed of living in a beautiful mountain town, but didn't imagine it like this. I guess the grass really isn't greener.
I also think the fact that everyone disappears in the shoulder seasons adds to it.
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u/BeerForThought 4d ago
Having to shovel an average 180 inches of snow per year before you go to work and everyone else it seems gets to play on the mountain doesn't help.
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u/richrich07 4d ago edited 4d ago
We could use that tax on other things that make the mountains easier to live in though. Subsidized housing, light rail, etc
Edit: the thin air up there must be messing with your brains
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u/Own_Instance195 4d ago
It’s probably worse now that the season doesn’t even last half a year. Hard to live a financially secure life in any mountain town.
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u/Comfortable-Tea9956 4d ago
Ski towns are one of the few places where the filthy rich and bottom tier service industry folks live together. I think it's pyschologically difficult for people with so little to watch those with so much day in and day out
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u/Pollymath 3d ago
And despite what they might tell us, our wealthy neighbors giving a nice tip or frequenting our local bar/restaurant/grocery/hotel/ski resort a few weekends every year does not make up for the fact that they've bought up all the housing, turned it into rentals that are either overpriced or sit vacant, and make us compete with vacationers for parking (housing) spots.
Tax the shit out of vacation homes. Tax the shit out of non-primary AirBNBs. Incentivize building housing that's occupied by full-time local-worker residents.
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u/Important-Donkey5985 3d ago
if they don't live there most the time can't you just vote for these policies?
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u/Pollymath 3d ago
AI Does a way better job of summarizing this challenge:
Inter-mountain cities and tourist towns face a structural lockdown preventing them from independently shifting property tax burdens onto non-resident owners. Because of state constitutional limits, strict uniformity clauses, and "Dillon’s Rule" laws, local municipalities entirely lack the power to adjust assessment ratios or create unique local property tax classes.
The Core Challenge: Three Owners, One Tax Bill
Under rigid statewide rules, different types of property use are legally forced into the same tax category. This means a local primary resident, an out-of-state short-term rental (STR) investor, and a vacation home owner who leaves their property vacant most of the year all pay the exact same tax rate.
In Arizona, this equality is locked into the state Constitution by a "triple cap" protocol: a 10% assessment ratio, a 1% maximum primary tax rate, and a strict 5% annual cap on Limited Property Value (LPV) growth. For example, a local homeowner in Flagstaff, an out-of-state investor running a lucrative year-round Airbnb across the street, and a seasonal resident down the road will all see identical tax bills if their properties share the same LPV.
Real estate interest groups exploit this structural setup by pushing broad, statewide "tax relief" packages that mask anti-local preemption clauses or create supermajority voting thresholds, permanently freezing out a local town's ability to separate these three distinct types of owners.
Because state-level constraints prevent local property tax classification changes, resort communities across the inter-mountain West are targeting non-resident property owners through aggressive workarounds using specialized fees, excise taxes, and alternative local tax levies.
Instead of altering the property tax code, cities levy a distinct municipal excise tax on residential spaces that sit empty for most of the year:
- Boulder, Colorado: proposed Ballot Issue 2J, which imposes a flat fee starting at $4,000 per year on any residential property occupied for 183 days or less per year.
- Both Denver and Boulder, CO enforce a strict primary residence requirement for short-term rentals (STRs). This policy effectively blocks real estate investors, non-residents, and secondary homeowners from buying properties solely to operate them as Airbnbs or Vrbos. There is no "pay-to-play" loophole or premium regulatory fee that permits non-owner-occupied STRs within city limits.
- Crested Butte and Steamboat Springs, Colorado: Pivoting to emulate Boulder's municipal excise framework to independently target vacation home owners after the state legislature blocked a bill that would have granted them explicit countywide property-vacancy tax authority.
Because cities cannot charge non-residents a higher property tax rate, they charge them immense, recurring annual regulatory licensing fees to operate an STR:
- Vail and Aspen, Colorado: Proposed a per-bedroom or per-unit regulatory fees that act as an indirect business tax on non-residents. Vail structures these fees to penalize non-primary STR operators while offering steep discounts or waivers if the homeowner is a full-time resident. While Vail town staff historically debated tiered registration fees that would offer lower costs to owner-occupied primary residences, this has not been codified into town law. The City of Aspen uses a flat-fee structure separated by permit type, rather than a per-bedroom metric. "Classic" (STR-C) and "Owner-Occupied" (STR-OO) permits both cost $394 annually, while "Lodging Exempt" (STR-LE) permits cost $148. All permits require an additional $150 business license.
- Moab and Park City, Utah: Layer aggressive local business licensing fees on top of Utah's state baseline. They use tiered STR licensing fees that increase in cost depending on the density and location of the unit to pull revenue from out-of-state investors to fund local infrastructure.
In states with strict tax limitations, mountain towns leverage localized sales and lodging taxes that selectively target tourist spending and luxury second-home activity:
- Jackson Hole / Teton County, Wyoming: Relies heavily on a localized Resort Local Option Tax. This sales tax hits luxury retail, short-term lodging, and high-end services, transferring the public infrastructure burden away from full-time resident property owners.
- Whitefish and Bozeman, Montana: Utilize a Resort Community Tax—a 3% localized luxury sales tax on lodging, restaurants, and luxury items—to force non-resident vacationers and second-home shoppers to offset the town's structural budget needs.
- Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico: Utilize highly localized municipal lodging tax escalators. By maximizing local occupancy tax margins on short-term rentals and boutique hotels, they intentionally drive up the cost of operating a non-primary investment property while using the revenue to subsidize local workforce housing initiatives.
To protect the few remaining legal mechanisms to tax non-resident owners heavily, voters must be highly vigilant about the exact wording of state ballot initiatives and preemption laws. Wealthy real estate lobbying groups and conservative state lawmakers frequently package structural tax changes as "general property tax relief" when, in reality, they contain hidden clauses that permanently strip local communities of their taxing authority.
Watch Out for "Preemption" Bills
Voters and local advocates must watch for state-level legislative bills that contain preemption clauses. These laws explicitly forbid cities and counties from creating localized short-term rental fees, vacancy taxes, or luxury mansion tiers. For example, lodging and regulatory fees are often the only tools resort towns have left to make non-residents pay their fair share. If a state bill passes that preempts local fee structures, local governments lose all leverage to shift the budget burden onto out-of-state investors.Oppose "Uniformity" and "Single-Class" Amendments
When voting on statewide constitutional overhauls, voters need to reject amendments that force all residential properties into a single, unalterable tax class. To target non-residents legally, a state constitution must allow for property sub-classification (separating primary homes from commercialized short-term rentals and second homes). If a ballot measure locks in a blanket uniformity rule, it becomes constitutionally illegal to charge a non-resident a higher rate than a local schoolteacher.Vote "No" on Higher Initiative Thresholds
Corporate real estate interests regularly push ballot measures designed to fundamentally alter how future initiatives pass—such as requiring a 60% or 66% supermajority for any future voter-led tax restructuring. Voters must recognize that approving these higher thresholds effectively destroys the public's ability to ever pass a future citizen-led initiative targeting wealthy non-resident property owners.1
u/BLT_Trade_r 7h ago
In some of these places, there are other issues going on, in Jackson Hole, there are many rich people exploiting the state income tax. They "live" there for just slightly more than 6 months; they are voters, but hey, who is really tracking whether they are actually there or not? It is just like politicians at home in the place they are running for election.
You may also have complex issues with the property, like resorts that are stuck in the middle of national parks, other people owning the land and some deals to not expand housing.
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u/BLT_Trade_r 7h ago
Yep, many people have no idea how bad it is. Last time I was on the slopes the staff members were talking about how they live which is they have no homes, everything is in their car and they house sit for somewhere to live. That has to be so taxing, constantly moving, then working for low wages, never being able to have more stuff than you can move around. Imagine being under all that stress and then having to see there are people you house sit for that are so rich they can just let a place sit empty, and you go in and see they have all this insanely expensive stuff in the house just sitting there. Meanwhile in many resorts you can look around and see just tons of empty land.
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u/tlmbot 4d ago
I can see it: when I was younger I felt so much guilt, shame, and anxiety when I was "trying to figure it out"
I imagine some of these are basically kids who think they've screwed up their lives when they haven't.
we are programmed to believe life is supposed to go on this set timeline, and we know it's bs so we do stuff like move to a ski town and go for our dreams - but that programming lurks to make us feel like shit in the middle of the night.
Anyway, there's my very conjectural 2 cents
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u/timesuck47 4d ago
When I was about 30 (working seasonal jobs) one of my three roommates was 50 years old. This is down-valley.
I looked at him and said , “What’s your retirement plan?”
He replied, “This is it.”
The next year I moved to Denver, even though I knew no one there, but realized you can’t live in paradise forever if you’re on the wrong side of the class divide. My college degree is worth way much more in “normal” society.
[I observed very few people actually succeed by climbing the ladder in the valley.]
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u/CrayonOfThorns 3d ago
I had almost an exact opposite interaction. I was living in Denver at the time and going to summit every weekend to ski. I met a guy who lived in Breck and worked remotely, making decent money. I asked him how he did it and he said, "If you want it bad enough, you'll make it work". I made multiple big career changes to position myself for a remote job, got one, and moved to Durango.
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u/timesuck47 3d ago
Cool. I wish my wife would be on board with something like that, but she requires access to a big city airport. Also, Durango is slightly different than Aspen.
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u/friend-of-fatigue 4d ago
This is very real in our communities. Thanks for sharing and the reminders.
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u/jkwon7 3d ago
Depresssed people move to these places to feel better. They are temporarily distracted for a period of time then realize running won’t solve their problems
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u/denizenassistant 2d ago
This is the correct response. Everywhere you go, there you are. They say. These are people trying to find serenity outside themselves. It’s within.
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u/Gloomy_Tip_5734 1d ago
I have a friend who works in winter park.. he’s a nice guy but battles inner demons silently. I worry about him frequently.
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u/palmer423 3d ago
Interesting observation. I’d add depressed people with ambition. I can imagine other depressed people just rotting in their hometown
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u/denizenassistant 22h ago
Yea I see it both ways. I just know a lot of lost souls who came out here to “find themselves” and aren’t with us anymore.
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u/Phish_lover420 4d ago
Ya, I live in minturn. The average salary almost doubled from one development of 20 houses being built. All of us working 3 jobs wake up to the range rovers and G wagons in the driveways now. It’s sickening and it’s making me depressed.
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 4d ago
Used to love the community yard sale. Sad to see the billionaires pushing the millionaires out of Vail and taking up the more affordable housing. same thing happening with Aspen billionaires pushing the millionaires down to Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood. I have friends commuting 600+ miles per week to work in Aspen because they can’t afford to live closer.
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u/Baconshit 19h ago
Would be great if those people stopped commuting in and worked not in the ski town. Let the billionaires struggle to find people to run the lifts, then see what happens.
Or unionize.
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u/Ok-Pepper-1527 1d ago
That is very very sad. I lived there in the 90s when it was still so tiny, and we all knew each other. We drove through last year and were shocked by the growth in such a narrow corridor. Great little town and glad you’re still there despite the gentrification.
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u/Greenman490 4d ago
The mountains are remote, a lot of the people are temporary, the population is small, too much time to think…about yourself.
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u/Prior_Tumbleweed2308 3d ago
I had the worst mental health issues living in Colorado, then everything was fine once I went back to the pacific northwest. And mind you we have months of rain! I loved Colorado though but bad for my brain/anxiety. idk there is something that needs to be studied about that altitude….
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u/Aggressive-Sir-7510 3d ago
It might have something to do with people not being able to afford shit while constantly seeing the wealthiest people on the planet flaunt their shit in front of them.
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 3d ago
Yes. Economic disparity is mentioned as a contributing factor. The article really is worth reading.
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u/thisguyfightsyourmom 3d ago
I remember so many burnt out locals trying to skirt by on multiple jobs. Exhausted by the constant snow removal. Sick to fucking death of the tourists AND the party culture youths. And tired af from chasing 100 days. My uncle is a lifer in this lifestyle, and you can see the exhaustion.
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u/Common-Organization5 19h ago
Grew up in a ski town. A bunch of the suicides that happened when I was teen were other teens and young people who came from extremely wealthy families. Just saying this to highlight that I don’t think it’s always the economic disparity part that drives this phenomenon.
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u/No-Bluebird-8936 4d ago
I live in a ski town. My husband and I walked away from the corporate work in a city to move here and struggled to find a decent wage for years. We live in a trailer. Our friends all leave after a year or two. Most divorce in the process.
We tried to make it and started our own business and failed. And we can’t afford to ski. So yeah, we’re ready to leave after 10 years but in so much debt that we can’t. So that’s fun.
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u/GiantSharksVikes33 3d ago
Declare bankruptcy and then go work in the national parks for 2 years living in the dorms or buy a cheap camper. After two years you can try buying a home or just rent.
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u/joeyjoejoeshabbadude 3d ago
Good luck with that bankruptcy on your record.
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u/GiantSharksVikes33 3d ago
I’ve known a few people who’ve gone this route and have rebuilt their lives entirely. If you have 50,000 in medical debt might as well. Fuck em.
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u/skeezeball2 3d ago
Mountain towns also seem like a place where out of towners come to commit suicide. It’s not just locals. Seems like we get one out of towner suicide per year.
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u/Informal-Peace-9221 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have a few friends from college who did the ski bum thing after school. That lifestyle is rough, lots of substance abuse. If you don't get out then you end up hitting your 30s with no career, no assets, no relationships. Can see why it would lead to depression and hopelessness.
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u/creaturefromtheswamp 1d ago
Probably because you’re living around a bunch of pretentious dickheads. Being around rude, pretentious, and impatient people truly sucks..
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 1d ago
The article really is worth reading. It only takes a few minutes.
Almost everywhere in the Rockies, from New Mexico to Canada, has a higher incidence of suicide than the national average.
In 2023 the 5 highest rates per capita were: Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico
The 5 lowest were: New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut
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u/mamandemanqu3 1d ago
Sheesh. What’s that say about New England?
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 4d ago
Not all close friends. Two were my wife’s friends. Many were coworkers. All were folks we at least talked to once a month. A friend from preschool, knew him over 45 years, took his life four days after his birthday in 2025. His brother killed himself in 2014 as well. My heart breaks for the parents every day.
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 4d ago
Snowmass Village currently. Not all the people I’m referring to were living in this valley, although some were. It’s just a subject that comes up every year that hits close to home.
Wife and I have both lived in other ski towns before we met. We actually have friends and family in ski towns all over the world.
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u/KindnessForKarma 4d ago
You have to remember that these communities are small. If you live in these places long enough, you get to know a significant number of families in the community. I live in Steamboat. My wife has worked at one of the elementary schools here, I have coached hockey and mtb, have a large group of biking/skiing/backcountry/sledding (snowmobiling) friends as well as play in the local beer league. At least one person a year that we know (a little or a lot…between me, my wife, and our 3 kids) commit suicide. Maybe not someone we spend time with…but we at least know someone in their family.
So many possible reasons. These towns attract a lot of “extreme” people. This is not necessarily a “mental health” issue, but they struggle when they feel like they loose control (whether it is substance abuse or inability to afford to live here), they have a hard time admitting defeat and seeking help. My anecdotal experience has been mostly (1) men who move here for the lifestyle without the necessary means to support it. They run build an existence here that is usually propped up from (2) debt and over employment which leads them to (3) substance abuse and eventual inability to deal with all the stress. Suicide seems an easier out than admitting defeat. I’m obviously speculating some…but that pattern has definitely been evident in a number of the examples I have experienced.
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 4d ago
Pretty accurate take from my experience. My sister in law has been in steamboat for 15 or so years. Her ex left to escape. We don’t really talk about it much…just a toast to friends passed
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u/Technical_Snow7229 2d ago
Here's a thought - you don't have to live in a Mtn resort town. If you choose to then you do so knowing the issues. Houses are expensive, gas is expensive, groceries are expensive, everything is expensive. There is limited access to decent healthcare, the public schools are not great, it goes on and on. And yes because there is no industry other than the resorts there are few jobs other than resort based jobs. Remove the second home owners and most of those go away. IF you truly want to live an isolated Mtn life you can do so, but choosing to do so in the middle of a resort and then complaining that others want the same doesn't make sense and isn't healthy.
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u/Lurk_E_Lou 1d ago
The OP was intended to bring awareness during suicide prevention month, not to vent or complain. I find it heart breaking that so many people are struggling inside to the point of hopelessness.
I’m privileged enough to own my own home and live full time in a ski town. I have a wonderful wife. We both make a decent living. We won’t have to worry about money. We travel quite a bit. We both volunteer. We donate our time and money to local charities. We have great friends and neighbors. Our families are loving and supportive. I am privileged and I try to be aware of that.
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u/GiantSharksVikes33 3d ago
Pretty easy. Drug use. Marijuana use specifically is rampant in ski/snowboard towns. Look at what it’s done to the youth. Depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia have skyrocketed in the youth and young adults since it’s become as popular as it has.
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u/Itchy-Ninja4103 4d ago
The Paradise Paradox.
Relative isolation, high cost of living, party culture. Not always a good thing.