Sun Valley - Retirement Community for the Rich
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5/22/2010
Young people living in Sun Valley, unless they have a trust fund can expect to have a difficult time here. The average age seems to be approx 78. Any business that is worth something has gone under or is in the process of going under as the land that the business was occupying is turned into luxury condominiums. Youger people (under 50) are being pushed further and further south. There is a real effor to try and keep these younger people in the community (Sun Valley) where they work. Afforable housing is none existant - new hotels/land developments must set aside approx 10% of their project area for "affordable housing for their workers". But even that is not affordable and not well received by those trying to build large projects in the area. Even the magnet here, Sun Valley resort, is planning to build an extremely large hotel/condo project but are hesitant about affordable housing. It is crazy. The bottom line is Sun Valley is beautiful but very expensive. This town is split into the haves and have nots. The schism is growing daily . You are so focused on trying to stay afloat, working so hard to exist that even though you live in one of the most beautiful areas in the world, you don't look up. Or you do you don't see anything because of all of the fear due to worrying about the next paycheck or lack of opportunity in the town (which basically at the end of a cul-de-sac - like Telluride - so there is not great choice of options for making a living here and that is not including the cyclicality of living in a ski resort town). So basically, if you have a lot of money this is a great place to live but if you don't it is a difficult place to live - everything is geared towards the rich or seasoned citizens. It is a beautiful but very difficult existance, everyine tends to have at least two jobs but three jobs tends to be the average.
BLT | Sun Valley, ID