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What It Means to Live in a Frontier County
Most important to your decision-making about moving to Lake City and Hinsdale County is that you understand that we are geographically isolated, and what that really means.
Lake City is the only town in the county of Hinsdale. We are the most remote county in the lower 48 states, which means that we have the fewest miles of roads per person, plus the most land area located far from roads.
Statisticians refer to us as a frontier county, which really does mean that we are on the cusp of Wilderness. This physical situation impacts all aspects of life here, including things like how far you have to drive to buy necessities, what clothes you wear, and what things you can grow in your garden.
Pace of Life
If you are accustomed to a fast pace of life, full of goods and services on demand, living in Lake City will require some adjustment. Depending on what you are used to, you could even experience full-fledged culture shock. People who are able to self-entertain and/or who enjoy outdoor recreation on their own are most comfortable in Lake City.
What we don't have allows us to have the good and wonderful things that we do have. There are no malls, traffic, crowds, lines, noise, pollution, or bright lights.
What we do have: lots of wildlife in town, quiet, peace, relative safety from crime, a real night sky, hiking, fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, miles of trails, rock and ice climbing, an excellent library and school, parks, friendly residents, loved children, loved dogs and cats, lots of locally-concocted community events and arts programs, and a vast mountain wilderness surrounding us.
Economics & Housing
For generations, the main economic industry of Hinsdale County has been, and still is, tourism. In addition, the construction of homes, particularly for second-home owners, is very significant to the economy here. Generally speaking, tourists are either here (during the summer) or they're not (the rest of the time). Winters are very quiet, and some businesses close for the season while others have limited hours. Changes are occurring to shift this situation a little, as more early-retirees and tele-commuters move here, small non-tourism businesses arrive, and a few more winter tourists visit.
In terms of income, a majority of it comes in from outside, in the form of retirement funds and other money that is earned outside of Hinsdale County. Unemployment is almost non-existent. Nearly all businesses are run by local owner-entrepreneurs, and most of those businesses relate to tourism or home construction. High speed DSL internet connections have allowed several people to move here and retain their jobs elsewhere. Year-round job openings are scarce, but summer jobs in the areas of food service, cleaning, repair, and maintenance work are sometimes hard to fill due to a lack of employees and a lack of housing for them. Many people are so determined to live in Lake City that they simply do what they have to do to make it work, and it often does.
The housing market is competitive, even if you are ready to buy. Rentals exist but they sometimes don't make it into the local newspaper, so it is best to keep in touch with residents who hear of places becoming available. Make friends, network, and keep trying. Most of us have stories about how things just fell into place to make the move possible.
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