30 Jul The Pursuit of Happiness: Lifestyle & Telluride Real Estate

The Pursuit of Happiness
: Lifestyle & Telluride Real Estate

Mike Shimkonis, Director

There is a Jungian theory that posits that the first half of our lives is about establishing identity and ego, and the second half is about spirituality, going deeper into ourselves. It gets you thinking about life and skiing before and after 40, reminiscing about hammering zipper lines down Spiral Stairs that never end. Lap after breathless lap on the Gold Hill lift filled with seemingly bottomless powder on Dynamo. Or the sunlit, snowless days giggling in glee blazing down See Forever to Lookout to town. All expending muscle, stamina and joy gliding down the mountain.

Maybe there’s a parallel to this Carl Jung stuff. Or, to put it in skiing terms, the first half of a skiing life might favor bump runs and glades and all manner of swashbuckling razzle dazzle but the second half draws on more subtle and experiential skills in pursuit of the softest powder, scoring a virgin Plunge groomer or perfecting a complete turn.

The team at Telluride Properties thinks about it a lot. How to keep the stoke alive. How to feel like it’s not all downhill, so to speak, with life after 40. Dipping a toe in the real estate waters is a good place to start for the timid, whether it be a $40,000 fractional purchase or a no-brainer push the easy button snuggle into a vacation condo under a half-million. This type of daydreaming and ultimate reality takes you straight into a fountain of youth.

For those who are already in Telluride full immersion and are on their umpteenth rental trip, the first purchase is momentous but also easy with a rear-view mirror reflection often spouted of “what the hell was I thinking? Why didn’t I do this sooner?” And the splurge is usually bigger and more final – a Victorian gem in town, a ski-in multi-generational, income producing chalet in Mountain Village, an escape to a ranch home in the countryside, or a buy land-designbuild scheme to put the ultimate creative mark on your life.

Location choice. Property type selection. Chasing income potential. Nerding out on the Telluride real estate metrics. We consider this the surrogate Telluride lifestyle leading up to the big day of signing your name on an offer. Until you purchase and as long as your dreaming Telluride, you are the armchair rider of the storm. Many clients and prospects are part of this universe until they’ve hit the right place at the right time. We’ve often heard clients saying to their family and friends, “We finally bought a home in Telluride and you’re invited to stay with us!” It’s an art form in how discreetly or cleverly that message is presented and a snide pleasure too. And a much deserved consolation after busting your ass in the treadmill of corporate work and travel and city life.

Nothing gives us greater pleasure than riding a favorite lift or journeying on a sublime hike and sharing amazing existential out of body experiences. Where your senses are on hyperalert, appreciating the glimmer of diamonds in the snow, the almost missed spotting of a rare Lynx, the gaze of watching a red-tail hawk rising in a thermal or witnessing the many rainbows, waterfalls and alpenglows that permeate every crease in “our valley”. Many of us love to count the number of days we ski each season and milk every last flake of snow under our skis until we hockey stop at Oak. Just like eating every last grain of rice in the bowl, one Japanese friend always said.

The most obvious way to stay stoked is to stay fit and healthy. There’s a huge sub-community of wellness in Telluride with an array of resources to help you plunge into diet and exercise and glow. One common denominator in hanging out with local and world class ski legends is learning that flexibility over strength later in life is key. We stay limber and active and, when we don’t, we get sidelined. Owning and living in “America’s Best Ski Town” is a great way to stay limber and active while also strengthening and cementing bonds with family and friends.

As for the nerding out on Telluride real estate statistics, some things are up, some things are down. Overall we continue to be on a mostly consistent 35+ year upward trajectory. Reach out to your favorite broker, preferably on a hike or a lift, and get the lowdown for what floats your skis.

We are standing by to answer your questions about Telluride 970.728.0808 or you can start browsing homes, land and condos here.