Life in Moab
- July 2020
- Hi Steph Simple Living
Dear Steph,
My name is Kelly, and my husband Simon and I are writing with maybe an unusual question.We have read your books, and large chunks of your blog, and notice that you are incredibly generous with your responses to semi random questions.
We are wondering if you can tell us a little about what it’s like to live in Moab? We are climbers and distance runners, and we have spent longish and shortish stints in Moab and the Creek, and in Salt Lake, and we are shopping for a new place to live. I lived in San Francisco for many years, and Simon lived in Manila, and we know that for sure we want to live close to climbing and running. When the pandemic broke out we were living in Kathmandu (I’m a teacher and I had a job at an international school there). We are fortunate that we can both work online and don’t need to look for work in Moab so that’s not a deciding factor. Between us we have citizenships in Canada and Europe too, so we have some hard choices to make, but have started the process for residence in the US for Simon (I’m already a US citizen), but we are considering whether we should rethink our US plans.
We have the impression that you are the unofficial mayor of Moab 🙂 and have these questions:
Do you love it as much as you always have, or do you find it changing with higher numbers of tourists or other influences?
How is it with the mix of both outdoorsy types who enjoy quiet activities and those that enjoy loud ones? (Climbing or running, compared to say, 4-wheeling). Does everyone, in your experience, get along?
With the recent tensions around the pandemic and politics, how do things feel in Moab? I read that businesses are now open and are asking patrons to wear masks- Is this accepted? Are there hostilities towards newcomers that you have noticed?
Any parts of town that you recommend looking for housing to either rent or buy?
Other thoughts on living in Moab?We hope that you are keeping well, and deeply appreciate any insights that you may have. We realize that asking you for this advice is totally out of left field.
Warmly,
Kelly & Simon
Hi Kelly,
I’ve been in Moab for 25 years now, and it has certainly changed. For me, the scale of tourist development in the town is hard to handle. I thought there was a really good balance in the past, with locally-owned hotels and campgrounds, as well as BLM campgrounds. Recently there has been a seemingly nonstop push to build huge hotels and condo complexes, traffic has gotten really difficult (and dangerous) on our little Main Street during the high tourist season, and there’s a housing shortage for locals who can’t afford second-home level prices. Since the pandemic, a lot of tourist activity has decreased, and it’s at a much better level from a living perspective. Unfortunately, several small, locally owned businesses have not made it. So these things are all difficult.
That being said, I personally can’t imagine living anywhere but here.
As a devoted trail runner, I can’t think of a better place to live (though I’m sure there are many incredible places for trail running in the States!). There are endless year-round running options, and as they keep adding new mountain bike trails with nice little signs, it has just gotten even better in recent years.
Depending on the type of climbing you like, Moab is not necessarily the best climbing home base. We have lots of adventure style and sandstone crack (vertical) climbing around, but we lack a concentrated area with fitness-style sport climbing (e.g., Rifle, Maple Canyon, VRG, Clark Mountain), our one bouldering area is just okay and only really climbable in the winter, and we don’t have a climbing gym. This has been my biggest challenge over the years, and I’ve finally figured out that I needed to build a climbing gym in my yard to keep me happy and fit for that type of climbing. If more adventure-style climbing is your jam, it will keep you very happy for a long time.
Housing in Moab is either frustrating or fine, depending on your budget. If you are used to Bay area or ski town prices, you will be very happy with your choices here. If you are used to more typical prices, you will be incredibly frustrated at what’s on offer, for the price it’s available at, which has always been the case since I’ve been in Moab. I’ve closely watched the real estate market for the last 20 years, and I’ve seen that although it occasionally goes flat, it never goes down….
I hope this helps!
Steph
