Thought exercise! House hack in the next great outdoor city/town?

[Robert Durden]

Hi all, recently settling into my first property (a house hack in Washington, DC proper - got a steal of a deal!) and am toying with a thought exercise. I am setting my sites on my next primary residence house hack when I am eligible next April. In my next property, I am looking to strike out West to house hack a -plex (open to 2-4, anything that makes sense numbers wise) in a good market that will offer some vibrancy in terms of city/town life with access to the great outdoors, primarily skiing. With my DITI, I have about $400-500K to play with.

I am looking at all the usual suspects (Denver, SLC, Boise) but fear they are beyond reason/price at this point. I am doing my due diligence on these markets but figured I'd throw it out to the community and hear thoughts, thanks so much!

(I am not sure if these types of posts are cool so appreciate the feedback!)

[Chris Davidson]

Quote from @Robert Durden:

@Chris Davidson & @Anna Strausbaugh - really appreciate the insights! Boise seems like it is out of my wheelhouse right now but Nampa and Caldwell seem great! Would you recommend any of these towns/cities/subburbs in the surround area? I have been scouting Middleton and Kuna as well!

 I'd recommend Nampa and Caldwell. Kuna is too far out for me right now. Someday it will be there but not enough commerce for me. For Middleton I'd rather just go over to Caldwell which has better access to highways and a larger renter pool. Once you go past Nampa and Caldwell your tenant pool shrinks drastically and while things are good when the economy is humming along. The more inflation hits and the higher gas goes the less likely folks want to live further away from work.