What this site is for

A mountain town is easy to visit and harder to understand from a weekend. These pages exist so people deciding whether to live here — or whether a house in this county fits their week — can read something practical before they get on a plane.

The five cornerstone guides are the spine: moving, wells and septic and roads, neighborhoods, ownership costs, and second homes. Field notes are for shorter things — a hard winter week, a river that comes up, a detail that needs a correction.

Sources at the bottom of each guide are the documents actually used. Where a number could not be verified, the writing stays general or is marked for a later check. Recheck live county, town, and utility pages before you rely on a fee or a rule.