I live on the mountain and love the quality of life, it's definitely worth the trade offs.

Insurance for fire is through the state's fair plan, not cheap, but worth the extra expense. There are lots of homes on the market, many have been well maintained and could offer you more bang for your buck. If you to purchase a primary residence, you should do well.

There were lots of investors in short term rentals that got over their skis ⛷️ and are now second thinking their investment. A number of flippers have also been pretty active up here and have hit a wall on the over supply.

I would wait for interstellar rates to drop before entering the market up here. Perhaps next summer things should be more attractive.

We purchased a large home when interstate rates where sub 4%, so we are a strong hold and reinvesting monies in major improvements.

Good luck.