A community of strength amongst challenges

Our community is tightly knit and supportive. Residents are engaged and passionate about maintaining a high quality of life here. We are fortunate to have a strong sense of belonging and community spirit. The balance between work and lifestyle is something many cherish.

Yet we have very real challenges, including housing and mental health. The high cost of living, driven by the desirability of our area and a lack of housing supply, poses a significant challenge for local families. This manifested last month in an interesting discussion on a popular community Facebook forum where a former resident shared that they perceive “the valley is turning toxic”.

I jumped in on this conversation, as I don’t think this could be further from the truth. Some of the great things about Eagle County from my viewpoint:

The valley is a great place, filled with wonderful people. Our outdoor recreational opportunities are vast and varied. Our trail systems (hiking, biking, 4x4) have been improved and continue to be expanded. Our healthcare system is arguably the best per capita in the nation (no community our size has access to our cancer services, orthopedics, and cardiac care). Our airport continues to add new flights and has attracted our first low-cost carrier. Our economy is stronger by almost every metric (average wage, diversity of industry) than other neighboring mountain communities.

Additionally, our public school system is diverse and high performing. Our private schools offer a variety of alternatives. Our recreation districts offer a variety of sports camps and leagues for kids and adults. Our transit system operates fare-free through most of the valley. Our towns and county are generally well-run and invest in community events and community needs. Our special districts (fire, water, metro, recreation) have strong leaders at the helm. Our non-profit community has some of the best-operated, mission-driven organizations to be found, who work meet the needs of our citizens. There are expansive non-sports programs for our kids. Our small business community are generally awesome and caring and invested in their people and their customers.

That said, and to be fair, a valley is a hard place, and not everything is "good". Housing is too expensive, and we are vastly short on supply (despite public and private investment). Health insurance costs are too high and there is not enough competition in the insurance market. There is a lack of early childhood facilities. The cost of living is high, driven by these and other factors. Mental health and substance abuse are ongoing issues (fortunately there are some great efforts in place to help address this). There are about three available jobs for every person looking for work, creating an environment where many businesses are short-staffed, creating pressure on the staff in place.

Someone else shared the perception that we also have a large influence of "Rose Colored Glasses", where many people, especially young, move here to have fun. A never-never land kind of ideal. Sooner or later reality sets in. They shared that this approach potentially makes people more jaded than if it was approached with a more realistic expectation. It doesn't take long for the response "Living the dream" to go from an excited answer to a sarcastic bitter one. We still have a much better community and quality of living, even with the challenges, than most places.

I contest the narrative that the “valley is toxic” when in fact we tend to address our challenges head-on, band together to support those who need it, and align our efforts to solve the problems we have. That’s part of what makes Eagle County great.

Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce. Learn more at VailValleyPartnership.com