Tahoe Local: Lessons from the High Life

Blue Ribbon Finalist for Best Columns in the 2013 California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Want to move to Tahoe? Jump in and hold on for a ride through fifty years of living in a high-altitude, weather-centric, quirky mountain town. Along the way, you'll gain insights into the misfits and free spirits who thrive in Tahoe's wilderness paradise and fickle climate and find out more about a populace that embraces bizarre employment opportunities for the promise of a hedonistic lifestyle.

Learn how Tahoe locals celebrate the holidays mountain-style and the not-so-special events they create. This is a place where happy hour is still respected and observed daily. Get a close-up view of the service workers and the tourists who, unfortunately, have to depend on them. Take a peek at Tahoe's casinos that offer jobs with the guarantee of minimum wage, a complimentary meal of banquet leftovers, and a free humiliating uniform.

As you travel Tahoe's bumpy roads, you might find a town with limitless recreational activities-most of which are legal. And you may be tempted to join the unleashed dogs and untethered humans at play. You'll see what it takes to be called a "Tahoe local," the true test is not how long you've lived here, but how you respond to the call of the wild.