Located in the a remote area of the Rocky Mountains, Aspen, Colorado had began as a rather humble mining village. When the mining of the area died out, so too did most of the Aspen population, leaving behind a small village, with little work and even less appeal until a visionary, saw this village and the surrounded mountains as the ideal place to begin building a ski resort, and as they say the rest is history.
With 4 ski areas surrounding Aspen, and it’s somewhat isolated location, it soon became a favorite get-a-way of celebrities that preferred skiing the white powder to lying on white sandy beaches. Property prices soared until even the locals could no longer afford to live in Aspen and had to move to surrounding communities. In fact, property prices in Aspen is the highest of anywhere in the United States. Small mom and pop stores made way for pricey boutiques that catered to Hollywood stars, and other celebrities and now the streets of this village are lined with shops bearing names such as Ralph Lauren, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci and other high end brands.
Luxury Condos sprang up all over the Countryside and you can even find the occasional spa that caters to those looking for a little more pampering that some of the resorts seem to offer.
While locals may have mourned the changes to their small Rocky Mountain community for the rich and famous, like Hollywood’s stars it meant that they had a place they could escape to and enjoy their favorite winter activities without having to worry about being accosted on a ski lift by someone with stars in their eyes. Aspen has become a favorite get-a-way of stars such such as Heidi Klum, Michael Douglas, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson who prefer a more active type of breaking from their hectic filming schedules. Soon the stars were joined by the movers and shakers in the world of business and fiance and today Aspen is considered the Playground of the rich of and famous.
The change in Aspen from small almost deserted mining village, to one of the most sought after and expensive ski area in the United States has brought an infusion of money into surrounding Colorado communities as most of those who are employed in the shops, the ski resorts, restaurants and other business in the village live outside of the village itself.
One of the nice things about Aspen, is that despite all it’s changes from small town America to a World famous ski resort much of the small town flavor is still there is the design of the businesses that line main street and the beautiful view of the mountains beyond. It is a great place to commune with nature and even those popular Hollywood stars have to be struck by the raw beauty of the area and sheer magnitude of the Rocky Mountains.
It really isn’t any wonder that Aspen has become a popular place for those Hollywood star looking for a bit of seclusion and a chance to enjoy what nature has to offer.