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Money moves (to the) mountains: how Zoom towns are changing the housing market forever

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Money moves (to the) mountains: how Zoom towns are changing the housing market forever

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Content MONEY MOVES (TO THE) MOUNTAINS
HOW ZOOM TOWNS ARE CHANGING THE HOUSING MARKET FOREVER
by
Lauren Sueko Teruya
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
December 2021
Copyright 2021 Lauren Sueko Teruya
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii

Chapter 1: The Nomad’s Quarter Life Crisis ................................................................................ 5

Chapter 2: The Dreamer .............................................................................................................. 10

Chapter 3: The Writer Gone Rogue ……………………............................................................ 15

Chapter 4: The Second Homeowner ........................................................................................... 19

Chapter 5: The Future ……………............................................................................................. 24

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 27

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ABSTRACT

After living with a broker for a year in Jackson Hole and writing for the local newspaper,
I collected the voices of community members answering this question: how did Teton County go
from one of the state's poorest counties to the richest over the past few decades?
This thesis examines the lives of four people that represent different
perspectives/circumstances in Jackson Hole:
Sergio Flores represents the undocumented worker who lives in cramped quarters and
without legal protections. He is part of the backbone of the local economy. A University of
Wyoming study found that immigrants in Teton County contribute $355.5 million annually to the
local economy, but they have no legal pathway to homeownership or protections against ICE.
The problem Flores represents is a national issue of immigration and housing, and the solutions
proposed in this section of the story are presented by immigration attorney Elisabeth Trefornas.
The steps she takes to help people find a legal pathway to citizenship, as well as the type of
policy that is required nationally to change citizenship eligibility for undocumented people, are
clearly explained in this section.
Tyler Schwab represents the ski-bum transient worker who chooses Jackson for the lifestyle,
works full time, but can’t afford the high cost of living. After graduating from college, he had big
dreams, but now he lives paycheck-to-paycheck in a job he doesn't enjoy. April Norton, Teton
County Housing director, provides some solutions for people like Schwab. She's helped increase
deed-restricted housing, received $13 million for new affordable housing projects in the next
fiscal year and has a "boots on the ground" approach at helping house the most vulnerable people
in the community.
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Brett McPeak represents the realtor who is engrained in the community but is actively selling
it. McPeak grapples with a moral dilemma of selling Jackson to second homeowners while living
comfortably and unaffected by the housing crisis which the real estate market is creating. “If
I don't do it, someone else will,” he said. McPeak could represent part of the solution because
realtors choose who they work with/sell to.
Richard Georgi represents the big-money second homeowner who resides in Jackson part-
time but inflates home prices by buying up property at high prices. His $11 million home is not
inhabited for most of the year, and this is typical. He speaks very openly about Wyoming’s
beneficial tax system. However, Georgi is also part of the solution as a major contributor to local
non-profits and an advocate for growth. After growing up in Vail, Colorado, he said Jackson
Hole needs to build higher and denser to meet community needs — a sentiment that most
wealthy homeowners do not share.
I also kept close communications with a housing director, immigration attorney, county
commissioners, brokers, Jackson natives, tourists and second homeowners to capture the diverse
complexity of this story. Jackson Hole’s housing crisis is unique and complex, and this piece
makes the issue more digestible by characterizing the key players.

1

A view worth over $1 million of the treasured Grand Tetons from Taggart Lake in the national park | Lauren Teruya
The driver’s seat cradled his tired body as he completed a 12-hour workday with the all-
toofamiliar 77-mile route home. Driving down slick roads covered in ice, red and white car
lights blend in movement like a Chinese dragon dancing in the night. At 25, being the first in his
family to go to college, Tyler Schwab did not anticipate working in construction, living on his
parents’ couch in Smoot, Wyoming and spending 70% of his life working, driving and sleeping.
For Schwab — and many other blue-collar workers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming — a
lifetime of laboring and driving hundreds of miles per week is not unusual. Wyoming’s
minimum wage of $5.15 an hour makes employment in Jackson Hole worth the drive. In Teton
County, $51,000 is the average annual salary, but despite higher-paying jobs, 85% of workers in
Teton County cannot afford a home.
2
After living in his van for four years, Schwab began renting a room in October, trading
his growing savings account for a living space. He sat uncomfortably on his shared living room
couch, shifting positions as if searching for a sense of contentment. Schwab’s discomfort looms
far beyond the boundaries of Teton County. It spreads over Teton Pass, into Idaho and hundreds
of miles south of Jackson Hole.
And this is not unique. What’s happening in Jackson Hole is also occurring in small
mountain towns in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana. All across the country, wealthy people now
permanently reside in their former vacation destinations. Given the flexibility to abandon their
city homes for towns with open-air and less COVID restrictions, celebrities such as Joe Rogan,
Nikki Sixx and Elon Musk all ditched California for tax-free states like Wyoming and Texas —
with many following the example set by some of America’s wealthiest billionaires.
But, at the end of the day, a human lies behind every problem in America, separating the
“haves” from the “have-nots.” And some argue that every man and woman is just looking out for
their best interests in an imperfect system.
So, while Schwab packs for a climbing trip, an undocumented immigrant stands on the
porch of his apartment in West Jackson. He looks down to his hands holding a plastic
rectangular card with his personal data, photo and large letters stamped in the right bottom
corner: “NOT VALID FOR REENTRY TO U.S.”
Gazing out at a different view — a completely unobstructed landscape of the Tetons — a
millionaire hops on and off Zoom calls from his part-time home up a winding, half-paved road
laden with multi-million-dollar properties and the luxury Amangani Resort.
3
Racing down Broadway in his black Porsche from a property showing in East Jackson, a
realtor speeds to pick up his daughter from school. The volatile housing market makes balancing
his morals and hunger to make a sale challenging.
The polarity between people in Jackson Hole creates the town’s growing wealth gap. In
June 2021, one property listed for $69.5 million.

MLS screenshot of the most expensive house on the market as of June 22, 2021.
Once a ranching town that housed people enduring extreme winters, short growing seasons,
and unpredictable weather patterns, the town of Jackson has grown its service industry jobs by
nearly 60% over the past two decades. In the 1930s, Teton County was one of the poorest
counties, ranking 22 of 23. In 2019, a local economist pegged the county as the nation’s first in
terms of income inequality. In 2018, an estimated 80% of work opportunities in town were
service jobs. So, while labor demand grew, pressure on the working class to meet the needs of
visitors and new homeowners also increased.
4

In the summer of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Federal Reserve to drop interest
rates to make borrowing costs low. The valley lured even more wealthy buyers, inflating home
prices to unprecedented figures. Brett McPeak, an associate broker at Jackson Hole Sotheby's
International Realty, said that sales volume doubled from 2019 to 2020, rising to nearly $2.5
billion. The Jackson Hole Report showed a 44% price increase for the typical single-family
home during the same period. And, as of April 2021, the least expensive single-family home
listed on the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) was over $3.3 million. It was a 2,600-square-foot,
3-bedroom, 4-bath house.
Shifts over the past few decades — and the past year, in particular — have entangled
Jackson Hole’s small-town culture with deep pocket needs. Among locally-owned coffee shops,
restaurants and clothing stores, a LuluLemon pop-up emerged in October that has yet to close
down. A now-vacant storefront that used to house the regional Lucky’s Market will soon house
outdoor equipment giant REI. And the popular locally-owned grocery store, Whole Grocer,
recently became a Whole Foods. This gentrification — though some locals balk at the term,
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opting instead for corporatization — could put small local businesses at risk, changing the once
intimate small-town culture. The artists, adventurers, pranksters, and entrepreneurs that once
gave the town its eccentric vibe, are struggling to find shelter in a different way than before.
The nomad’s quarter-life crisis

Schwab documents “A day in the life of a construction worker” on his YouTube channel, showing his 12-hour work day from
beginning to end | Tyler Schwab
Schwab grew up in what he describes as a small, rural Mormon town called Smoot,
Wyoming. His dad is a mine operator, and his mom works in special education and respite care.
By 12, Schwab worked as a laborer, but his parents put a lot of pressure on him to go to college
after high school.
“My dad said, ‘if you're still here in a year, I'm gonna kick your ass,’” he said.
After finishing a degree in kinesiology at the University of Wyoming, he worked for an
indoor hydroponic equipment company, marketing and creating YouTube videos for the startup.
6
Three unhappy years later, his quarter-life crisis hit. He quit his job, ended a six-year relationship,
and moved into his van.
At night, he’d dream of becoming a successful multi-media freelancer, making YouTube
vlogs to inspire people struggling in similar situations. But in the morning, he’d go to work as a
barista in Laramie, make $800 a month, and pray for good health while living with asthma and no
healthcare.
Five months later, his van broke, and he’d accumulated over $3,000 of debt. Schwab
called his older brother, who’d opted out of college to work in Jackson Hole. He convinced
Schwab to get a job with him. This was the decision that began his windy and dangerous three-
hour daily commute.
“I found myself in the construction arena with a college degree, making like $5 less an
hour than my brother,” he said. While the wages in Jackson Hole are better than any other place
in Wyoming, he could not afford to live in town.
At this point in his life, options were not plentiful. He accepted the 12-hour work shifts,
knowing that in the winter — when construction halts — he could leave. He bought a new van
and spent three months climbing in California. This lifestyle became his routine.

7

A 2017 “moving into my first van” episode on his YouTube channel, Schwab shares what it was like creating a home in his car |
Tyler Schwab

“I don’t feel fulfilled by the work, but it gives me everything I could ask for,” he said.
Unlike most blue-collar jobs, Schwab can choose to leave work and always come back to a job, a
reality that he says is empowering. But despite that small sense of power, after turning 30 he lost
motivation to fight for a job that fueled his passion, becoming more complacent in his lifestyle.
In October, after four years of van life, he rented a room with his brother. He no longer
lived at the mercy of Jackson Hole’s harsh winters, wasting time relying on coffee shops for
WIFI and staying overnight in his work’s “man camp.” The change in life felt like a counterfeit
of comfort. With his new living space, Schwab gave up his financial security, putting $1000 per
month toward rent alone. He could no longer grow his savings, worked more hours to make his
payments and spent less time with others in the community. Schwab said the more he worked,
the less he was able to contribute to his mental well-being.
8
“There's just different levels of privilege in Jackson,” he said. “Does it reach all the way
down? I don't know… if I could have a place to park my van, take a shower and do laundry, that
would be a huge increase in quality of lifestyle for me.”
With limited legal overnight parking spots, Schwab said privilege is a perspective. He
never sees himself as someone who will be able to own a home — and he could be right. Teton
County housing director April Norton said the demand that felt limitless before COVID has only
increased due to outside demand for housing in Jackson Hole.

April Norton, director of the Jackson/Teton County Housing Department, stands in front of an old building on the property slated
to be redeveloped for a new, 100% deed restricted apartment complex. | Jackson Hole News & Guide’s Bradly J. Boner

“Wages [in Jackson Hole] are in no way related to the cost of living,” she said.
Six years ago, Norton purchased her 1,700 square foot home, built in 1972, for $698,000.
Now, it's doubled in value. She said wealthy buyers purchase and promptly demolish
homes/townhomes to build mansions that are financially untouchable for Jackson Hole’s
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working community. Norton noted that discussions of local real estate trends often overlook the
negative effect on the men and women who keep the town running.
“You don’t see them. I went for a run this morning – before the sun was up – and there
were so many people living in their trucks or whatever on the street,” she said. Every
Wednesday afternoon, Norton straps her 6-year-old daughter in the backseat of her truck and
delivers free meals to community members. One night, she arrived at a single-wide trailer
housing eight people.
“When I shut the door, it fell off,” she said. For Norton, delivering food is just one way
she tries to give back and address the housing problems facing people in the community. She
noted that as the housing director, she isn’t allowed to advocate for anything that overlaps with
local politics; however, she considers talking about people’s living circumstances to be part of
community awareness and education.

A home on Gregory Lane that Norton
delivers free Wednesday meals through
her church | Lauren Teruya

According to Norton, climate conservation and sustainability, growth management and
quality of life are the housing department’s three core values.

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“If we as a community really value our open spaces and want to steward our ecosystem,
but we also recognize we need housing for people to live here, then we need to provide it in
town, close to jobs, close to schools, close to recreation. We’ve got to build up and a little bit
denser,” she said.
And while Norton views this as a community-wide issue, she said immigrants
disproportionately face housing insecurity. Over the past few years, she’s collaborated on efforts
to simplify the application process and no longer ask for the social security numbers of rental
applicants. Now, she’s considering allowing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
recipients to apply for public housing — a first for Jackson Hole.
While she was unable to take proof of citizenship off the homeownership application,
Norton said that most working-class people aren’t looking to buy a home; they want to rent. It
takes baby steps to see long-term progress.

The Dreamer
Sergio Flores Garcia, 24, grew up in Jackson
Hole. An undocumented immigrant and first-generation
college graduate with unpredictable DACA protections,
he entered the workforce with few employment
possibilities, as did many other new graduates.
His dreams of working at a local marketing firm
quickly disappeared when he realized entry-level
positions were unpaid internships. To earn an income,
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he decided to help his two older sisters open a cleaning business, waking up early to manage
online inquiries and clean rentals throughout Jackson Hole.
For Flores and many other undocumented immigrants, gaining full citizenship wouldn’t
just be a relief, it would be an official confirmation of belonging in the country they call home.
“I pay my taxes. Especially with this business that I started with my sisters, the big
intention was to contribute back to the Jackson Hole community and help the local economy –
that was one of the biggest goals,” he said.
Service workers are an essential asset to the local economy, and a report from the
University of Wyoming found that Latino workers are a critical driving force. In April, when
Teton County started re-opening businesses, campsites and restaurants, people from both coasts
flocked to Jackson Hole, making the 2020 season one of the busiest summers in history. 2021 is
on track to be even busier.
As a service worker, Flores starts his day by reaching out to people on LinkedIn to grow
the business and connect with potential customers. He said on a typical day, he and his sisters
clean two to three condos. They tidy the kitchen and bathroom while he does the dusting,
vacuuming and polishing. Most of their bookings come from visitors who rent homes during
their vacations to the valley. According to Flores, the global pandemic boosted service demand
in Jackson Hole, especially with the increase in cleaning precautions.
Flores is just one person out of nearly 5,000 Hispanic residents in Teton County’s total
population of 24,000 – a number that some local authorities note as an undercount due to the
undocumented working-class immigrants who do not participate in the U.S. census. So, like
hundreds of non-citizens in Wyoming, Flores arrived undocumented in 2002.

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He was one of the last members of his family to leave San Simeón in Tlaxcala, Mexico. First, his
mother made the trek across the border, sitting
through hours on a bus northbound to Jackson Hole.
She worked long, hard hours at the hospital to send
money back for her family to join her, starting with
her oldest son, then her husband, her two daughters
and finally, 5-year-old Sergio.
When Flores arrived on an airplane, it was
wintertime — the first time he watched white
powder fall from the sky.

Flores, 4, stands near his house in Tlaxcala, Mexico

For the first several years in Jackson, Flores was one of 10 family members living in a
twobedroom apartment. The complex mostly housed Mexican immigrants. At the time, it wasn’t
something he paid attention to, but by age 15, his family had moved four times.
“A big reason, that I see now, of why we moved was like having too many people in an
apartment,” he said. “A lot of landlords didn’t like that for liability reasons, but from a
standpoint of saving money, it’s such a benefit because you have 10 people living in that type of
apartment, and when you split it up, rent is so good. It makes sense.”
With both his parents working long hours every day, when Flores came home from
school, he spent a lot of time taking care of his nieces and nephews. “I was like a 12-year-old
uncle,” he said.
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As his siblings’ families continued to grow, he and his parents had to find a new home.
Despite frequent displacement, Flores said he’s grateful for the time he spent with his family
growing up. He remembers living near a library, then a park and a steep hill that provided hours
of fun with his cousins. To him, the small spaces just meant more time with loved ones.
In 2016, Flores’ father was sent back to Mexico, forcing him and his mother to find
another home. While Flores has talked openly about his life in Jackson, he was unwilling to
share more about his father’s departure.
While Flores finished high school, his mother, a newly independent provider, worked
from noon to midnight to put food on the table, pay rent and send money back to her family in
Mexico.
According to Elisabeth Trefonas, the head attorney at Trefonas Law P.C., this is not
uncommon. She said a lot of the undocumented population in Jackson live in fear and believe
that housing challenges and immigration status go together.
“One gives rise to the other,” she said. While many businesses within Jackson employ
workers without social security numbers, she said a lot of people come to her seeking
information to attain full citizenship.
“One of the biggest myths about immigrants is that they prefer to be here unlawfully –
that’s simply not true,” she said. According to Trefonas, most of the time, after the first meeting
with new clients, she explains why they are not eligible to become a citizen.
She pulled up a graph over Zoom and pointed to the right half of the pie chart.
14

A diagram made by Trefonas to explain to potential clients how citizenship in America works | Elisabeth Trefonas

“As long as you're on the right side, you're safe,” she said. “However, anyone on the left
side of the pie would not be considered safe. Only people in the brown section – immigrants who
were granted legal access to come into the country – are eligible to apply for citizenship.”
Undocumented immigrants and people whose work visas expired do not have legal consent to
stay in the U.S. They either must leave and possibly wait years re-enter lawfully, or they stay
without citizenship.
According to Trefonas, Jackson Hole is targeted by Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE). They frequently visit Wyoming to deport undocumented workers. She said
ICE officers come to town wearing casual clothes, driving normal cars, and giving no sign of
their identity. They ask people who match a certain profile two simple questions: their name and
if they are legal. If that person answers truthfully, they are usually swiftly deported back to
Mexico.
15
When ICE is in town, Trefonas notifies people through her Facebook page, warning
community members to be careful when answering questions from strangers. According to
Trefonas, DACA recipients are not protected. While they do have access to work in the U.S.,
they came to the country unlawfully, and do not meet citizenship application requirements,
making homeownership impossible.
While Flores and his best friend Ulises Felipe Castro sat in a restaurant outside of town,
they described life before and after DACA.
“Every time I got in a car, I had to worry about not driving too fast or getting into a car
accident. You do that, you’re done,” Castro said. According to Castro, any minor citation could
result in the police calling ICE. Since obtaining their DACA status, they said they’re not as on
edge as they used to be, but it’s always in the back of their mind.
“If we were to go back to Mexico, we would be in a place that we don’t know,” Flores
said. He explained that it’s difficult to worry about deportation, which means leaving the only
home he knows, when a lot of wealthy people buy homes in Jackson Hole intending to leave
them vacant for most of the year.

The Writer Gone Rogue
In the summer of ’93, Lehigh University degree in hand, Brett McPeak took a road trip
through Jackson Hole to interview for a job at the local newspaper. One week later, standing at a
payphone in San Francisco, he accepted a job in graphic arts, building advertisements for the
Jackson Hole Guide.
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“The housing crisis was real in 1993 and it hasn’t gotten any better,” McPeak said. When
he first arrived, he said he had two options: a shared double-wide trailer, or the basement of a
home in the Gill Addition — he chose the latter.

McPeak skis down Snow King Mountain in a suit with his cup of joe | The McPeak Group

Later promoted as the Guide’s daily editor, McPeak juggled work while waiting tables at
night to pay the bills. That job quickly came to an end when he injured his knee skiing. So, he
found a weekend job as a receptionist at a real estate firm. After six months in the office, he was
hired full-time to create marketing content and manage the firm’s IT department. By 2003,
Sotheby’s International Realty purchased the firm and McPeak became their “management
monkey.”
McPeak remembers his friends laughing at him for overpaying to buy a $167,000 condo
in 1999. But he said after years of working in real estate, he noticed a trend: you buy something,
17
you own it for a little while, maybe sell it and you could make a little money. While he didn’t
have the list price in savings, he had $5,000 — enough for a down payment.
Ten years later, in the aftermath of the financial crisis, McPeak said the housing crisis
nearly disappeared. With properties selling for lower than replacement values, he remembers
people questioning the purpose of deed-restricted housing.
“In eight years, we went from ‘we don’t have a housing crisis’ to ‘we can’t possibly
figure this out.’ Eight years is not a long time,” he said.
Sitting at a table in the Healthy Being and Juicery, he enjoyed a green juice, avocado
toast and vegan “Twix bar.” In between bites, he explained Jackson Hole’s evolution with three
analogies: a dying starfish, avocado toast and moose.
First, the dying starfish: you’re standing near the shore where thousands of starfish, out
of water, are slowly dying. One man is walking along the shoreline and throwing some back into
the ocean. He will never be able to get all the starfish back in the water, but he’s taking the time
to save as many as he can. The man represents affordable housing solutions, government
spending, non-profits and people working to help as many people as they can to find homes in
Jackson Hole.
“The government is not going to be able to compete with the free market here because
the market moves too quickly,” McPeak said. But the people working to house some are making
a difference that matters.
Second, the avocado toast: you’re eating an over-priced piece of bread topped with
avocado and trendy edible flowers. Are you thinking about where this avocado came from? Or
all the people needed to get this avocado on your toast? Probably not. The avocado represents
local amenities. McPeak argues that homeowners enjoy the outdoors, they come home to their
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heated homes (or in the case of second homeowners, come to their vacation home) and complain
about traffic.
“I think we as a community are a bunch of whining, entitled, spoiled brats,” he said.
Lastly, the moose: you’re a moose fanatic. You want to save them all and you’re in the
streets protesting people who speed down the roads and hit wildlife in Wilson — the higher-rent
unincorporated town west of Jackson. You don’t want any new people to come to Jackson
because more people mean more drivers, which increases the possibility of someone hitting a
moose. The moose represents the small-town culture and the pretense that they’re protesting
newcomers to save the environment.

Bison — just one species of the populous, free-roaming wildlife sights — graze throughout Teton National Park | Lauren Teruya

“Every time I hear somebody say, ‘no more growth,’ or whatever all I hear is them
saying, ‘I got mine. I don't want anybody else to have theirs. Close the gate, we’re full,’” he said.

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McPeak said the hypocrites in Jackson Hole cherish their anti-growth sentiment. Some
locals argue that realtors, selling homes to wealthy outsiders, are part of the problem, but
McPeak argues that every deal is a choice. He wrestled with his conscience when he left
journalism for real estate, but he quickly realized that realtors in Jackson Hole were county
commissioners, hospital board members and elected officials. Ironically, he felt more a part of
the community as a realtor than working at the paper.
“I don’t try to peg locals versus non-locals because it’s mostly relationship-driven,” he
said. But he argues that if he doesn't do his job, someone else who could potentially be less
conscientious would. Instead of resisting change, McPeak recognized that the demographics of
homebuyers in 2020 are much different than those in 1980. But he said it was just an
“unintended consequence” of Jackson Hole’s growing appeal. He said wealthy people buying
second homes aren’t intentionally taking housing opportunities away from workers.
“A lot of these people didn’t set out to screw gobs of people out of [housing] and escape
to Wyoming to live,” he said. “They enjoy success in a world that we all live in. And now that
they’re enjoying their success, I feel like they’re vilified sometimes.”

The Second Homeowner
“It’s not the second home, it’s the primary home — even if I’m, you know, spending more
time in other locations,” Richard Georgi said.

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Georgi takes in his view of the snow-capped Tetons | Lauren Teruya
Sitting comfortably in his $11 million home, Georgi gazed out at his unobstructed view
of the Teton mountain range. While the mountains felt like home, he didn’t always have a
private chef in his kitchen or an assistant organizing his daily schedule. Georgi lived in Colorado
with parents who weren’t educated past the sixth grade.
At age two, his parents divorced, and he shuttled between his mom in Boulder and his
dad in Vail.
“My father taught me to ski and gave me that gift,” Georgi said. He spent his childhood
ski racing across the west, and eventually landed a spot on the Division I ski team at Williams
College in Massachusetts.
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From there, it was a quick upward climb, Georgi graduated with a degree in political
economics, started work at Goldman Sachs and went to Harvard Business School for his
master’s degree. In time, he became the Chief Information Officer and partner of Alpine Grove
Partners — an independent real estate private equity firm.
By that point, Georgi had accumulated “some wealth," and his tax advisor suggested
Teton County as the perfect place to relieve his tax burden. Wyoming is one of the nine states
that does not have a state income tax.

A view of the Grand Tetons from Georgi’s kitchen | Riley Francis Boone
“This gives the ultra-wealthy a place to hide their money,” he said. According to Georgi,
there are two major contributions to Jackson Hole’s housing shortage: lack of income tax and
land scarcity. He refers to Wyoming as the “most tax-free state” in the nation.
22
“A lot of people with wealth or who have created wealth will find themselves in Teton
County to avoid paying tax,” he said. In addition to Wyoming’s year-round open-air beauty,
97% of the land is protected and, therefore, cannot be developed.
The Jackson Hole Land Trust, according to Georgi, is “heavily funded by wealthy
locals.” The trust buys and protects land to prevent development, which is advantageous for
people who own property and don’t want an influx of new neighbors.
“As land becomes more scarce, and demand keeps on rising — the inelastic
characteristics — the result is prices go up through the roof,” Georgi said, recalling a friend who
listed his house for $16.5 million and sold it for $18.5 million two weeks later.
For 25 years, Georgi has made annual donations to Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit
that helps people in the lowest income brackets build and buy affordable housing. He helps both
locally and internationally by fundraising, donating and giving his time as a volunteer. After a
two-hour meeting with Habitat for Humanity board members, Georgi said homes across the
world are only a fraction of the cost of houses in Jackson Hole because of the valley’s strict
planning codes. “The only way to solve this escalating price problem is to — in my opinion —
increase density and change the road system so that you relieve some of the traffic that will
create congestion, which will come about as a result of that density,” Georgi said.
While he said he never considered his personal impact of buying a part-time home in
Jackson Hole, he said he feels a responsibility to give back is a part of being an American. He
credited Benjamin Franklin for creating a tax system that allows people to use donations as a tax
write off, providing an option, other than the government, for where their taxes go.
Mark Barron, former mayor of twelve years, a county commissioner and local business
owner, agreed with the need to change the way the town houses its local essential workers. In
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1994, Barron sat on the Teton County Planning Board. At the time, the floor area ratio went
from 3 to 0.25, downzoning by a factor of 12 and limiting all buildings to a two-story maximum
height. This shift, an attempt to conserve more and build less, only exacerbated the housing
problem.
“The price of real estate outpaces our ability to achieve the meaningful density we need
for workforce housing and affordable workforce housing,” Barron said. As someone who settled
down in Jackson Hole in the 1970s, Barron said he understands why some people are unwilling
to accept change, but he believes that mentality halts progress.

County commission candidates Mark Barron, center, and Jonathan Schechter, left, chat with Jackson Mayor Pete Muldoon during
a primary election night party Tuesday, August 21, 2018, at Hole Bowl in Jackson, Wyoming. | Jackson Hole News & Guide’s
Ryan Dorgan
24
“The longer you live, the more nostalgic you become— I get that,” he said. But for years
he’s watched the town reject non-residential development that he calls “missed opportunities” to
house workers in the “most obvious places.”
In addition to his role in the community, Barron also is a father and grandfather. He said
that if his grandchild were hurt, he would want the emergency workers to live in town. Likewise,
when he goes to the grocery store, he wants to interact with the people that are the “fabric of the
community.”
As an outsider looking in, Georgi watched home prices in Vail, Colorado soar, eventually
leaving its essential workers without housing. Now, he said, it’s a resort town without a local
community. He added that people always can resist change, but that does not stop change from
occurring. He worries that residents who do not want Jackson Hole to develop are living in a
bubble.
“Everyone who gets here wants to shut the door behind them,” Georgi said.

The Future
It’s been one year since the start of this reporting, and in this time, Joe Biden took office
in January, becoming the 46th President. The switch in administration brought greater
expectations for federal housing aid. And while Biden wants to spend $318 billion on the
American jobs plan, similarly to most of the bills he’s trying to pass in the Senate, he’s having
trouble winning Republican support.
On the ground in Wyoming, Norton continues to fight her uphill battle, facing devastated
workers forced to leave Jackson Hole and frustrated business owners who can’t find housing for
25
employees. As businesses cut back hours to compensate for their work shortage, the amenities
that visitors and locals enjoy are reduced.
“That really limits who can be here,” Norton said. “And I certainly think it makes us a
less diverse place, but a less resilient place too.”
Like McPeak’s analogy, she’s throwing back as many starfish in the sea as she can —
recently receiving initial approval of $13 million on housing projects for the next fiscal year for
the Teton County Housing Department. If she wants to see real progress for the community, she
said so much more is needed.

As Schwab returns from his climbing trip, he readies himself for another year working in
the opposite direction of his dreams. Flores continues dreaming — maybe someday he will see
the world with the protection to return to the only home he knows. McPeak knows that
competition remains high for sales, so he avoids pegging locals over outsiders. And Georgi
26
continues life as it was, flying to and from his home across the country, making sure to find time
again for his pricy mountain air.

27
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract After living with a broker for a year in Jackson Hole and writing for the local newspaper, I collected the voices of community members answering this question: how did Teton County go from one of the state's poorest counties to the richest over the past few decades? ❧ This thesis examines the lives of four people that represent different perspectives/circumstances in Jackson Hole: ❧ Sergio Flores represents the undocumented worker who lives in cramped quarters and without legal protections. He is part of the backbone of the local economy. A University of Wyoming study found that immigrants in Teton County contribute $355.5 million annually to the local economy, but they have no legal pathway to homeownership or protections against ICE. The problem Flores represents is a national issue of immigration and housing, and the solutions proposed in this section of the story are presented by immigration attorney Elisabeth Trefornas. The steps she takes to help people find a legal pathway to citizenship, as well as the type of policy that is required nationally to change citizenship eligibility for undocumented people, are clearly explained in this section. ❧ Tyler Schwab represents the ski-bum transient worker who chooses Jackson for the lifestyle, works full time, but can’t afford the high cost of living. After graduating from college, he had big dreams, but now he lives paycheck-to-paycheck in a job he doesn't enjoy. April Norton, Teton County Housing director, provides some solutions for people like Schwab. She's helped increase deed-restricted housing, received $13 million for new affordable housing projects in the next fiscal year and has a "boots on the ground" approach at helping house the most vulnerable people in the community. ❧ Brett McPeak represents the realtor who is engrained in the community but is actively selling it. McPeak grapples with a moral dilemma of selling Jackson to second homeowners while living comfortably and unaffected by the housing crisis which the real estate market is creating. “If I don't do it, someone else will,” he said. McPeak could represent part of the solution because realtors choose who they work with/sell to. ❧ Richard Georgi represents the big-money second homeowner who resides in Jackson part-time but inflates home prices by buying up property at high prices. His $11 million home is not inhabited for most of the year, and this is typical. He speaks very openly about Wyoming’s beneficial tax system. However, Georgi is also part of the solution as a major contributor to local non-profits and an advocate for growth. After growing up in Vail, Colorado, he said Jackson Hole needs to build higher and denser to meet community needsㅡa sentiment that most wealthy homeowners do not share. ❧ I also kept close communications with a housing director, immigration attorney, county commissioners, brokers, Jackson natives, tourists and second homeowners to capture the diverse complexity of this story. Jackson Hole’s housing crisis is unique and complex, and this piece makes the issue more digestible by characterizing the key players.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Teruya, Lauren Sueko (author)

Core Title Money moves (to the) mountains: how Zoom towns are changing the housing market forever

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Degree Conferral Date 2021-12

Publication Date 08/10/2021

Defense Date 08/02/2021

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Housing,Jackson Hole,OAI-PMH Harvest,Real Estate,Wyoming

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Winston, Diane (committee chair), Arnold, Billy (committee member), Tolan, Sandy (committee member)

Creator Email laurensteruya@gmail.com,lsteruya@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC15722788

Unique identifier UC15722788

Legacy Identifier etd-TeruyaLaur-10035

Document Type Thesis

Rights Teruya, Lauren Sueko

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

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