Colorado Living

[riverfever]

I am re-locating to Colorado in June and am trying to figure out where I want to live. I'm a school teacher so I will live where ever I can find a decent school system. My other requirements are:
-I'd like to have some snow and sunshine(in St. Louis we just get slop and gray days all winter long).
-I don't want summers to be as hot and humid as Saint Louis.
-I am hoping to start as a fly fishing guide after I fish my brains out for a few years so I need to be near good water (rivers, high mountain streams and snow melt lakes).
-4X4 trails would be cool. I just got my Jeep a year ago b/c of this move and I'd like to explore the high country.
I would be happy in a place like Salida but my wife needs a little bit bigger city. She digs Gunnison. We initially did not like Durango but are now reconsidering. We think we could both find good work that pays about what we make now. Real-estate seems pretty good. We could live in some of the smaller towns like Cortez or Mancos and still be close enough to Durango. Can any of you give input on that corner area?
Gunnison is probably at the top of the list but if I can't find work in their school district then I'm hosed.
Durango might be a strong alternative. I DO NOT want to live in the heart of Durango. I do not want neighbors right on top of me. I would like to live several miles outside of town where I could ride my mountain bike to work or an enduro bike. Please help. TIA.

-Chris

 

[BillR]

Cortez is not a BAD place to live. There's lots of good wheeling nearby, and you're close to the Dolores and San Juan rivers. I lived in Dolores and worked in Cortez and had about a 15 minute drive in.
Mancos is much prettier and MUCH smaller than Cortez. It's only 12 miles or so from Cortez, and many people commute to there. Mancos to Durango is 35 minutes or so, and can be a serious challenge in the winter. I personally would not try to live in Mancos and work in Durango. North of Durango is Hermosa; still pretty spendy. Bayfield is just 11 miles east and has a smaller population and feel, and cheaper real estate.
You can't go wrong anywhere around there! I wish it was ME moving there right now. :rattle: :laugh3:

 

[Fergie]

I like this thread. I'll be lving in CO, sooner or later, and want the same kind of situation you have described.

Good thread.

Fergie

 

[riverfever]

Like I said, if we could do it we'd be in Gunnison but it's tough to get work there. The big thing that Durango has going for it is that it's a decent sized town and it has lots of smaller towns really close by. That's why we're focusing on it.
You mentioned the travel in the winter. I know they get a lot of snow farther north, like Gunnison and even further up. I' never have been to Durango or near the area in winter. Do they get that much snow?

Oh, can you tell me what those 2 rivers are like? Are they the normal freestone rivers of Colorado? I only ask b/c we ssaw some pretty dirty rivers down south. Stuff that I might not be that excited about fishing on a daily basis. Thanks for the info.

 

[BillR]

Like I said, if we could do it we'd be in Gunnison but it's tough to get work there. The big thing that Durango has going for it is that it's a decent sized town and it has lots of smaller towns really close by. That's why we're focusing on it.
You mentioned the travel in the winter. I know they get a lot of snow farther north, like Gunnison and even further up. I' never have been to Durango or near the area in winter. Do they get that much snow?

Oh, can you tell me what those 2 rivers are like? Are they the normal freestone rivers of Colorado? I only ask b/c we ssaw some pretty dirty rivers down south. Stuff that I might not be that excited about fishing on a daily basis. Thanks for the info.

Durango DOES get it's share of snow and nasty roads in the winter. The road between Mancos and Durango has a couple of big hills that get wicked at times. There's a major ski area just outside Durango to the north, and another on top of Wolf Creek Pass to the east about an hour and a half.
The Dolores river is a nice clear stream with a good supply of trout. It varies widely in volume from year to year. I've seen it when you could walk across it pretty easily during a really dry year.
The San Juan is MUCH bigger and DOES get dirty and murky near the 4-corners area, but it's a gold-medal trout stream just below Navajo Dam. That's just across the boarder in NM. Navajo Lake is partly in CO and NM.
The Animas river runs right through Durango, and has some decent fishing also.
Thanks dude...Now you've got me homesick!! :laugh3:

 

[Yucca-Man]

I'm sorry, Colorado is full at the moment. Please take a number and check back again after a few million Californians have died off...

 

[hjeepxj]

I'm sorry, Colorado is full at the moment. Please take a number and check back again after a few million Californians have died off...

 

[riverfever]

I promise not to pro-create. (Probably good for more than one reason.)

 

[Fergie]

I'm sorry, Colorado is full at the moment. Please take a number and check back again after a few million Californians have died off...

CO is in line after AZ...specifically Flagstaff.

Only certain states should be able to transplant members into our lovely areas...CA and the east coast are banned...permanently.

Fergie

 

[Idiot Wind]

Ever look into the Granby area? It MAY be a little pricier but you would have the Colorado/Williams Fork rivers that you could fish for a lifetime and you would have Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park to your north and high mountain lakes/streams galore.

Maybe even Craig/Steamboat area as well? Yampa is gold medal water, Steamboat Lake is predicted to hold the record Northern Pike, Pearl Lake is one of the few in the state that holds Grayling and you would be near the Flat Tops Wilderness for your high mountain lake/stream pleasure.

Your other criteria should be met here as well. Gunnison would be awesome. It sounds like you already know that

 

[BillR]

Ever look into the Granby area? It MAY be a little pricier but you would have the Colorado/Williams Fork rivers that you could fish for a lifetime and you would have Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park to your north and high mountain lakes/streams galore.

Maybe even Craig/Steamboat area as well? Yampa is gold medal water, Steamboat Lake is predicted to hold the record Northern Pike, Pearl Lake is one of the few in the state that holds Grayling and you would be near the Flat Tops Wilderness for your high mountain lake/stream pleasure.

Your other criteria should be met here as well. Gunnison would be awesome. It sounds like you already know that

I lived in Steamboat for a short time back in 1985. it IS nice, though a bit pricy. The Gramby/Grand Lake area is one of my favorite spots in the state, running a close second to the Ouray/Silverton/Telluride area.
Tough choice.

 

[riverfever]

Yeah...I've never really given the front range much of a chance. I thought the real-estate was a bit higher.
In St. Louis, if I want to fish a nice stream/river thats clear and has trout, I have to drive an hour and a half. I was worried that the front range would be like that. I had heard that from others.
I just got 2 emails when I got home from school districts in the SW corner area wanting to set up a phone interview.
Am I wrong about that area near the front range?

I'm sorry sDobbins...I looked on my map and now I see where Granby is. Def. not front range. I will investigate that. Thanks.

 

[Kittrell]

I'm sorry, Colorado is full at the moment. Please take a number and check back again after a few million Californians have died off...

:bawl:..........:moon:..........:helpme:

 

[pabloconrad]

I'm sorry, Colorado is full at the moment. Please take a number and check back again after a few million Californians have died off...

:moon:

I have to agree. The Aspen area is getting to be known as Little Texas. Ugh. "Don't go away mad, just get the f**k outta here!"

I'd suggest the Roaring Fork Valley. Aspen to Glenwood Springs. But it's obviously pricey.

It has all you're asking for:
1. Gold Medal flyfishing in the Roaring Fork, Crystal and Frying Pan. Always looking for good guides. Some of them are dumbasses and don't know a trout strean from their piss stream. :twak:

2. Top of the line schools. Both private and public. :lecture:

3. Cool summers with a lot of hiking, biking, camping, and backpacking, and just being lazy on the porch. "Bluebird Skies." :sunshine:

4. Lots of off roading. Pearl Pass, Taylor Pass, Scofield Pass and so many Jeep trails.

5. Snow?? We get it. We have Aspen Mtn., Snowmass Mtn., Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, and Sunlight ski areas. Don't listen to the aspensnowmass.com website that says we get an average of 300 inches. Last time we got that much snow was in the late 70s. :rattle:

But it's all up to you. We all have our favorite place, so take our opinions with a grain of salt. The one thing is we all love it here.

 

[riverfever]

I spend a lot of time in that Leadville/Buena area each summer fishing the Arkansas. That's such a cool spot. I bet the Aspen/Carbondale scene is pretty similar?

 

[JeepTherapy]

Try looking into the towns of Delta, Montrose or Grand Junction depending on your liking. Lots of fishing areas, Delta and Grand Junction are close to the Grand Mesa national forest area where there are over 300 lakes for fishing. Grand Junction has the Colorado River running right through it, is an hour and a half from Ouray or Moab and has 3 local trails, including 21 Road and Billings Canyon trails.

Kevin

 

[old_man]

Grand Junction and down through Montrose and Delta are nice. Good wheeling and not that far to Moab. The winters are a bit milder there than you might think. For some reason, my wife really fell in love with Delta. I like the mountains a bit closer, but 30 minutes isn't bad.

Land prices around there are a lot lower than along the Front Range. There is a serious lack of high tech in that area so making a living for me gets a bit dicey.

 

[CRASH]

I'm sorry, Colorado is full at the moment. Please take a number and check back again after a few million Californians have died off...

You've got top love the California equity working in your favor. Nothing like buying a house, having it double in vallue in 4 years, then taking that money to another state and paying cash for a nicer house on more property.

Yup, it's the California dream.....see you guys soon!

CRASH

 

[Yucca-Man]

Screw you guys and your artificially-created price increases around here. Making it so the local folks who aren't homeowners are going to have to be renters forever...

 

[Fergie]

Screw you guys and your artificially-created price increases around here. Making it so the local folks who aren't homeowners are going to have to be renters forever...

Amen to that.

Fergie