homesteading in the area? (Colorado Springs, Canon City: hair salon, house, buying)

[foxywench]

ive been looking to relocate for quite some time, im currently in ct where the possibility of buying any kind of land is impossible for anyone but a multi-millionaire...

ive been looking and looking and looking...

my criteria...

a smaller town within an hour to some of the larger conveiniences (and by that i mean a walmart, a good grocery store...mabe a nice bar/hang out place and a good medical center)

mild weather...
i dont mind some snow in the winter as long as its not 6ft deep from november through may... again im in ct and im sooo done with noreasters and icestorms...
summers...cooler is fine, its the humidity that kills me, so im looking for somewhere with humidity averages under 60% (im sick of 90% during most of the summer...it kills me)
if i could find somewhere where it was perminently spring and fall id be sooo happy lol, but a brisk winter and a nice low humidity summer is fine.

bugs...
mosquitoes are my enemy...i know you get them everywhere in the us, but if i could avoid mosquitoes the size of my dogs that would be great.
i dislike fleas and ticks too, but there unavoidable...

snakes, spiders and other creepy crawlies arnt a problem, but id perfer to avoid the highly venemous ones if possible...for obvious reasons.

in terms fo everything else, im not too fussy. i dont have kids and never plan to...so schools arnt important.
i would be a younger single woman living alone, im origionally from a rather large city and very rough area in the uk...and i will be getting a large dog, and i do know how to handle a gun, but id still rather not live in an area where im constantly watching my back.
im not exactly social...lol, i have extreem social anxiety...so having somewhere within an hour to people watch is more than fine, i dont need to be somewhere teaming with night life...
i would however like an area where neighbors are neighborly, i love the small town feel where people know each other and help eachother out...even if they are 10 miles up the road lol.
im NOT mainstream religious, so churches arnt a big concern.

i would like to be within an hour of somewhere where things like farmers markets, state faire type things, celebrations ect...general once in a while gathering and festivities...

im looking to have a small holding...or small farmett, anything from 5 acres + to raise my own food and some livestock. but i also need acess to Internet as i work from home.

in all my reserch ive suddenly been led to the colorado springs - pueblo areas and the small towns in that general vicinity like Yoder.

i like to ride horses, swim, hike, and generally be outside.

so...do you think this area would work well for what im looking for?

this is such a long hard process as im not exactly familiar with the USA, im origionally from England, so finding that perfect place is hard.
im hoping to start moving forward with this within the next year, possibly sooner.

[PokerMunkee]

Sounds like you need to take a 30 day road trip and find your perfect place.

A place near Colorado Springs that come to mind is Florrisant. You can get 3-5 acres and a nice house in the low $200's. There is local ambulence/fire, a couple gas stations, subway, and that's about it. 15 minute drive to Woodland Park (7,000 people) for anything else, add another 25 minutes to get to Colorado Springs.

[Marcy1210]

Florissant gets a lot of snow in the winter, and trying to grow food is nearly impossible without a greenhouse as the summers are so short. I'd go for something more out on the Eastern plains like Calhan, Yoder, Ellicot, etc. You can Google those places to see if they might be what you're looking for. You won't find many bugs in CO. It's dry and bugs don't like dryness. On the plains, you'll be near enough to Colorado Springs, but far enough out that you can have some land and a nice home. The winters are not like CT, but it does snow, even blizzard, but it'll melt fairly quickly. You'll be able to grow things as the summers are bordering on hot.

The things you list as wanting can also be found in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, most of the West, really, with the exception of California, and maybe Oregon and Washington.

I know about CT. I was just there in August for my high school reunion. I lived there my first 18 years then was in CO for the next 35 years. I don't miss CT at all!! You'll be surprised by the expansive, open skies here and the wide roads compared to the narrow, winding roads of CT. You might miss the trees, though.

[backpacker71]

school zones should matter wether you plan to have children or not. It will play a big factor if you ever sell your home as well as (hopefully) help your home's value grow.

[Falconlady]

Sounds like you should be looking at Calhan, Colorado. It's a small community, farm and horse oriented, and plenty of acreage sites (5-40 acres or more) available at a reasonable cost. Calhan is probably about 5-6,000 people. They have a medical center, mom and pop restaurants. For "real" shopping, Wal-Mart is 16 miles down the road in Falcon. Falcon also has the usual pizza places, nail/hair salons, vet clinics, etc. The El Paso County Fairground is also located in Calhan.

The growing season is long enough for most veggies. Whenever you do find a spot, check the soil as it can vary widely. I have sandy soil that gets concrete hard in late summer. Two miles away, my daughter has nice topsoil.

Mosquitos are rare, but they do exist. I think the climate here is pretty ideal...not too cold in winter, not too hot in summer.

[foxywench]

thank you...
right now it seems my biggest issue no matter where i go in co would be water...
im not planning on having a high water need set up, no huge lawns...
but i would like a small orchard, and would need enough to water that, a small veggie garden and my critters...
most of the land would be used for animals to raise for some form of food (goats, rabbits, and a couple butcher pigs (who will also be used as walking tiller/composters lol)...i would also like a horse or 2 and mabe a cow, of those the pigs, horses and cows would require the most water...)

is the water situation realy that bad that this kind of set up might be a problem?

[mtngigi]

You might be better served looking at south-central Colorado, the San Luis Valley, Canon City (apple orchards). There are many farms/orchards that sell their produce at farmer's markets here in Colorado Springs that originate from those areas.

We're in a high desert. Water is scarce - gardening in the West presents different considerations and challenges.

I just found this thread on CitiData (didn't read it over, but it might help you in your decision): SW Colorado - I want to farm

Go online and plug in "farming in Colorado" ... you'll find more information.