South Fork living? (Pueblo, Alamosa, Monte Vista: fit in, apartments, rentals) - Colorado (CO) - City-Data Forum

gonzo_ishmael · 06-10-2010, 10:04 AM

Hello all,

I was recently offered a teaching job in Monte Vista. South Fork seems like a very quaint mountain town to raise our two young children (and it would be only 30 miles from work).

My wife and I have been searching for apartments rentals in the area, but I have only found houses for sale. Is renting even a possibility? If so, is there a particuarly good part of town for a young family?

We are flying out to CO next week to explore the SLV, but any information going into it will be much appreciated!

Ziasforever · 06-10-2010, 10:47 AM

South Fork is an expensive place to live. Most people do it seasonably and are rich. Hope your teaching job pays lots of money if that's where you want to live. There are no apartments to speak of in South Fork. Any rental you might find there is going to be mind-blowingly expensive. One other thing, because since there's no schools in South Fork, your children will have to get up extra early, especially in the winter, to go to school where ever they bus them to.
I know a guy who carried his daughter 30 or 40 miles to some school that was better than the one she would have normally been assigned to. He owned a lodge there.
Your best best for apartments are going to be in Alamosa down the road from M.V. about 20 miles on US 160. It gets really, really cold in the winter in the SLV and baking hot in the summer. Also, there's not much for kids to do around there as far as I know in terms of organized activities. You might consider CO springs or one of the larger cities on the front range. Better schools, better equipment more choices in activites. Those counties in Southern Colorado are among the poorest in the Southwest. It is reflected in property values and taxes and how the schools are funded.

Good luck.

80skeys · 06-10-2010, 11:02 AM

South Fork is a tiny little village on the eastern slope of the San Juans. It consists of one crossroads (the highway from Pagosa and the highway to Creede). It's primarily a summer destinatino for RVs and fisherman. There's a large RV campground just south of town.

It's a very pretty area. It's not in the mountains, it's in a sort of valley.

sesamekid · 06-10-2010, 12:02 PM

South Fork is a neat little place - I spent the summer renting a cabin there with my small children a couple years ago. There are plenty of cabins to rent for around $1600-$1900 a month. There is also a town park on the main drag right next to an ice cream place. They have some cute little eateries and you can pay $1 to use the pool at the Allington Inn. Fishing is fantastic in that area.

Another option would be to rent or buy a travel trailer. There are a couple of lovely trailer parks in South Fork and I know some people who camped there year round and loved it.

Ziasforever · 06-10-2010, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sesamekid

Another option would be to rent or buy a travel trailer. There are a couple of lovely trailer parks in South Fork and I know some people who camped there year round and loved it.

For a M.V. teacher, that would be, most likely, the only option to avoid the high rent. Although he could probably strike a deal with the Foot Hills lodge to rent a cabin or 2 bedroom lodge for a good price. My grandparents stayed there twice a year for a month and the rate was about a grand. If they agreed to stay longer, maybe they could get an even better rate.

gonzo_ishmael · 06-13-2010, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziasforever

South Fork is an expensive place to live. Most people do it seasonably and are rich.

Does expensive simply mean high rent/mortgages, or does it mean food, energy bills, etc.?

Also, how much does South Fork differ from Alamosa? Alamosa doesn't sound like the most pleasant place to live, based on what I've read on this board.

80skeys · 06-13-2010, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonzo_ishmael

Also, how much does South Fork differ from Alamosa? Alamosa doesn't sound like the most pleasant place to live, based on what I've read on this board.

Alamosa is on a flat plain in the middle of the San Luis Valley. South Fork is in the mountains.

Alamosa has a couple thousand residents. South Fork has probably a couple hundred.

jazzlover · 06-13-2010, 06:35 PM

Get the facts straight. Alamosa is 8,000 in population, Monte Vista around 4,500, South Fork around 600. The entire San Luis Valley can get brutally cold in winter. Rent a trailer and you may spend as much for heat as you do for rent. Contrary to posts, the San Luis Valley is NOT hot in summer. Temperatures over 90° F. are rare. The elevation makes the sun feel quite hot, but the ambient temperatures are not. Most summer nights drop into the 40's. I was in the San Luis Valley this morning. At 7:00 AM, the thermometer on my car read 41°. There are about 4 green months on the valley floor--half of May, June, July, August, and half of September. The rest of year is brown--or white if there is snowcover.

Necessities--fuel, food, etc.--are more expensive in the SLV than in the metro areas--especially in places like South Fork. Most SLV residents resign themselves to making regular shopping trips to Pueblo, Santa Fe, or Albuquerque.

Finally, as I've posted before, if you are not familiar with the culture of the SLV, you may be in for a real shock. It is really like no place else in Colorado in that regard. Some people can get along with it, many people can't.

gonzo_ishmael · 06-14-2010, 01:42 PM

jazzlover,
Geographically/weather-wise, how does South Fork fit into the San Luis Valley? I've heard it's greener and more temperate than MV or Alamosa.

Ziasforever · 06-14-2010, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonzo_ishmael

Does expensive simply mean high rent/mortgages, or does it mean food, energy bills, etc.?

Also, how much does South Fork differ from Alamosa? Alamosa doesn't sound like the most pleasant place to live, based on what I've read on this board.

Everything is expensive in South Fork, from the rent to the price of a gallon of gas to a package of pork chops at the local store and there's only one that I know of.

....and the other posters are right about SLV living...if you're coming in from somewhere else and you don't know very much in terms of intimite details of the two or three cultures...you're in for a shock....

You'll find out that in a lot of those communities in the SLV what works where you are currently isn't going to work there.

You should take a road trip and spend some time looking around before make a decision to live there.

I still think it gets pretty hot in Alamosa even though the temperatures don't get above 90 very often.

If you want to live in Southern Colorado it's going to be Alamosa or M.V. itself. That about as cheap as it's going to get. Those mountain towns like South Fork are expensive. Move there and you'll find out.