Looking into moving to Gunnison (Denver, Crested Butte: lease, motel, teaching jobs)

[absentofgrace7]

Hi! My boyfriend and I are currently living in Arizona but are hoping to move to Colorado after our lease ends in July. I have been scouting out colleges and Western State caught my eye, located in Gunnison. Can anyone tell me some things about Gunnison/the area/Western State? I'd appreciate any and all input/advice. Thanks!

[jazzlover]

Well, I'm a long-ago Western State grad and alumnus. I thoroughly enjoyed my years there and feel that I got a very good education. That said, Gunnison is very much an acquired taste. If you are interested in outdoor activities and living in a small, relatively isolated community, it can be a nice place. If you have ANY desire for big city amenities, it is the wrong place to be.

Then there is the climate. Gunnison is one of the sunnier locales in Colorado--the sun shines nearly every day at some time. BUT, do not let that fool you about the climate. It is brutally cold there in the winter--temperatures lower than -30° F.--yes, that is minus--occur there with regularity in the winter months. One of my winters there--a pretty harsh one--well, it went A MONTH without getting above 0° F., nearly 3 months straight without getting above freezing. (That particular winter my unofficial recorded low temperature was 55 below zero.) Gunnison gets about the same amount of snow in winter as Denver--about 50", but, unlike Denver, whatever falls between Thanksgiving and early March stays on the ground and does not melt until spring. Summers are nice there, seldom above 90°, but it can freeze just about any night. One time it was 23° and I was scraping frost off of my windshield on a June 21st morning--the first day of summer! Bottom line: you had better like winter--a lot. Also, if you rent a poorly insulated place, your winter heat bill can be in the hundreds of dollars per month.

Academically, Western State used to have a great reputation, especially for its business and accountring departments. Unfortunately, like many of Colorado's smaller colleges, it is suffering from serious budget problems that are likely affecting the quality of its programs. It also has a long-standing reputation as a "party school" because of its proximity to Crested Butte ski area (28 miles away), but most of the people that gave/give it that reputation usually flunk out within their first couple of years--there is just a big supply of new ones always showing up. Also, if you have to work, there are very, very few jobs in the local community--the ones that are available generally pay terribly and there is stiff competition for those.

[parfleche]

My daughter graduated from Western State with her teaching degree which seems to be highly accepted around the country. no teaching jobs for locals around here. they prefer californians who have been in the teachers union with their backward methods,so she is teaching in Wy for now and hopes to come home. I loved visiting Gunnison any direction you head is a beautiful adventure,I have a built jeep. but winter is brutal and cold. the stories about students taking a shower right before class and all their hair freezing and breaking off are true. the local motel has a plug in for your engine block heater though

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by parfleche

but winter is brutal and cold. the stories about students taking a shower right before class and all their hair freezing and breaking off are true. the local motel has a plug in for your engine block heater though

Yep, the "frozen hair" thing--been there, done that. Exposed wet hair will freeze in about 30-60 seconds outside at 40 below zero. (So will exposed wet skin.) And, yes, a block heater for a car parked outside during winter is a necessity.