Cressted Butte Colorado (Denver, Montrose, Evergreen: wage , jobs, house)

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by onthamove

i am begining to think cb but, will need to look into it more. as for the 30 mle commute my car (tiburon) gets between 30-32 mpg so that isnt to big of an issue of course with its 5 1/4'' clearance wont take much snowfall to really mess things up, i am going to look into this area some more as a good college is important because i think my future really is in furthering my education i like how it was like leadville a mining boomtown, but it seems to be less depressed than leadville and the college at gunnison really has my attenion also, here is my question though, if gunnison is so cold why does it only avg 50-60'' powder a winter? thats sorta strange denver gets about that any answers?

I was not thinking of gas mileage; I was thinking more of the snow and the road conditions. I don't know why Gunnison gets the amount of snow they do. It is drier out west; that is probably the reason.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by onthamove

if gunnison is so cold why does it only avg 50-60'' powder a winter?

It has to do with the terrain -- where the town sits in relation to the standard storm track, and how the surround mountains "capture" the storm clouds. Look at Keystone and Loveland ski areas -- they're 5 miles apart (as the crow flies) but Loveland gets 400 inches of snow a year, while Keystone gets just over 200.

[onthamove]

still its hard to beat evergreens proximity to the front range only 30mins/25-35 miles and mtn living dang hard to beat

[jazzlover]

City-data is wrong. Crested Butte is 28 miles from Gunnison. I used to live in Gunnison and, except for the bitter cold in the winter, I loved it there. Crested Butte is another matter. It's become another typical yuppified, overpriced, snooty ski resort town. It tries to say that's it's still a little funky place, but the $500,000+ price tags on just about anything to live in say otherwise.

If you're going to go to Western State, then live in Gunnison. It's a lot more "real" town than Crested Butte, and its only about a 40 minute drive up to Crested Butte if you just have to ski. Not much farther time-wise will get you to Monarch--an old-style family ski area like Colorado used to have everywhere. Just have a block heater installed in your car and be ready for serious below zero weather in the winter. It's really not so bad. Not much wind in winter and lots of sunshine, even when it's way below zero. As others have said, summer is short, but delightful. I've lived in a lot of towns in Colorado--Gunnison is one that I truly do miss. And not to put too fine a point on it--the cold weather keeps a lot of riff-raff out.

[onthamove]

i read ya i'd rather be hot than cold, in fact -0 temps sound refreshing

[vegaspilgrim]

Onthemove,

I just noted your post-- I've been gone the last several days on a trip-- to Crested Butte (among other towns in southern CO and northern NM). While I was there, I toured Crested Butte extensively, as well as Gunnison and Western State College. Later this week I'll try to post pictures. You said you are looking to go to college? I'm just curious, what age are you? Are you a teenager soon to move out of your parents' house, someone in your mid-twenties looking for something new, or someone older who wants to go back to school? That will be a big factor as to where in CO you would want to live. And which is more important, skiing, or getting an education? Just questions for you to think about.

Crested Butte is actually two communities-- the town of Crested Butte, an historic mountain village with some homes, an a bunch of restaurants, gift shops and bars lining the main street, and Mt Crested Butte, the Vail-style big-box resort/ condo area. The physical location struck me as very different from your typical Front Range Rocky Mountains scenery (Evergreen being a good example). There are tons of aspen clusters in that area, but very few pine trees. Crested Butte feels very open, exposed, smooth (other than for the signature butte itself), and bowl-shaped compared to, say, Mt Evans, Pikes Peak, or Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park. It feels very different than the Colorado mountains I'm used to. As for Gunnison-- I have to say, not very impressed with the town. It has basically everything you need for day-to-day life, it has a downtown (although the street is too wide, kind of dead for my tastes), but not very pretty. Western State College-- it IS a college-- and... that's about it. I wouldn't exactly call it a "good school." Just a suggestion-- if you want a really fun mountain town experience with a lot of young people and skiing nearby, check out Durango-- another place I went on my trip. IMO, Durango blows away Gunnison and Crested Butte.

[jazzlover]

vegaspilgrim,

Western State College not exactly a "good school?" You might want to check out the college's alumni list--there are some pretty prominent people on it. It actually is my alma mater. I think that I got a very good education there--as good or better than some of my friends who went to more prodigious schools. At any rate, what someone gets out of college is as much related to what they put into it, no matter what school they attend.

As to Gunnison and Durango, that's like comparing horses and bowling balls. Aside from the difference in terrain, Durango and places like it tend to be a cartoon/amusement park version of what Colorado is like; places like Gunnison are still pretty much the real thing. Unfortunately, more and more Americans go for the "sizzle" instead of the "steak." Just shows how far divorced we have become from our roots and history.

[High Altitude]

onthamove

I am very impressed with how much thought and research you are putting in to this for being only 17.

No doubt you will find the place that is right for you.

[onthamove]

well i am not gonna screw up thats for sure, i have messed up some inportant things up before but wasting big dollars on paying my rent, car insureance and food are not going to be on my "oops guess i messed that up list" if i lived is cb i'd try to get a 40hr week job in gunnison and live in cb, if on the other hand i lived in evergreen i'd likely work in lakewood/metro denver, havent made final decision yet my dad keeps stressing the importance of getting a 40 hour a week job (like i have now) and that living on my own it may not be a bad idea to work 40 hrs one place and 10-15 more hours part time somehwere else, you hear people say nothing you really want is easy to achieve and if i wanna stay put in the rockies i'll bust my ass to do so, i realize that and am prepared to do that. just trying to fine tune where i' wanna be CB with work in gunnison or evergreen with work in metro denver, its a tough decision but one i am gonna make right.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

vegaspilgrim,

Western State College not exactly a "good school?" You might want to check out the college's alumni list--there are some pretty prominent people on it. It actually is my alma mater. I think that I got a very good education there--as good or better than some of my friends who went to more prodigious schools. At any rate, what someone gets out of college is as much related to what they put into it, no matter what school they attend.

As to Gunnison and Durango, that's like comparing horses and bowling balls. Aside from the difference in terrain, Durango and places like it tend to be a cartoon/amusement park version of what Colorado is like; places like Gunnison are still pretty much the real thing. Unfortunately, more and more Americans go for the "sizzle" instead of the "steak." Just shows how far divorced we have become from our roots and history.

Of course you can get a good education at Western State, if you really want. The resources are there to anybody who wants to take advantage of it. But it's a known fact that "anybody with a pulse" (and a HS diploma) can get in there-- I know a bunch of guys from my high school that went there-- and dropped out after the first semester. They have a really low graduation rate. For somebody from Gunnison, Montrose, Salida, Buena Vista, or a nearby town, who wants to stay in the area, Western State is probably a great choice. But why would somebody move across the country to go to Western State unless if it was for the skiing? Especially for the OP who was interested in living in Crested Butte and going to school in Gunnison on the side-- it just doesn't sound like a recipe for sucess. And I am in no way saying I am so great-- I'm going to a pretty mediocre school right now-- Arizona State U-- a school where east coast kids flock to for the girls, palm trees, and the warm sun-- not for the academics. Replace palm trees and swimming with Rocky Mountains and skiing-- different theme, same formula.

Here's what I consider to be the "good" small schools in Colorado: How about Colorado School of Mines? Colorado College? University of Denver? These schools are in a whole different league.