Relocating/Alamosa/San Luis/Melby Ranch (Denver, Durango: power lines, crime rate, home)

[award1610]

Need some help on relocation information. My husband and I are both early 50's. Have two sons, one in Santa Fe, NM and one in Las Vegas, NV. We are currently and have always lived in Missouri, but would like to relocate to be closer to our boys. I currently work full time for a physician group doing medical billing. My husband is on Disability and stays home. So I would need to find full time employment with benefits once we move.
We first considered Trinidad area, but with all the gas, oil, and mineral drilling just didn't want to get into that situation. Then we heard of the Melby Ranch. Sounds too good to be true. My husband likes to hunt and fish. He is a country boy from birth and I am a city girl from St. Louis.
So what does anyone know about the Melby Ranch? Sounds like you buy 2.5-35 acres and can fish and hunt on the entire ranch. What job opportunities are around for me? I have even considered trying to get employment at Los Alamos Labs in NM where my one son works and staying with him during the week. Then I could commute the 3 hour drive to be home on weekends with my husband.
Interested in weather information for that area. Would we ever be snowed in? How are the roads? Is the area beautiful? We had looked at the Angel Fire region in northern NM and liked that there was grass and trees like we are used to seeing here in Missouri. Anything south of that in NM is pretty much desert and not to our liking.
So any information on Alamosa, San Luis, and the Melby Ranch would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much. Reading these forums has been wonderful.

[lemonade]

award1610: could you - or anyone else, I suppose - elaborate on what you call the "gas, oil, and mineral drilling situation." How did find that this effected Trinidad and the area? How does this impact one's day-to-day life? Pardon the ignorance. Thanks so much.

[Crackerjack]

Alamosa can be cold in the winter. It can get down to minus 20 degrees at night but usually is in the below zero range to the teens above at night in winter and warmer during the day. The days aren't bad with lots of sunshine. I don't know about Melby Ranch. The roads can be bad driving through the mountain roads like around Angel Fire. Up in those mountains can get hefty snow amounts. If you have a 4x4, which I recommend living in the mountains of NM, you can get around pretty good but even then many times you need chains. Many of those mountains from Alamosa to Los Alamos are 10,000 to 12,000 feet and up and the roads are dicey at best. I am used to driving through all those roads though, you wouldn't be, so I don't think that would be a good idea to travel those roads in the winter. You might live in Los Alamos or Durango. Durango has lots of medical jobs and the road through NM on Hwy 550 from Durango to ABQ and up Santa Fe on I25 and on to Los Alamos aren't bad and it is a lot milder through that area as opposed to Alamosa and through the mountains.

[mrkool]

asked the exact same question I would have asked. I didn't know that areas with natural resources were a problem...

[Alamosa cowboy]

Hi,
If you want to move to a comfortable part of Colorado with affordable prices, you need to look at Alamosa or Monte Vista. I would not move to Melby Ranch. Melby is south of San Luis, which is a dying town. San Luis has a reputation for being a little gnarly. I own some land near San Luis not far from Melby Ranch and I haven't developed it for more than five years because I can't get power lines to it.

Conversely, I own land in Alamosa that I just purchased and it has all of the utilities and I am already in the process of developing it.

You are talking about the San Luis Valley, a gorgeous, only just-now being developed part of Colorado. The valley is flat and there is little snow on the ground in the winter, compared to the gigantic heaps of snow on the peaks. Melby Ranch is in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos. You will deal with alot of snow-related travel issues coming over those peaks and foothills when it snows. You will have virtually no travel problems living in Alamosa and Monte Vista because the valley floor is mostly flat. It will be cold here in the winter and cool in the summer, but you'll love the ambience.

Plus, Alamosa is a short drive to Santa Fe down Highway 285, which is passable all winter long because it goes down the valley floor. The only time you'll have an issue is if there is a blizzard.

I love Alamosa. It has all of the chain restaurants, a big WalMart, a multi-screen movie theater, a nice hospital and a terrific college. There is considerable growth going on in Alamosa. San Luis' only restaurant just closed.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

[mrkool]

I agree that Alamosa and Monte Vista are OK, and relatively affordable. If you want to go a little further west and be even closer to the mountains on hwy 160, I always thought Del Norte was pretty nice too.

[predman]

Myself and my partner are looking at some land in Melby Ranch in a few weeks time. It seems from this (very) old thread that it isn't exactly a great place, or wasn't in 2006.

Can anyone update about Melby Ranch/San Luis area?

Alternatively, can anyone suggest a good place to buy land within a couple of hours of Denver to build a small weekend home on?

Thanks,

Pete

[pinehollowgal]

Hi, I am interested as well in the land around Hwy 159 just north of San Luis. I wonder if the economy improved any? I would just like to have an RV or small lot around there so I could come and stay a few weeks at a time. I wondered if the crime rate was still bad round there? Anyone out there know these things let us know. Thanks, pinehollowgal

[Shuffler]

Originally Posted by predman

Myself and my partner are looking at some land in Melby Ranch in a few weeks time. It seems from this (very) old thread that it isn't exactly a great place, or wasn't in 2006.

Can anyone update about Melby Ranch/San Luis area?

Alternatively, can anyone suggest a good place to buy land within a couple of hours of Denver to build a small weekend home on?

Thanks,

Pete

My thoughts are that Melby Ranch is a loser. They've been pimping ads on TV and radio for the place for years, which means nothing's selling. Good pland to come see it for yourself...and then realize why it's not that appealing. In general the San Luis Valley is economically depressed and water is scarce. Probably not the place to be in the midst of a recession and rising energy costs.

[predman]

Thanks for the response on San Luis. We've decided not to bother as we've heard very little but negatives about the area.

Are there any other similar (but better!) areas anyone could suggest?