Durango ... again ... (Denver, Colorado Springs, Cortez: rental car, ski resort, rental)

[coltoncity]

but actually you lost me at the French people

[I_Brennus]

Originally Posted by coltoncity

but actually you lost me at the French people

I heard somewhere that tourism in France has declined so drastically that the French have been forced to be rude to each other

[I_LUVNM]

I know Durango pretty well over the years and I can say that yes there are quite a number of gays there but they aren't the flashy types you think like in SF parading down a street. They are just regular people and most you would never know they were even gay unless they told you. About new agers, it does have them like Boulder and really if you like Boulder, Durango is the same - just smaller. If you dont like Boulder, then Durango isnt for you. There are towns around Durango that are more traditional type towns and are more for the conservative types like Cortez, Mancos, Pagosa and Farmington. I know several French people in Durango as well but they are very nice people and own several businesses in the area like a bread place on Main Avenue. They are not the unfriendly types you hear about. Anyway, if you are liberal, you will like Durango, if not you might look elsewhere in the surrounding towns. HTH.

[coltoncity]

Ha ha ha Being rude to each other in desperation? Oh yes, this made a bad day good!

[coltoncity]

You know what I wonder is how far Durango will spread out. I like the idea of Pagosa and I was thinking Mancos but thought that would be gobbled up soon. Isnt Pagosa Sps about 6500 ft? I guess I am just not used to visualizing that type of elevation. Is the drive to the town very dangerous??? I guess Im wondering about cliffy more then anything. The woman I talked to at the Chamber of Commerce was very nice and said she loved the schools...about 20 kids a class.

[kareynolds]

Re: living in Durango, the major downside is that real estate is outrageously expensive. It's impossible to buy anything w/i the city limits for under close to a million. Also, flying in and out of town is much more expensive i.e. that Denver or Albuquerque.

Other than that, life here is great. Besides all the things you are looking for, we have a wonderful symphony and choral society. Lots of musical and theatre events locally and lots of talent.

[scout12]

are there a lot of people in durango in their late 20s early 30s who have just started a family. were thinking of relocating there and we wanted to know if there were other people just like ourselves who were starting a family.

[dgoboy204]

Hi coltoncity,

Elevation of Pagosa = 7100 ft. (according to CD). I wouldn't tell anyone to be concerned about the elevation unless they have rather severe health limitations -- even then, the elevation has been known to actually help some with allergies and asthma, for instance (me included). The drive to Pagosa from Dgo is not cliffy (great word!) at all - driving through the mountains, not on the edges of them. Cliffy occurs north of Dgo around Silverton and Ouray and on Wolf Creek Pass, to the east of Pagosa.

Maybe others will give their take differently from mine, but I see so much beautiful land around Dgo/Pagosa that I think the "spread of Dgo" is a little overblown. Please don't misunderstand, Dgo and the area are growing way fast, and you will see structures spread between all of the communities, but the communities are still quite distinct and the amount of growth necessary to "run them all together" is great - not isolated villages, but not a metropolis either.

ILUVNM - my brother lives near Boulder - he says many there refer to Durango as "little Boulder".

kareynolds - agreed, Dgo has a lot to offer!

scout12 - As I walk around, it would appear that the young family demographic is present - many here who fit that general mold. However, school district enrollments have all been falling, while home sales have been increasing, likely meaning that many of those sales are not to families - instead to retirees and those who purchase a second home for vacations, not primary residence. Hopefully, someone else can respond with more personal info. I think its a great place to start a family, but I'm not there yet.

Finally, the following excerpt is taken from today's Durango Herald newspaper - an article titled "Fort Lewis Profs look at Economy", written by Luke T. Miller, assistant professor of business administration and research associate at the Office of Economic Analysis and Business Research at Fort Lewis College (in Dgo.).

"Income levels in La Plata County are 20% lower than the Colorado average (a difference of nearly $10,000 per year). Additionally, the median home price in Durango is $120,000 higher than a comparable home in Denver. What's the silver lining? Income is increasing at twice the rate in La Plata County versus Colorado, and unemploument levels are 28 percent less than Colorado."

Just some general info - goto Durangherald.com to find the whole article.

[coltoncity]

Thank you so much for that information, it is wonderful to get! I will be going to look soon in person. I was wondering how far down elevation wise does Pagosa springs spread out to. On the Chamber page it says Pagosa Sps was about 1700 people in the yr. 2002 and Archuleta Cnty was just over 10000 in 2002, how much do you think its grown?

[I_LUVNM]

Originally Posted by coltoncity

You know what I wonder is how far Durango will spread out. I like the idea of Pagosa and I was thinking Mancos but thought that would be gobbled up soon. Isnt Pagosa Sps about 6500 ft? I guess I am just not used to visualizing that type of elevation. Is the drive to the town very dangerous??? I guess Im wondering about cliffy more then anything. The woman I talked to at the Chamber of Commerce was very nice and said she loved the schools...about 20 kids a class.

I think Mancos will stay its own town and not get connected with Durango even if Durango keeps growing. Hesperus seems to separate the two with Hesperus having lots of beauty and national land and open spaces. It is colder up at Hesperus but it is so pretty. Mancos and Durango are warmer. The only area that is scary to drive is to Silverton and Ouray. I flat out want to scream it is so high up. Wolf Creek is a little scary too. Other than that, it is a piece of cake everywhere else. My friend is scared of heights too and once we went to Ouray and she was down on the floor the whole time crying. If that is any indication of how high up you drive on hairpin turns so just stay away from Silverton and Ouray and maybe Wolf Creek if you cant handle heights. Pagosa is still small. It has new development west of the city but not a lot. Just realize there isnt a Walmart or anything yet so you have to be content with bare basic stuff or go to Durango to shop. Pretty town though, no doubt.

Dgoboy204, you are right, that really sums up Durango well, "Little Boulder".