Durango, the impossible dream? (Grand Junction, Craig: rentals, condos, new home)

[FourCornersKid]

Originally Posted by JesseQ

From what I have been reading about Durango, CO...it seems like it is nearly impossible to live there long term unless you're already very wealthy. Job prospects seem to be very low, opening businesses seem to be extremely difficult aswell.

So for a single 27 year old male, it seems as if it would be impossible to up and move to Durango unless I had a ton of money saved up and was in no hurry to find a job, neither of which would describe my situation.

Should I just abandon hope and try for Rapid City, South Dakota instead?

I would not give up on Durango without doing some more job research. Also, rental housing is available and doesn't seem that expensive, especially if you are willing to roomshare. If your goals are to progress in a specific career and get ahead financially, then you might be limited in Durango, but not necessarily. A lot of people here telecommute. That way they get to collect the big-city salary but still live in paradise. Everything is a series of tradeoffs, it only matters what is most important to you. If you just want to live in a fantastic outdoor setting for a few years to live life in the moment, then I couldn't think of a better place. Its also a great place to raise a family. The locals are very down to earth and the town has a great vibe.

I have been to Rapid City, and I can't really compare the two because they don't seem to have that much in common. Rapid City (70,000 pop) is between 2 and 3 times the size of Durango.

I might add healthcare as another sizable industry in Durango. If you are in the medical field, there might be some great opportunities for you here in Durango - a good sized hospital with specialists.

[sesamekid]

I was in Durango a couple weekends ago and was REALLY impressed.

What a beautiful, well-kept little town. The downtown was gorgeous, the neighborhoods were adorable and even the weeds were well manicured!

I was also impressed by the elaborate recycling program that was evident all over the town.

I can see why this is a very desirable place for relocation. But it left us wondering what kind of property taxes do you pay in Durango? We were guessing the taxes are fairly steep because the public works were so phenomenal.

[CAVA1990]

Or they're well funded because there are a lot of expensive homes in the area and because of taxes collected from tourism.

[jchasse]

Originally Posted by sesamekid

I was in Durango a couple weekends ago and was REALLY impressed.

What a beautiful, well-kept little town. The downtown was gorgeous, the neighborhoods were adorable and even the weeds were well manicured!

I was also impressed by the elaborate recycling program that was evident all over the town.

I can see why this is a very desirable place for relocation. But it left us wondering what kind of property taxes do you pay in Durango? We were guessing the taxes are fairly steep because the public works were so phenomenal.

Durango taxes are ridiculously low in my experience. You could probably budget ~$1,000 per year on a $500-600k home in town

[NW Crow]

I think the tax revenues from the gas industry also figure into this.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

I think the tax revenues from the gas industry also figure into this.

Would they really fund municipal services? Don't those revenues go mainly to the state?

[JesseQ]

Thanks for all the replies guys and gals, much appreciated. I guess I'll keep doing some research. Maybe even take a minivacation up there just to see what its all like.

Any tourist hotspots I should look out for?

[Let's Go Here]

I've been living in Durango for almost 5 months and can tell you that it's way overpriced.

[NW Crow]

Cava,

I didn't see your question til now.

From my reading (including a study by economists at Fort Lewis College) I understand that the gas industry pays property tax on the production value of land it owns and that gas property is assessed at nearly its full value while residential property is assessed at a small fraction of its market value. As a result the gas industry paid about twice as much property tax as all residential property. Therefore it is estimated that residential property tax would have to triple its current levels if they were no property tax coming from the gas industry. Local government also has gotten money back from the state thru energy and mineral impact assistance grants. The share of tax coming from the natural gas industry grew rapidly thru at least the middle of last decade.

This article talked about how this favorable situation for residents may not last forever.

The Durango Herald 05/26/2011 | Living and paying in gas country, with no foresight


Another site says
"In La Plata County, the Oil and Gas industry has been picking up the lion’s share of our tax base for those 25 years and property taxes on “vacant” land might look downright reasonable to someone from Texas or California or Florida, used to paying that same amount quarterly or even monthly for their home there. However, this may change soon as changes in Oil and Gas regulations at the state level may cause our county industry tax yield to shrink. Property taxes for the average landowner will increase to meet the financial needs of the county and local taxing districts."

Colorado Land Planning | Agricultural Designation


In fact things are already changing:

*6/26/11 Durango Herald:County makes do in lean times Collections from gas, oil show dramatic decline By Heather Scofield Herald Staff Writer
As La Plata County commissioners last week began a five-month process of preparing the county budget for 2012, a few troubling predictions were on the table. For starters, the more than $16.8 million in property tax revenue from the gas and oil industry collected in 2010 is expected to fall by half this year and improve only slightly in 2012, to near $10 million. "

Most of the immediate impact may be in reduced capital spending but it could eventually affect residential property rates.

Gas industry employees also pay sales and residential property taxes like everyone else but it shares the tax burden now with a group that may not always be as large in the future.

[mizzile]

Durango is ridiculously overpriced, as has been stated before. I really, really don't get it.

I think people end up scraping by on crap jobs and rationalize the shoestring lifestyle, since everyone else (except the wealthy) do it to. It's a fun town to visit, but no place for someone with any ambition at all. However, it's easy to live there and pretend you have ambition, if that makes any sense.

The availability of seemingly affordable housing gets people to come there, but then they find out that the cheap homes are way out in the boonies, don't have potable water, and aren't as cheap as they seem once you factor in all the costs, lack of jobs, and low pay.