PAONIA, CO ?? Know anything about it ? (Colorado Springs, Grand Junction: appointed, real estate, city hall)

[keikekai]

Hi,

Do any of you (who have been to this town, or are currently living there) know ANYTHING at all about this place:
Paonia, Colorado (zip: 81428) ??????

I came across this while searching out Colorado Springs, and it seems like a nice town - less crime, more sunny days, similar weather (to Colorado springs) - but not sure what its like there. Is it very rural ? Any shopping there ? Any information you have on the area, things to do (for kids) etc. would be great. Trying to compare/contrast these 2 towns.

Thanks for your help.

[jazzlover]

I know Paonia very well. It is an eclectic mix of old hippies, coal miners, affluent retirees (more and more), some orchadists (less and less, thanks to development), and a few vineyards. Like all of rural mountain Colorado, real estate is overpriced for local incomes (unless you bring your money with you or are a coal miner). There is also a fair amount of coalbed methane gas drilling going on near Paonia these days. For those from urban areas, it is pretty rural. For those who are used to rural Colorado as it was until recent years, it is starting to overdevelop.

As to climate, it is not really like Colorado Springs. Paonia gets less rain in the summer than Colorado Springs and can be "browner" in summer than the Springs. Paonia gets less wind than the Springs, and probably about the same amount of snow. Unlike the Springs, Paonia does not get Chinook winds, so if it does get a big snow (admittedly rare), that snow can stay on the ground for awhile. Culturally, economically, and socially, the two towns could not be more different. Colorado Springs, first and foremost, is a military town. If the military bases in the Springs, along with Air Force Academy, packed up and left, half of Colorado Springs' economy would probably blow away, too.

I have a number of friends around the Paonia area, but I can tell you that it still can be kind of cliquish if you are not a long-time resident. I had a friend who moved there over 25 year ago and he is still considered an "outsider" by the old natives.

I will say this: Paonia is near to some gorgeous country, and with the coal mining still active in the area (which I do not consider a bad thing) it still has some economic base that is not totally based on hamburger-flipping, bed changing, and mailbox trust-fund and pension payments. That right there differeniates it from a lot of rural mountain Colorado.

[CosmicWizard]

I've only driven thru Paonia so please take my opinion with that in mind. I totally agree with Jazzlover that Paonia is close to some gorgeous country. The setting is very rural and very picturesque. The view from one of the vineyards/wineries just about knocked my socks off. It was quite stunning. I was there on a hot summer day in July, so I can say with certainty that it does get hot. Compared to Grand Junction it is very laid back. The old hippie influence was apparent to me, which added to the charm of the place. We talked to a few people about real estate and they all told us that Paonia is THE place to be and that it has been discovered. Gauging by the cost of real estate, I would say that it has surely been discovered. It is not for those without a significant pile of cash, or a decent income to afford the mortgage payments. If big box shopping is your concept of shopping, you'll be disappointed. I don't recall seeing any big box stores. YEAH!

blessings...Franco

[keikekai]

When you say 'big box stores' are you referring to places such as Costco, BJ's, Sam's Club warehouse ?? Wasn't sure if that's what you meant. Do they have any organic stores (such as whole foods/wild oats) or something similar to those ?? Is there any form of entertainment - like movie theatre, or other things for children ? How far is this town from Colorado Springs (driving) ? Thanks !

[CosmicWizard]

By big box, I am indeed referrring to the stores like the ones you mentioned. Montrose is probably the closest place for big box shopping, or possibly in Delta to a lesser degree. Grand Junction would be the closest place that has all or most of the big box stores.

We found a great organic food store and restaurant ( Old River Road Trading Post or something like that ) on a rural road just outside of town. Great food at great prices. It's definitely NOT Whole Foods or Wild Oats....Paonia is way too laid back for that kind of store. Maybe in 50 years! Personally, I liked this particular place MUCH better than WholeFoods or WildOats.

blessings...Franco

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by keikekai

When you say 'big box stores' are you referring to places such as Costco, BJ's, Sam's Club warehouse ?? Wasn't sure if that's what you meant. Do they have any organic stores (such as whole foods/wild oats) or something similar to those ?? Is there any form of entertainment - like movie theatre, or other things for children ? How far is this town from Colorado Springs (driving) ? Thanks !

Drive time to the Springs from Paonia is probably 5 hours plus. There is no real expeditious route. In winter, it can be interesting.

There is not much shopping or entertainment in Paonia. The closest sizable shopping areas are Delta (30 miles over a predominantly narrow 2 lane road with a lot of traffic), Montrose (50 miles), or Grand Junction (70 miles).

There's one other thing about Paonia: marijuana. Paonia has a reputation as a prime marijuana growing area. Years back there was a particularly powerful strain of marijuana grown there called "Paonia Purple." My friends in local law enforcement told me that Paonia Purple had a national reputation in the drug-using community. One of the things the Chamber of Commerce types won't tell you about in rural mountain Colorado is the production and trafficking in drugs. It didn't start with meth (and there's plenty of that), but has been going on for years with marijuana growing and trafficking, and cocaine trafficking into the resort towns. It has flourished because of affluent drug users in the resort towns, the undermanned and underfunded law enforcement agencies in rural counties and towns, and a substantial percentage of underemployed or unemployed locals looking for some way to make a living.

Personally, the only way I would live in Paonia is if I had one of the relatively high paying jobs at one of the area coal mines. Otherwise, all of that driving just gets to be a pain--and an increasingly expensive (and--soon--unaffordable, in my opinion) propostion.

[Cimd]

Well I have lived in paonia most of my life. As a teen growing up and living here i would personnally not recommend raising kids here because believe it or not they get in more trouble in this small town than they would in the springs. The scenery is beautiful and the school is one of the best but theres not much to do here. If your not in to coal mining or agriculture this is not the place for you. there is a movie theater here but it only has one screen and the movies get here months after they were released. Because of the lack of things to do here most everybody resorts to drinking and drugs. pot is a big thing here so if you dont like that then once again this is not the place for you. Paonia is a nice town to drive thru and spend a day but if you havent been here your whole life chances are you wont like it.

[Firebug86]

Don't raise kids in Paonia. It's pretty to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there. It's very rural (and I live in western CO where there's a lot of rural towns.. this town is really rural haha). As far as crime goes, since the Springs is a big city, there is more crime there than in Paonia. I think that the lifestyles of both areas contrast a lot, afterall- one is a big city and the other is a rural town.

[PenforPrez]

My aunt lived in Paonia for many years; her husband was a coal miner and unfortunately got black lung. She died out there in 1988, and I went out there with my parents for the funeral. Unfortunately, I was only 8 at the time, so my memories are rather vague. I do remember it being very beautiful out there, but no, not a lot to do.

I know my cousins (who were pre-teen to early teens at the time) had a hard time adjusting out there. Not long after the funeral, they moved to southern California, where they found even more trouble.

I'm actually considering driving out to Paonia next weekend to see to my aunt's grave (I have no family there since my cousins moved), so I found it ironic that I would find this thread now. Just wanted to contribute what I remember.

[Mike from back east]

Drove through Paonia Friday. Lovely area. Saw lots of wineries and came home with a box of wines and a bag of apples.

Along the same route we saw at least three active coal mines. To a train hugger like me it was nice to see the trains loading at the tipples. Somerset is a major coal town, dates to 1896, and has rows of old-style company housing still in use, a living piece of history. Of course the mining is modern and high tech these days.

The drive from Durango to Glenwood Springs was spectacular and the people were friendly everywhere we stopped, including City Hall in Silverton to use the loo, we love those old buildings, so solid and graceful. Red Mountain Pass was an awesome drive, no guardrails in lots of places and these are not my Mom's mountains (back in WV). Ouray was an amazing little town.

The whole area from Durango to Ouray is very remote, very mountainous, for sure very unforgiving in the winter weather, with incredible low temperatures, immense snow totals and deadly avalanches. Our weather was unseasonably warm with no snow on the roads and very little snow evident except on the hills at higher elevations.

Things changed dramatically when we got to Carbondale and hit Hwy 82, the main drag from Glenwood Springs to Aspen. The traffic became both heavy and aggressive, much like back in DC. Traffic in Glenwood Springs was very heavy, but the town was neat, especially the Hotel Colorado and the springs.