Relocating to CO soon - Need assistance (Fort Collins, Boulder: apartment, rent) - Colorado - City-Data Forum

CO Dreamin · 09-01-2007, 12:12 AM

Hi,

My husband & I are relocating to CO from the Midwest around Oct. 1st. Unfortunately, due to retiring early we're going from about a $50-$60K income to probably about $1000-$1500/mo. Thank goodness he has some retirement savings in his 401K. We'll probably be looking to buy some rural land with that next spring so we'd rather not have to dip into it too much. In the meantime, we might need to find a small place to stay to keep warm for the winter. Even a small studio would be o.k. for a few months. The only expenses we'll have when we arrive is cell phone, insurance, food & gas. We'd like to stay west of I-25. We're not at all interested in being in the city. In fact, we don't mind being out in the boonies, as long as we're not too far from a hospital, grocery store, etc. We're very casual, down-to-earth, "green" kind of folks, very much into recycling. Can anyone give us some guidance as to what areas to stay away from & what we might be able to afford? Thanks for any & all help.

Charles · 09-01-2007, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CO Dreamin

The only expenses we'll have when we arrive is cell phone, insurance, food & gas.

What about internet access so you can post on City-Data?

Tom Emmerling · 09-01-2007, 10:06 AM

I was just looking in the paper today and you can find a one bedroom apartment from the high 300-600 range in the Fort Collins area. I am sure there are also folks out there that would rent out their basement for a nice quiet couple. Any ideas on where you want to buy next spring? You might want to look into the Wellington area or Weld county area. These areas are close to I25 and still pretty rural. So you could get to everything like a hospital or shopping in a fairly short drive.

CO Dreamin · 09-01-2007, 01:06 PM

Thank you Tom. Next spring we're hoping to pick up approx. 40 acres to build a ranch on. We want to be totally off the grid. Grow our own food, create our own electricity, etc. We don't know where yet because we don't know much about CO. I would love to be within a couple of hours of Boulder (that's where the kids will be settling), but realize that could be completely out of our price range. I'm hoping we won't have to go all the way south unless we find we can afford to live in Ouray County. Did a little research & fell in love with Ouray, but that could be out of the price range too.

HappyMontrose · 09-01-2007, 01:15 PM

Ouray is beautiful as is most of Southwest Colorado.

Check it out .. some more

HM

jazzlover · 09-01-2007, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CO Dreamin

Thank you Tom. Next spring we're hoping to pick up approx. 40 acres to build a ranch on. We want to be totally off the grid. Grow our own food, create our own electricity, etc. We don't know where yet because we don't know much about CO. I would love to be within a couple of hours of Boulder (that's where the kids will be settling), but realize that could be completely out of our price range. I'm hoping we won't have to go all the way south unless we find we can afford to live in Ouray County. Did a little research & fell in love with Ouray, but that could be out of the price range too.

You can't "ranch" on 40 acres in Colorado--not when it often takes 40-80 acres to support one cow! Without irrigation water, 40 acres won't grow much of a garden, either. Prices are pretty astronomical in Ouray County, and the area only has about a 100-120 day growing season.

Search for some of my others posts on water and water rights in Colorado. It ain't like the Midwest.

CO Dreamin · 09-01-2007, 05:39 PM

Well, I guess we may have to do some more research & plan on getting more acreage. Thanks for the info.

Katarina Witt · 09-01-2007, 06:29 PM

jazzlover took the words out of my mouth. Most places in Colorado have short growing seasons. It is barely long enough here in the metro area to grow corn, tomatoes and green beans. The idea of producing all one's food on a 40 acre spread is a little unrealistic. You might be able to produce a goodly percentage of it, though. Think about doing that!

Market Mama · 09-02-2007, 01:18 PM

Nope. More acreage isn't the answer. Colorado is half mountains where it can freeze any month of the year and half a hot, dry high desert plateau where most summer days bake in the high 90's and rain is a prayed for rarity. Most of the available irrigation water is taken (and wasted on lawns), and many deep wells are drying up from over-drilling. We're also in the middle of a long-term drought and even the snowpack seems to be permanently down and more of it is evaporating instead of melting and flowing down our few over-managed rivers.

If you're set on Colorado, I'm sure you'll find partial answers to your dreams (can you afford a greenhouse? solar panels? a windmill?) but the old "Five Acres and Independence" concept needs a completely different kind of country with a lot more rain and a lot less winter.

Maybe check out the folks in the Boulder Farmers Market to see how they manage. Some will just have inherited a good farm, but some will have found some more creative ways to grow food, including rare herbs and small livestock -- maybe organic turkeys or lambs if you can go into partnership with the right specialty butcher. Lot's of demand for organic here but it can take years to get certified.

You've got to do some solid reality-based research and find a unique but doable niche in order to live even part of your live-off-the-land dream. Colorado is a very beautiful place, but it's also in many ways a very harsh environment here.

I don't see how you can live on $1000-1500/month anywhere near Boulder unless you buy a used but well-insulated trailer and live up in Ward or Jamestown or way out on the eastern plains (and be sure to budget in enough for heating in the winter). Please do your homework, rework your expectations to fit the local reality, consider a part-time job, and plan very carefully!

Best of luck! I love it here, but it's not a cheap place to live.

Nadine · 09-02-2007, 03:03 PM

I posted this on retiring but I meant it for you. Sorry

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My little town of Canon City is just about center of the state. I would suggest it maybe a good place to stay to search for your new home. YorkiesMom is in a small 2 bedroom apt in an apt complex, that can be rented short term. 1 mo 6mo or yearly. You may want to talk to her. Affordable Fremont County is a good place to look things over and to learn about irrigation. People are friendly just go ask. That website was setup to entice the army personal that are being sent to Fort Carson, but it still is a good place to look. PM or e-mail me if you want more info. I don't know if YorkiesMom is checking in but she is from Minnesota and is looking to buy a non rural home. But maybe she can give you a more non biased look at this area. Try PM or emailing her. I think she is checking in altho not posting.----------Darn website did not come thro on paste, look at Retiring.