up and coming mountain town

[CosmicWizard]

marie_co wrote:

I agree with jazz though, it's unfortunate how many of us have been priced out of our hometowns.

I agree with both of you that it is unfortunate that so many people are being priced out of their hometowns, but I don't limit my viewpoint to Colorado only. This is happening all over the country, especially in the desirable places. For better or worse, many towns in Colorado are on the list of desirable places.

blessings.....Franco

[b.adams]

You could try places like Ward, Dacono, Idaho Springs, Walsenberg, Leadville, grandby ... maybe nederland.

Leadville is very scenic. Ward is really small and kinda scary. Idaho Springs is interesting (on I-70).

Grandby might be worth looking into. 100k won't get you into most places, unfortunately. The CO mtn
real estate used to be cheap ... now its owned by the rich and holleywood types ... sad.

[lovethewest]

Another suggestion, is Lander, Wyoming. While it's not exactly in the mountains, it's right next to them. Lander is a beautiful town. I think it was voted one of the best mountain towns by Outdoor Magazine. Also, it's not too expensive, probably cheaper than most Colorado mountain towns, and it's close to some of the most literally breathtaking scenery on earth. It gets its tourists, but nothing much, and you won't be seeing a whole lot of Range Rovers, maybe some Subarus, though. It's also headquarters to the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

Here's the article:
America’s Top Dream Towns | Outside Online (http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/200408/best_american_dream_towns_7.html - broken link)

[marie_co]

I personally wouldn't recommend Dacono. It's near the mountains, I guess, but not in the mountains. Plus, it's a huge trailer park and an arm pit.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by marie_co

I personally wouldn't recommend Dacono. It's near the mountains, I guess, but not in the mountains. Plus, it's a huge trailer park and an arm pit.

Dacono is pretty far from the mountains. More like a little plains town.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Idunn

Two areas you might consider those near Silverton and Nederland.

Due the recent ski area Silverton is beginning to grow into the resort the others have long since become. But its very isolated location in the San Juan mountains of southwest Colorado mitigate against this to an extent. Also that its ski area will probably always be mostly of the extreme skiing variety. It is a small and quaint, old Victorian mining town. Modern amenities are beginning to pop up, in step with real estate prices. Technically speaking you are already priced out of this market, but you have a lot better chance there of being creative and working something out. You might really like it.

Real estate prices in Silverton have exploded to hideous levels in the last 2-3 years. Around 4 years ago, $150,000 could have bought you a fairly decent (but old) house in Silverton. Today that will about buy you a 50 x 150 vacant lot--if you're lucky. As for law enforcement in San Juan county, you can count the employees about on one hand. Most everyone in town is either working seasonally in the tourist business, or commuting to Durango to work (no fun commute in the winter). A good friend of mine just left Silverton after running a business there for nearly 30 years. He probably made more from selling his house than the net income from his business for the last 5 years. I love Silverton, but it is just one more town that the out-of-state "big money" is wrecking. That list is getting so long that it's easier to list the towns that are not being wrecked--it's hard to think of very many to put on that list.

[ColHiker]

I would look at Pagosa Springs, Silverton and maybe one of my very favorites; Ouray, Colorado. I'm not sure what rents are in Ouray but nearby Ridgway is also an option and I think less expensive.

[songinthewind7]

Manitou Springs is too pricey to buy there but if you share a home/apt. with someone, it may be a good place to check out.

It's an artsy type of place, in the mountains, close to Colo. Spgs. and just a beautiful place to me.