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And I'll bet if you actually had to work for a living in the Durango economy--which you obviously do not have to (unlike a lot of posters on this forum)--you would likely find salaries at about half of what you were accustomed to.
Never said otherwise. So....what? And after working 4 decades with the goal of being able to have a secure retirement, why would I want to?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzlover
Most of the people dreaming about living in areas like Durango actually have to worry about being able to make a living in the local economy, while most of the "residents" (which, apparently, is anybody who has lived there more than a month) who answer their posts on this forum are the people who DON'T have to worry about making a living in the local economy.
Irrelevant.... the costs are the same for everybody. Are you implying that working people pay more? Anybody who thinks they can live the "Durango dream" & build a lucrative career while working locally is delusional. They need to decide which is more important to them, the "Durango dream" or a lucrative career. It's pretty difficult if not impossible to have both in Durango.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzlover
There is a real disconnect there--one that essentially deceives people about the real economic challenges of making a living in places like Durango. Sort of the like the guy who was born on third base and thinks that he got a triple telling the young rookie at bat at home plate how easy it is to get a hit.
Disconnect? Your perception of a disconnect between the local economy and those of us who are retired (and considered outsiders by you) is laughable. We still pay rent, utilities, buy food, gas, and support the local economy financially. We know how much it all costs & we too need to budget & spend our money wisely because we don't work anymore.... and if we have to, we're not going to have an easy time of it in Durango. Every retiree's worry is that they'll outlive their retirement savings.
Born on third base? Seriously? You seem to believe that all retirees were "born on third base". Your hyperbole is way off base and shows your lack of understanding of what it takes to get here over 40 years. Your resentment of those who have worked hard for decades to achieve financial goals and enjoy life is childish & has no bearing on the facts being discussed.
You also write as if Durango is the only locale in the country that faces these issues. Here's a clue..... it's not. Durango is not someplace that you build a career....period. You are such a master of the obvious. Having worked my butt off, saving & investing for 40 years, raising & educating a family, I finally get to enjoy life. Good for me that I can afford it. I never denied that I am fortunate to be able to retire here. But then that is the result of hard work & planning. Something that everyone can strive to achieve over the course of their lives. Sorry if that offends you but..... tough if it does! Maybe, over time, if you work hard & plan, you can accomplish that too.
The fact remains though, gas, food, basic living expenses here, are still on par with where I came from & in most cases less. People need to make a living back there too and pay the same prices as I did. I've acknowledged before that housing is the biggest factor in the high costs of Durango. What part of relative do you not understand?
I guess I never realized that these forums were only for those who still work for a living. You have much to offer in these forums Jazz, but your continuous tossing of sour grapes at those you perceive as outsiders degrades the conversation and helps no one who is looking for help.
Colleges are solid for IT jobs, OP. Google the college and check their employment listings. Good benefits, too. An IT job should pay you plenty for rent and all the rest. Durango is in a beautiful area, Drive north to Ouray for hot springs and awesome scenery, and further north still, for Telluride, and outdoor music fests, film festivals, lots of happenings. The college has museum exhibits and other cultural events. If you're an outdoor sports fan, Durango and surroundings have hiking, fishing, skiing, and all that. If you can make it work with a good job, and don't mind being a little isolated but in the middle of boggling scenery and nature, it can be a cool place to hang your hat.
Maybe, over time, if you work hard & plan, you can accomplish that too.
Actually, I did accomplish it--and before you did, I might add. I also managed to live most of my life in rural Colorado while doing it. It took a whole lot of sacrifice on my part to do it--more material and lifestyle sacrifices than most people are willing to make. That is why there are relatively few people that actually manage it.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of posters who make it sound like it is easy to make a living in rural Colorado, easy to live the good life, easy to "have one's cake and eat it, too," if you will. You didn't manage to do that, and most of the people posting here won't, either. They will either a) have to make the same kind of major sacrifices that I did in order to live here most of their lives, or b) they will have to slave away (like you did) in some much less desirable place for decades in order to make enough to (maybe) spend their retirement years in rural Colorado. That is if they live long enough to do it. And, going forward, it is going to be a lot harder for most people to accomplish it either way. That's another hard, cold reality that is going to finally start sinking in.
You can call my attitude about that whatever you want, but decades of economic research (part of what I've done for a living) and demographic analysis on my part paints a very clear picture of where we are headed--and the reality of it isn't pretty. The major economic and demographic shifts that are coming in the next few years are going to be very harsh for places like Durango, no matter how "rosy" things look in such places right now. Durango has been through that before--it's just that there is almost no one there now that is old enough to remember back when things "busted" there in times past. As the old saying goes, "History may not repeat, but it usually rhymes."
I had a great job in Durango all through the 80's. The town felt much more real to me as it was back then, and I really loved it. Back then Telluride was still pretty much an old mining/ghost town. I used to have a picture of myself standing in front of the old Telluride library which back then was housed in what was once the town jail. The library still had the old jail bars on its windows!
I had to leave Durango to be nearer my elderly Mother in the Springs when her health began to fail. When I finally returned to this part of Colorado (after many other adventures), I just assumed that I would live in Durango again. Wrong!
Durango always did have high rents, but in my absence housing had skyrocketed. Durango has become the chic place to be and growing more chic by the day. Now glitzy Telluride should just annex Durango and get it all over with. I heard a song the other day - something about going to Durango to find a cowboy - of all things - and I had to laugh. An IT tech, yes. A cowboy, very hard to stumble across these days
I'm sure that people who have the money without the memories from back in the day enjoy Durango very much, and that's great for them. Me, I avoid resort towns which is why I've stayed where I am - for right now, anyway. Cortez has a far greater chance of drying up and being blown away by the drought than it has of being "discovered." I like it that way.
jazzlover wrote:Unfortunately, there are a lot of posters who make it sound like it is easy to make a living in rural Colorado, easy to live the good life, easy to "have one's cake and eat it, too," if you will.
For some people, it IS easy! What would you have them do....make up a story of struggle, sacrifice, and hardship?
Although I live in Durango, the 4 corners region in general is what attracted me. Too damn many tourists (and Texans w/Duallys pulling 35' trailers through town) for my liking. All of the traffic makes this a congested & noisy town to live in. That being said, it is convenient to be less than a mile to the grocery store and have free public transportation within 50 yards of my front door via the Durango Trolley. It's also pretty damned convenient to have the Colorado Trail & National Forest access within 2 miles of our residence.
Once we have our house built out on the mesa, we'll be in the middle of hundreds of acres of pasture formed by the surrounding ranches. 2 miles off the pavement. Out there, it's quiet and there is very little light pollution so the skies are incredible. That's our plan so we won't need to live in town for too long.... 18 months at most.
Even as a new resident, I do recognize what has become of Durango over the decades. I don't care for what it has become but it still serves as the hub for the general area. It still sits in a sweet spot between the desert & the mountains that is of great natural beauty. This would be a great town if it didn't have so damn many tourists, but then that is the lifeblood of the economy here so you learn to grin & bear it.
As my wife would say after working with the general public for so many years; "I hate people. They suck the life out of you".
DurangoJoe wrote:This ( Durango ) would be a great town if it didn't have so damn many tourists,
Not limited to Durango unfortunately. I was in Crested Butte yesterday, purposely timing my visit to avoid the weekend hordes, BUT even on a Tuesday, the place was teeming with front range and out of state tourists. The crowds in Crested Butte have gotten noticably worse since I first visited there in '07. I was in Salida on Monday. The crowds there weren't so bad, but still noticably more people than I saw on my previous visits in March and May. Colorado's undiscovered gem, the Grand Mesa, is perhaps the best high country escape to beat the heat AND the toursits. You can thank the prolific mosquito population for that!
DurangoJoe wrote:This ( Durango ) would be a great town if it didn't have so damn many tourists,
Not limited to Durango unfortunately. I was in Crested Butte yesterday, purposely timing my visit to avoid the weekend hordes, BUT even on a Tuesday, the place was teeming with front range and out of state tourists. The crowds in Crested Butte have gotten noticably worse since I first visited there in '07. I was in Salida on Monday. The crowds there weren't so bad, but still noticably more people than I saw on my previous visits in March and May. Colorado's undiscovered gem, the Grand Mesa, is perhaps the best high country escape to beat the heat AND the toursits. You can thank the prolific mosquito population for that!
Perhaps, Colorado should add a bounty on tourists to our one on drones!
JUST KIDDING, EVERYONE! Personally, I enjoy meeting folks from all over both the country and the world, and I'm sure most Coloradans feel the same way that I do. Having a paycheck is also a nice by-product of tourism.
*Say, buddy. Wanna buy a bag of genuine anasazi beans? I can get them for you cheap, but don't tell anyone else!* Heh!
Those Texans I complain about represent 37.5% of the tourist revenues in Durango so I can't complain too loud. Durango needs 'em.
Some of the stupid questions they ask really make you scratch your head though:
* At what altitude do deer turn into elk?
* Who put all the rocks in the river?
* Why did they put Mesa Verde so far from town?
* Who planted all of the flowers along the road on the way to Silverton?
Durango Herald published a recent article about this. One of our relatives here has worked at the visitors center for over 10 years and he will testify that people really ask questions like this. It just boggles the mind.
Last edited by DurangoJoe; 07-24-2013 at 08:17 PM..
Reason: spelling
Having lived in Durango some time back, I'll add a couple of things.
Durango is defined in large part by its geography. It lies in a canyon next the Animus River. A beautiful location with ready access to so much more in the San Juan Mountains. Thus the tourism. The better part of the town runs north to south in a relatively narrow band, due geography, from its southern edge along US 160. Back in the day, decades ago, there was little development there much south of the Palmer Hotel and the end of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. It has since developed into various big box stores and a good deal of shopping. And more traffic.
Even before development in Durango really took off, it was still a long drive from the far southern to north edge of town through any number of stoplights. It could be a pleasant drive on a summer's evening past the long stone wall of the fairgrounds, but due the lay of the land with few viable alternatives to the main drag of US 550. Throw in an ever increasing population, not to mention the tourists, and a certain reality any resident will face.
Another is isolation. Those with a horizon little beyond the Front Range might be surprised. Even in Breckenridge it is but about 1.5 hours into Denver; and all throughout the Front Range urban corridor all the closer to the activities and services one may expect as a matter of course.
Whereas Durango is the major town in southwest Colorado. It is where everyone else in the region comes for shopping and services not readily found in their smaller communities. Imagine the Front Range as Durango, and then size it way down, and where would you go if Denver didn't suite? Kansas City?
There is the option of nearby Farmington, NM, which if not all that scenic other than the rivers and bluffs, still offers some services Durango does not. Although in size and options it is more a sister city to Durango than anything appreciably larger or more diverse.
Denver is a long drive removed for those determined enough. As would be Salt Lake City, UT. Practically speaking Albuquerque, at roughly 3.5 hours distant, is by far the best option for a real city. It is large enough to offer most anything one might wish in a city, and yet small enough not to be overwhelmed by or lost in. Not to mention a beautiful backdrop of the Sandia Mountains fronted by the cottonwood lined Rio Grande River. It is hardly a perfect place, yet with many attractions. Albuquerque gets a bad press in some quarters, but anyone who has spent any amount of time there will as well understand that it is very much of New Mexico, and why that state can aptly call itself the Land of Enchantment.
Moreover, US 550 from Durango makes it simplicity itself to get to Albuquerque. It may still remain a questionable judgement, but then governor Gary Johnson's decision to widen US 550 into four lanes of emptiness with little traffic through New Mexico provides not only a pleasant drive, but one as well through a land largely empty but that oft strikingly beautiful.
I would imagine that many contemplating Durango as a possible home may not fully appreciate, even if knowing its location on a map, that it is of the Four Corners, and that is one of the most starkly beautiful areas in the United States—and also remote.
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You have much to offer in these forums Jazz, but your continuous tossing of sour grapes at those you perceive as outsiders degrades the conversation and helps no one who is looking for help.
Of the Four Corners
