Montrose info (Denver, Grand Junction, Golden: relocating, real estate, housing)

[golden22]

Hello! There is a possibility of our family relocating to the Montrose area. It looks like such a wonderful place to raise a family. We have 3 children, ages 11, 7 & 5. Can any one share any advice on schools, etc?

Our 11 yo is involved in competitive swimming and it looks like they have a swim club there which is great! Our 7 yo has taken up tumbling...also, our 11 yr old is in middle school, 7yo is in 1st grade and our 5 yo is in pre-k (a young 5).

Also, I am curious if there are any outlet malls in the surrounding areas etc? I was thrilled to see that you have a Target ( a passion of mine LOL ) we currently do not have one in our city of 50k!

Thanks in advance for any advice

[jazzlover]

I'm currently in the Montrose/Delta area temporarily. I lived in the area for a number of years, but left (I do still have family in the area). I don't plan on staying here after my assignment is done. Here's why.

The whole area is going through a big growth spurt, mostly fueled by affluent retirees who don't have to rely on local income relocating to the area. That has fueled a big expansion in retail trade in Montrose, along with a boom in construction work. Other than that, the Montrose economy doesn't look much different than it has for the last 30 years. Wages still aren't great, but the living costs (especially for housing) have skyrocketed. I would be wary of some of the glowing posts you will get on this forum from some "Montrovians." I suspect many of them are in the retired/leisure class who don't actually have to worry about making a living in Montrose. All kinds of places look great if you don't have that little "problem."

Down valley in Delta and Grand Junction, they are getting a lot of the same boom, but it is also being fueled by the gas drilling boom in the North Fork Valley and in areas all around Grand Junction. At least those are some decent paying jobs.

If there is a "positive" side, it looks like the "real estate bubble" may be finally starting to deflate in the area. Bad news if you bought at the top of the boom, but an event that needs to happen. My friends who know real estate in the area (and are candid about what is going on) tell me that unsold home inventories have mushroomed in the last several months. One person, who was a realtor in Montrose for years, called the current market "dying." Price drops haven't come much yet, but I think they are on the way. This is not surprising. West central Colorado has had a long tradition of lagging national trends for a few months. I have a friend who has had his home on the market at below appraisal (and it's a very nice 1,800 sq. ft. house) for over 3 months of very active marketing. Two people have looked at it. That's pretty telling, I think.

As to the shopping, I was in Target in Montrose last week. I was unimpressed, but I'm not a "shopper" type. No nearby outlet malls.

Montrose is close to some of the most beautiful mountains around, but don't expect to have them to yourself, anymore. That era, sadly, is gone. Montrose itself is sprawling very badly--go to the south end of town and you swear you're in suburban Denver--it looks just like it. I would guess that the schools are OK, but I do have a friend (a Montrose native) who relocated from Montrose to Wyoming, and her concerns about her kids' schooling helped fuel the decision. (Wyoming schools are in MUCH better fiscal condition than most Colorado districts. Also, sadly, a lot of retirees that make up a bigger and bigger active voting bloc in places like Montrose are often not receptive to passing bond issues or other tax increases to fund schools. "I don't have any kids in school, why should I pay for 'em now?" is their philosophy. They forget that somebody paid for THEM to go to school.)

[winglady]

Wow, stong words, jazzlover!

I confess: We retired to Montrose, so we don't have an issue with finding a well-paying job.

We strongly support school bond issues when they come up. We also supported the reinstatement of the county sales tax that just passed yesterday, and the expansion of the Aquatic center (which did not pass).

I'm a member of a very active, local service organization filled with people (nearly all women) enjoying successful careers here.

Having lived in Denver most of my life, I can assure you that our Montrose south side growth looks absolutely nothing like a Denver suburb. However, I agree with you completely that the rapid growth and development here is very worrisome, and that the real estate bubble is deflating rapidly, if not quite "burst".

Still, it's good and quite normal that not everyone loves Montrose, just as not everyone loves any place we could name. Imagine what a boring world this would be if everyone had the same set of likes and dislikes, and what a disaster it would be if everyone wanted to live in the same place! Vive le difference!

[NewAgeRedneck]

golden22

We all share our opinions on what a place is liked based on our own unique perspective. From what I have read of Jazzlovers previous posts ( Jazz feel free to correct me if I am wrong about this ), his perspective is based on having lived in the Montrose area BEFORE the changes that he doesn't like took place. On the other hand, I never lived in this area ( now living in Grand Junction, 60 miles north of Montrose ) when things were the way that Jazzlover preferred, so I'm unable to make that comparison. My favorable opinion of this area is based on the comparison of coming from an east coast city of more than 400,000 people, so the towns on the western slope of the Colorado Rockies look pretty darn good to me. It's all a matter of perspective. Both of our opinions are valid for us, but hopefully they carry very little weight in your mind. The best thing you can do is to spend some time in Montrose, get a feeling for the place, and determine wether or not it feels right FOR YOU.

I gotta agree with winglady that what a disaster it would be if everyone wanted to live in the same place! Vive le difference!

Current Real Estate Market Conditions in Montrose.

blessings.....Franco

[DOUBLE H]

I have lived in Colorado all my life and worked out of town construction in Brush, Craig, Durango, Grandby, Grand Junction, Walsenburg, and two decades of power plant construction along the front range since 1970. Jazzlover is one of the most informed individuals on this board. Through his commentary he shows he has a good general knowledge of the water issues, growth impact,and general history of the state.Through his posts I can tell he has lived here a long time like me (57 years). Me? All I am is an arthritic long haired hippie agnostic so my opinion is irrevelant. After decades of unloading freight off semis, running a forklift offloading structural steel in a snowstorm as ironworkers were hanging it up as fast as i was taking it off the trailor, I found time to drive some equipment and it reminded me of something my Dad taught me when I bought my first car. You can't put 21 gallons of fuel in a 20 gallon tank. You make a mess when you do. I was just in Montrose last week. Until 1994 it was an area of close to 10.000 people. According to people I know over there, city and county honchos project a population of 75,000 people in 10 years.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

....my opinion is irrevelant....

Not so. Your opinions, and your recollections, since they come from one who's been around here a long time, are quite valued, as are the sincere opinions of everyone else who cares to pass their knowledge on to others, especially to the young ones.

[runninfiend]

On the upside, Montrose has affordable housing and you're with an hours drive of the San Juans. HUGE upside. Ouray is one of my favorite towns on the planet, but could never afford to live there. Montrose, possibly. It's one place I've considered for retirement since real estate looks fairly reasonable in CO. terms (but retirement is a looooooong way off).

What is the winter climate like?

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

I have lived in Colorado all my life and worked out of town construction in Brush, Craig, Durango, Grandby, Grand Junction, Walsenburg, and two decades of power plant construction along the front range since 1970. Jazzlover is one of the most informed individuals on this board. Through his commentary he shows he has a good general knowledge of the water issues, growth impact,and general history of the state.Through his posts I can tell he has lived here a long time like me (57 years). Me? All I am is an arthritic long haired hippie agnostic so my opinion is irrevelant. After decades of unloading freight off semis, running a forklift offloading structural steel in a snowstorm as ironworkers were hanging it up as fast as i was taking it off the trailor, I found time to drive some equipment and it reminded me of something my Dad taught me when I bought my first car. You can't put 21 gallons of fuel in a 20 gallon tank. You make a mess when you do. I was just in Montrose last week. Until 1994 it was an area of close to 10.000 people. According to people I know over there, city and county honchos project a population of 75,000 people in 10 years.

Thanks for the compliment. I never would have imagined Montrose growing from what it was the first time I saw it nearly 40 years ago to what it is now. The truly frightening thing about growth in Colorado, like population growth in general, is that it is exponential, not arithmetic. It isn't 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, it's 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. On both a local level and a world level, that will lead us to a horrific inglorious end. The people who think that population growth can go on forever don't understand that little nuance of mathematics. Our population grows exponentially, the available resources don't. Eventually, the lines cross and there are insufficient resources to support additional population. The $64 question is when that line is reached. If you look at what is happening right now in the arena of oil and water resources, my guess is that we are about there.

On a side note, today's developments in the financial markets and the plethora of bad news on the mortgage bubble, the plummeting dollar, and ever-increasing oil prices (and they are all related) indicate that some of my worst fears about our frail economy are being realized. I think we are definitely in for a rough ride ahead, and even relatively isolated areas of the rural West will not be spared. I think the "Don't worry, be happy" voices are about to be silenced.

Readers should know that if, in fact, I'm right about this, I take no pleasure in it. I hate seeing innocent folks getting hammered as much or more than anybody. I also think that we have crossed the threshhold of just enduring unpleasant economic times--I think that it has reached the point that we face serious issues of national security because so much of our debt is held overseas. Pretty soon we won't have to worry about the Texans buying up Colorado--the Chinese will already have bought it.

[Mike from back east]

Golden22, live where you wish, you only live once. If the mother of all economic cataclysms does befall us, you may as well be where you WANT to be, it will be doomy and gloomy everywhere. Until then, party on and enjoy.

s/mike

[NewAgeRedneck]

Jazzlover wrote:

Readers should know that if, in fact, I'm right about this, I take no pleasure in it. I hate seeing innocent folks getting hammered as much or more than anybody.

Thanks for sharing that part of yourself. I thought that was the case, but now I'm sure.

Mike from back east wrote:

Golden22, live where you wish, you only live once.

Thanks for sharing the bright side! It makes for a nice balance in this thread.

blessings...Franco