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Looking very seriously to move to one of these areas. We've found some extremely nice houses on TONS of acreage in said areas. Currently live in WA state on the west side. Grew up around the Puget Sound area here. Have travelled to Wheatland WY, Fort Collins CO and Farmington NM for work. Im a Boilermaker by trade, my wife & I have 3 young kids. We want COMPLETE solitude away from main streets and big cities. We are sick of the rat race here, the retarded traffic, the rude rude rude people and overall culture here that just oozes depressed people and just a glim outlook on life. We like the Gunnison area but not sure if we can do the cold in the winter, I can, but not the wife and kids. We have no problem travelling an hour to get groceries or to go to into a big town once a month to get "stuff". This, actually is what we prefer, to be left alone, and my kids and I able to ride our diatribes and quads and target practice without neighbors flipping out and calling the cops. Can anyone out there sympathize with me on this? Thanks.
While I can certainly sympathize, I don't know that I can give you any sunny news about the situation. Granted, Gunnison is among the colder areas of the state, but Cimarron and Salida are not exactly banana belts either. I have traveled thru Cimarron many a time in the winter and it was every bit as cold as Gunnison. And there's really not much of anything that's actually in Cimarron. It's more a wide space in the road as it is anything else. I take it that since you don't care if you live an hour from the nearest town, you have no need to find employment? Because there are no employers to speak of in Cimarron. Salida might work except for the fact that you want a place where you can shoot off guns and ride "quads" without the neighbors getting bent. I think the days of being able to do that in the Salida area are long past. Salida has its very own Walmart and a grocery store from one of the major national chains, so getting basic supplies there would be no problem. But should you need a service or a product not readily available in Salida, you get to either drive down the long, winding canyon alongside the Arkansas to get to Pueblo or else make the long dash through South Park on Highway 24 to make it to Colorado Springs. I lived in Salida years ago, and I can tell you that even for an experienced and avid traveler like myself, BOTH those routes got old very quickly.
I would suggest looking in one of the areas south of Blue Mesa, but again that area is very cold in the winter and has HOA's that like to interfere in people's lives. How about Saguache or Villa Grove? Again they're both fairly cold in the winter, but both are very small towns in the middle of nowhere. You could probably find yourself some land where you could shoot off rocket launchers and drive tanks without anyone ever noticing, never mind complaining. Saguache is not very scenic by Colorado standards, but it is VERY remote which is what you say you want, and I believe that Villa Grove even still has its own gas station/.convenience store.
Come to think of it, I bet you'd fit right in with the folks in Nucla or Naturita on Colorado's far Westrn Slope. No one ever takes me seriously when I mention these towns because they are so very remote and no one has ever heard of them. But I bet you would love Nucla's annual prairie dog shoot and its new law that every household must have at least one gun. Land in the region is cheap and you can tear it up all you want. Plus, its by far warmer than any of your original choices - which is not to say Nucla/Naturita is tropical in the winter, but your teeth won't chatter there as much as they will in Gunnison.
Have you considered Montana or Wyoming?
Last edited by Colorado Rambler; 01-24-2015 at 11:33 AM..
crf450ish - I live in Salida and unless you are willing to trade your career talent for something else, retire or you're just plain well to do, then there is very little chance for you and your family to live in Salida or Poncha Springs. There are several welding shops, for repairs, that are closed more than open. You can check out the local job market by going here daily > TheMountainMail.com - Workforce . If you happen to find a position open similar to your trade, or decide to trade you career for any of the jobs listed and "IF" you happen to land a job of your choice (long time residence is any employer's first choice here btw), don't expect high wages in return. I am just being brutally honest with you. It's "dog eat dog" for jobs, that pays little, in any small tourist town that shuns growth and where the cost of living is high.
HOWEVER...
I know exactly where you're coming from times 3! City life is simply becoming notorious and dangerous. You might consider Cañon City (small town and you don't mind reading about the occasional suicide) or somewhere along the front range in a rural setting. Just do your homework first! http://www.city-data.com/, Google map your choices for your needs (trades for example), research the real estate market, job market, schools and then go there for an extended period of time. In fact, go enough times "to know" this is the place where you "need" to raise a family. Don't rush it and don't go pound foolish in a quick decision. Moving half way across country isn't cheap. Especially, when you discover it's not working out or it's not quite what you expected.
While I can empathize with your living situation concerns ...
If your wife and children aren't into isolated rural living cold temp winter survival, then looking anywhere in the "high country" of the rocky mountain region is a problem due to the high altitude, long winters, and severe local climate conditions that will present for many months of the year. Folks in the high country aren't joking when they talk about "summer" being the month of July or some similar time frame.
I'd urge you to check out rural properties in low elevation areas of the USA where the winters aren't as long, the temps aren't as cold, and you can still buy acreage for modest cost where access to your other family needs (jobs, medical, schools, entertainment, recreation, shopping, etc) are still reasonably accessible throughout the year. Especially so if you need to travel/be away for your employment for any length of time and your family has to deal with the realities of 5-6 months of winter survival. Consider that your children may need or want a bit more social interaction than you require to be happy, too ....
crf450ish - I live in Salida and unless you are willing to trade your career talent for something else, retire or you're just plain well to do, then there is very little chance for you and your family to live in Salida or Poncha Springs. There are several welding shops, for repairs, that are closed more than open. You can check out the local job market by going here daily > TheMountainMail.com - Workforce . If you happen to find a position open similar to your trade, or decide to trade you career for any of the jobs listed and "IF" you happen to land a job of your choice (long time residence is any employer's first choice here btw), don't expect high wages in return. I am just being brutally honest with you. It's "dog eat dog" for jobs, that pays little, in any small tourist town that shuns growth and where the cost of living is high.
HOWEVER...
I know exactly where you're coming from times 3! City life is simply becoming notorious and dangerous. You might consider Cañon City (small town and you don't mind reading about the occasional suicide) or somewhere along the front range in a rural setting. Just do your homework first! http://www.city-data.com/, Google map your choices for your needs (trades for example), research the real estate market, job market, schools and then go there for an extended period of time. In fact, go enough times "to know" this is the place where you "need" to raise a family. Don't rush it and don't go pound foolish in a quick decision. Moving half way across country isn't cheap. Especially, when you discover it's not working out or it's not quite what you expected.
The very best in your endeavors.
hey thanks for your input. I don't think i was very clear in my Original post. I'm a union Boilermaker, currently in LOCAL 502 here in WA state. Ive worked out of LOCAL 101 in Denver many times. I work on those coal fired powerplants etc. I'm a welder, I have to travel to make money. In my line of work i do what is commonly called "boom out", or most refer to as travel for work. For example when we move to Colorado and I become sewn in with LOCAL 101 boilermakers and theres no work for weeks at a time, ill just "boom out" to WA state. theres work all the time at any given point in the country. having visited colorado and wyoming many times as well as UTAH, I can safely say that colorado has exactly what we are looking for. if anyone reading this has ever been to Western WA, specifically the puget sound area, then you know what i mean by wanting to escape the rat race. traffic is a joke, people are a joke, prices are a joke, everything and everyone is all about self, and how to come up off of everyone. no sense of community. We don't need the fake lifestyle anymore....the west coast sucks. Ive been all up and down the west coast from Blaine, WA to Phoenix, AZ and everywhere inbetween....dont like it.
IMO Salida would have a less rugged winter than Gunnison and puts you in decent range of Pueblo or Colorado Springs for shopping, yet it's well removed from the city issues you seek to leave behind. I've no doubt there are plenty of properties out there to suit your wishes.
PS: My father was a railroad blacksmith, hammersmith and boilermaker by trade, I still have his union cards from the 1940s.
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Last edited by Mike from back east; 01-25-2015 at 07:59 PM..
Gunnison can be brutally cold. This morning at my house near Vail at 8,000 feet it was 29 degrees the news reported the Gunnison valley at -8. Salida is a nice area, come visit in the summer at the height of the tourist season to be sure you can deal with all of them.
Gunnison can be brutally cold. This morning at my house near Vail at 8,000 feet it was 29 degrees the news reported the Gunnison valley at -8. Salida is a nice area, come visit in the summer at the height of the tourist season to be sure you can deal with all of them.
LOL...we are moving near Salida from Vail and we do the same thing every AM....(check the temps)
Like the difference between Vail and Gunnison...the difference in temps between Vail and Salida is also substantial. We can't wait to be warmer...with less snow...and the daily temps show this will be the case on most days. 10-20 degree differences are not uncommon.
hey thanks for your input. I don't think i was very clear in my Original post. I'm a union Boilermaker, currently in LOCAL 502 here in WA state. Ive worked out of LOCAL 101 in Denver many times. I work on those coal fired powerplants etc. I'm a welder, I have to travel to make money. In my line of work i do what is commonly called "boom out", or most refer to as travel for work. For example when we move to Colorado and I become sewn in with LOCAL 101 boilermakers and theres no work for weeks at a time, ill just "boom out" to WA state. theres work all the time at any given point in the country. having visited colorado and wyoming many times as well as UTAH, I can safely say that colorado has exactly what we are looking for. if anyone reading this has ever been to Western WA, specifically the puget sound area, then you know what i mean by wanting to escape the rat race. traffic is a joke, people are a joke, prices are a joke, everything and everyone is all about self, and how to come up off of everyone. no sense of community. We don't need the fake lifestyle anymore....the west coast sucks. Ive been all up and down the west coast from Blaine, WA to Phoenix, AZ and everywhere inbetween....dont like it.
Got it! I didn't know your trade requires you to do a "Road Tour" gig. Must be lonely sometimes?
Ignore the first part of my first post...Entirely. Replace "Cañon City" with "Salida" (or Poncha Springs) in the second part of my first post. Forget about Gunnison...You have to have "On going hot flashes" to live there. Understand that Salida does stay "Cool" a night or two every winter (-16 last month ~ -7 three months ago).
My wife and I "Officially" had our home completed around this time last year in Salida. We still go back and forth between Salida and Phoenix since we still have official business in Phoenix...Our original urban digs. Every time we need to head into Phoenix I become short temper. Every time we head home to Salida (Colorado) a smile comes over my face. I know exactly what you're talking about. It's that difference of "Existing" and "Living".
I will say this...Living in a small town does have it's down side. Limited resources. By example, my wife and I are in Phoenix at the moment going through chemo for our dog (lymphoma...maybe. Still waiting on the report). No dialysis facility exists in Salida...The nearest is in Cañon City. If you survive a heart attack the local hospital sends you to Denver to meet a specialist to treat you. I almost get the idea you'll need to drive one of the big three, to have it worked on in Salida and ready by the end of the day (which might be a good thing). Finding building material for a big project requires a trip out of town (or a delivery). Etc-etc. But-HEY! That is the nature of rural living and I learned to flip thru the pages of Amazon in the meantime.
Meh! I said enough for now. I could write a small novel about our escapades living in Salida during our first year. For this "Old Desert Rat", born in Phoenix, I will tell you I wouldn't trade Salida for the world. I love it there. Unfortunately, I just can't tell you what the schools are like or the current real estate market. These are things you'll need to do.
Once more > best in your endeavors.
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