Am I Making The Wrong Move (Fairplay: rental car, extended stay, rental)

[Deezy303]

Originally Posted by ant4sho

Doesn't exactly have to be FairPlay i like cripplecreek Divide Guffy and of those area I just don't want to be in the city

Well, posting this in the Denver forum doesn't really make sense then. Just sayin.

[ABQConvict]

I am not experienced with central Colorado, but many people have very similar intentions about moving to the southern Rockies.That is moving to some small mountain town and making a successful go of it economically and socially.

I would say your dream is possible with modification. What I mean by that is if you set your sights on a place to get a job, as opposed to a specific geographic location that you have fallen in love with, you can find what you are looking for. There are places where your skills are in demand, as mentioned, along the Front Range.

Find out where these jobs are, then live in the best, by your criteria, commutable location to those jobs. Then, after working a few years out here, you can figure out if moving to central Colorado is feasible or even desirable at that point.

There are many remarkable places to explore the outdoors in the Front Range. You don't have to restrict yourself to Fairplay which, I can assure you, is a different place in your mind than it is after having lived there for a year.

[Indigo Cardinal]

I think what a lot of people are pointing out is that in your industry, the closest places for steady work in your field would be Colorado Springs or Denver for Fairplay (1 hour, 40 minute drive either way) or Colorado Springs for Cripple Creek (1 hour drive).

And it's not just the length of the drive. You are talking about being in the mountains. In winter. Those drive times are estimates of when the weather's fine and the road are good. Wintertime, you can blow those estimates to hell. Not to mention, you said you were born and raised in Miami, which means you have zip experience driving in the ice and snow, especially on mountain roads. You are talking where chains on your tires will be a way of life. Winters in the Fairplay/Cripple Creek area can be pretty brutal. You may find yourself stuck quite a bit, and your job is not one that you can telecommute to.

I just really don't think you're prepared for what you're proposing.

[ant4sho]

Originally Posted by Indigo Cardinal

I think what a lot of people are pointing out is that in your industry, the closest places for steady work in your field would be Colorado Springs or Denver for Fairplay (1 hour, 40 minute drive either way) or Colorado Springs for Cripple Creek (1 hour drive).

And it's not just the length of the drive. You are talking about being in the mountains. In winter. Those drive times are estimates of when the weather's fine and the road are good. Wintertime, you can blow those estimates to hell. Not to mention, you said you were born and raised in Miami, which means you have zip experience driving in the ice and snow, especially on mountain roads. You are talking where chains on your tires will be a way of life. Winters in the Fairplay/Cripple Creek area can be pretty brutal. You may find yourself stuck quite a bit, and your job is not one that you can telecommute to.

I just really don't think you're prepared for what you're proposing.

So what areas do you guys think I should look into? I really want the freedom and the mountains

[TCHP]

Salida or Buena Vista. Bigger towns where there is a reasonable amount of construction happening in the county surrounding it. Better odds of employment there than in Fairplay. Could expand that to Gunnison, maybe Grand Junction or Durango. Cripple Creek may have some chance of employment at the mine. They operate some pretty heavy equipment up there. Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company otherwise you should plan on working at a casino.

IMO, this is a drastic change. You are suggesting moving from a hot, humid climate at 100' elevation to cool, dry living at 9000' elevation. Not saying it isn't impossible, but I'd think you would look at places like Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi before coming to Colorado. Its not impossible, but may not be easy. You won't necessarily find a lot of freedom from people around here. Certainly not the concentration you have in Florida per square mile, but we also have open space that is not habitable. 50,000 crammed into a Sunday commute on I-70 will probably remind you of Florida traffic. Geography here means that will density may appear low, it sometimes means all those people are crammed into a small mountain valley. Its not all Marlboro ads and mountain vistas out here.

[beezle1]

How about Woodland Park? Or Evergreen?

[Sunderpig2]

OP - In simple terms, the future location should make as much sense (or preferably more) than the current location. It seems that many of us don't see it making sense, and on many levels. It's got to be stronger and more justifiable than wanting to be by or in the mountains. And freedom.... that seems to only come with enough $ and a good/smart approach. If you're struggling to pay bills, there will be no freedom, because there will be no peace (unless a bum, but I don't think that's the case).

Plus, even if it worked on a work/living/budget basis, you still might feel like a "fish out of water", or "stranger in a strange land" based on the huge difference in areas, cultures, way-of-doing-things.

Please proceed with caution, especially with a family in tow. Their needs and adjustments (and dealing with those invisible learning curves) all need to be kept in mind at all times. Even your post is titled "Am I Making the Wrong Move(?)", rather than "Are We Making the Wrong Move(?)". This is one area where you don't want to get carried away with your dream and vision, and not see how it could affect the family. Even assuming that they share the same vision isn't strong enough. The more heads thinking about this, talking about it, and reflecting upon it, the better

[Craptaculus]

I was born in Buena Vista and grew up in Salida, not far from Fairplay. I just wanted to mention to you that park county has some harsh winters. It is a remote high mountain valley with lots of blowing wind/snow in the winter. Even on sunny winter days you can find the wind blowing snow creating ground blizzards. Loving the outdoors is a great reason to live there, but remember 6 months of the year are spent mostly indoors with an average of only 11 to 33 degree temps with wind and snow. Even that 4 wheeler of yours will be parked half of the year unless you put a snow plow on it. It's also worth mentioning that you would be coming in the middle of the great Colorado population boom. Those nice fishing holes, camp sites and trail heads that us natives grew up with are now crowded with the 4 million people coming to the mountains for the weekend. If you want remote, move to Montana

[elvira310]

OP, it sounds to me that you could find lovely scenery in many parts of Colorado, and perhaps Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico... Idaho? Others will have suggestions. Colorado is a beautiful state and I'm hoping to eventually move there myself, but I realize that New Mexico, Wyoming, etc., also have spots that I would love. I just haven't investigated them yet.

The Western Slope sounds like it has somewhat milder winters, but that's relative. If you're used to the snow-less life in Florida, then any snow is an adjustment. (I'm from Southern California, and I should know!) With that said, I have heard here on these forums that places like Montrose or Grand Junction are warmer. But they still have winter, they can be dry, and I have no idea how they would be for getting a job. (I'm guessing not good.)

If scenery is what you want, there's a lot of states that have it, and would probably be an improvement to what you are experiencing in Florida, though they may not check all the boxes you have in your head, and therefore wouldn't be "perfect." But they could be a step up, and improvement, and you'd end up happier there than where you are now.

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by elvira310

The Western Slope sounds like it has somewhat milder winters, but that's relative. If you're used to the snow-less life in Florida, then any snow is an adjustment. (I'm from Southern California, and I should know!) With that said, I have heard here on these forums that places like Montrose or Grand Junction are warmer. But they still have winter, they can be dry, and I have no idea how they would be for getting a job. (I'm guessing not good.)

Regarding the Western Slope, specifically the Grand Junction area, winters are in fact colder than the Front range, in fact 20 to 25 degrees colder. December to early February is the coldest time, temperatures rarely get over 35 and the lows are generally 5 to 10 degrees. We don't get nearly the moisture here that the Denver area does.

Then again, when March comes it slowly warms up a little bit more and a little bit more. Rarely will you ever see it snowing in Grand Junction after, say, March 20th. The counties south of the Grand Junction area such as Ouray, Hinsdale, San Miguel, they will stay snowy for another month to six weeks.


ADD>>>>>The flip side to this is an earlier Spring. The Front Range always gets a good size Spring snowstorm in April, maybe a couple. And sometimes May as well!