Help Possible Move to CO from Alabama (Denver, Loveland: spring break, to rent)

[newbamadoc]

My wife and I are considering a 2nd home in some city in CO with the intention of semi retiring there in 10-15 years when the youngest graduates high school. We would rent it out until then, while using it 2 weeks for Christmas, a week at spring break, and a few weeks in the summer. We live in Birmingham, AL. My wife is a physician(internal medicine) and I am a dentist. We would want an area that has a solid demand for both if possible. I know a few dentist friends that left CO due to being too saturated. I know that could vary city to city. We would just be looking to work part time at that point, as we will be 50 by then, but we still want to avoid areas that we would fair poorly in the job market. Before investigating different states out West, I would have thought there would be plenty of demand, but I have found several places like Utah where compensation is much less in some cities than I would have thought.
I will just say a little of what we are looking for and who we are to see where we should be looking. We are both Southerners that love the outdoors. We want to be in a ski town that is within 30-45 minutes of a larger town. We are politically conservative or libertarian and are we are conservative Protestants. We would be spending 500K with the hopes of renting until we ultimately moved in 15 years or so.

What areas should we look into with our 500K budget, being conservative, professional needs, and what we are looking for in being in or near a nice ski town within a short drive of a bigger city. With the limited info, I know it will be tricky. Any info will help us in the beginning stages. Thanks.

[davebarnes]

1. There are zero ski towns within 30-45 minutes of a larger city.
2. Mountain communities tend to have zero to one small hospital.
3. No one can predict the future out 10-15 years.

In my opinion, the Venn diagram of your desires yields the empty set.

[maciesmom]

Given your plans to rent the property (presumably on a daily/weekly basis since you plan to use it throughout the year), you're most likely looking at a resort area not the Denver metro area. Consider posting on the CO forum instead of the Denver forum.

[brown_dog_us]

You and your wife are not the only health care professionals with this idea. I would recommend planning to work in Alabama a few more years to offset the lower income in a mountain town.

Colorado mountain towns are not very conservative. You are probably better off living in Utah. Park City is only about 30 mins from the edge of Salt Lake City.

[2bindenver]

Steamboat, Copper, Loveland, Dillon.

Price might be low for a single family.

You also might consider Trukee CA near Lake Tahoe.

[newbamadoc]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

1. There are zero ski towns within 30-45 minutes of a larger city.
2. Mountain communities tend to have zero to one small hospital.
3. No one can predict the future out 10-15 years.

In my opinion, the Venn diagram of your desires yields the empty set.

When I say larger city, I am wanting anything larger than 80-100K. Does this change anything? Also, we don't really need a hospital, as she can practice without being associated with a hospital. Finally, I don't need any predictions on 10-15 years, but one can get a feel for the trajectory of a town in many instances. Thanks.

[newbamadoc]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

You and your wife are not the only health care professionals with this idea. I would recommend planning to work in Alabama a few more years to offset the lower income in a mountain town.

Colorado mountain towns are not very conservative. You are probably better off living in Utah. Park City is only about 30 mins from the edge of Salt Lake City.

We are planning on working here another dozen years or so due to having kids in school. We really thought Park City would be perfect, but they seem to be fairly saturated when it comes to dentists. Plus, we know that area much better having gone there for the last 20 years for vacation. Also, it is amazing how different areas of the country are when it comes to small towns and jobs. Here in Alabama my wife and I would probably make considerably more income in certain small towns due to being less saturated with healthcare professionals. It doesn't seem like this holds true in many other areas.

[Sunderpig2]

Originally Posted by newbamadoc

We live in Birmingham, AL. We are both Southerners that love the outdoors. We are politically conservative or libertarian and are we are conservative Protestants.

I have the feeling that you won't like it here. It might be different and interesting at first, but I bet you'll come to eventually not liking it. There is a huge difference - obviously - between climate. And there would likely to not be many or any here from (your familiar) south. I don't ever come across anyone from the south here. Many seem to come from the north (IL, WI, Minnesota, Ohio, New York). So there is a difference in mindset too between the south and this area. That's even without talking politics. You might want to research posts from those who have moved to CO from AL, or put out a new post on the CO forum (not just Denver) to see how others have done. Also, if you haven't already, do an extended visit in CO during winter to see if you really want to put up with the big chill.

[newbamadoc]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig2

I have the feeling that you won't like it here. It might be different and interesting at first, but I bet you'll come to eventually not liking it. There is a huge difference - obviously - between climate. And there would likely to not be many or any here from (your familiar) south. I don't ever come across anyone from the south here. Many seem to come from the north (IL, WI, Minnesota, Ohio, New York). So there is a difference in mindset too between the south and this area. That's even without talking politics. You might want to research posts from those who have moved to CO from AL, or put out a new post on the CO forum (not just Denver) to see how others have done. Also, if you haven't already, do an extended visit in CO during winter to see if you really want to put up with the big chill.

Thanks for your thoughts. Interested in how you could predict that I wouldn't like it. I do realize where you are coming from in there are just big differences, so what you say makes sense in a general sense and that most people in the South would not end up liking living there. I guess that is true when speaking about any person from a particular area living moving to a totally different area in so many ways. I also agree about the winters. I don't mind snow and cold, and I have spent long periods of time out West during the winter. Some of the places were fine with snow and not going below 20 degrees. On the flip side, I spent some time in Wyoming and the wind low temps were terrible. That being said I do believe there are places that would work climate wise.
Also, I would have assumed there would be more interactions with those from the South. I know plenty of people that have moved out West with the majority moving to Colorado specifically. I actually have two cousins that live in Denver and love it. I would also say I have know atleast 20 family, friends, and acquaintances from the south that have moved out there over the years and have loved it. To be fair, I also have had a few come back to the South, but only one or two was due to not liking it out West. The rest absolutely loved it.
I definitely agree that we would need to do some more visiting at all times of the year and in different places before we ever settled on anything.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by newbamadoc

When I say larger city, I am wanting anything larger than 80-100K. Does this change anything?

The largest city that is NOT in the Front Range is only 56K.
And, Grand Junction is over 120 miles from the nearest ski area.