southern colorado queries?!!

[I_LUVNM]

Shar, hi. I know Bayfield pretty well and it is a nice little town with great schools. I also like the people they are a friendly lot. The area it sounds like you are going to live in, Forest Lakes, is pretty. It does have oodles of trees everywhere out there. The lakes are nice too. Dont forget, for a warmer "fun and boating" lake there is Navajo which is where you can water or jet ski, boating, etc. There is a great garden nursery too in Bayfield, I wonder if it is still there but they have some great flowers. Cant think of the name of it but it is a big indoor building. I could live in that place! Anyhow, I wish you the best there and be expecting to meet alot of people there, they are a tight community. Oh and Durango is a big time dog and cat loving place so once this gets around about the dog situation as posted which I havent heard of nor has my long time Durango resident friend heard of either but they will be coming after those people with everything they got! In Durango one of the biggest organizations there is the Humane Society which raises alot of money in Durango and they find a place for every pet there, no putting to sleep any animal. Peta is strong in Durango too. Also I have never come across a more animal loving city in all the places I have been including San Francisco. But I am talking about Durango itself so it may be different elsewhere.

[asdfghjkl]

what Durango has become? It is now overly priced, overly populated, and a ton of hippe/ yuppies have moved in. I loved Durango about 10 to 15 years ago, but can not stand it now!! But I guess everything has to change.

[synchro]

Originally Posted by asdfghjkl

what Durango has become? It is now overly priced, overly populated, and a ton of hippe/ yuppies have moved in. I loved Durango about 10 to 15 years ago, but can not stand it now!! But I guess everything has to change.

I have lived in the Durango area proper since 1969. Gave up on Durango as used up, and moved all the way out to Bayfield in 1983. At that time, it was one of the last places in the area that a person dependent on the local economy could afford property. Sold out due to overcrowding in 1996.
The price of my current place has gone up 250% since I bought in 1998.
I could not afford to buy my property today. I will not give out my current
location in the County in an attempt to limit growth. It was the good, Conservative ethics which made this area strong, but it has been destroyed by the Liberal newcomers. The things which made this area desireable are mostly gone. Current growth is being fueled by real estate salesmen.

Q - How do you leave Durango with a million $?

A - Come with 3 million and don't stay too long.

Edited to add: This area has always been dog friendly, but due to the overcrowding of most areas, dogs are not as welcome as they were. Do not expect for your dogs to be able to run free on property that you do not own.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Am sorry to hear this.
My parents (long sinced passed away) bought a retirement home in Durango back around 1975. The home has long been sold, but we used to go down there alot, both my brothers are Ft Lewis graduates.
Sounds like southern Colorado has definitely been discovered.
When they began the Telluride Film Festival back in '73, I always wondered if this was the beginning of what Governor Lamm used to warn us about.

[I_LUVNM]

Originally Posted by synchro

I have lived in the Durango area proper since 1969. Gave up on Durango as used up, and moved all the way out to Bayfield in 1983. At that time, it was one of the last places in the area that a person dependent on the local economy could afford property. Sold out due to overcrowding in 1996.
The price of my current place has gone up 250% since I bought in 1998.
I could not afford to buy my property today. I will not give out my current
location in the County in an attempt to limit growth. It was the good, Conservative ethics which made this area strong, but it has been destroyed by the Liberal newcomers. The things which made this area desireable are mostly gone.

Why is it that the liberals get blamed for everything from conservatives? So liberals ruined Durango? How? The city is over populated? It only has about 20,000 people in the city and 70,000 in the county. I live in Farmington which has over triple that in our county. Prices for homes out west is high in about any place - try California or New Mexico on house prices. Here in Farmington our home prices are averaging around 350,000 plus. I also dont understand the person who posted one post about hating Durango because of the hippies. Why? They are people just like anybody else. They at least try to recycle. I dont know, I just dont understand why conservatives always blame liberals for their troubles.

[BlueWillowPlate]

LUVNM
I agree with you.
As you probably know, Colorado has always been a conservative state with Denver/Boulder the two islands of more liberal attitudes. (Well, there is Aspen, but it's not the real world. )
What's happening in southern Colorado, as I see it, is not an influx of hippies. It's an influx of people: Some, but certainly not all, of whom have more progressive attitudes. Old-school people who have always been there might feel resentful of some of these new attitudes--and the inevitable high prices that come with them.

Governor Dick Lamm was a Democrat, but not a bleeding heart hippie liberal.
He was/is a pragmatic, prescient thinker who predicted that the West would some day be dealing with explosive population growth. He was preaching "sustainability" long before it was a buzzword. He knew that our wide open spaces would be filling in, he coped with this as best he could.

Knowing how things *used* to be, I can sympathsize with synchro and asdfghjkl feel, seeing prices go up and, in their view, livability go down.

Florida is having the same bumpy ride, and we all know how it is in California.
Some beautiful places can get loved to death; it is up to the inhabitants to innovate--and recycling is a good start. I wish all you guys the best.

[I_LUVNM]

Thanks Cil for your post. I was over in Durango earlier with the parade (pirate theme this year) and it was great. We had a blast. It is a big party city. Several Durango friends with me. We talked about Durango and how we all love it and I also got their take on what the conservatives said in these posts. My best friend from Durango, who is a liberal, no surprise, has more smarts than I do. She just opened my eyes to somethings as did the others, who are liberal too. They pretty much said what you said, that conservatives are feeling overwhelmed by liberals moving in by the groves and I can see how that would feel if the shoe was on the other foot. She didnt understand nor did we why someone who hates a place whould still be there, when there are so many conservative towns around, tons in the south. But as she said, it is best to hear their concern and wish them peace wherever they go, so that is what I do. I wish them peace and happiness wherever they go. Thanks Cil.