help please in selecting the right location for a holiday home (Denver: real estate, apartments)

[Shuffler]

Originally Posted by shamu01

many thanks folks your posts are very helpfull, yes i had been looking at durango but i am such a (sad) fan of the railroad that even the amtrak is appealing...do you have problems with mosquitos in colorado? i was in the shuswap lakes in canada last year and got eaten alive...

Also, regarding the Mountain Pine Beetle - Many thanks for alerting me to that - I'd not heard of it and certainly non of the realtors had mentioned it (but then, is that a surprise!) Is it as bad as the very negative reports on the internet? Are we tlaking, whole areas being clear felled by the bug, or are they mainly mixed forests, and so being more thinned than decimated..

I'll have a look at the other areas you suggested - Many thanks again, I appreciate you spending the time replying

regards shamu

The 'skeeters are pretty bad along the front range and in the mountains...and in certain areas they carry West Nile Virus, which can be fatal to the young and elderly. The burgeoning rodent population, aka Prairie Dogs, attract fleas which in turn carry Bubonic Plague, so that is something to keep in mind as well, since they are thriving everywhere around here.

None of this should scare you from potentially moving here, but taking off the rose-colored glasses and seeing that 'paradise has a price' here in Colorado will help you in making a wiser decision.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by shamu01

many thanks folks your posts are very helpfull, yes i had been looking at durango but i am such a (sad) fan of the railroad that even the amtrak is appealing...do you have problems with mosquitos in colorado? i was in the shuswap lakes in canada last year and got eaten alive...

Also, regarding the Mountain Pine Beetle - Many thanks for alerting me to that - I'd not heard of it and certainly non of the realtors had mentioned it (but then, is that a surprise!) Is it as bad as the very negative reports on the internet? Are we tlaking, whole areas being clear felled by the bug, or are they mainly mixed forests, and so being more thinned than decimated..

I'll have a look at the other areas you suggested - Many thanks again, I appreciate you spending the time replying

regards shamu

Yes, the mosquitoes can be bad in the mountains in the summer.

The pine beetle, especially in the lodgepole forests of central and northern Colorado is every bit as bad as has been described. Most of those forests are expected to be dead firetraps (if they are not already) within five years or so.

If you have your heart set in living near an active railroad, then move into an existing community--not in some new house blighting the landscape--somewhere in the state. Understand, that while Colorado used to have literally thousands of miles of active railroad in its heyday--the Colorado railroad system is but a shadow of its former self now. You can PM me if you want--I work with rail transportation issues as part of my work.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a "holiday" or second home anywhere right now. I think the coming economic debacle may just make most of them essentially worthless within a few years. It will be a luxury that 99% of Americans will no longer be able to afford.

[Plain Jane 3953]

I recently read an opinion column entitled "People with second homes are just plain greedy" - or something similar.

I agreed with the author.

Towns and villages have been ruined when people buy up properties and then show up on their holiday breaks, leaving it empty in the meantime. They contribute very little to the community. Shops and restaurants suffer and the schools, etc etc...

I have to say I can understand the locals in Wales who got fed up with people buying homes in their communities which they then used as a "holiday home" - in their frustration they took to burning some of them down.

[Bob from down south]

I was in Durango some years back when the Florida River had some flooding...agree that the next time the Animas comes up there's gonna be a lot of italian oak and fine Corrrrrrrinthian leather floating through town...

Did someone mention prairie dogs??

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by shamu01

ok people, sorry, didn't mean to offend the locals, I'm not mega rich and worked hard to get an average government pension here in the u.k. Colorado seemed such a nice place to maybe spend a few months of the year, I only mentioned $250,000 as my brother and sister were interested in coming in too. the likelyhood is I will probably end up funding it myself and so $100k may be more realistic.

SOCKEYE thanks for your post, community living rather than resort sounds more appealing...any further pointers?.. not forgetting that railroad!!

I'm not averse to a small parcel of land with a self build possibility if anyone has any ideas along those lines

thanks
shamu

Originally Posted by Plain Jane 3953

I recently read an opinion column entitled "People with second homes are just plain greedy" - or something similar.

I agreed with the author.

Towns and villages have been ruined when people buy up properties and then show up on their holiday breaks, leaving it empty in the meantime. They contribute very little to the community. Shops and restaurants suffer and the schools, etc etc...

I have to say I can understand the locals in Wales who got fed up with people buying homes in their communities which they then used as a "holiday home" - in their frustration they took to burning some of them down.

Jeez, give the guy a break! He just wants a retirement home. I'd like to retire some day myself. It's not like he's the first person to ever want to do this, and such people do help support our economy, much of which is based on tourism!

[shamu01]

Originally Posted by Plain Jane 3953

I recently read an opinion column entitled "People with second homes are just plain greedy" - or something similar.

I agreed with the author.

Towns and villages have been ruined when people buy up properties and then show up on their holiday breaks, leaving it empty in the meantime. They contribute very little to the community. Shops and restaurants suffer and the schools, etc etc...

I have to say I can understand the locals in Wales who got fed up with people buying homes in their communities which they then used as a "holiday home" - in their frustration they took to burning some of them down.

That's the welsh for you!!!

The property wouldn't be empty as I have many members of the family who would love to come and visit America, spending their hard earned cash in the locality.

[ocean2026]

Plain Jane you are another example of the have-nots being jealous of those who have prospered.

What is wrong with an empty house? When they pay taxes they are paying for the services that YOU use- in other words they are contributing more than they take. On the other hand you get to pay less because they are funding you.

How do empty houses hurt schools? Once again they pay the school taxes yet don't fill up the schools with their kids. They pay for YOUR kids.

Take a class in basic economics.

[rybert]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Plain Jane you are another example of the have-nots being jealous of those who have prospered.

What is wrong with an empty house? When they pay taxes they are paying for the services that YOU use- in other words they are contributing more than they take. On the other hand you get to pay less because they are funding you.

How do empty houses hurt schools? Once again they pay the school taxes yet don't fill up the schools with their kids. They pay for YOUR kids.

Take a class in basic economics.

On the other hand Jane may be very wealthy and supports a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by rybert

On the other hand Jane may be very wealthy and supports a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle.

Sort of like the people in who adorn their Beamers, etc, with bumper stickers that say "Live simply so others may simply live". This is not meant to be a slam on Jane, btw. I don't know her and I don't know how she lives.

[rybert]

Can't say I've ever heard/seen that... sounds a lot like an efficient 6000 sqft home.