Land overlooking San Luis vs. Blanco land

[COflower]

Mike - Hartsel and Como are located in the South Park area...San Luis and Blanca (no Blanco that I am familiar with or can find on my atlas) are in the San Luis Valley bordering New Mexico - just north of Red River, Taos and Santa Fe).

I agree as stated above, it's a pretty depressed area economically but is also contains the oldest Spanish settlement and the oldest church in the state. With that said, it's also an area with a lot of fun places to go and see during the spring-fall months. If you have property in the valley itself rather than up in the mountains surrounding it, eh people live in both places. It is highly dependent upon agriculture in the area and in the winter the cold temps can just stick around for days. I am talking bone-chilling temps. Most recently it was 10° in Alamosa in the early morning while we were in the upper 20s in C Springs - cold is no fun down there.

I don't have kids but I wouldn't think it would be a great place to raise kids. Maybe to keep a weekend/vacation getaway but I would think twice and really do some personal research if you are involving kids. Health care in the area is one of the worst in the state for the size of the population and many have to travel to Trinidad, Pueblo or Colorado Springs for decent health care. Nice drive but not something you want to experience if a chronic health situation comes up. (The Denver Post did an article about the health care in rural communities and highlighted the San Luis Valley. I will see if I can find it for you.)

In the summer, there's a lot to do. Lots of bird watching, alligators (yeah, some crazy dude has an alligator "farm" in Colorado, the Sangre de Cristos (mountains) are filled with a lot of opportunities for recreation and are beautiful and of course lots of beans and potatoes as well as some other farms are in the area.

Anyhow, I looked for the article (it was either in The Denver Post or The Rocky Mountain News) but I can't find it.

Take some time to decide whether or not you want to sell, you may want to hang on to either one or both for future use or to sell if the area picks up more.

[BillRadio]

Originally Posted by RobertaFromMT

We are trying to decide which parcel of land to keep, versus which to sell! Which is better living, for family with kids?

Either location won't be much fun for the kids. However, your family must be accustomed to being away from population. There is far more to do living closer to any size town than there is in these desolate areas.

Every activity will involve ever pricier gasoline. Maybe you're used to that. If you want to stick to those two properties, choose the one closer to a real town. Not Hooper or Crestone, but Alamosa or Salida...even Saguache. How important are reliable utilities (like internet access), medical care, and groceries? Water is not universally available.

I too like the San Luis Valley, but it is so poor and isolated, there are better choices for economical land.

[PrinDi59]

It amazes me how many people buy land without checking out the area and going to see it first. I would encourage anyone tempted by internet auctions and websites to take the time to investigate the area and go and see the property before you buy. Although I love this part of Colorado, it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea. My husband knows a couple who bought a similar lot and decided to retire there. (They put a mobile home on the property.) Within a year, they were ready to move... couldn't deal with the "boredom" and the isolation.

A Fort Garland realtor told me that people who buy these plots (we're talking the dry, sagebrush plots around Alamosa, Blanca and San Luis) generally have little luck reselling without taking a loss, and that she usually can only unload the properties on investors for low prices.

[Gwen Faulkenberry]

Do you know anything about Romeo, Colorado? I need to know anything I can find out about it, as well as the surrounding area. There is scant information about it on the internet, but I gather it is a small town, very poor, and primarily Hispanic.
I know that it is in the San Luis Valley and I love Jazzlover's description here of the valley and its people. Can you elaborate on that, either for the area specifically around Romeo (Manassa, Alamosa, Conejos County, etc.) or just tell me more about the San Luis Valley in general?
Thanks!
Gwen

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Gwen Faulkenberry

Do you know anything about Romeo, Colorado? I need to know anything I can find out about it, as well as the surrounding area. There is scant information about it on the internet, but I gather it is a small town, very poor, and primarily Hispanic.
I know that it is in the San Luis Valley and I love Jazzlover's description here of the valley and its people. Can you elaborate on that, either for the area specifically around Romeo (Manassa, Alamosa, Conejos County, etc.) or just tell me more about the San Luis Valley in general?
Thanks!
Gwen

Romeo (pronounced Ro-MAY-oh) is pretty much as you described. There is really not much to the town. There used to be a bar/cafe there called Abe's that had delicious New Mexican food. I don't even know if it is still open. It was one of the few businesses in town. A few miles east of Romeo is Manassa. It's a little bigger and has a few businesses. Its claim to fame is being the hometown of the prizefighter and heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey (the "Manassa Mauler"). La Jara is about 7 miles north of Romeo and is the biggest town in Conejos County. Conejos County is indeed one of the poorest counties in Colorado (and the U.S.). Still, it is a pretty area. Farming and ranching is still the big business in the area, and they aren't the hobby farm type of BS that is becoming so prevalent in other parts of Colorado--it's the real deal.

This website ( Colorado and New Mexico Information and Vacation Planner ) has information on a number of the towns in the SLV (though not Romeo, specifically). The cultural mix in the southern San Luis Valley (Conejos county) is pretty interesting. It is about 75-80% Hispanic, most of whom are Catholic. Many of the Anglos in the county are LDS. Kind of an interesing contrast. Most families, Anglo or Hispanic, are old line and have been in the area for generations. That area, and the SLV in general, is one of those places that you pretty much have to come and experience. Words can't really describe what it is like. Most people who visit there either love it or hate it.

By the way, the Salazar brothers, one a Colorado U.S. Senator, the other a U.S. Representative, are from that neck of the woods originally. Alamosa is the big town and trade center in the SLV, followed by Monte Vista. Neither is a very big town, even by Colorado standards.

[carlitosone]

houses do not sell well in costilla county. it is cold in winter. it is old lines hispanic.
that said-developers have offered to buy the entire town of san francisco-near san luis- the town voted no- higher prices from taos have reached northward to questa. from san luis east to the mountains is really beautiful country.
it will be developed.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by carlitosone

houses do not sell well in costilla county. it is cold in winter. it is old lines hispanic.
that said-developers have offered to buy the entire town of san francisco-near san luis- the town voted no- higher prices from taos have reached northward to questa. from san luis east to the mountains is really beautiful country.
it will be developed.

Only if fuel prices stay affordable, the money from people cashing out their real estate in places like California and Texas keeps flowing, and the pension and annuity checks coming in stay fat and regular--none of which appears likely to continue for much longer . . .

[carlitosone]

ownership of certain properties in costilla county comes with a key
to a 17,000 acre forrest named la sierra. these property owners have the
right to graze livestock, picnic, gather firewood and harvest timber for their own personal use in this forrest. these rights are the result of a supreme court decision regarding an old land grant. this means that owners can build their homes with free wood and use free wood for their heating needs. there is also a commons adjacent to san luis, known as the vega where locals can graze livestock. these perks mean san luis
is a goood place to live in hard times.

p.s. i said costilla county will be developed. i didn't say this year.

[dustyloins]

I recently moved to a mobile home in Manassa, CO which is 3 miles east of Romeo. Both towns have a very limited retail sector, although Manassa does have a small "market" as well as a gas station, LDS temple, Catholic church and elementry school. Most of the roads off of main street (State Hwy 142) are dirt, so you don't see a lot of sports cars driving around. You can get satellite TV, high speed internet and phone service with a few phone calls to the companies that handle that. I've lived in isolated areas in Germany and Montana thanks to the US Air Force, so this is no shock to me, in fact it's a welcome change from the big city BS. I also have 40 acres about 15 miles down the state hwy and I go out there about once a week. This area isn't for everyone, especially if you are used to having everything at your fingertips. It IS cold in the winter and the wind blows a lot. The mountains form almost a 360 degree circle around the area, so you can't beat the views. If you're a couch potato or don't enjoy wildlife and critters, stay where you're at.............