Real Estate Near Ski Areas

[MountainViews]

Originally Posted by SheridanL

There are lots of homes that fit your criteria.
Dillon, Silverthorne, ....google Summit County.

Thank you very much for all the replies. Even about the pine beetles. I know they are a problem in the Grand Lake, Granby, Estes Park area. I guess everyplace has something wrong with it. I know that long-term water is going to be an issue on the front range.

We are familiar with Durango, and it's a great little town. However, it's a bit too far from the Denver airport. I am able to work from home or from an office, so I don't have a commute to consider. But I do have to travel a couple of times each month and need a larger airport within at least a couple hours drive.

We absolutely LOVE Frisco, but I'm afraid that prices there are going to be well above the $500K price we want to stay within. We don't necessarily want to live at a ski resort, simply be within a reasonable drive, perhaps an hour or so.

The major thing we are looking for is a family friendly town with good medical facilities, good schools, decent grocery shopping, GREAT views, and of course the ability to be able to drive to the slopes for day trips to ski in season.

We have been looking online at Evergreen, Estes Park, Dillon, Siverthorne, and Frisco. We've visited all of them numerous times, mostly in the warmer months, and there are positives about each. We definitely do not want to live anywhere near the traffic or the orange cloud that hovers over Denver. It's tough to come down from Evergreen and instantly smell and see the smog. That is part of what we are leaving behind.

Our family is in the southern part of Colorado, but we much prefer the scenery and people we have met in the areas north and west of Denver. Would either Evergreen or Estes Park be towns that could be easily reached from the ski areas along I-70 within 1-2 hours drive in the winter? And would housing there be more within our $500K price range than we are finding in places like Frisco and Breckenridge?

Thank you.

[MountainViews]

Originally Posted by CTC

Check out Gypsum-not much to look at from I-70, but actually very nice when you get past the round about. 30 minutes to Beaver Creek (no front range traffic ever) and another 15 minutes to Vail. Newer middle/elementary schools within walklng distance as well.

There are homes in our neighborhood (Chatfield Corners) where we own property in your price range-



During the summer flights are very reasonable in/out of Eagle county airport (I flew RT from Billings,MT a few times for only 250$ last summer. Eagle county has good public trans as well-the buses run from Dotsero to Minturn (5$ one way the last time I rode) Also, one of the big employers in the area, Vail Valley Medical Center has a free employee shuttle from Gypsum.

Glenwood Springs is only 30 minutes to the west-and is a nice historic town.

Things were overbuilt (lots of inventory), and now with the downturn it is a good time to buy.

Thank you for this suggestion. We have never even thought of Gypsum. I can't recall even driving through the town.

Looking online, it appears that everything in our price range is situated on very small lots. On our trip to Colorado for the holidays we may check this out.

Thanks!

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by motoracer51

You are the most pessimistic, negative poster I've come across on the net.

I also wont deny the fact that your know a lot about Colorado, but it seems as if you are constantly running around yelling the sky is falling.

OP. Do a search on Realtor.com or something similar, and you should be able to find something that fits your criteria.

Well, I do work related to a lot of what I write about. When you see the "inner workings" of some of what is going on right now, it will scare the living hell out of just about anybody. We are becoming so accustomed to seeing the wheels flying off of the economy that we are no longer shocked by it. Turn back the clock, say five years, and imagine the laughter if somebody said that several of the major brokerages would have to be bailed out by the government, that $700 billion wouldn't even begin to solve the mortgage "problem", that the Big Three auto manufacturers would be teetering on bankruptcy. Oh, and that most of the lodgepole in Colorado would be dead by 2013. I wouldn't have believed all of that five years ago, but I sure do now.

People can have all of their little fantasies about living here and there, but the reality will be that people are going to be simply trying to survive--and they will probably wind up going where that is possible. Something tells me that ain't gonna be up by some empty ski resort . . .

[breaksraver13]

Evergreen might fit your bill the best......Evergreen would be easier access to the I-70 resorts than Estes Park........I lived in Evergreen for a short while but I moved to Summit County, Evergreen was a little TOO family oriented for a guy in his early 20's.....BUT, that may perfect for you! It is alot more inexpensive than Summit County.......Oh, and it's not just Grand Co that has the beetle problem, Summit Co. has it's fair share of issues, Granby just seems to be getting all of the attention.

Oh, and don't mind some people on here that have an uncanny way of spiting negative spew in just about every thread.

[MountainViews]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Well, I do work related to a lot of what I write about. When you see the "inner workings" of some of what is going on right now, it will scare the living hell out of just about anybody. We are becoming so accustomed to seeing the wheels flying off of the economy that we are no longer shocked by it. Turn back the clock, say five years, and imagine the laughter if somebody said that several of the major brokerages would have to be bailed out by the government, that $700 billion wouldn't even begin to solve the mortgage "problem", that the Big Three auto manufacturers would be teetering on bankruptcy. Oh, and that most of the lodgepole in Colorado would be dead by 2013. I wouldn't have believed all of that five years ago, but I sure do now.

People can have all of their little fantasies about living here and there, but the reality will be that people are going to be simply trying to survive--and they will probably wind up going where that is possible. Something tells me that ain't gonna be up by some empty ski resort . . .

Jazzlover, you and I seem to share somewhat similar minds about economics. I agree that it's far worse than most people realize. Luckily, most of my business is done internationally, where money has been much more accessible.

Given your skepticism about the future for Colorado, I wonder why you stick around. Would you not be better off seeking a place that has a brighter future than what you foresee for Colorado? My main concerns about Colorado regard the future prospects of available fresh water from the aquifers, and wanting to avoid seeing the concrete jungle overtake whichever town we choose to relocated to. We currently live in a medium sized lake town, that ten years ago only had about 5,000 residents. Now it has more than 50,000 and is only beginning to explode with growth....which we want to avoid in the future.

One quick question, when you used the word "lodgepole", did you mean trees in general? Or did you mean a specific type of tree?

Have a great day.

[MountainViews]

Originally Posted by breaksraver13

Evergreen might fit your bill the best......Evergreen would be easier access to the I-70 resorts than Estes Park........I lived in Evergreen for a short while but I moved to Summit County, Evergreen was a little TOO family oriented for a guy in his early 20's.....BUT, that may perfect for you! It is alot more inexpensive than Summit County.......Oh, and it's not just Grand Co that has the beetle problem, Summit Co. has it's fair share of issues, Granby just seems to be getting all of the attention.

Oh, and don't mind some people on here that have an uncanny way of spiting negative spew in just about every thread.

Thank you breaksraver. From what I have seen, I would not have wanted to settle in a town like Evergreen when in my early 20's either. I definitely understand. But being a wee bit older, a slower pace and more of a sense of community in our hometown is important to me.

One thing I wonder about is knowing that Evergreen is a bedroom community with most people commuting into the city to work, what sort of sense of community exists in the town? Do the residents have a sense of closeness and know their neighbors? We live in a bedroom commuter town on a lake, and hardly anyone knows people around them. We want to find a smaller town of less than 20,000 people that has events year-round and provides an environment where the residents take pride in the town.

Any thoughts about Evergreen or other towns in that respect?

Thanks!!

[breaksraver13]

Originally Posted by MountainViews

Thank you breaksraver. From what I have seen, I would not have wanted to settle in a town like Evergreen when in my early 20's either. I definitely understand. But being a wee bit older, a slower pace and more of a sense of community in our hometown is important to me.

One thing I wonder about is knowing that Evergreen is a bedroom community with most people commuting into the city to work, what sort of sense of community exists in the town? Do the residents have a sense of closeness and know their neighbors? We live in a bedroom commuter town on a lake, and hardly anyone knows people around them. We want to find a smaller town of less than 20,000 people that has events year-round and provides an environment where the residents take pride in the town.

Any thoughts about Evergreen or other towns in that respect?

Thanks!!

Evergreen has MANY small community events.........They have a Ice Skating Rink downtown in the winter.......Summer concerts by the lake every other Wednesday....and a big Rodeo.........I can't say about the neighbor thing, I rented out someone's garage and didn't live in Evergreen very long.

Good luck!