Making money in Durango, CO as a chiropractor (Montrose, Woodland Park: insurance, lawyers)

[RyneJoe23]

I've visited Durango, CO and am in love. Right now I'm finishing chiropractic school and planning on moving when my wife finishes school. She has a yoga certification and is getting a zoology degree with a minor in dance. We are both very outdoor oriented. We mountain bike, yoga, snowboard, kayak, climb, hike, disc golf, camp and just love the outdoors. There is no question we would love living in the town, but with our occupations, will we make enough and live comfortably. I saw that Durango, CO is very alternative health orientated (which can be good), BUT is the market already saturated with an abundance of this type of health care. I'm finishing a Neurology Diplomat and will be able to bring added experience but wanted other's opinions. PLEEEAASSEEE Help....

[brightdoglover]

I looked around Durango in August, 2007, as a possible place to move. (I work as a psychiatric RN). There was exactly one job for me there, and I decided I didn't want the only job for hundreds of miles around! It certainly did seem that there were a LOT of acupuncture people, alternative health, chiropractic, etc. I don't know if there's enough of a market to keep someone working. Also, unlike my state (Mass.) Blue Cross, I don't know if any insurances cover chiropractic. Also in Mass., worker's comp. covers chiropractic. Don't know if that's true of Colorado.
Yes, it is a gorgeous area, no question. I decided to stay put in Mass. as long as I need employment, but then, the end is sort of in sight for me.

[delta07]

My brother-in-law is a naturopath and looked at moving to Durango before we settled on Bend, OR. He talked with a friend of his from naturopath school who tried to make a go at it in Durango. After 2 years, his friend closed his practice. He just couldn't survive in such a small town that already had several naturopaths. Of course, chiropractic seems more accepted that naturopath in general. Just doing a quick search, I found 157 chiropractors listed in, or near, Durango. That seems like quite a few for a town of about 15,000 people.

I think Brightdoglover is right too. As a former Colorado resident, most insurances don't accept or pay much for chiropractic. As a new resident to Oregon, I'm finding this state to be much more accepting of alternative medicine. As a comparision, I just googled chiropractors in Bend, OR. Google listed 162, and Bend has almost 100,000 people. So, it seems based on just this, Durango is oversaturated in your field.

Wish I had a more positive outlook for you, but the reality is, Durango is a tough place to live unless you are independently weathly. You may look at some other towns/small cities with similar characteristics as Durango. Montrose, Woodland Park, and maybe even Salida might be worth a look.

[parfleche]

just make sure you have a job before you come here. durango has more chiropractors than lawyers.most patients are newcomers who try to ski or visit the rec center.hence the lawyers.locals don't use chiropracters much but use lawyers too much.

[POhdNcrzy]

Fleche, hah hah thanks for the laughs!!

Just wanna say I second these emotions.

Durango: Beautiful and appealing for sure. But a tough row to hoe unless you got $$$.

[CosmicWizard]

Your success as a Chiropractor in Durango or elsewhere is dependent on your marketing skills and your table side manner, moreso than your skill as a chiropractor. If you are a good marketer with the ability to establish rapport with your clients, you'll be successful. If you are weak in marketing your practice and/or unable to establish rapport, you'll have a hard time paying the bills.

I'll use some friends of mine as an example. Fresh out of chirpractic school in Portland, OR my friend moved to Sedona, AZ which is a big league version of Durango. ( There's probably more chirporactors in Sedona per capita than anywhere else on the planet! ) Well, my friend with a very warm, outgoing personality had a successful practice going within a year. I might add that he was not shy about promoting himself. I have another friend who graduated from the same school who is more shy and reserved, who hates marketing. 15 years later, he's still just getting by, and he's a damn good chiropractor too. IMO, he's actually far more skillful than my other friend who built a very successful practice.

[DOUBLE H]

I do not have a secondary provider as all I have is Medicare, but my chiropracter takes Medicare and has for the last several years.

Cosmic makes a good point regarding their success, though. Mine is really good, a great personality, and is always busy!