Aspen (Rifle, Carbondale, New Castle: for sale, real estate, apartment)

[Nea1]

Can normal (as in not rich and famous) Live there? I mean with prices how does the average person do it?

[tfox]

Well, if you are single and cram into an apartment with lots of other singles, you can split the rent.

Other than that, many of the normal people commute from downvalley (Carbondale, Glenwood, etc). Downvalley is expensive, but not as expensive as Aspen.

[Nea1]

Originally Posted by tfox

Well, if you are single and cram into an apartment with lots of other singles, you can split the rent.

Other than that, many of the normal people commute from downvalley (Carbondale, Glenwood, etc). Downvalley is expensive, but not as expensive as Aspen.

What kind of commute are we talking about?

[tfox]

I don't live in the area, so I just have a general idea that it's at least an hour from Glenwood, less from Carbondale. I have heard that every year the traffic gets worse and worse along that route due to more and more commuters who can't afford Aspen. This whole thing is a big problem, make no mistake.

[sunsprit]

The "average" person doesn't live there. $million plus properties in Aspen are "tear downs".

The last I saw of landlords allowing multiple unrelated people cramming in together into a place was over 10 years ago. Landlords are not interested today in the damage and wear and tear from an overcrowding situation in a multi-million dollar property. Tiny motel rooms rent for $100+ per night in season.

Rentals with more bedrooms and total space are expensive. I have friends with a 3 bedroom home with a nice kitchen, dining area, and livingoom and 1 bathroom up along Castle Creek. It rents for $8,000 per month with a 6 month lease minimum. Utilities (propane, electric, phone, satellite TV) extra. Snow plowing to get access to the garage and driveway is extra. They haven't had a problem renting it out when they want to for the last 11 years. It's a pretty modest place ... started out as a non-winterized 2 bedroom cabin and they expanded it, winterized it, and put wood log cabin finishing in the interior. They built a 2nd story on it which is an owner's suite which they use when they want; it has a separate outside entrance in addition to the interior (lock-off) stairwell.

Unless you have employer provided local housing, it's uncommon to find affordable housing. Even the down valley mobile home parks are expensive and need a high income or multiple tenants to afford the rent. Most of the people I know who live in Aspen with more normal incomes are in family owned condo's that were bought 20-30 years ago.

The commute from Glenwood can range from 45-50 minutes when traffic is moving to a couple of hours in bad weather and/or prime ski season. Best to use the bus which gets priority lanes to make the trip.

[Beth]

Sunsprit is correct. I use to live there and the 'normal' people that I knew had 2-3 jobs just to get by. I was lucky enough to have housing provided...my studio would have been rented for $2000/month. (It was brand new, though.) The commute from downvalley is ridiculous b/c of all of the traffic. Public transportation is less of a headache but still takes 45 min - hour from Glenwood. The place is gorgeous, the skiing is fantastic, and the night life is awesome...but it's not worth it unless you are a trust fund baby.

[Liz1_06]

Lets face it ~ You can't " afford " to be a " normal " person and survive these days ...

I've lived all over Colorado off and on for the past 25 yrs...

I've watched the prices of land that used to be dirt cheap and not worth a dime turn into multimillion dollar "estates" because some rich ***** decided to buy the land and build on it ... making it the new " hot spot " ... and screwing the rest of us ....

Sorry if I sound abit cynical here but I am ALOT !!!!! not to mention Pissed !!!!

And it's not just Colorado either ~ it's EVERY WHERE ...

[coltoncity]

I have several posts on GS and the area if you want to look it up. I do know that the bus from GS to Aspen is used all the time and it is 50 miles. I was told the bus seems faster then driving. People driving in from as far away as Rifle to bus in. GS is a wonderful place but I was told by a real estate woman that the old homes downtown you find for so cheap have foundation problems and probably slipping into the river. Prices can go up monthly and I would jump on what you find and like. I was able to find some new pretty houses for just over 300,000. I am sure they are more by now but NewCastle is great and Silt is also a good option.

[MountainQueen]

The only homes under about 450k are shacks. Honestly. Unless you leave GWS and go towards New Castle, Silt, Rifle, there are no decent homes for sale. If there are, they sell in days.

We are building a very modest home in GWS and it will cost over 600K in the end. (By modest I mean 3 bdrm 2 bath on 3.5 acres)