Gunnison and Glenwood Springs (Denver, Aspen: real estate, housing, condos)

[Nea1]

My husband has two job offers one to work in Crested Butte which means we would live in Gunnison and the other to work in Aspen and we could live in Glenwood springs. I have kids so schools are an issue. What are both areas like?

[jazzlover]

I lived in Gunnison 30 + years ago and loved it. But, like all of western Colorado, it has changed--and not for the better. Housing is expensive--especially if you expect to work there. I have friends that have lived there for many years, and they are looking to leave. Also, Gunnison has brutally cold temperatures in the winter, and is regularly the coldest spot in Colorado, winter or summer. I personally love the irrigated ranch counttry around Gunnison, and the mountains are gorgeous--just remember, summer is about 2 1/2 months long.

As for Glenwood Springs, it is even more pricey than Gunnison, and the ambience of that town was wrecked when they built I-70 through it going on 40 years ago. Old time Coloradans (I'm a native) call the whole I-70 corridor west of Denver the "sacrifice zone." That's exactly what it is: a yuppie-infested suburbia of false-western trophy houses and Tyrolean shake-and-bake condos.

About the only way a person can live comfortably in most of western Colorado is to bring their money with them. Joke: How to make a small fortune in western Colorado? Start with a big one. It used to be that wages were awful, living expenses were high, but housing was cheap. Now, housing is expensive, and wages are still awful (unless you work in the gas fields) and living costs are still high. That's why I left and probably won't ever go back--at least not until the real estate bubble there bursts (and it will) and housing gets cheap again.