If not Crested Butte, where? (Boulder, Grand Junction: living, move, license plates)

[whbenson]

Very much enjoy Crested Butte, but have some concern that summer may be too short and winter too bitter and long. We enjoy the small town, friendly atmosphere, hiking, scenic beauty and mountain biking. First, is it true that the summers are short and, if so - - - if not, Crested Butte, where can one get the same atmosphere of small twon, firendly, mountain biking, etc.?

[delta07]

Crested Butte is beautiful and one of my favorite Colorado mountain towns, but yes, the winters are very long! Plus, CB is very expensive and hard to work and live there unless you are independently wealthy. If you like Western Colorado, you might look into Montrose. The town has grown quite a bit, but still has some of that small town character you are looking for. The scenery is beautiful and you have access to thousands of trails, and are within a couple hours drive of CB or Moab. I would also suggest looking into Salida, as it is a mountain town, but known as the banana belt of CO. Again, you would be within a couple hours drive to CB, but are very close to Monarch Ski Area. There are also hundreds of hiking trails and easy access to the outdoors. It's one of my favorite CO towns! It can be tough to make a living there though.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by whbenson

Very much enjoy Crested Butte, but have some concern that summer may be too short and winter too bitter and long. We enjoy the small town, friendly atmosphere, hiking, scenic beauty and mountain biking. First, is it true that the summers are short and, if so - - - if not, Crested Butte, where can one get the same atmosphere of small twon, firendly, mountain biking, etc.?

Crested Butte is definitely a beautiful place and a neat town. But you're right, it's short summers and long, cold winters. It's usually one of the coldest spots in Colorado in the winters.

So, you know CB is at a high elevation, about 9,000. There are other mountain towns that are lower, which means that they are a little less harsh in the winters.

Take a look at Boulder, Granby, Glenwood Springs.

[lalahartma]

Salida/Buena Vista, Durango, Grand Junction/Fruita, Woodland Park

[CosmicWizard]

Moab - Utah
Cedar City - Utah
Paonia - CO
Cedaredge - CO
Glenwood Springs - CO

[CBMT]

Moved from CB to Gunnison...much friendlier town, earlier summers and later arrival of winter.

[80skeys]

Crested Butte is at 9,000 feet and surrounded by high mountains. You'll have to look for towns that are much lower in elevation and not immediately adjacent to high peaks to find milder weather.

I wouldn't say Gunnison is a valid alternative. Yeah maybe it's a little milder than CB, but in the scheme of things that's like comparing apples to apples. Gunnison winters are heavy duty winters.

[downsth]

Actually Gunnison has the record for the consistently coldest place in the United States. It's a fact. Look it up. Brrr....

[randomy]

Several of you are advising this gent to jump from the cooler to the deep-freeze locker. Gunnison!!! My god, that's the coldest place in Colorado. ^ that guys says it is one of the coldest place in the US.

If you want a milder climate, move closer to the front range area. 300 sunny days a year (more than Florida)..

[CosmicWizard]

I'm not sure if it's still the case, but at one time the Florida license plates proclaimed Florida as The Sunshine State. Based on my experience living there in the late 60s, that proclamation is nothing more than a big fabrication. Florida is one of the rainiest, cloudiest states I've ever lived in. Colorado has far more sunshine than Florida...without the energy draining humidity. Even the most godforsaken place in Colorado is preferable to anywhere in Florida...at least for me.