Grand Junction (Denver, Montrose, Glenwood Springs: real estate, house, rental)

[edsplace]

We are investigating retiring in Grand Junction. Any pros or cons?

[proeye]

Originally Posted by edsplace

We are investigating retiring in Grand Junction. Any pros or cons?

You mean Grand Junkyard? Just joking. But it is known by this with the locals. It's called that because it's not a very attractive town and there's really not much to look at on the horizon.

I lived in Montrose and Ridgway for a year. Grand Junction is very blue collar and is in the middle of a desert. The climate is great but it's extremely dry.

The only drawback is the availability of services. Where do you go if you need specialized medicine? Denver or Salt Lake City. Guess how far away these cities are? Denver is about 4.5 hours away but it's over several mountain passes. Very difficult in winter despite the interstate. Salt Lake is 5.5 hours.

If you are into the outdoors then it is clearly the place for you. It's very close to the mountains and of course the SW deserts. Easy access to the national parks in Utah. I think a lot of people retire in Grand Junction although by far the biggest retirement community I can think of in the four corner states is St. George. Might be a better place if you have concerns about healthcare since it's not far from Las Vegas.

Do you have any skin conditions? I don't know where you are from but you might want to vacation there for a couple of months to see if you like it. If you are from the east you'll shrivel up like a raisin. The air is so dry your hair will break off, your nails will crack, and you'll have to use Vaseline to keep up with the dry skin. I had a terrible time. Every time I went out the garage I lost my nails. It may not be a big deal to you but when it splits vertically into your nail bed, it's not funny.

We lived at 8,000 feet in Ridgway. Log Hill has to be one of the top 10 places in the world to live for scenery. Absolutely awesome. You practically have 14,000 ft. Mt. Sneffels in your back yard since there is a big valley between you and the mountain so it appears that it's at "eye level." So if you have money, like to live in an isolated place in the mountains with other "successful" people, it's a wonderful place to live. Well, if you don't mind dust and a muddy road in winter, and being incredibly isolated--worse than Grand Junction. Oh well. Just stock up.

Dennis Weaver used to be my neighbor, before he died of course. Beyond him is Ralph Lauren's ranch. Never saw him but my employee's husband worked for him and spent time at some of his get togethers. When he would fly in (literally), he and his son would buy the clothes off the ranch hands so they could look authentic.

Oh, and if you live there, you will have access to Ouray city pool. $90 gets you a family year round pass to the hot springs pool. It's about 4 olympic size pools put together. Awesome in winter when it's snowing. But then you'll have access to Steamboat and Glenwood Springs if you live in Grand Junction. Lots of nice restaurants in Ouray since it's a big tourist area.

Both areas are not far from Telluride which is a big ski resort and celeb area (Tom Cruise, Opray Winfrey, Darryl Hannah--who I saw at Wal-mart by the way and sheesh, she needs make up).

Here's some info on the area I'm talking about...

http://www.loghill.com/
http://www.ridgwaycolorado.com/Splash.asp

Again, my suggestion: Live there for awhile and drive around. Then you'll know first hand.

Originally Posted by edsplace

We are investigating retiring in Grand Junction. Any pros or cons?

If you're not from Colorado, also understand that Coloradans tend to be rather standoffish--especially in smaller towns and rural areas. I think this is because the original people who settled the state were independent people who wanted to get away from others. I think the nicest people in the U.S. come from Texas, then the west coast, then the midwest.

[MapFreak]

"rather standoffish"? LOL! Try "VERY"! I was born in Mesa county and lived there for 20+ years. I got tired of it fairly quick. All the liars and crooks I grew up with, they didn't change, they just got older and got into office.

Real estate is 3-4 times more than it should be. The climate there is great, and it's really not as arid as some think. Fuel prices out outragious. I now live in a small town high int he rockies and it's harder to get fuel here than it is in GJ. But they have a monopoly on it, so fuel is more there than it is here. Last I heard it was betweem $3.079 and $3.129 per gallon for regular unleaded. Here in Buena Vista it's $3.059.

It has a lot of convieniances though. St.Mary's is one of the best equipped hospitals in Colorado AND Utah. It's comparible to what they have in Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Albuqurque, and Cheyenne.

rentals out to much, AFAIC. Of course I grew up there, I knew a lot of those places before they builts homes on them, and 90% of the new stuff I wouldn't waste my time or money on. I could handle putting a $20,000 mobile home on some of the land, but not a $120,000 house. There is a lot of groundwater, and a good number of the newer homes have been built on old ranchland. A lot I used to work in when I was a kid. They didn't irrigate a lot of those fields for a reason- the water table was less than 12" deep in many areas. One area in particular that is now homes running in the $350,000 area, there the water table was 6-8". And now they have three story homes built there? LOL! Not for long!