Boulder Mountain Living (Denver: for sale, power lines, crimes)

[Nehab]

We are looking to buy a beautiful mountain house in Boulder colorado. It is a nice house 25 minutes out of Boulder Downtown.

I want to understand the challenges about mtn living.

Wildlife
I am aware that bears/snakes/mountain lions are seen. But how frequent are they seen. Do the snakes come
Inside houses as well? Are they avoidable.
How can the wildlife be prevented. I am thinking about putting some fences. But don’t know how practical
Will it be. I don’t mind looking at bears from distance. But dont want to get into any attacks.
Snakes freak me out a lot. And I dont want to see them at all. Can I achieve this?

I see lots of deers elks even now and they are harmless. I dont mind them at all.

Snow.
Is there a lot of snow on mountains. I presently live in foothills and its not bad at all. The snow usually melts
Within a day or so. Does the main county roads get cleared in mountains. My Husband travels regularly and has to go to airport at early hours for the same. I know I will need to clear the driveway though.

Isolation.
The house is sort of remote in wooded area. Is it common that there could be break in or crimes in isolated areas like these, Where people live apart from each other.

No Phone Signal.
There is no cell phone reception in the area and that worries me a bit. Can I depend purely on wifi which
Works on electricity and if there is a power cut it will be a big problem. Are power cuts frequent in mountains.
I have not seen any powercuts in foothills. Like may be for few mintues in an year but thats all.

We love the house and we know there might be some challenges. But trying to understand the extent of the challenges we may see.

Apprecite your answers. Your answers can help us take a decision

[LHS79]

Originally Posted by Nehab

We are looking to buy a beautiful mountain house in Boulder colorado. It is a nice house 25 minutes out of Boulder Downtown.

I want to understand the challenges about mtn living.

Wildlife
I am aware that bears/snakes/mountain lions are seen. But how frequent are they seen. Do the snakes come
Inside houses as well? Are they avoidable.
How can the wildlife be prevented. I am thinking about putting some fences. But don’t know how practical
Will it be. I don’t mind looking at bears from distance. But dont want to get into any attacks.
Snakes freak me out a lot. And I dont want to see them at all. Can I achieve this?

I see lots of deers elks even now and they are harmless. I dont mind them at all.

Snow.
Is there a lot of snow on mountains. I presently live in foothills and its not bad at all. The snow usually melts
Within a day or so. Does the main county roads get cleared in mountains. My Husband travels regularly and has to go to airport at early hours for the same. I know I will need to clear the driveway though.

Isolation.
The house is sort of remote in wooded area. Is it common that there could be break in or crimes in isolated areas like these, Where people live apart from each other.

No Phone Signal.
There is no cell phone reception in the area and that worries me a bit. Can I depend purely on wifi which
Works on electricity and if there is a power cut it will be a big problem. Are power cuts frequent in mountains.
I have not seen any powercuts in foothills. Like may be for few mintues in an year but thats all.

We love the house and we know there might be some challenges. But trying to understand the extent of the challenges we may see.

Apprecite your answers. Your answers can help us take a decision

Boulder is not in the mountains.

Some houses are in the foothill areas.

[Nehab]

Thanks for your reply.

The house that we are looking at is above 6800 feet above sea level. Boulder is around 5300 feet
Above sea level. So the house is higher than that and hence 25 mins drive to boulder downtown.

There are a lot of winding roads on the way. But all are well maintained.

The house is surrounded by lot of woods and is on a mountain region.

It is a rural area and not a part of city of Boulder.

[brown_dog_us]

Where in the foothills do you currently live?

My guess is the wildlife will be very similar.

Why do you want to live in a remote location?

[StealthRabbit]

Oiled road, or gravel? (can make a big difference in commute)
Will you have to commute daily? (Work from home? retired? trust fund baby?...)
North facing home / driveway? (least preferred, cold and icy (in the shade))
Steep grades? (walking home on icy nights...)

All wild animals are wild...! (unpredictable and act on impulse)

Snakes are very rarely seen, never had one near the house while living in CO foothills / mtns for 30 yrs. Our horses and dogs took a few Rattler bites. BIG Bull snakes were more common and they keep the rattlesnake population down. Still rare to see them (maybe once every 3 yrs).

Elk are not always so 'friendly' to people (such as right now) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxW3WPhwc10

Mtn Lions... they see you far sooner / more often that you will see them.
They don't usually stalk humans (we are probably not too tasty and definitely not very agile or fast (not a difficult prey to capture / no fun / challenge in that) Too Boring for cats. (but be weary / make noise / don't turn your back or run)

Deer are good business for auto body shops and feed stores. Do not feed the deer!!! Typical retail food (corn) is not good for native deer. (to rich / sweet / starchy). If you like deer get them a salt / Nutrient lick or similar (something that is helpful for them).

Birds... feed the hummingbirds (there are plenty). Magpies will love your dogfood.

Snow... ~ 2-3x / month, Nov - April. Often gone by noon, (sunny areas) but might stick around all winter in shaded areas at 6800'. Usually light / powder / fluffy. Fall and Spring can have wet and heavy snows. Transportation (getting home) will depend on terrain and road surface. Hopefully a retired neighbor has a tractor or plow truck. Feed them well and pay for fuel and they will be happy. (and don't be a PITA 'urban' OCD neighbor). If you have a HOA... too bad... there will be an OCD 'cop' ruining the place for all. Usually a retired manager / military person who didn't get enough of ruining lives while working, so just stays in practice, complaining about you (and everyone else).

Isolation: Know your Fire Score, your home may NOT be defensible. Fix that and validate with the local fire agency (or they may not even attempt to protect your home. Sometimes DNR will show up and protect their forest and watch your home burn. (As they are supposed to do).
https://csfs.colostate.edu/wildfire-...ace-checklist/
https://www.readyforwildfire.org/pre...ensible-space/

Internet. Bummer (I have (3) mtn / rural locations in USA, none have coverage or Wireless. That is a big hassle.
Are power lines (primary) underground? If not, you can expect 3-4 power outages on a good yr. Nice that it is usually COLD and you can put the fridge and freezer stuff in a snowbank. (Do have GOOD auxiliary heat (no power required)) Keep a few pails of water around to flush the toilets (if on a water well). Genset might be necessary if your career / commerce depends on power.

Be sure you buy something that is legal, solidly built, and EASY to resale. (HOA, dirt roads, shared wells and road agreements are not strong selling points)

You want a fireproof roof! Especially if it is in a 'ever-brown' forest (beetle kill).

[Nehab]

Thanks for your detailed reply.
Very Helpful answer. I will keep these points in my mind while getting the house.

I will have to find out about fire score. I have no idea about that.

The house is legal and looks good. We will know more in inspection. It is within Roosevelt national forest. Its beautiful. I was not planning to stay remote initially. But the area is very beautiful and I like it better than city houses.
The house is simple, not fancy but it sits on a nice land.

The roads are asaphalt like normal city highway. Just winding around mountains. Then there is a driveway to the house which is shared with one other neighbour. I would say the driveway is little steep. Not too bad. We are thinking of putting gravel on the driveway to help with snow.

We will have to figure out on snow ploughing.

I work and have to commute daily to Denver Downtown. Looking for public transport options like Bus. I am planning to do park and ride and catch a bus from boulder.

I cannot figure out what does easy to resale would mean. The mountain houses are listed up for 100-150 days. Is that normal? . The house we are looking at is open for around 5 months for sale. That would mean it is not easy to resale because it is remote.

Heat is propane. And I am planning to add a wood burning stove as well.

Because the trees are tall. There is not a lot of sun through out the day. Its definetly colder than Boulder city. No AC in the house.

I am little relieved about your commentary on snakes. May be its not that bad as I thought.
Can you please suggest something for bears. It is an active bear county and The trash can be taken care of.

But what about no smell policy. I read bears can track smells from 10 miles.
I light all sorts of candles and make a lot of food. And also open windows.
Will that attract bears? If I buy a house there. It would smell and that makes me nervous too.

[brown_dog_us]

It sounds like you really like the beauty that surrounds this house, but everything else about it is a bad fit.

Yes there will be wildlife.
Yes the roads will be impossible to drive on after a heavy snow.
Yes it will be tough to sell the house.
Yes driving to Denver everyday from the mountains will be horrible. (2 hours each way by public transit)
Yes it will be cold up there.

[EastwardBound]

Do you really live in Colorado currently?

[Nehab]

Ok May be its a lot of work living in a mountain house.
I will see what I can find out about fire score before taking a final decision.

Yes I live in Colorado. Its been 2 years. But The house we are looking at is rural
And different from the place I presently live in.

I live in city. No Wildlife , easy commute, pretty straightforward.
It will be a huge shift if we go live in mountains.
But we loved The location and although I know that there will be some challenges.
I guess that’s the price to pay to live in nature.

I am just trying to understand the extent of these challenges. So that we can
Take a suitable decision accordingly. Thanks for your answers.

[StealthRabbit]

Rural places are a lot of work, but Colorado is dry, and forest properties can have native landscaping, saving you 2-3 hrs / week mowing and watering.

I would make sure you can legally clear trees near your home (often you can use 'fire mitigation' as an allowable reason, but be sure it complies with HOA, if you have one, and local codes / regs).

I would not do the commute (especially if you have a family)

If you are in prime earning yrs, find the fastest way to get to 'critical mass', (financial independence). Once there... you can relax and stay home and enjoy your view, wherever you choose to live.

Fortunately I have been able to live in desirable areas with a 20 min max commute, when urban... I chose to live adjacent to a greenspace or park. I worked night and weekends and moved to a high paying income tax free state, as well as international destinations to expedite my FIRE.

Good luck, be sure to sample the commute during peak hours and days (Fridays for sure, often heavy traffic escaping Denver (all day)).

We had bear problems in NoCO, usually at the barn, never up at the house. (Molasses feed for horses, bears like it too). I never noticed 'bear-smell', tho bears can sense smells very well. (Avoid 'Honey' candles next to your front door)