Where can I find a rural area with....

[HappyMontrose]

Like Wyo says ..check ou the Western Slope which includes GRAND Junction ,Delta and Montrose.. lots of Beauty,Mountains and Rivers.

HM

[Market Mama]

Originally Posted by hsbelovedhandmdn

Beautiful Buena Vista, Colorado. It is surrounded by mountains and sits on the banks of the Arkansas River. No crime, laid back and friendly people make this town seem like "heaven"

All true (except that the people who have been there for generations can be rather parochial and disapproving of "big city" types horning in on their town). This is a town that loses its best and brightest every year as soon as they graduate from high school, leaving the rest to breed and grumble about changes, even good ones.

Also add that there are almost no jobs unless you want to be a whitewater rafting guide in the summer and work for the ski industry in the winter. Grocery clerks consider themselves lucky.

And that the pretty Arkansas River is tainted with arsenic and other heavy metals from mining upstream.

And that the nearest hospital is many long miles away in Salida.

My advice, subscribe to the local newspaper of any small town you are considering (or at least search the Denver Post for past stories about that town). That will give you a good picture of the social life, cultural resources and attitudes, jobs and local businesses, as well as crime rates and any serious local problems -- like the gravel pit that's been polluting the air in BV and that tried to ram an expansion through the city council (many of whom had to excuse themselves from voting because they had a vested interest or legal ties to the gravel company).

I don't mean to bad-mouth Buena Vista, it has many good attributes and is, for sure, in a truly beautiful setting with lots to do if you're the outdoorsy type. It's just that it, like most small towns everywhere, is struggling economically.