My take on the Grand Junction Area (Denver, Pueblo: middle-class, crime rate)

[crislsoul]

local -h,
Thanks for the great information. I was wondering if you could tell me if GJ allows "fracking" in the area. This seems to be a hot topic everywhere now. Is this a controversy in thee? One newspaper article I read lately from CO. stated that some are for it. Is that true? I've had my eye on GJ for a few years now. Thanks for any insight on the matter.

[motoracer51]

Originally Posted by crislsoul

local -h,
Thanks for the great information. I was wondering if you could tell me if GJ allows "fracking" in the area. This seems to be a hot topic everywhere now. Is this a controversy in thee? One newspaper article I read lately from CO. stated that some are for it. Is that true? I've had my eye on GJ for a few years now. Thanks for any insight on the matter.

Yes, "Fracking" is used. Mesa County also has a high concentration of gun toting conservatives, if that bothers you.

[deekay1013]

This was great information about GJ and the best I have found. I may be moving that direction. Will stay in touch if I do. Dee

[AbqTeacher]

Grand Junction has (and always will have, I think) a soft spot in my heart. I lived in Moab for a year or so, and GJ was the place to go when you went to the city. This summer I'll be down in Montrose, so once again it'll be the next nearest big city. I love the outdoors, so GJ has its charm for me. I love Colorado NM. There's also an REI in town. That said, concerning the politics and dating scene I'm guessing your insider info is accurate.

If you can get there, try out a little restaurant called Shommy's in Parachute (an hour or so east, I think?). It's kind of a hole-in-the-wall, but it has some good, somewhat-unique food. I love their reuben.

[jazzlover]

I know Grand Junction better than most and I can not recommend it. As I posted elsewhere, a friend who works in Grand Junction summed it up quite well: Grand Junction is a town with a lot of the problems associated with bigger cities (traffic, air pollution, pockets of crime, etc.) with few of the amenities of a bigger city. I never found its climate to be that attractive, either. Hot and dry in the summer and subject to prolonged cold air inversions (with the air pollution that goes with that) in the winter. Grand Junction's economy is still heavily tied to the energy industry and tends to boom and bust with it. I used to be in Grand Junction constantly on business. Fortunately, I don't have to go there anymore for that, and I don't miss it a bit.

I'm not a fan of the climate in Pueblo, either, but if I had to choose between Grand Junction or Pueblo, I would choose Pueblo as a place to live.

[sammy87]

Reading the OP, they say they don't mind religious people as long as they keep it to themselves, but the OP is a die hard liberal and loves political discussions. So they're ok ramming down their own beliefs on other people, but not vice versa. Sounds like a self righteous jerk.

With regard to GJ, I hear its a pretty big meth town.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Grand Junction is a town with a lot of the problems associated with bigger cities (traffic, air pollution, pockets of crime, etc.) with few of the amenities of a bigger city.

Wrong. I have a good base of comparison having lived in Boulder, New York City, the D.C. area, Honolulu, the Bay Area, and towns in the Southwest. Grand Junction does *not* have "big city" problems. It's one of the safest cities I ever lived in (A great *lack* of noticeable crime compared to the other places I have lived), and to suggest that it has a "traffic problem" is ludicrous.

Originally Posted by sammy87

With regard to GJ, I hear its a pretty big meth town.

You heard wrong. I didn't notice anything, nor did I hear about any big problems, when I lived there.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

Wrong. I have a good base of comparison having lived in Boulder, New York City, the D.C. area, Honolulu, the Bay Area, and towns in the Southwest. Grand Junction does *not* have "big city" problems. It's one of the safest cities I ever lived in (A great *lack* of noticeable crime compared to the other places I have lived), and to suggest that it has a "traffic problem" is ludicrous.



You heard wrong. I didn't notice anything, nor did I hear about any big problems, when I lived there.

You are comparing Grand Junction with cities/areas that have 5 or 10 times the population. C'mon. For a city of its size, Grand Junction has traffic problems. North Ave., for example, has always been a pain.

As for crime, GJ is doing better the last few years. I attribute that to the waning of the gas drilling boom. Typically, GJ crime spikes up when a lot of transient oil field workers hit the area. My familiarity with GJ goes back 40 years, so I've seen what it's like through boom and bust. Crime rates in GJ per capita are still above the national average, despite declining some in the last few years. Meth IS a problem in GJ, as it is in many western Colorado communities. Ask the law enforcement people about it (a number of whom I know personally in that area). Not only is meth use an issue, but the west central valleys of Colorado are a well-known trafficking area for the Mexican drug cartels. It ain't "Happy Valley."

[DOUBLE H]

I worked construction on the western slope in the late 60's (USFS), the mid 70's (oil shale, Yampa Valley Power Plant), early 80's (Glenwood Canyon) and have been a permament resident of the Grand Junction area since 1987.

The latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau has Mesa County with a population at 147,554.

The latest stats that I've seen from Mesa County regarding the unemployment rate? 8.3%.

Regarding the comment on meth, it would be foolish to think Grand Junction is immune to drug trafficking. There's busts reported frequently in the Daily Sentinel (GJ's daily paper) and the three network affiliates here in Mesa County. And besides that, I'm pretty sure most people are clued into the fact that the I-15 to I-70 interstate has always been a drug pipeline. Always. Is Grand Junction on the level of a Denver or a Las Vegas or a Los Angeles? Of course not. But there's problems, don't think there isn't.

Amenities? Well, I'll only speak about one. Concert venues. It's lacking, always been lacking. The Avalon theater is where a great majority of the concerts are held and it has been closed since last June for major renovations, supposedly re-opening by August. It only holds around 1000 people or so. Yes, they have Country Jam for current country artists and Rock Jam for classic rock artists. It's held in Mack, 15 miles west of GJ. The venue itself and the amenities? 200 acres of dirt and a dozen sanolets. Hey, when it's 100 degrees in June do ya think the kids care very much? Nope.

The only other venue worth mentioning is Colorado River State Park in Fruita. At least it's not on dirt, it is on grass though. On occasion there will be a concert or two at some of the meeting halls on the Colorado mesa University campus, but only once a year, maybe twice. Roper Music at least tries, there's been a couple small concerts in the "upstairs ballroom" (was used as a storage warehouse for years, the building is 90 years old.) They cleaned up the room, painted it, put 250 folding chairs upstairs and 2 Klipsh speakers up there to give it a, heh, a ballroom look. Well, at least they give it a good effort, which is more than I can say about the renovation with the Avalon. To me they are running on two speeds-slow and stop.

[griff09m]

Feel free to hate on Grand Junction. Traffic? Crime? Yeah, keep telling yourselves how horrible it is. In fact, tell everyone. I'm happy with this town being the size it is.