moving from SC to Grand Junction ,need info on house renting or buying (Denver: rental)

[Kristine hall]

My hubby is gonna get transferred to GJ and I will have to move with him or hardly see him. Only problem is we have dogs. Did a lot of research on GJ and I came away with this: Jobs in GJ itself are rare and don't pay much. housing is expensive unless you pay 200 000+ for a house. We already have a house here in the south ,first I thought about selling and just buy a new house in GJ and live there for good,even so my husband works around the US with his company. I thought the area is so pretty that I might live in Colorado for good. But then again I had second thoughts, it is desert land and I wonder if one becomes bored with the scenery after a while. So living there for good is s.th. that has to be really evaluated. What I really would like to do is live there for a couple of years and explore all the beautiful surrounding areas. But how can we get housing to rent if we have 3 dogs. Does anyone know if you can rent houses there that are not too expensive but would accept pets .All the housing I ever found said no pets allowed. Our dogs are old now and I can't give them away anymore. Is buying a house the only option for us? And is the oil business back in business there since the gas prices are up so high. How much is gas per gallon there. Here in SC we still pay 3.49 at the gas station. And how about food prices in GJ when I go grocery shopping. I have never been west, and I always wanted to see the Canyons and Mesa. Also in winter time I understand there is not much snow in GJ, but how far out do you have to drive where they have heavy snowfall . I 70 is the only way out east , it must be dangerous to drive on it in wintermonths or? sorry but i just don't know anything about it.

[brightdoglover]

I'm sure there are posters very familiar with GJ and the Western Slope life, but one thing I think they will tell you is the cycle of boom/bust in GJ, making buying a dicey proposition. Thank you for caring for your old dogs so well.

[DOUBLE H]

No need to apologize for asking questions like this Kristine, moving cross country is a huge task. And welcome to City Data, by the way.

Regarding weather, yes for the most part the Grand Junction area doesn't get the huge snows that you get in the Denver area, or for that matter, the high country. This past season, we had five measurable snows in the Fruita area, Fruita being nine miles west of Grand Junction. One storm brought three inches of snow. The other three storms were a combined total of maybe two inches. I'm not exactly doing a "happy dance" regarding those amounts. We've been in a drought cycle and we need moisture. I thought we were going to get some of the moisture that Flagstaff, Arizona got a few days ago (40 inches of snow). No such luck, wound up with 50 m.p.h. winds instead. Spring is starting now, the temps are hitting 70. If you're not a fan of high humidity, you'll appreciate the drier climate.

Grocery shopping is a tad higher in this area than say, Denver or Salt Lake City, Utah, but not much higher.. The food chains here are Albertsons, Safeway, City Market (a Kroger Chain), and of course Walmart and Sam's Club. We don't have a Costco here, I wish we did.

Gasoline? A little higher here than in your area. The gas tax here in Colorado is higher than many states but certainly not the highest. I filled up the Jeep last week and it was $3.73 for mid grade (87 octane.)

Yes, Interstate 70 is your only way east out of the area. I've driven a lot of miles in my life (over 2 million) and while some of the roads are needing work, particularly the secondary roads, I-70 is fine. And C-DOT's road employees do first rate work regarding snow removal, particularly on the passes. Like a lot of states Colorado has been clipped pretty good by this economy the last few years. The fiscal budget has taken a shellacking regarding the various departments, including transportation. Still, the road workers do a great job.

I'll contribute a bit more here later, hopefully some area people will opine here. Also there are quite a bit of threads here on City Data regarding the area. Type in "Grand Junction" in the search forum box on this page and hit the key, you'll find a lot of useful information there.

[Kristine hall]

Thank you for your information, i also read many posts about GJ.The grocery stores are different, I know Kroger ,but not the others.I wonder if Albertsons is the same as Publix food stores here. I buy lots of organic food and I eat mostly vegetarian .I shop at Whole foods market in our aera ,they don't have one in GJ , but I found one small organic store .I was wondering if you drive I 70 and some areas like around the Eisenhower tunnel are at an elevation of 11000 feet,can you get altitude sickness while driving? I mean ,I have never been at such a high elevation before. And driving for hours I was wondering if it can affect your driving. I have been in the blue ridge mountains and they are in 4000-5000 feet range. Just wondering. Where I live we have high humidity and mosquitos ,and they love me. Our summer starts early here with temps of 90s and 100s sometimes. I can't even imagine how it feels without humidity.So that might be a big improvement not having to deal with that anymore.

[Dogmama50]

The GJ area has some extraordinary farmers, some are organic, the certification is time consuming and expensive, but once you get to know the farmers and their practices you will hopefully feel comfortable shopping locally. There will be a Whole Foods opening around August in Basalt, it's about an hour and a half drive, I believe GJ still has a Vitamin Cottage with a good selection of organic items.

Rarely do folks get altitude sickness driving at elevation. Staying hydrated is very important, and many mistake dehydration for altitude sickness.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by Kristine hall

Did a lot of research on GJ and I came away with this: Jobs in GJ itself are rare and don't pay much. housing is expensive unless you pay 200 000+ for a house.

YEs, both statements are accurate.

But how can we get housing to rent if we have 3 dogs. Does anyone know if you can rent houses there that are not too expensive but would accept pets .

Yes it's possible. You just have to keep searching. There's two main ways to find housing for rent in Grand Junction: craiglist, and finding the "For Rent" signs posted around town.

Also in winter time I understand there is not much snow in GJ, but how far out do you have to drive where they have heavy snowfall . I 70 is the only way out east , it must be dangerous to drive on it in wintermonths or? sorry but i just don't know anything about it.

As with most of Colorado and the Southwest, the amount of snow each winter is highly variable. Some years are dry, while others have lots of snow, and that includes Grand Junction.

Yes driving on I-70 during or after snowstorms is tricky.

[Kristine hall]

Nice to know about the whole food market. I read online about the vineyards and peach farms. Well I did find some pet friendly appartments in Clifton online, so we might just have to rent until we get to know the area better and decide then whether to buy a house. I hope the economy won't get any worse .

[Sgt. Beefy]

Kristine, did you end up renting the pet friendly place in Clifton, or did you find a different place that accepted pets? My fiance is up for a job out there and we have cats, so we too are looking for a pet friendly rental until we decide if and where we want to buy.