Moving to Telluride. (Denver, Boulder, Durango: high school, college, wage)

[Idunn]

Leadville would pose rather a long commute to Telluride. I was referring to commutes some make into and out of Summit County, for instance from Breckenridge to Fairplay and so forth.

At a glance, Telluride seems to have even fewer options. Across the pass to Rico, perhaps, although a small town. In the other direction towards Placerville and beyond there isn't much. Probably some employee housing in town or up in the mountain village, which may be almost necessity. My guess: many have roommates, with all together paying a handsome price for the privilege.

[brightdoglover]

When I owned a little house outside of Ridgway, CO, my tenant was a housekeeping manager in Telluride. It's about 45 miles, no mountain passes, but a 20" drive down a gravel county road to 62, and then on to Telluride. It can be done in the winter, but I think is a compromised choice for commute.

[jim9251]

Most of the worker bees I know in Telluride live in Ridgway and Ouray and take the work bus that picks them up at the fairgrounds. I know some who live in Montrose and drive to work there also. Pay is dismal, but tips from ski season more than makes up for that. Renting in TRide is very expensive too. I would really do some more research and spend a few weeks there. Good luck to you.

[jazzlover]

Reality:

1. Unless they have been there for decades, almost no one can afford to live in Telluride if they actually have to work there. Period.

2. For my buck, I would never consider raising children in a resort ghetto like Telluride or most any other Colorado resort town. They are, at their core, very socially unbalanced places--extremely affluent mostly part-time residents, with transient worker bees (many of those immigrants--legal or otherwise--living 10 to 12 in a condo unit), and very little "true" middle class.

3. Living costs are high for everything. Housing is astronomical. Everyday living items are either non-available, high-priced, or require the 66 mile trip to Montrose to get at reasonable prices. Oh yeah, fuel is expensive, too.

[DurangoJoe]

Nothing I can add here except to agree with all those who say to bring lots of money with you if you don't have a job. Idyllic Telluride is a wonderful little mountain town with wonderful skiing, music festivals galore, and many eclectic things to see and enjoy. My sons play bluegrass and performed in the annual Bluegrass Festival there in 2009 so we spent a few weeks there as a family & have visited for festivals on other occasions.

It's a wonderful place to visit and stay for a short while on vacation, but unless you are bringing lots of money with you, already have a job, or have an ongoing business already in operation there, you're setting yourself up for an expensive & hugely disappointing (albeit educational) experience.

[delta07]

I think the biggest problem with your plan to move to Telluride, without a job, is the fact that you are planning on bringing your 3 children with you. Housing in Telluride, as others have pointed out, is extremely pricey, and most blue collar workers end up finding themselves sharing a place with several roommates. If you are wanting to live and work in Telluride, you need to find a job that pays you more than the average blue collar wage. I had friends who tried to live in Telluride, both worked decent, blue collar jobs and were college educated. They lasted about 3 months. It's a tough place, like most resort towns, to really make it.

There are plenty of other places in Colorado that would be a much better place to move to without a job or housing. The Western Slope of Colorado, in general, is expensive compared with wages. Telluride is no different.

[whynot?whosays?]

Hi there,

I have lived in Telluride for several years and am working class. There are options for blue collar working folks here in Telluride. You just have to be creative and flexible. If you are willing to work a hotel front desk job or service industry job, you should be ok. The key is to come in the beginning of the seasons. May for Summer and November for Winter. Housing can be tricky and you may have to commute for a little while from Norwood before you can line up the right place for you and your family. With kids I would suggest starting out in Norwood or Placerville where there is a bus route, reasonable housing, and good schools. To live in town, you have to line up work in Telluride before you can qualify for employee housing. Once you have proof of employment and income, Shandoka or Village Court apartments is the way to go. These apartments are subsidized and more reasonable. It is more expensive here but if you have a good skill you can make good money too. Honestly, Telluride is nice but really small so I hope you like small town living where everyone knows who you are and your business. Also, you must love the outdoors, music festivals, and skiing. Good luck!

[peneumbra]

Telluride is not a place for the financially faint-of-heart. Middle-class existence as most people know it doesn't exist there: the MEDIAN price for a house is well north of $1.5 mil or so.

But, it's still a wonderful place. You hear a lot of bitching about rich part-timers who are clueless about what it means to live in western Colorado, but no one has really been there that long except the Utes, and they really got screwed. All the Europeans, without exception, are newcomers...

[Colorado Rambler]

I managed to live in the vicinity of Telluride one summer by camping on the San Miguel River on BLM land. An aquaintance claimed that she lived in Telluride in the winter by getting a good quality down sleeping bag and sleeping in her car. Brrrrrr! I question her story if only because the town cops do not take kindly to folks sleeping in their cars in Telluride proper be it summer OR winter.

The best way I've heard of a "regular" person living in Telluride was when a friend of mine scored a gig as a year round care-taker, occasional housekeeper for some people who owned a place in Mountain Village.

[trailrunnr65]

Hey all…. I'm reading this thread and just wondered if things are a little different from when this was originally posted two years ago?

My wife and I were just in Silverton, Ouray and Telluride this last week & weekend for the Hardrock 100 and we spent our final day in Telluride looking around and enjoying the sites, since my wife had never been there before.

I had been previously a couple times and always enjoyed the area, but had heard it was expensive, hard to find work and housing was almost nonexistent, if you didn't have money(as many have mentioned in thread).

However, while we were there, we started talking to a few people in bars/restaurants, working on the mountain (ski patrol, maintenance workers), Gondola operators and hospitality/service workers in Mountain Village and they all indicated that jobs were fairly easy to come by if you're flexible and willing to do various things (waiting tables, front desk work, Gondola operator and etc).

A few people also mentioned that we stop by Village Apts. in Mountain Village and ask about housing, which we did and they had a couple places available and a relatively short waiting list for other units (2-3-people). I asked the leasing person there about jobs, and he indicated it's not too difficult to find work and most wages at local jobs are sufficient enough to sustain rent/etc. He did say most people in Telluride work their butts off during the "On Season" and save money for the "Off Season" and then just enjoy the town (skiing & etc) or leave and go work elsewhere for a couple months. He also said Village Apts. would probably be a little better fit for us, since we're in our mid-late 40's and the Shandoka Apts. in town are a little more college age crowd.

My wife and I currently live in Boulder and are considering moving to a smaller town(Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, Summit County area, etc). We are both bodyworkers(with people, not cars) and the people we talked to in Telluride indicated there's always a need for those type of services. We have no issues doing other work for a while, as we potentially worked to establish our own practice in the area.

Ok, so long story short; were they all blowing smoke up our….? Or painting a prettier picture then maybe it is there in terms of work, housing & etc?

Everybody we talked with seemed really happy there and loved living there and gave us really good vibes, feedback and etc about the town and potential for moving & living there.

Any additional feedback or thoughts are appreciated…

Cheers-