Current residents of the San Luis Valley...Can I ask you a few things?

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by Hyperviktor

How long is the drive from Denver ? I can only see what the map says but it seems way too optimistic.

Google maps is pretty accurate. If you stay in Denver it's about 3.5 hours to Blanca. You could stay aon the South side of Denver and shave off some more time.

If you fly into Denver airport, drive to Denver, spend the night in Denver, drive back to the airport, go back through security, fly to Pueblo, and then drive form Pueblo to Blanca, I think it'll be faster to just drive from Denver to Blanca. Maybe I don't understand your itinerary.

[sierranevada1]

It looks like one can't win in SLV...get "big beautiful home" (see below) and you're game for junkies, meth cookers, thieves, vandals and squatters....get something low-key to camp for a few months of the year -- no, this is being banned now/no longer welcome.

"Why don't you want to live in a big beautiful home like me??" - yelling at Costilla County planning commission meeting - I think this is their ex-sheriff... quite a nutcase... speaks volumes.
https://youtu.be/qPrEGAnUJBw?t=821

I'd advise not jumping into building anything, including installing infrastructure, but would spend enough time to get familiar with the area first...may be get a used camper for a couple of summers.

[pikabike]

Five sheriffs around and still all that shouting, name-calling, finger-pointing?

.

I doubt that kind of animosity developed from just a few in-your-face arrivals.

[Hyperviktor]

Anyone could tell what's the weather like in SLV, especially Blanca-Fort Garland-Alamosa area in early June ?


We'll be driving around to see a few places, spend some time on our land etc. What we need to prepare for ? Sun ? Wind ? Cold in the evenings ?


All tips appreciated.

[DOUBLE H]

It's been a while since I've done overnight trips through the San Luis Valley but my own experience there will be high temperatures between 75 to 80 in early June. And the lows dip down quite a bit, they generally are in the 40 to 45 degree range. Yes, it dips down quite a bit, and I've moteled it over the years in Del Norte, Saguache, Antonito, and Alamosa.

[debbie at bouontiful]

There is a blogger McElMurray's Mountain Retreat

I get his blog daily where he give weather and happenings. He is on the Forbes Subdivision. Very interesting blog. He has been up there for over 22 years and does write for Mother Earth. He talks about the town of Alamosa or Ft. Garland all the time. Temps, snow or weather in general. He and his wife are full timers up on that mountain.

I suggest you find his blog and you'll know what to expect.

[Maico43]

With the mention of building on remote properties in SLV, and the risk of vandalism and squatters moving into vacant homes, I wondered if any groups of neighbors had banded together to form a
neighborhood watch group? It seems that it would be in everyones best interest to try and keep the thieves out? I realize that this idea may not be well received by some, but who wants a meth lab setup next door?

[interloper1138]

Originally Posted by Maico43

With the mention of building on remote properties in SLV, and the risk of vandalism and squatters moving into vacant homes, I wondered if any groups of neighbors had banded together to form a
neighborhood watch group? It seems that it would be in everyones best interest to try and keep the thieves out? I realize that this idea may not be well received by some, but who wants a meth lab setup next door?

There are neighborhood watch groups throughout the valley, but in my experience most don't amount to much other than having one or two particularly vigilant neighbors that are more likely to call the cops than others.

The problem isn't so much a lack of willingness to keep vandalism and burglaries at bay, it's the sheer scale of the area. It's hard to keep an eye on every property all of the time, and most people strive to have some level of privacy with their property so it's hard to tell from a distance if anything is 'wrong'. Even then, depending on where you're at it can be a very long time from the time you call the police to when they show up. For instance if I put in a call to the police at my house, it would be a minimum of 45 minutes before anyone would be able to show up. I'm not unique in this respect.

Every community out here has some level of this type of crime, even in the bigger towns like Alamosa. It all varies depending on the neighborhood / subdivision / area. I've been in the valley for almost four years and have never experienced any type of property crime. I wouldn't let the risk repel you from buying or building out here, but it is important to do some research on the areas you're looking at.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by interloper1138

There are neighborhood watch groups throughout the valley, but in my experience most don't amount to much other than having one or two particularly vigilant neighbors that are more likely to call the cops than others.

[pThe problem isn't so much a lack of willingness to keep vandalism and burglaries at bay, it's the sheer scale of the area. It's hard to keep an eye on every property all of the time, and most people strive to have some level of privacy with their property so it's hard to tell from a distance if anything is 'wrong'. Even then, depending on where you're at it can be a very long time from the time you call the police to when they show up. For instance if I put in a call to the police at my house, it would be a minimum of 45 minutes before anyone would be able to show up. I'm not unique in this respect.

Every community out here has some level of this type of crime, even in the bigger towns like Alamosa. It all varies depending on the neighborhood / subdivision / area. I've been in the valley for almost four years and have never experienced any type of property crime. I wouldn't let the risk repel you from buying or building out here, but it is important to do some research on the areas you're looking at.

This sums it up well. Aside from the factors mentioned above, if too many of the owners simply are not there, it does not leave much of a “neighborhood” to keep protective watch. Even in densely populated places, vacant properties constantly are being watched by the BAD people.

If you have enough owners frequently out and about among the area, it helps. In my area, I was surprised at how much was known about some bad denizens (I won’t call them renters, not paying ones) who were known to have repeatedly broken various laws and somehow Tefloned themselves from being kicked out. ALL kinds of horror stories were related to me, and I had a few things to share also, things I had directly observed. However, some of the “incidents” happened in vacant properties which people cannot see much of from the road, or they happened during the wee hours. A burglar alarm did bring sheriffs in one case, but of course the criminal had fled by the time he arrived.

That is why, even though we are perfectly willing to call LE, we also know that more immediate protection is good, if you get my drift.