Retiring to Colorado/Suggestions on Walkable, Affordable Towns (water, secret)

[Colomonter]

I think the biggest problem that you are going to have with regards to your list is finding suitable housing in your price range and still meet your other requirements.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

... I would like someplace walkable or busable for shops, groceries, galleries, bookshops, etc. ...I like a college nearby because it helps the economy and brings in more cultural events....I am a social worker by training, and also teach art in the evenings. ..

Don't forget to swing through Loveland on your way to Ft Collins. It's art community is blossoming (be sure to go to Library (downtown) and Statue park (northwest of lake)) It is fun to walk around the lake, I have an 85 yr old friend who has done it nearly 1000 times! It is a great community for friendly seniors, and a 'banana belt' for moderate weather.

I'm not sure of bus availability, you could get by fine with a 'cheap' car (I drive a $35 VW that - gets 50 mpg on fryer grease) rent something if you need to go on a big trip.

[skigirl]

For your price range you can probably find something nice in Grand Junction, Denver, or Colorado Springs depending on if you want a house or will settle for a townhome or condo. With what you've described I think I would agree with other posted regarding Grand Junction, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs. You may find more housing in Grand Junction in your price range than the other communities.

There is definitely a drug problem in Grand Junction, but I never noticed it being any worse than other places I have lived. I would guess that many of the smaller mountain towns have even bigger issues with it. The wages in in GJ aren't great but since you'll be retired they shouldn't present much of a problem for you. The drive to Denver is 3.5-4 hours from GJ so I'm not sure if that would be too far for you, but GJ has grown quite a bit in the last several years so I'm not sure you'd have to go to Denver often.

Best of luck in your search!

[Kaptain Karl]

I'm astonished at the distorted and negative commentary from [one poster]. Not a trustworthy assessment of things, IMO.

Wisteria - It will take a lot of work to find a house / condo in your price range ... AND still meet your other criteria. Here's my POV on some of the places already discussed....

Colo Springs - I've lived there. (My son does now.) The only people I ever notice complaining about the "Fundies" are those who I'd say are *far* Left of Center, themselves. And those Lefties *do* exhibit real animosity toward those on the Right.

The Artsy people tend to find their way toward Manitou Springs ... or the Old Colorado City section of The Springs. I cannot comment authoritatively on the house prices there, but I think you can meet your goal.

Palmer Lake might be an area to examine. Sort of an ecclectic mix, with a significant-but-not-predominant Artsy / Hippie contingent.

Castle Rock (Where I live.) is growing so fast it's mind-blowing. Our infrastructure cannot keep up. I doubt you'll find housing in your target range. C Rock has no college -- or even a CC -- and the people are clearly politically Right of Center.

Ft Collins is a confusing place. Growing fast. No real "downtown". But many people *love* the place.

Durango (and nearby small towns) seems the closest to your description ... except it's far from the Front Range....

You might look into Longmont, Loveland or Louisville.... You may find these places' proximity to Boulder fitting for more of your criteria.

Good luck!

- KK

[Wisteria]

Thanks, KK.

I'm still checking things out, however, I'm pretty open and flexible. As for my price range, I actually see quite a few properties that I could afford. It's just for me (and my cats), so I'm not looking for a 3-bedroom, 2 bath place or anything. I'm quite content with a small cottage or small condo (prefer the cottage). I did notice that Old Colorado City seems more my type.

I probably won't totally abandon my car, but I prefer walking places nearby.

I love Boulder and its setting, and I also like Louisville and Lafayette. Not sure about Longmont now. Fort Collins can still work for me, but I'm still leaning more towards the Springs because of the bigger size, the Garden of the Gods, and Boulder is pretty much a college town with little other diversity.

For some reason, I get many people whom I talk with who seem to think I want a big suburban home -- that is just not the case. I'm happy with a small 500 sq. ft. bungalow.

I hope to get a trip back there this summer, although I already know I have to take a side trip to New York, and maybe San Diego, so I've got to figure that one out -- but having lived there for 5 years, and been back and forth since then, I have some idea of what the area is like.

Thanks for your kind comments.

[Katarina Witt]

Just came back from Longmont within the hour. It is growing, growing, growing. You could probably find a little bungalow there more easily than in some of your other choices. However, I would not say that Longmont is particularly walkable. I mean, you can walk downtown but there is nothing there that you would want to buy. Most shopping gets done at Twin Peaks Mall or out of town.

Lafayette may possibly also have some homes for sale in your price range. Again, not much of any place to walk to. It doesn't even have a "real" downtown, just Public Rd with a recreation center at the north end and a Wal-Mart at the south end and a bunch of little businesses in between. Most people do their shopping at one of the local malls. Louisville has a downtown area, but about all you can buy there are restaurant meals. Also pricier than Laf. or Longmont, but there are probably some miner's cottages that you could afford. You have to go to Kohl's in the southwest part of town to buy any clothing, and to the malls in Boulder or Broomfield if you don't like what Kohl's has.

[Rumblebelly]

Housing is high all along the front range, however it drops a bit when you go east of I25. Head west into the mountains it drops a too, with the exception of the touristy ski towns.

I live in Fort Collins, great town but it has a few drawbacks like anywhere else. Sprawl all around. It has the coolest downtown in the area, better than Boulder IMO. Howver Boulder's walkability is more "compact" because they limited the growth. It's dry but from CA it might not bother you. The hills are scrubby ponderosa pine.

[wwsmith]

Don't rule out Durango. I live there and it is the best. We are getting more expensive, but we are way below anyplace with comperable quality of life. We have a little college here which means we have intillectuals and culture. Our steam train sttracts 200,000+ tourists which fund great restaurants for a town our size. We have a $15MM rec center, a great place to meet new friends. And good water aerobics classes for the 60+ crowd to stay in shape. If the prices are too high there are a number of alternatives, condos, places just 10 minutes pout are quite cheap. [cut] Best of luck with your quest.

[fourfirs]

I grew up in Colorado. In the Denver area. Our family has a cabin in Evergreen as well. The amount you want to spend will limit your choices since you don't want to live in Denver. Colorado Springs is a very nice area and I don't think you will have too many political concerns now adays. It all depends on the specific area you look at. Another town you might look at is Greeley. The prices there are reasonable (in town) where you can walk to many areas of interest. Or ride a bike. It's a great bike town as its pretty level. Some of the smaller mountain towns might be okay, it depends on how small of a town you would be willing to live in. Also, the political views in small towns can be very conservative.
Hope this helps.

[mcginnis12878]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

The City of Salinas is a prime example (I'm far enough from there that I don't have to worry about it), but it, ironically, made a "best of" list to live, and I was shocked.

SALINAS????!!!! That place is awful, I would have voted Monterey over Salinas any day...just goes to show that you can't beat California Loonyness!