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So far the poll is very close except for Grand Junction, which is surprising because I thought GJ was going to rank a lot higher but thats why I asked the question in the first place I am hearing great advice from everyone, Is Canon City considered to be part of the Pueblo Metro Area or is it pretty isolated? If it is really a warmer micro-climate area and if it is commutable to Pueblo then that seems like it would be a great choice. I am picturing it being a smaller suburb/exurb similar in feeling to small Central Valley Towns or the hill towns around Santa Cruz relative to the Bay Area of California with Pueblo and Colorado Springs being the big cities in the region? (like a more miniature isolated rural/scenic version of a commute to Manhattan from Nassau/Suffolk County)...Albuquerque seems great and I was reading up on it extensively (and I know a few people who moved to the PNW from ABQ and vise versa in the last year). I am getting worried that Albuquerque might be having the same issues as Portland/Tucson/Austin with growing too quick and prices getting out of hand but that is based on hearsay from Expats fleeing the SW in general. I would hope that there is work in town for myself, even if it is just as a bank teller, journalist, salesman etc and I am making a livable wage until I can work up to something better, are there any entry level jobs paying more than $12 an hour in these areas? Although I am a full time stay at home father right now I have decent but not amazing open offers in many different places across the country in my field (as well as two basic $10 minimum wage job offers here in Oregon). I would rather plant my roots in a place that I feel comfortable in than in a larger city that I cannot stand just because they are offering better money. I know that usually the supposed formula for getting ahead is taking your licks when you are younger and working your way to where you want to be, but I have already been through quite a bit in my life and I don't want to end up like some of my relatives living with health problems from pollution, stress etc, in cities that they complain about daily but never leave because they get caught in the cycle of keeping up with the mortgage payments in an area that they slave away their day trying to afford just so they can come home exhausted late at night and repeat the pattern again. I know I am asking for a lot but everyone is searching for their own paradise. I know Colorado Springs probably has the most jobs in the region but I seem to be noticing that Colorado Springs is its own beast and not really related to Pueblo/Canon City/Albuquerque in any way (geophysically, culturally, meteorologically or otherwise)...
Canon City is it's own entity. I know a few people do commute from Canon to both Pueblo and Colorado Springs. It's not at all a suburb, it's its own community. Canon City is known for the large concentration of federal prisons in the area. Not necessarily a bad thing, they provide some jobs and revenue for the area but the fact that they are there turns a lot of people off of the Canon City/ Fremont County area.
$12 an hour is a bit high for entry-level jobs in Pueblo, Canon City or Colorado Springs. Unfortunately the job market is competitive enough to keep wages low. But low wages keep the cost of living low as well. Nasty little cycle. $10 an hour is a more realistic wage expectation but $9 is common as well. Keep in mind that minimum wage in Colorado is $8.23 an hour and a lot of entry-level jobs pay that.
Colorado Springs is its own beast. It's a different world from Pueblo and Canon City but all three are connected. When you watch or read the local news around here the region is lumped together as "Southern Colorado." Pueblo, Canon and the Springs are all part of that region. In that respective, a lot of Southern Colorado is more culturally similar to Northern New Mexico, Colorado Springs being an exception to that.
I do like Grand Junction but the Western Slope economy and job market are tough. I'm originally from that area and love it but it's harder to make a decent living over there. If you can, though, it's a beautiful and friendly place to live.
I've been out of New Mexico for so long I don't really know what Albuquerque is like any more. It seems to be getting trendier, like Denver, but it's more isolated so it's not booming in the way Denver is.
+1. Well said. I would add that in addition to the prisons in/near Canon, some are put off by the Cotter uranium mill. It's an EPA superfund site so you would have to judge your comfort level of having that nearby.
+1. Well said. I would add that in addition to the prisons in/near Canon, some are put off by the Cotter uranium mill. It's an EPA superfund site so you would have to judge your comfort level of having that nearby.
Good point, I don't know how I forgot about that. My mother is planning to retire and is relocating from the San Luis Valley to Canon City. When she told me that she hoped to a buy a retirement home in the Lincoln Park neighborhood I got concerned.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Park,_Colorado:
"In 1958, Cotter Corporation, a company owned by Commonwealth Edison of Chicago, began to process uranium ore in Cañon City. In the process of mining uranium ore, the company contaminated the surrounding land, and compromised the water supply of nearby Lincoln Park, Colorado, 10 miles from ADX Florence. In a class-action lawsuit filed by 340 people, the company was accused of lowering nearby land values due to radioactive contamination both at the site of the mill and along the railroads of Santa Fe Railway. Subsequently, in 1983, the state of Colorado sued over these damages to the environment; settling for $15 million, Cotter Corporation promised to clean up the mill site. The company resumed work in 1999, but laid off the majority of employees in 2005 after it was determined that shipping ore from Colorado's Western Slope was cost-prohibitive. The water contamination in Lincoln Park remains, and the area has been declared a Superfund site."
Thankfully when I pointed this out to her she decided to focus on other neighborhoods in Canon, primarily just north of the downtown business district.
It's difficult to judge how much of this really matters. Radon (a daughter product of naturally occurring uranium ores) is all over Colorado. It's easy to deal with by putting in detectors and venting your crawlspace and/or installing a vapor barrier. The ground water has definitely been contaminated but all the drinking water comes out of the Ark now. When there is a flood and the tailing ponds overflow, it seems that the Sand Creek drainage that passes through Linclon Park gets the brunt of it. There is a lot of info online, esp with regards to irrigating with groundwater, cud chewing animals, etc,etc, but it's hard to know what the real risk is.
It's difficult to judge how much of this really matters. Radon (a daughter product of naturally occurring uranium ores) is all over Colorado. It's easy to deal with by putting in detectors and venting your crawlspace and/or installing a vapor barrier. The ground water has definitely been contaminated but all the drinking water comes out of the Ark now. When there is a flood and the tailing ponds overflow, it seems that the Sand Creek drainage that passes through Linclon Park gets the brunt of it. There is a lot of info online, esp with regards to irrigating with groundwater, cud chewing animals, etc,etc, but it's hard to know what the real risk is.
You're absolutely right about the dangers of radon and uranium contamination in Lincoln Park and that area of Fremont County. The risks are hard to gauge since it's a relatively new addition to the Superfund list and research and data are fairly recent.
Also, a Superfund designation is a good tool to clean up industrial waste left by mining and other heavy industry in Colorado but it's presence in a community should be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, the EPA and federal government have declared an area to need some serious clean-up but that doesn't deem a place un-liveable. If it did there wouldn't be Leadville, Naturita or even Pueblo. They all have Superfund sites in or near them.
Due diligence is the key in areas with a Superfund site. Honestly, it's the plethora of prisons that turns me off of Canon City more than the Cotter mill. But I'm also glad my mom shied away from the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Honestly, it's the plethora of prisons that turns me off of Canon City more than the Cotter mill. But I'm also glad my mom shied away from the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
I think they recently shut 4 or 5 of those prisons. There aren't as many as there used to be.
It's difficult to judge how much of this really matters. Radon (a daughter product of naturally occurring uranium ores) is all over Colorado. It's easy to deal with by putting in detectors and venting your crawlspace and/or installing a vapor barrier. The ground water has definitely been contaminated but all the drinking water comes out of the Ark now. When there is a flood and the tailing ponds overflow, it seems that the Sand Creek drainage that passes through Linclon Park gets the brunt of it. There is a lot of info online, esp with regards to irrigating with groundwater, cud chewing animals, etc,etc, but it's hard to know what the real risk is.
Cotter is a nightmare of negligence by General Atomics, as Cotter is a subsidiary of GA, and the #1 example of how not to process uranium in the United States. General Atomics is just trying to kick the can down the road for paying for the main cleanup issue: the tailings pond which were shoddily built and not even to the standards of the 1978 Uranium Tailings Act. The contents of the tailings ponds is going to have to be moved off site in order to properly remediate the site as the ability of Cotter to actually meet the cleanup standards is suspect.
Thank You for all the great responses, I think Grand Junction is off my personal list then...It sounds beautiful but not right for where my family is personally at this time, I really appreciate everyone's feedback..and I think Canon City and Colorado Springs were great suggestions as well; not places I was thinking of originally but they are tossing around in my mind now
Thank You for all the great responses, I think Grand Junction is off my personal list then...It sounds beautiful but not right for where my family is personally at this time, I really appreciate everyone's feedback..and I think Canon City and Colorado Springs were great suggestions as well; not places I was thinking of originally but they are tossing around in my mind now
Well, you've kind of turned the original poll around, then. Not a bad thing if you're looking for honest feedback. Here's why, in my opinion: Canon City is probably my favorite of the places we've discussed in this thread but Canon City is a fairly small town and job opportunities are very limited. Your chances of finding a job in Canon City are very restricted. Canon City has only around 17,000 people and Fremont County only has around 47,000 people. Unless you want to work for the Department of Corrections, your employment options are slim and likely low-paying.
Grand Junction has a population of around 60,000 people and Mesa County has a population of around 150,000 so by default there are more jobs in Mesa County than the Canon City area. However, Mesa County has historically been very economically dependant on the extractive industry, i.e. mining, gas and oil, and that industry has not treated it well so the employment rate and employment possibilities tend to yo-yo on the price of commodities which are heavily influenced by oil and gas prices.
Colorado Springs is in an absolutely beautiful setting but it's economy is heavily influenced by the military and whatever new industry the current city council is trying to recruit. Back in the early 2000's Colorado Springs was referenced as "Silicon Mountain" because of all the high-tech companies in town (a play on words to compare the city to California's Silicon Valley). That high-tech boom busted when those types of jobs were outsourced overseas. Later the city managed to recruit a lot of call centers and service jobs. Those jobs are still plentiful but they don't pay much.
If you really want to live in Colorado, there are jobs. There are incredibly friendly people all over the state and there is a relaxed and amicable lifestyle that attracts new residents all the time. But we don't joke around when we tell potential newcomers that you will take half your pay in scenery. It's not just a cute euphemism, it's our reality.
If you really want to live in Colorado, there are jobs. There are incredibly friendly people all over the state and there is a relaxed and amicable lifestyle that attracts new residents all the time. But we don't joke around when we tell potential newcomers that you will take half your pay in scenery. It's not just a cute euphemism, it's our reality.
That's a good line. The thing is, the Denver-Boulder area is thriving and jobs there are more plentiful. The problem is it doesn't seem the OP cares to live in that area, plus the higher wages are partially offset by the higher cost of living. With that said, sluggish economies is something OP or anyone else are likely to encounter in most places they look right now. As a nation we're just going through a period of slower than normal growth right now. OP is no worse off for checking out Colorado as an option as many other places right now. If you're going to endure a feeble economy, why not do it in one of the best states the country has to offer?
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I am hearing great advice from everyone, Is Canon City considered to be part of the Pueblo Metro Area or is it pretty isolated? If it is really a warmer micro-climate area and if it is commutable to Pueblo then that seems like it would be a great choice. I am picturing it being a smaller suburb/exurb similar in feeling to small Central Valley Towns or the hill towns around Santa Cruz relative to the Bay Area of California with Pueblo and Colorado Springs being the big cities in the region? (like a more miniature isolated rural/scenic version of a commute to Manhattan from Nassau/Suffolk County)...Albuquerque seems great and I was reading up on it extensively (and I know a few people who moved to the PNW from ABQ and vise versa in the last year). I am getting worried that Albuquerque might be having the same issues as Portland/Tucson/Austin with growing too quick and prices getting out of hand but that is based on hearsay from Expats fleeing the SW in general. I would hope that there is work in town for myself, even if it is just as a bank teller, journalist, salesman etc and I am making a livable wage until I can work up to something better, are there any entry level jobs paying more than $12 an hour in these areas? Although I am a full time stay at home father right now I have decent but not amazing open offers in many different places across the country in my field (as well as two basic $10 minimum wage job offers here in Oregon). I would rather plant my roots in a place that I feel comfortable in than in a larger city that I cannot stand just because they are offering better money. I know that usually the supposed formula for getting ahead is taking your licks when you are younger and working your way to where you want to be, but I have already been through quite a bit in my life and I don't want to end up like some of my relatives living with health problems from pollution, stress etc, in cities that they complain about daily but never leave because they get caught in the cycle of keeping up with the mortgage payments in an area that they slave away their day trying to afford just so they can come home exhausted late at night and repeat the pattern again. I know I am asking for a lot but everyone is searching for their own paradise. I know Colorado Springs probably has the most jobs in the region but I seem to be noticing that Colorado Springs is its own beast and not really related to Pueblo/Canon City/Albuquerque in any way (geophysically, culturally, meteorologically or otherwise)...
