Westcliffe area for retirement (Pueblo, Canon City: house, buy, camping)

[Teufelshund20]

Need a larger piece of property 20-30 acres for my horses. Anyone know if that is a decent area?

[otowi]

I think Westcliffe is nice, but you really should check it out in winter to be sure you'll like it - I've heard of lots of people moving to the San Luis Valley or nearby for land not always being happy in the long run - maybe some land scams for people who buy stuff sight unseen, etc. - plus a lot more desert-y and winter-y than many expect....

[TechMike]

Originally Posted by otowi

I think Westcliffe is nice, but you really should check it out in winter to be sure you'll like it - I've heard of lots of people moving to the San Luis Valley or nearby for land not always being happy in the long run - maybe some land scams for people who buy stuff sight unseen, etc. - plus a lot more desert-y and winter-y than many expect....

Westcliffe is in the Wet Mountain Valley, not the San Luis Valley. It gets pretty reasonable amount of rain: WESTCLIFFE, COLORADO - Climate Summary

Overall, I'd consider it more hospitable than the SLV: BLANCA 4 NW, COLORADO - Climate Summary

It is still a semi-arid climate that is cold in the winter.

Make sure you visit the land before you buy (that should be obvious) and determine if it is what you really want. Since you will have horses, make sure you have water rights, or the land already has a well permitted for domestic or livestock use. Make sure you understand what you can and cannot do with water. Of course, you can always truck in water, but that would get expensive.

Good luck.

[Teufelshund20]

I can definitely get a lot more land with a house in Westcliffe than I can here in North San Diego. I retired from the Marine Corps here, and need to find my permanent homestead. Westcliffe looks like the area I want to go to. They have fishing and hunting so that is a bonus.

[NW Crow]

About 4,000 people in county. Roughly an hour to Salida, Canon City or Pueblo. 17 restaurants listed on yelp in Westcliffe is pretty good for its size.

[StealthRabbit]

I really enjoyed my time at Westcliffe... I would get a 'caretaker / retiree' job at one of the beautiful Camps and horses can join you! (some places have hundreds of acres and adjacent to NFS thousands of acres). No need to sell your Prop 13 CA property (you just might want to return and reap Prop 13 bene's). Most of my managers kept their CA properties when coming to CO or WA and they still have both.

I like the "Camp Idea" and plan to do more of it myself. I have lived on Camps in BC and CO. I share my 'stuff' and they provide free housing. I leave during the prime camping season so they can use my 'free' house, and I can avoid the crowds. I 'Share' my machine shop, tractors, dozers, Bobcats, woodshop, tack... all for the benefit of having full use of the place / qtrs. It is a win:win. Especially would be GREAT with horses. (I have built 3 farms / ranches) and now that I'm retired... I don't feel the energy / need to do so again.

[NW Crow]

Might ask for local opinion on how many acres needed per horse in good weather or year round with hay storage. Get impression it is higher than a lot of other places. One commented here http://www.horseforum.com/barn-maint...r-acre-102974/
estimated 5 acres per horse in Colorado. But it could vary a lot by location, access to water.

[Fiddlehead]

I tend to take a dim view of horses on small land bases. They trash the place far worse than, say, cattle. Especially in a place like California, with little summer rain to help regrowth. However, I believe the eastern slope of the S. Rockies gets a lot of summer rain, which really helps the vegetation to recover. Westcliffe also seems like a less expensive place than other areas of Colorado. I was looking into a job near Las Vegas, NM a few years ago, and it was one of the few places that I felt I could afford enough land to support horses without them destroying it. I was looking at 40 acres for 2-3 horses. I would think that a comparable area near Westcliffe would work.

If you choose to live in that area, you had best love lightning. It is one of the most lightning-prone areas of the USA. People get killed every year, animals too. That would likely be a big change from San Diego.

[Teufelshund20]

Rain, snow and lightning in Westcliffe will be a welcomed relief for me and my horses. One, they can have grass to eat, two, the flies will not be on them 10 months out of the year like they are here in SoCal. Three, I can finally do some cross country skiing from my front door.

[beezle1]

Don't expect to have lush grass there that will sustain horses. Most of Colorado will require hay in addition to any pasture they get. Cross fence your pasture so you can rotate them, so you can give an area time to recover a bit, and even have a 'sacrifice' area (small) where you can put them to take them completely off pasture at times.

And we do have flies, but not 10 months of the year - more like 4-5 months.