Contemplating Colorado Mountain Towns — what’s it like for kids? (Gunnison: school, price)

[ginnyberry]

Majority of kids from CO stay in CO. This information is available on multiple websites. It doesn’t mean that kids don’t go elsewhere. Some OH kids also go to school in CO, too (or Hawaii or Oregon). Better schools tend to yield kids moving out more broadly.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by ginnyberry

Thanks, all. Good advice. We will not be able to find schools that are as good, on paper (and possibly in real life), as the ones we have here....

The biggest fear that I have is the uncertainty of small populations. A kid’s experience could be wrecked by a couple powerful “bad” kids. But my research suggests just the opposite— kids in Ridgway, Ouray, Roaring Fork (Glenwood Springs and Carbondale) are happy and generally supportive of one another. The friendships are strong. ...

My second irrational fear is young drivers driving off cliffs. Triple digits TCHP?!

Schools... Colorado is not known for the best schools or outcomes.
Our Colorado friends moved their family to Singapore for good public schools K-8 (but far from skiing and a LOT of people in a small space). Their kids got an awesome education and free college in USA and now work internationally because they know 3+ languages and are very good with different cultures and exceptional at math and finance.

Small populations in highly educated areas can be very good for lasting and mature relationships and partnering together to succeed. Often sharing resources for the betterment of the community, and often working together as a community, especially in crisis. (Natural disasters to families losing homes and businesses to fire or similar). Availing a LOT of freedom and equally important responsibilities will grow strong and mature kids who can make the right decisions. (and choose the right friends).

Driving... yeah, scary as a parent. Ours had to log 10,000 miles in a variety of vehicles and conditions during their permit period & got grilled weekly on Smith Driving rules (till they left home), and they had Flash Cards! (in their cars) https://www.topdriver.com/education-...-smith-system/ (I am a commercial driver so also get quizzed by employers). Our boys also were booked for with a 'lunch with insurance agent' every year to get plenty of real life war stories about driving accidents and liability claims. They had to buy their own cars, fuel, and insurance and never touched our family cars after permit period.
We sent them to performance driving school at a race track. Including a skid school for driving on snow and ice (We have a lot of ice / freezing rain). Colorado has mostly light and crunchy snow, very good traction + it melts and blows away (often by noon).

Ours drove 120 miles / day on 2 lane hazardous roads during HS from teaching skiing 5 days / week (45 miles one way) to their college classes in early morning and late nights (20 miles other direction), and in season, after school sports at a distant HS.

So far no accidents (10+yrs beyond college), but... we lost (3) girls from our youth group during HS due to driving on curvy mtn roads. Not a trivial thing to ignore. 3 separate but very similar accidents. (dark conditions, not paying attention)

Life is fragile.
I slept better when the kids left home at or before age 18. (so did my mom! she kicked me out at age 16 (largely due to driving worries and living in a very dangerous Colorado Canyon with a LOT of heavy traffic)). Ironically, most of the friends I lost were from farm / ranch accidents and a 500 yr flash flood. Even trivial floods every summer, we watched 2 neighbor kids get swept away when we were age 8. They never saw the wall of water coming, and were busy 'saving' their sheep and pigs. Our home was about 1/4 mile away and up on a hill.

[MountainEarth]

Resort towns are transient and loaded with drugs. Bedroom communities for resort towns, however, are generally much more stable. Keep that in mind.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by ginnyberry

My second irrational fear is young drivers driving off cliffs. Triple digits TCHP?!

Yea, she would admit to 110. I was going 80 and she blew by like we weren't even moving. No cliffs in the San Luis valley to worry about, tho. Just straight flat road.

Cliffs and drop offs are by products of mountain living. Train them as much as you can. Enlist some pros if you want extra training. Get them experience in low traction situations to get the feel for lack of control in situations where the failure cost is low.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

In Ridgway, 3/4 of the residents have a bachelor's degree and there are no colleges nearby, also 3/4 are noted to have no specific religious designation. It's a very unusual and livable area. Your budget is fine. You might consider buying a town lot and building the house of your choice.

I agree, your town is a diamond in the rough. Sadly, I've only driven through on a couple of occasions and never have spent any in town. If you wouldn't mind fielding a couple of questions...

Is there a significant danger of wildfire in the town of Ridgway itself? Looking at satellite photos, I don't see any forests that are contiguous with the town which would suggest that fire a moderate risk. I realize there are more factors than this, however.

The second question is about getting items delivered. I'm having a hard time asking it in a succinct manner, but basically what differences in delivery do you see, if any, as compared to living in a bigger place? I'm mostly wondering about availability and delivery fees, and not so concerned about the delivery time. Amazon? Home Depot (yes, I realize there is one in Montrose)?

[brightdoglover]

Not a significant fire danger. I feel quite okay here in town and there are fire ratings for all house insurances.

No problem getting things delivered. I didn't have much delivered when I lived outside Boston, so can't really judge. Anything can be delievered. Big box stores galore in Montrose with curbside pickup.

[Dogmama50]

I was going to suggest Eagle (near Vail) or Carbondale but $650 is a little low for a single family house or duplex. Real estate is on fire in the mountains and if it's good it's gone in a day. They both tic the family friendly boxes but prices are surging here right now. I do like Ridgway a lot and it's well worth a look I would also look at Idaho, Boise, Coeur d'Arlene and Twin Falls areas, are very nice.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Not a significant fire danger. I feel quite okay here in town and there are fire ratings for all house insurances.

No problem getting things delivered. I didn't have much delivered when I lived outside Boston, so can't really judge. Anything can be delievered. Big box stores galore in Montrose with curbside pickup.

Thank you

[wanneroo]

Well, number one, yes you better bring your money.


Two, my nephews and niece are very busy with tons of activities but you will have a harder time finding quality education in public schools, so at times my sister/BIL have paid $$ for the kids to go to private schools.


Three, this isn't eastern mountain living with a more balanced four season climate. It was snowing heavily in the Colorado mountains the other day and here in northern Appalachia, it was 87F and is now around 70F today. The weather is harsher, colder and is more unpredictable. Also add in drier air and at a higher elevation and it's not for everyone.



Four, with so many differences I would travel around once you have more information and visit these places, many of these towns are very different from one another and if they have tourism as part of the economy, many have varying seasons so you need to take that into account as well.


Fifth, due to a variety of reasons, such as the US government owning much of the land and dealing with things like water supply, actual good real estate in the mountains is pricey and especially for built houses, the word "value" is never part of the equation. Personally in my opinion, Colorado mountain real estate is way over priced for what you get and it wasn't always that way. For what you might buy in Ohio, the same price will likely result in a much more cramped space. In retrospect I find it quite odd for how much open space there is in the mountains, most people are living in apartments or duplexes like they are in a city.



Sixth, once you do find a town, I'd rent first. While I quite enjoyed living in Vail for many years, I lived in Steamboat Springs for a winter and while I didn't hate it, I definitely disliked it and it was a very different vibe and experience than Vail. I was pleased the day I packed up my car and left town.

[ginnyberry]

Thanks, all! I have spent some time in these areas but will definitely check things out in winter.

The driving stories, though. Yikes!