Another "Retire in CO" thread... (Denver, Fort Collins: theatre, where to live)

[StealthRabbit]

For remote areas you may be stuck with Starlink. They should have access and bugs worked out by the time you need it. Neighbors get 100mbps up and down, I get nothing. (On wait list). I have 3 rural places in USA, none have HS internet, but my Texas Hill Country region is getting wired with fiber (via rural co-op, as UK did 10 yrs ago). My CO and WA locations will get Starlink, but it is not portable, so that is expensive for 2 systems. In WA I an < 15 miles to 1.5m metro, yet get no internet options except a random cell signal. / Hot spot. (Not on blizzard days like today.).
I grew up in Masonville (between Ft C and EP), too crowded to return. (Recreation pressure / jammed parks and creeks)
NW of Ft Collins is suitable (since it is closer to WY) but beyond my airport zone. I often fly to Asia (for medical care and fun), so Denver flights add a few more hours and connections I don't need. (+DEN is halfway to Kansas).

Make up a weighted spreadsheet with retirement location musts and wants, and more clarity will surface. My spreadsheet quickly disqualified my top choices (including CO, WY, SD). That's fine, there are a lot of great choices of locations, + the 'seasons' of retirement will require a few changes in needs and residences.

For your Colorado location... Gonna depend on your needs for medical, and other services. I like to be in rural view acreage property (boonies / guiet is a must), 20 min to a college and full medical town, and within 1 hr of an international airport. (Active retirement "Go-Go" years). I fly 100+ trips / yr, but many retirees will only fly a couple times / yr if that.

LauraC drafted a very comprehensive retirement location criteria. Helpful to many. I did my own, due to seeking rural centric criteria + I'm a farmer / rancher /mechanic / construction by background... Not an urban office worker.
I appreciate a big junkyard, steel supplier, farm produce and livestock nearby. Most urbanites are not too keen on those kind of neighbors and services. They also get a bit anxious when I do my landscaping projects with my bulldozer. .

Neighbors can quickly turn your paradise into a tense and dangerous battlefield. 2 Texas neighbors had a little tift over dog walking. Both were retired LEO. One is now dead, the other in prison.

[EricBabula]

So, can anyone tell me more about any of these areas? Would love to learn anything I can about these locations from those who live there, or near there. Of course, I'll do as much research online that I can, but would also love to hear stories and personal experiences from the good people here!

What is the vibe of the community?
Quiet? Or, ATV/UTVs all over?
Services nearby? Hospital, grocery shopping, hardware, Walmart-type, pubs/restaurants, etc.?
Opportunities for hiking/cycling? Lots of wildlife?
Opportunities for community activities? Volunteerism?
Arts? Music? Theater?

Howard - I know this area is pretty close to Salida, so I'm guessing that's where we'd have to go.
Hotchkiss
Paonia
Frisco
Silver Plume
Georgetown
Central City
Timberline
Nederland
Glen Haven - near Estes Park
Drake - near Estes Park

[davebarnes]

Personally, I would not consider either Georgetown nor Silver Plume due to their proximity to I-70.
The pollution (noise, exhaust fumes, airborne road sand/salt) in both is considerable.

Frisco is the "big city" among all of these. Safeway and Walmart.

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Make up a weighted spreadsheet with retirement location musts and wants, and more clarity will surface.

LauraC drafted a very comprehensive retirement location criteria. Helpful to many.

Thanks for the advice!

Haven't had much of a chance to create that weighted spreadsheet. I'm not an Excel expert, so it's going to be a challenge. Towns along the left side. Columns for Wants/Needs. Weight for each Want/Need. Then, try to objectively rank each town and multiply by weight. But, how do I weigh Needs higher than Wants? I'm not sure I'm doing it right. Time to do some research on how to do something like this.

On the bright side, I did find at least one of LauraC's lists. Should be helpful!!

[waltcolorado]

Comments on a few places on the recent list.. I dont know about the summer but Georgetown gets a lot of wind in the winter. And the "big towns" that you would want (and need) to travel to all require getting on I70. Maybe not so bad heading West but can have heavy traffic heading back towards Denver if you go at the wrong time. On the other hand, close to Denver, close to Dillon/ Frisco.

I would love Frisco / Dillon reservoir in the summer but winters might be a little too long for me. Very expensive!

I didnt even know about Hotchkiss and Paonia until this last year but find both towns somewhat attractive although somewhat remote. Delta would be the "nearby big town" so you would likely be driving there fairly often and is about 30 miles away. Probably an easy drive. I could not find details (trying in January) but "think" there is a fair amount of artsy/ festival/ music type things happening in Paonia during the summer. We drove Hwy 133 between Paonia and Carbondale early October and I thought the fall colors were just remarkably cool. Paonia elevation is 5682 so might be a little milder climate??

If you visit next summer, please let the "Ridgway ambassador/ director of entertainment Brightdoglover" know. We enjoyed your visit!

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by waltcolorado

...

If you visit next summer, please let the "Ridgway ambassador/ director of entertainment Brightdoglover" know. We enjoyed your visit!

Heh. I bequeath my crown to you.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by EricBabula

Thanks for the advice!

Haven't had much of a chance to create that weighted spreadsheet. I'm not an Excel expert, so it's going to be a challenge. Towns along the left side. Columns for Wants/Needs. Weight for each Want/Need. Then, try to objectively rank each town and multiply by weight. But, how do I weigh Needs higher than Wants? I'm not sure I'm doing it right. Time to do some research on how to do something like this.

On the bright side, I did find at least one of LauraC's lists. Should be helpful!!

Here is another tool that might help.... Compliments of a retiree who recently relocated out of Colorado.
https://www.city-data.com/forum/62705782-post4.html

BTW, I list my criteria in left rows
(subset by Needs on top (separate score)).
Wants are in rows below, in a subset of their own.

Each need and want is assigned a multiplication factor. Some can be less than one, (0.05) = 5% minus... or more than one (1.05%) = perk. You can also define score strictly as an important benefit (*5)....

Cities in columns across the top

[NW Crow]

The OP has listed 21 places and about 20 criteria. If you are not getting enough specific responses, pick 3 targets and identify your top priorities for input. Try to guide the conversation. Do 3, then next 3. Sharpen your want list as you get feedback.

As for a decisionmaking table, don't need to use Excel. Just a piece of paper. List 4-7 most important criteria. Divide out 100% weight between them. Keep it simple at beginning and use increments of 10% (or 5% if you must). Just guess and revise later if you don't like the results. Score your target cities / towns on each criteria 1 (worst) to 10 (best). Multiply and add up. 10.0 is perfect and on down. Chew on the results. Did it turn out as expected? Want to go with one of top 3? If not, revise most important criteria and / or weights. Can make bigger, more complex but start as about this size.

If there are absolute must haves or have nots, confirm that and weed the candidate list. If not sure it is a absolute, leave it as not.

If someone has a direct link to the "LauraC" spreadsheet, please post. I'd like to see it and didn't find it on quick search.

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by waltcolorado

Comments on a few places on the recent list.. I dont know about the summer but Georgetown gets a lot of wind in the winter. And the "big towns" that you would want (and need) to travel to all require getting on I70. Maybe not so bad heading West but can have heavy traffic heading back towards Denver if you go at the wrong time. On the other hand, close to Denver, close to Dillon/ Frisco.

I would love Frisco / Dillon reservoir in the summer but winters might be a little too long for me. Very expensive!

I didnt even know about Hotchkiss and Paonia until this last year but find both towns somewhat attractive although somewhat remote. Delta would be the "nearby big town" so you would likely be driving there fairly often and is about 30 miles away. Probably an easy drive. I could not find details (trying in January) but "think" there is a fair amount of artsy/ festival/ music type things happening in Paonia during the summer. We drove Hwy 133 between Paonia and Carbondale early October and I thought the fall colors were just remarkably cool. Paonia elevation is 5682 so might be a little milder climate??

If you visit next summer, please let the "Ridgway ambassador/ director of entertainment Brightdoglover" know. We enjoyed your visit!

Thanks for the insight, waltcolorado!

Very expensive and windy, cold, long winters do not really play into our plans. However, it would be nice to be near the Denver airport, since we would like to travel while we're younger.

Might need to look into Hotchkiss and Paonia a little more.

If, no, when we get back to your neck of the woods, we'll definitely look you guys up again! We had a great time with you all!

[davebarnes]

Personally, I think spreadsheets are a waste of time.
Just eliminate places, one by one.
And, there you are.

P.S. I say this as someone with 2 engineering degrees and an MBA. You can be too anal.