Can you tell me about Grand Junction? (Denver, Clifton: amusement parks, high crime)

[BIOLYNX]

Hi:
I was wondering if anyone would be able to let me know what kind of vegetation is in and around Grand Junction, CO. My hubby and I are making a list of several communities in the states of CO and NM, to figure out where to retire to. Our main issues are our allergies to hay and oak and pine trees. Other than that we are pretty fine with just about anything else.
Thank you for any input anyone can give me.
Biolynx

[COflower]

BIOLYNX - Check out: http://www.co.blm.gov/gjra/gjra.html bottom of the page on the left part.

I have allergies as well but don't remember them being all that bad in GJ when I lived there. I was there from Jan 94 to Nov 95 and survived it well.

Lovely place. Miss it a lot.

[Crackerjack]

There isn't a lot of vegetation around GJ, but they grow a lot of fruit in the area so lots of fruit trees, wine vineyards, and so on. Other than that, just the trees and flowers people plant, not much else. The natural landscaping is rather sparse, unless you go up to Grand Mesa, where you will encounter pines.

[skellyton333]

What the heck are people in this forum smoking, peach pits? I am originally from CO. Moved to Covington LA. a month before Katrina hit & unfortunately had to move back to CO. because of it. My husband is currently in GJ, looking for a place to live & has had terrible luck trying to find anything decent as far as a temporary apartment, until our house sells. Rent is OUTRAGEOUS...especially for the absolute dumps that they are. Cost of living is crazy..compared to Louisiana & personally, the people here in Co. are rude a-holes for the most part. Always have been. Nothing like what I discovered in Louisiana. People are so friendly in Louisiana. Please dont sugar coat CO. & allow this poor person to find out the hard way, Co. isnt worth the cow dung its famous for.

[jazzlover]

Grand Junction used to be a very nice area. Unfortunately, it is growing way too fast (mostly from the gas drilling boom and from an influx of retirees). Real estate prices have inflated rapidly. For a city its size, it seems to suffer a fair amount of crime. I lived in the area for a number of years and still have family in the area. My work may take me back into that region temporarily, but it is not an area I would stay in permanently.

As to allergies, Grand Junction is not like some of the more humid areas in the Midwest, South, etc., but it is no allergy paradise. There are the orchards, vineyards, and a lot of alfalfa in the valley. There is also a lot of dust. Air pollution is a problem in winter when inversions set up in the vallleys.

Though not in Grand Junction, there is a lot of oakbrush (Gambel oak, to be exact) on the sides of Grand Mesa. Natural vegetation around Grand Junction includes a lot of greasewood, rabbitbrush, sagebrush, tamarisk ("salt cedar," an introduced species that is a real pest), Russin olives (also introduced), and Fremont Cottonwoods (along water and streamcourses). Allergists will tell you that just about all of these are species to which large numbers of people are allergic. Globe willows (Navajo willow being the formal name) are a common species of tree, also.

It can be hot in the summer (over 100 degrees), and can drop below zero in the winter. A lot of the winters in the last few years have been abnormally mild. So, relatively new residents of the area may not give you a very accurate picture about the winter weather.

Bottom line for me: 30 or 40 years ago, Grand Junction was a nice town. No more.

[CosmicWizard]

The coldest stretch in Grand Junction this past winter was 5 consecutive morning lows below zero in mid January 2007. The coldest was 8 below. Seemed cold enough to me!

We've proabably had the last of the 90 degree highs. Thus far, there have been 79 days with high temps of 90 or above, 10 of those days had triple digit highs. September has been very pleasant.

blessings...Franco

[Fruitarian]

I have lived in large cities on the east coast (Boston, DC, Richmond) and in Denver. Moving to the GJ area has been a wonderful thing, overall- and I am extra fortunate to get to live in Fruita (13 miles west of GJ).

Moving to a smaller, rural, agricultural area has it's adjustments, for sure. One thing, don't expect the high quality services you find in large cities. Businesses tend to operate M-F from 8-5, so if you find yourself in need of car repairs, yard work, etc. you will have to take time off work to do business. Wait staff and service-folk tend to be young and not at all sophisticated, which tends to ward-off high end retailers (like PF Changs, PotteryBarn, etc.) because company owners cannot guarantee the same quality of service you 'd find in, say, Denver or Boston.

And there are the DRIVERS!! The red, octagonal-shaped signs that say STOP have no meaning in the small towns. So be careful when you visit the area. Don't assume someone approaching a stop sign will do it.

However, living here is truly wonderful. The climate is fantastic and the outdoor opportunities are almost limitless (biking & hiking 11 months of the year, kayaking, camping, bird watching, fishing, golfing...I could go on). In order to live here, you just have to make peace with the lack of high-quality restaurants and services and learn to cook gourmet meals in your own kitchen. The people you meet out and about are friendly (not syrupy like the La lady wants) but truly interested in who you are and where you come from.

So, come. Enjoy the area!!

[thecoloradolady]

Just recently we have learned there are some atheists showing up!

[CosmicWizard]

Oh my God no. Say it ain't so.

[thecoloradolady]

From what I have heard, Lousianna people love to eat crawdads and they are as big as a lobster but here, when we go fishing, those durn little critters like to hook onto my stringer of fish!! They are the size of shrimp and I don't think there are many of us who eat them here!!! You will have to have them freeze dried and shipped Fed-Ex overnight!