Have You Already/ Or Do You Want To Move Out Of Colorado...Why? (Denver: middle-class, real estate) - (CO) - Page 5 - City-Data Forum

Sunshinegal · 03-22-2007, 06:59 PM

Can anyone comment on the pains and pleasures of living in Gunnison, Colorado? Would a rural western New York family with young kids get to enjoy decent schools or home school groups, wildlife walks, pleasant sunshine, nice folks? Can you shop there for clothing, shoes and groceries? Not in my small town here - I couldn't even find rechargeable batteries yesterday in a grocery store town next door!

sunsprit · 03-22-2007, 08:10 PM

Gunnison has all the basics you're asking about.

As the gateway to a major recreational area of Colorado, it has more restaurants, motels, activities, and shopping than many comparable sized towns. Excellent skiing is not too far away, and it's one of the premier fishing areas of Colorado. Outdoor activities are numerous, with camping, hiking, bicycling, hunting, jeeping, horseback riding, etc, on your doorstep with a number of major mountain ranges and national forests.

It's a major tourist attraction area in the summer, fall, and winter.

The climate is fairly mild in the summer and fall, with summer days in the low 80's at the highest; overnight can drop 20-30 degrees when the sun goes down. Rainshowers can be a little cool, so it's a must to be prepared with adequate clothing when outdoors when the clouds roll in. Winters can be long at the altitude, with a lot of snowfall and cold temps.

About 100 miles away is Grand Junction to the West for more major shopping, or you can head East to Pueblo/Colorado Springs in a few hours driving when the roads are clear.

It has an excellent little airport, if you're into general aviation. Close by to the town, walking distance to everything including a KOA campground.

The scenery is pretty breathtaking, although the dry climate western forests are quite different from the wet and low altitude hardwoods of the East. The trees are farther apart, and there's much less secondary level growth on the forest floor. Other than aspen, there's not a lot of deciduous trees making for a growth mulch and habitat for small critters. Much of the ground can be very rocky. Keep in mind the elevation is close to 7800'.

If you move here, you'll discover you have more close relatives, friends, and acquaintances than you ever knew you had ... and they'll all be coming out to visit you soon. Better have a couple of guest rooms or a guest house on your property ....

mhouse2001 · 03-22-2007, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunsprit

Gunnison has all the basics you're asking about.

As the gateway to a major recreational area of Colorado, it has more restaurants, motels, activities, and shopping than many comparable sized towns. Excellent skiing is not too far away, and it's one of the premier fishing areas of Colorado. Outdoor activities are numerous, with camping, hiking, bicycling, hunting, jeeping, horseback riding, etc, on your doorstep with a number of major mountain ranges and national forests.

It's a major tourist attraction area in the summer, fall, and winter.

The climate is fairly mild in the summer and fall, with summer days in the low 80's at the highest; overnight can drop 20-30 degrees when the sun goes down. Rainshowers can be a little cool, so it's a must to be prepared with adequate clothing when outdoors when the clouds roll in. Winters can be long at the altitude, with a lot of snowfall and cold temps.

About 100 miles away is Grand Junction to the West for more major shopping, or you can head East to Pueblo/Colorado Springs in a few hours driving when the roads are clear.

It has an excellent little airport, if you're into general aviation. Close by to the town, walking distance to everything including a KOA campground.

The scenery is pretty breathtaking, although the dry climate western forests are quite different from the wet and low altitude hardwoods of the East. The trees are farther apart, and there's much less secondary level growth on the forest floor. Other than aspen, there's not a lot of deciduous trees making for a growth mulch and habitat for small critters. Much of the ground can be very rocky. Keep in mind the elevation is close to 7800'.

If you move here, you'll discover you have more close relatives, friends, and acquaintances than you ever knew you had ... and they'll all be coming out to visit you soon. Better have a couple of guest rooms or a guest house on your property ....

I just wanted to add that Gunnison is practically below zero every morning in winter. It's often the cold spot in the country, up there with Alamosa. When I visited (I don't live there) I found Gunnison to be a nice little town, further away from the mountains then I'd hoped for. It seems to be located in a rather wide high-elevation valley.

BlueWillowPlate · 03-23-2007, 06:28 AM

Quote:

I just wanted to add that Gunnison is practically below zero every morning in winter.

A friend of mine went to school (Western State) at Gunnison.
He said there were heaters outside on campus. (I cannot confirm or deny this, never been there myself, but why would he make it up?)
Gunnison has a *reputation* for freezing weather--I suppose the cold settles into the valley.

skigirl · 03-23-2007, 08:42 AM

I moved from Colorado to Chicago last summer because the jobs and pay are so much better here. That being said the weather here is MUCH worse than what I experienced in Colorado. Personally I loved 350 days of sunshine a year lol. However, I only lived in Denver for one year. The rest of the time I lived west of the mountains, mainly in Grand Junction. If you are looking for a place that has the best weather around (really almost no snow/rain) I'd recommend Grand Junction.

skigirl · 03-23-2007, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cil

A friend of mine went to school (Western State) at Gunnison.
He said there were heaters outside on campus. (I cannot confirm or deny this, never been there myself, but why would he make it up?)
Gunnison has a *reputation* for freezing weather--I suppose the cold settles into the valley.

Gunnison is COLD!!! Gunnison and Craig, Colorado generally seem to rival parts of Canada for low temps in the winter! This may be an exaggeration but not much of one.

Rumblebelly · 03-23-2007, 09:21 AM

Looks like it's gonna happen sooner than I thought. Our house went under contract already!

Hellow Upstate NY! Goodbye desert!

TughillTina · 03-24-2007, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rumblebelly

Looks like it's gonna happen sooner than I thought. Our house went under contract already!

Hellow Upstate NY! Goodbye desert!

It's always nice to hear such enthusiasm with regards to moving to another state. Depending on where upstate you are headed, if you moved now near me you would say hello snow and mudseason to boot.
Kidding aside I've read some of your posts and it seems like you are really excited about your move, I hope it is all that you wish for!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck....

Rumblebelly · 03-24-2007, 10:14 AM

Thanks Tina. We are planning on moving to the Albany area. I hope it's all I wish for to but I'm sure I'll have some painful doubts about leaving Fort Collins. We definitely have a lot of mixed feelings about leaving Colorado. However, the only reason I'd stay is if I moved to someplace like Salida but that's not a realistic option right now.

My wife, who is from Old Forge, just informed me that mudseason isn't too much worse than what we experienced a few weeks ago.

TughillTina · 03-24-2007, 07:24 PM

My wife, who is from Old Forge, just informed me that mudseason isn't too much worse than what we experienced a few weeks ago.[/quote]

lol,,,,,,,,,,lol,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,lol,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,lol,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I do believe she is trying to butter you up OR she has experienced amnesia and has forgotten what mudseason is like in upstate.

Good luck on your move!!!!!!!!!!!!!!