cortez/durango area (Mancos: apartments, to rent, condos)

[chevygirl18]

Hi everyone, I was thinking about moving to NM from AZ next month or so but I'm thinking now Cortez/Durango might be a better fit for me.I would like to stay in the 4 corners area. What are the good and bad things about the Cortez/Durango area?.How is the job market,rental prices and availbility,crime rate,areas to avoid?I'm going to be in my second year of college but don't really care about the night scene.I have been to Cortez a few times and Durango once but it was only for a day at the time.How are peoples attitudes towards newcomers or just in general?Anything else you can tell me would be helpful.
Thanks in Advance.

[Crackerjack]

Cortez is a small ranch community. It is quiet and a regular small town. Not much nightlife but you said you didn't care about that anyway. Durango is large, it is spread out into many valleys, canyons and mesas. It has lots of suburbs. It is growing tremendously and the traffic is bad especially in the south. It has a great nightlife. Lots of music, art, movies, etc. Lots of restaurants. Fort Lewis is a great 4 year college. It is up on a mesa. A real beautiful college. It looks down to Durango. There is virtually no murders in both maybe 1 or 2 a year like a boyfriend killed his girlfriend. Not much anything else except it can have some burglaries, there are a lot of rich people in Durango and the suburbs.
In Cortez, mostly middle class. Both are friendly to newcomers. A few native Durangoans don't like the rich Californians who build their multi-million dollar homes there and drive their Hummers and Escalades and such because they think they are changing the environment, but only a few think like that. Jobs are good in Durango right now, it is really growing. Cortez is small so not so many jobs. You will see just about everything in Durango. I have seen a van painted with aliens, a hippy bus with all the "Partridge Family" colors, a stretch limo, a Lamborghini, girls with lots of bling, guys with lots of bling, skaters, bikers, two women kissing each other in public, two cowboys holding hands walking down the street, not afraid like those cowboys in Brokeback, a Mennonite family with all the ancient garb, a group of Gothic teens, a woman with bright purple and pink hair and dogs being strolled down the street in baby carriages, just to name a few. So now maybe you get a grasp of Durango. There are a lots of regular people too and people in Durango tend to love dogs, cats and pets and are pro environment, pro health and liberal. Good friendly people. Not Bush fans there. I wouldn't recommend you having a Bush sticker on your car there. Cortez is more conservative, the ranchers you know. There are a lot of apartments in Durango with the college and LOTS of young people live there too. They are building tons of them and condos too all over the place. Cortez doesn't have so many but they do have some.

[chevygirl18]

Thank you for all your help and information about these places.I really do like Durango and it sounds very interesting and acceptable to other peoples ideas/beliefs,but I was looking at the newspaper online and called some places and the rent is to much for me at the moment.Cortez sounds like a good option,I like the smaller towns too,providing you can find a job and a good place to rent.So it seems like its either down to Cortez or Farmington for me. I figure either way it will still be somewhat close enough for snowboarding

[Crackerjack]

You are welcome Chevygirl18. Cortez really is an inexpensive place to live if you can find a job and an apartment there. Farmington has lots of jobs but is more expensive then Cortez but it also has lots of apartments that are not too high. Good Luck on your move!

[Mac from Durango]

I live in Durango. If you like mountains then close to or in Durango is a great place to live. As a college town Durango has much to offer. It is expensive. I know that many college age students share homes and apartments.

You might consider the sweet little town of Mancos which is about 30 miles west of Durango. My wife and I love the Absolute Bakery Cafe in Mancos. We ride our motorcycles there at least once a month.

There might not be any work in Mancos but Durango is within an easy commute.

Cortez is in my opinion too dry and desert like but then that might be your preference. Obviously lots of people like the desert.

Do you ski or snowboard? Do you like white water rafting? Mountain bikes? Outdoors? Durango is a very outdoorsy, healthy town.

Fort Lewis is nick named Fort Leisure. Is that a clue to how laid back it might be?

[Crackerjack]

I know Absolute Bakery Cafe on Main in Mancos, yes it is a great place! Is the Kennebec Cafe and Bakery still there in Hesperus? That is another great place to eat. There are so many great places to eat in Greater Durango. Wow, I miss Durango, my brother lives there and I impose on him as much as possible, you living in Durango know why I impose on him! There is SO much to do there. How could anybody ever be bored in Durango? I sit under an AC here, can't do much with all the heat. I imagine it is nice there. Monsoons should be coming in there soon and make it cool and nice just when it gets smoking hot everywhere, there it is just right.

[williamsmj]

Crackerjack,
The RED MESA bakery is still there just around the corner from my house. there as often as I can.

[sillygal]

mancos.....that is a new term in these forums. I am not a desert person either Mac, so I would probably like Mancos. I really can't afford to live out that way, but I am trying........LOL.

[Crackerjack]

I am glad to know Red Mesa Bakery is still there Williamsmj on Highway 140! Great bakery!
Mancos, is a nice small town west of Durango. You can find some bargains in the area but it is more costly then say Cortez but less then Durango. The scenery between Mancos and Durango is awesome! It gets more snow east of Mancos up to Hesperus because it is higher in elevation but then tapers back off as you descend from Hesperus down to Durango and you will descend a whole bunch! You can see for many miles as you are coming from Hesperus down to Durango. Like someone said, if you run out of gas in Hesperus, you can coast all the way to Durango!

[debi5828]

Where is the closest airport? I love the sound of Durango myself but am afraid it is too far for family to come and visit.