Moving to Paonia (Delta, Center: camping, organic, living in)

[snofarmer]

Why or what made you choose Paonia out of all of the possibles?
You seem to know very little about the city?

Originally Posted by driver143

I am considering relocating from florida...i have lived here my entire life and the humidity and mosquitoes have finally gotten the best of me...and, i want a life do-over! Is Paonia considered part of the western slope? how hot does it get in the summer, and how cold in the winter? do you need 4-wheel drive? how much snow? are the town-folk friendly to outsiders? are there nice (not million-dollar) homes for sale? any information/advice would be appreciated.

[jim9251]

I considered Paonia when I retired from Arkansas and wanted to move to the western slope to be close to family. I'm glad I decided against it. I agree with Jazzlover's comments. It's pretty country, some of the prettiest I've seen, and it's nice to VISIT. Live there? No. But since the OP original post was 2 years ago, he either moved or didn't.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by driver143

I am considering relocating from florida...i have lived here my entire life and the humidity and mosquitoes have finally gotten the best of me...and, i want a life do-over! Is Paonia considered part of the western slope? how hot does it get in the summer, and how cold in the winter? do you need 4-wheel drive? how much snow? are the town-folk friendly to outsiders? are there nice (not million-dollar) homes for sale? any information/advice would be appreciated.

Tell us more about why you're looking at Paonia and your employment situation.

IMO you might be better off in Grand Junction, to the west, which is a big enough city to have everything you need nearby. We have a lot of threads on GJ that will answer most of your questions.

GJ will get hot in summer, but the climate is one of low humidity and is quite tolerable compared to the dog days one gets in the east and southeastern USA. Won't be many bugs there, by comparison.

I doubt you'd need 4wd in GJ but probably would in Paonia. We have a number of people on here who live in GJ and post often, they can attest to the weather in GJ, which sits amid and near some great scenery.

[jim9251]

There's an interesting article in this week's Bloomberg Business Week magazine on Paonia, the North Fork Valley and oil and gas fracking.

The Fight Over Fracking in Colorado's North Fork Valley - Businessweek

[driver143]

your reply sounds like an appropriate metaphor for the way of the world! Sounds like Florida (transplants, attitude, no jobs), without the humidity and mosquitoes. thanks for your post. i will keep looking!

[Zamfodder]

I've read the posts on this string and I guess that I must be the exception to the rule. I moved from the Front Range to Paonia a year ago. I found a reasonably good paying job even though I wasn't even looking (but I had some skills that are rare in the North Fork). I've also really sent down roots here in Paonia and love it. I've made lots of friends with people of all types..ranchers, artsy types, winemakers, shop keepers et al and have not found the place overly unfriendly to newcomers. It's all about you and how you integrate into the existing community.

Paonia is a very interesting place with a surprising quantity of things going on. Though I am not a social media type, I know a lot of people watch the Paonia Facebook page religiously so newcomers may want to try that to get a feel for the place.

There's quite a bit of real estate on the market but over the spring and summer, a lot has either been bought or taken off the market. I have been told by some of the local realtors that things picked up in the spring and that properties are now starting to move, though at a discount.

All in all, we are deltighted in having chosen to live here. I like to climate better than that of the front range though we are having an extremely dry season with the irrigation ditches shutting down months too soon. It has been a great season however for the orchards and I've had wonderful cherries, apricots and plums from my trees so far. Pears and apples are also looking to be very good.

Hope this helps with a little more positive view on the place.

[driver143]

thank you for the positive take on panonia.

[SeekingShelter]

Hi

I am reading this thread with interest. My husband has a chance to get a job in Paonia and I am interested in people's views about the town. I suppose if he were to get this job we would move sometime in the summer of 2014. I do realize it is a very small town population wise which I am not used to, having always lived in places with sizable populations. I would hope it would be a positive experience.

[Let's Go Here]

Originally Posted by SeekingShelter

Hi

I am reading this thread with interest. My husband has a chance to get a job in Paonia and I am interested in people's views about the town. I suppose if he were to get this job we would move sometime in the summer of 2014. I do realize it is a very small town population wise which I am not used to, having always lived in places with sizable populations. I would hope it would be a positive experience.

You want to know my views on the town? Paonia is in the middle of nowhere and is filled with inbred morons. Seriously, I do business with a few people in the area and am baffled at how ignorant they are. Now, this is a small sample size, but I've had multiple people tell me that they consider Delta County to be the dumbest county in America.

[Littlekw]

Originally Posted by Let's Go Here

You want to know my views on the town? Paonia is in the middle of nowhere and is filled with inbred morons. Seriously, I do business with a few people in the area and am baffled at how ignorant they are. Now, this is a small sample size, but I've had multiple people tell me that they consider Delta County to be the dumbest county in America.

Haha! I was born in Delta, spent a large chunk of my early life in the North Fork Valley (i.e. Hotchkiss, Paonia and Crawford). It's a beautiful place to be but you're not far off on the mentality of the people. It's so isolated that the mindset hasn't changed in decades. If you're not from there, you will never be a "local."

My father was born and raised in Paonia. My mother wasn't, she came to Colorado for college in the late 50's. They bought a ranch near Paonia in the early 60's. When my mom left the area over 30 years later, she was still considered an outsider. Even though I was born in Delta County, since my mom isn't a local, I'm not a true local either.

Now, if you do move to Paonia, there has been a large enough influx of newcomers that you would probably be able to make plenty of friends with other transplants. And not all locals are so uninviting of new people, but there is that social rift in the North Fork.

Most of us Delta County natives that left did so because we wanted to, not because we needed to. A lot of what's left is the good 'ol boy's club and those with no higher aspirations. I love my home area dearly, but Let's Go Here isn't exaggerating much in that assessment.