Where to live in CO

So I'm getting out of the navy soon and not likely staying in Connecticut after I finish school. I'd like to live somewhere with good skiing and climbing. Ideally short-ish commute to major hospitals for the wife, she's an RN. We'd like to not be actually in a city, we'd like to have a bit of land. Of course we're concerned about affordability so places like Boulder are likely out of the question. All that being said, I know compromises will happen, those are ideals. Thoughts on possible locations????

Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont all have pretty big hospitals. Greeley probably does too so there's a sweet spot in there somewhere. I used to know a climber who lived in Niwot because it was cheaper than Boulder but still close. Not sure how prices are now though, as that was a decade ago.

Montrose, Grand Junction, Moab,

Front range is mad, simply mad

+1 for grand junction. Great weather, amazing hiking. One of the best mountain biking destinations in the world. 1.5 hours from Moab. Great ski locations. Seriously a great place to live.

Seth Jones wrote: Fact. The hipsters and traffic to the mountains will drive you insane.

Access to resort skiing rules out Loveland and Fort Collins. Otherwise it's a decent place

If you're set on CO, best bets are probably Fort Collins, Grand Junction or Durango. (as others have said)
If not, there's lots of cheaper places to live with good skiing and climbing.
Good luck!

For obvious reasons, the most desirable places are going to be VERY expensive. Here is a brief summary.

You have the Front Range - expensive, crowded/traffic
Then the mountains - expensive, could be hard to find work
And the Western Slope - underpaid, could be hard to find work, some locations are better than others

If I were in your shoes I would look very closely at Glenwood Springs/New Castle, Avon/Edwards, Montrose/Ridgway. I don't know much about Buena Vista and the Arkansas river valley but that would probably be worth looking into as well.

Honorable mentions to Alamosa area, Mancos / Outskirts of Durango, and Steamboat area.

As someone who lives in Grand Junction area - the access to skiing is slightly better than the Front Range but you are still driving a lot of miles (just no traffic). Also the local climbing leaves a lot to be desired, and again you will be driving lots of miles, but the big plus is that you equally close to Ouray and Moab @ about 90 minutes.

Chris Schmidt wrote:For obvious reasons, the most desirable places are going to be VERY expensive. Here is a brief summary. You have the Front Range - expensive, crowded/traffic Then the mountains - expensive, could be hard to find work And the Western Slope - underpaid, could be hard to find work, some locations are better than others If I were in your shoes I would look very closely at Glenwood Springs/New Castle, Avon/Edwards, Montrose/Ridgway. I don't know much about Buena Vista and the Arkansas river valley but that would probably be worth looking into as well. Honorable mentions to Alamosa area, Mancos / Outskirts of Durango, and Steamboat area. As someone who lives in Grand Junction area - the access to skiing is slightly better than the Front Range but you are still driving a lot of miles (just no traffic). Also the local climbing leaves a lot to be desired, and again you will be driving lots of miles, but the big plus is that you equally close to Ouray and Moab @ about 90 minutes.

Eric Carlos wrote: This guy summed it up perfectly. As someone who spent 7 yrs on the front range in Boulder, and then the last year in Grand Junction (moving soon), the front range is nuts. Traffic everywhere, all the time.

Eric Carlos wrote: This guy summed it up perfectly. As someone who spent 7 yrs on the front range in Boulder, and then the last year in Grand Junction (moving soon), the front range is nuts. Traffic everywhere, all the time.

Arkansas valley is beautiful, but big hospitals are Leadville and salida where it will be competitive I would guess.

No mention of gunnison yet, nice option

Durango!

Yes our traffic is a shitshow but you have to know how to do things. For example - for skiing - don't roll up I-70 at 8AM on a Saturday morning to ski - leave by 6, get there and have breakfast and be first in line at the lifts - then leave early heading home. It is doable. I live in East Denver but work in Lakewood - I drive to work on 6th ave always at the speed limit or faster while the eastbound lanes are backed up for MILES. Again - just have to pay very close attention to the logistics.

Now to answer the OP's original question. The front range is truly MAD - even the places that were mentioned will be challenging - real estate here is the hottest in the country and people regularly pay ridiculous amounts of money for anything they can get their hands on. Bidding wars are common everywhere and rents are really HIGH. Also - lots of people think they can just head up into the hills and bag something - don't even bother looking for affordable housing in places like Evergreen...

Moab? Good luck - I got a great job offer there last year and couldn't find a place to live so declined the job - that was shocking

Grand Junction - ummmm are you Republican?

These are the responses I wanted, to hear the arguments. To answer a few questions
1- no I'm not set on Colorado, also looking at anchorage, Montana, Washington, maybe New Hampshire, spent many years there. But the only economy in the mountains is tourism.
2- traffic isn't much a problem for me. Growing up in New England, you get used to it. Plus sitting in military hate traffic as thousands must have ID cards scanned everyday? Sometimes making3 miles take hours
3- no I'm not republican and no I'm not a democrat

Thanks for the input

Salt Lake City has great access to climbing and skiing. Only been there to visit friends so I can't speak for real estate or the day-to-day of things like a commute. Obviously a bit of quirkiness due to high Mormon representation but honestly I didn't really notice when we visited.

I've lived on the Colorado Front Range for more than 5 years now. It can be crazy like folks said but it's a really fantastic place to live.

Best of luck with the relo. Thanks for your service!

Also, give Bishop, CA a look. Could be tough to find good work since it's a pretty small town but we love spending time out there for the climbing and skiing.

Danomcq wrote:no I'm not republican and no I'm not a democrat Thanks for the input

Front range traffic is laughable when compared to CT...so many more people going nowhere.

Hey OP.

My 2 cents. As a healthcare worker myself, I tried to avoid CO for healthcare jobs as the market is saturated and pay/bargaining power suck. Everything is saturated actually. Even the wilderness is saturated!

New Mexico is a dope state. Santa Fe and Taos have good snow depending on the year. The climbing in NM is totally underrated and seeing a TON of new development. Crags for all seasons. Even the summer is climbable up in the higher elevations. ABQ and Santa Fe are the only cities that have gyms though. Albuquerque is a hate it or live it town. Lots of hospitals, lots of alcoholism and violence but cheap and unique to say the least. Climb down south in the winter (4-5 hrs. to Hueco, close to some real hidden gems man. Enchanted Tower, Last Chance Canyon, El Rito, Jemez, new development near Caballo Lake, Roy is blowing up. So much untapped shit it's ridiculous. Sad I moved away at times...)

I live in Oregon now (Ashland) which is a dope town but the skiing and climbing are not quite top notch. We make due with some local crags and 3.5 hours to Smith ain't bad and had a great snow year this year at Mt Ashland. Obviously Bend is turning into Boulder (read: starting to get/already is pricey but Bachelor and Smith within 20-40 min of your town ain't bad. Redmond may be cheaper alternative.

New Hampshire is a fucking gem. Plymouth has a hospital and I don't think land is too expensive. East coast climbing season is shorter though due to humidity and black flies. I lived in Campton for a few years and loved it. Live free or die! But Rumney is bomb. Pawtuckaway is bomb.)