mountain cities? (Denver, Colorado Springs, Loveland: real estate, living, restaurants)

[0ctobersongs]

Just curious as to what the living style is like in the less popular places like FairPlay, Sheephorn, Heeney. Are there hospitals out there? I'm a nurse. Is it very secluded?

[TCHP]

Living style is pretty varied based on location, size and proximity to the front range. For example, the lifestyle in Aspen and Telluride is significantly different than Durango or Buena Vista. Cost of living and real estate will also vary radically as well.

The three you listed above are all very, very small, and won't have hospitals. Fairplay and Sheephorn are both fairly secluded and will not only lack access to hospitals but even moderate sized retail. Heeney is in Summit county which will give it quicker access to amenities like large grocery stores, chain outlets, and health care facilities, but you won't find any immediately surrounding it.

[otowi]

Towns of those size do not have their own hospitals for the most part. Here is a list of hospitals in Colorado. I know that several may be in the planning or building stages not listed here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ls_in_Colorado

[Texas Ag 93]

We own a place just outside Fairplay and agree with PP's- it is very small, no hospital. Limited retail and restaurants.

I will say, though, that because it is centrally located and sees a lot of tourist traffic, some of the stores are surprisingly well stocked. The True Value there often seems to have things we need. We were there this past weekend, and they had vacuum cleaners and carbon filters for our well water system. But TCHP is right, for even moderately good shopping, you have to drive over the pass and through Breckenridge to Dillon/Silverthorne.

[TCHP]

My mistake, Heeney is not in Summit County. I was thinking it was next to Dillion Reservoir but it next to Green Mtn Reservoir. In general, these would be very low key places to live. If you don't enjoy being at altitude, dealing with extended heavy snow, being outside, fishing, hiking, biking, or other outdoor activities or being pretty isolated, you probably wont enjoy being in any of those places. However, the three of them will all be somewhat different from each other.

Sheephorn is in the middle of farm country so will be the most isolated of the three and you will be dealing pretty exclusively with ranchers and ranch hands. There is not a lot of reason for them to attract a lot of attention from even tourists into the area. Heeney being next to the water may see some tourist activity in the summer, but would be pretty dead in the winter. Being on the opposite side of the lake from the highway, people will have to make an effort to be there. Fairplay may be the most active of the three since it is the confluence of Highways 9 and 285 and sees a lot of traffic from people heading to Summit County and has a fair amount of development in the area. Its also the biggest of the three and does have a couple of urgent care type of facilities, but no hospitals. Buena Vista is the closest hospital to Fairplay. Silverthorne has several walk in clinics and is the closest to Heeney and Sheephorn, but I don't think they have a hospital.

[0ctobersongs]

I was looking at a map and randomly picked those 3, since they seem pretty out there when comparing to Loveland or a larger place like Denver. So for the people who live out there, do you just make to commute to work if your job is in Denver, for example? Seems like a hefty commute and lots of gas. I love the outdoors and seclusion, but I am concerned about commuting 1+ hrs each way for work.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

There's no way that you could live in any of the mountain towns that you chose and commute to Denver. On a good day, with no snow, it's an hour and a half to Fairplay from the western suburbs of Denver. With snow, that could easily double.

I looked through the list that Otowi provided, and the hospitals in mountain towns (in case you can't find them on a map) include Aspen, Canon City, Steamboat, Salida, Cortez, Vail, Craig, Durango, Estes Park, Woodland Park, Kremmling, Meeker, Pagosa Springs, Rifle and Rangely. You'll see that many of them are very small -- 25 beds at the most.

If you love the outdoors and seclusion, you could still be working in the western parts of Denver or Colorado Springs and just live in the foothills. However, being concerned about commuting an hour or more for work means that you would really have a problem in the winter.

[alliern]

If you want mountain living with the ability to work as a nurse in a hospital, you might consider Evergreen, Conifer, Morrison, Pine, or Bailey. There's many, many RN's that live in the foothills and commute into Denver and the suburbs to work at hospitals.

[otowi]

Originally Posted by 0ctobersongs

I was looking at a map and randomly picked those 3, since they seem pretty out there when comparing to Loveland or a larger place like Denver. So for the people who live out there, do you just make to commute to work if your job is in Denver, for example? Seems like a hefty commute and lots of gas. I love the outdoors and seclusion, but I am concerned about commuting 1+ hrs each way for work.

People simply do not live in those places if they're going to work in Denver or Colorado Springs. It is too far, and mountain driving in winter over passes can make it much longer. If you want to work in a sizable hospital, you have to live closer to a large city. Woodland Park or nearby smaller towns may work for Colorado Springs. I think another person posted some suggestions for Denver. Things might be more secluded than you think without getting too far out of town depending on which way you go.

It is also easier, imho to get secluded in a shorter distance with a more weather-tolerant commute if you go east instead of west. Elbert might be doable for a hospital in northern Springs or Parker area, for example.

[0ctobersongs]

thanks for the great info!