Another "Retire in CO" thread... (Durango, Mead: sale, apartment)

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

BrightDogLover lives in Ridgway. PM her.

Thanks for the tip!

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by EricBabula

@COCheesehead - ha, well, maybe you're my resident expert, since we are coming from the same area!

Funny, but just yesterday I was looking at properties in Ouray, and found a few parcels of land available in Ridgway! I have to look at some more pics/videos of Ridgway, also! We're going to have to visit that area when we go back this year.

Can I ask what area you ended up in? Don't need to know exact town, but generalities? What do you like and not like about where you live in CO? What are some challenges you didn't expect? How are the health care choices in that area? Access to airport? Another poster mentioned not much access to airports in Western Slope. More for me to research.

We live in the Redlands area of Grand Junction.

We love access to all the recreation, nearby national parks, close to other areas that are fun to explore. We have a direct jet service airport in GJ, third largest in the state, with daily flights to Dallas, LA, Phoenix, Denver, SLC, partial week flights to Chicago, Vegas, etc.

There are two hospitals in the area along with a VA hospital. Healthcare has been easy. We found a family doctor quickly and a dentist more advanced then anyone we visited in Denver. I needed a crown recently and the dentist was able to 3D print one while you wait out of porcelain and it was less expense than similar procedures, under $900, in Denver.

It’s a college town, Colorado Mesa University, 12,000 students. It adds a vibrancy to the town and we get some good music acts passing through.

The restaurant scene is good farm to table and nearby Palisade is Colorado’s wine region with over 30 wineries to visit.

I wouldn’t recommend GJ for you though based on your desire for green. It’s high desert. Beautiful, but more red and sand colored rockscapes than trees. The Grand Mesa however forms the eastern boundary of the valley and that is like Canada. 300 lakes and tall pine forests. It’s mostly national forest.

Google Colorado National Monument. It forms the southern border of the valley. Those pics should give you a better idea of what the valley looks like.

If I were you, I would get my butt out of Wisconsin ASAP before the western slope becomes “discovered”.

[EricBabula]

@pikabike - thanks for the input. You're right - won't be hearing pika from the home - LOL!

Yes, we will be studying climates, snowfall, vegetation, water resources, etc. also. But, I do enjoy reading the stories of those who have been living in these areas, good or bad. I know some people have rose-colored glasses, and some people are whiners. I'd like to think I'm neither.

Do I want the dream? Of course! Will I get it? No - I'm not a billionaire. Will I compromise on some things and find something I'll love for my budget - absolutely! I kinda knew that I was describing a unicorn, especially for a $500K pricetag. But, we will weigh our options and figure out what is really important to us in the end. My main goal is to see if you guys and gals could help me whittle down to maybe a dozen or so towns/locations to focus on, rather than the 50-100 that are on my list right now.

I'm beginning to feel that a log cabin might not be all that it's cracked up to be on the show "Log Cabin Living" on HGTV. I've watched every episode, and am going thru a second time, and fell in love. But, maybe they are more work than we really want. We're not really cleaning-type people. Which, in a way, is perfect for a log cabin. But, we also don't want to be putting in tons of effort working on the home in retirement. We want to enjoy life!

[EricBabula]

@brightdoglover - thanks for the input.

I'm going to look at Ridgway and areas around there. When I saw the pics and videos of Ouray, I was stunned! And, I know pics and videos never do justice to the reality of being there! So, if Ridgway is nearly as beautiful as Ouray, I could see being happy there!

As I learn more about Ridgway and the surrounding area, I may have more questions for you.

I kinda like the idea of buying land and building our own. That way, we get exactly what we want, and it will be new and maintenance-free for a while. I was thinking of a fairly modest house - 3+ bedroom, 2+ bathroom, basement (maybe 1,300 - 2,500sf), garage w/ storage. We would want room for family/friends to visit and to be able to entertain. I did see there is land for sale in the area. Kinda hard to tell what it is really like without being there (e.g. is it really sloped, unbuildable portions, too steep to drive up, too near a highway, etc.). We'll have to do our research, visit a few areas, narrow our shortlist down to just a few, then start working toward the reality of a possible purchase.

[brightdoglover]

[quote=EricBabula;60244530...But, we also don't want to be putting in tons of effort working on the home in retirement. We want to enjoy life![/QUOTE]

I had my house built in 2018. Before that, I had a house built outside Boston in 2002. I love new. No problems, nothing to fix up, nothing to replace, everything works. I highly recommend it.

[COcheesehead]

If you are going to build, you need to understand Colorado’s notoriously shifting clay soils. We had to have 40+ piers drilled under our new house to provide a substantial footing. Bentonite is your enemy.

With the price of lumber and other Covid costs I would expect to pay at least $250/sq ft for a very basic house.

I can’t even guess what a log home would run.

Our new build ran $340/sq ft.

Also be prepared to substitute your first choices for second or third based on worldwide backups on appliances, flooring, tiles, etc.

[EricBabula]

@Dreaming of Hawaii - I'm jealous that you can winter in Hawaii! That's awesome! I've been to Hawaii on 5 occasions (twice for work and three times on vacation: Oahu, Maui, Kawaii, and the Big Island), and love it there. Heard from a lot of people who moved there that they love visiting, but just couldn't live there full-time. Not sure if they just couldn't handle the laid back lifestyle or what. But, lots of people end up moving back to the 48.

I do have Cedaredge, BV and Salida on my list, from all the posts I've been reading, and websites I've visited.

Two hours to an airport is quite a drive. But, again, we'll have to compromise on some things - that may be one of them.

[StealthRabbit]

If you can ditch the airport need, definitely head to the western slope. If you only fly a few times / yr you can deal with making getting to the airport an occasional excursion (as do people in the mtns of WY, MT, ID, BC and Alberta.). I do my annual 100 flights on SWA, + usually several intl trips so being in remote mtns and 20 min to an intl airport works for me. I already did my daily adventures to RMNP for many yrs when I was a kid-age 30. Left employment pre-age 50 via single income factory night shift gig with lots of OT and 2 PT jobs on weekends.

For western slope, draw a circle from each medical / major town, your acceptable commute (when in treatment). I would start at 30-40 min. Radius. GJ would avail Delta and Mesa and even near Grand Mesa. Montrose, Gunnison, Durango offer plenty of options.

Just a suggestion.... On your way west, consider Spearfish SD, Ranchester, WY, and Encampment / Jelm, WY. (Enjoy more recreation time by not filing state income tax.). And WA if you want green and airports with no state income tax, and really good kayaking, but terrible biking weather and narrow, dark roads. Suggest getting your biking done by age 70, then focus more on kayak, maybe sea kayak location. Near mtns and islands. (Vancouver Island or Birch Bay, WA)

You are young, so build a log house if you desire. But.... They are much cheaper and faster to buy, but do not command the higher resale to offset higher building costs.

$500k will get you $5000/ month income, so I would rent a log home for $2500 and spend $2500 extra on traveling during early retirement. By the time you travel the west for 5-10 yrs, you will know where you want to be planted LT.

Have fun, come quickly. (Tho WI can be very great too). Enjoy it while you are there.

[EricBabula]

@COCheesehead - thanks for the tips. Yeah, I'm not sure GJ is for us. Sounds a lot like Arches Nat'l Park in UT. While lots of fun to visit, I'm not convinced my wife would want to live there.

Appreciate your suggestions, though! And, we're trying to get to that retirement date and into a place in CO!!!

[EricBabula]

@StealthRabbit - great suggestions!

I like the idea of drawing a radius of acceptable commutes.

Wasn't really thinking of other states, but will look at your suggestions. We've been visited parts of SD, WY, WA, but didn't seem to have that "I need to live here" feeling that we did in MT (Glacier Nat'l Park area) and CO (RMNP area)! We kinda did in Banff and Jasper Nat'l Park in Canada - but, I'm thinking weather might prevent that kind of move.