HELP: Montrose OR Durango? Moving fr HATED PDX (Denver, Grand Junction: real estate, apartments)

[Klouri]

I am finally moving out of the depressing economy and weather of Portland, OR to the Western Slope but am trying to decide between Grand Junction (not my first choice) Durango (better) and Montrose (best, I think.)

I have read posts about giving children "culture" and "plenty to do" and am only interested in leaving the overt liberalism, commercialism and materialism behind. I want to know about housing costs, the general cost of living, crime and which town would be best for a single mother.

I love the sun, snow and dry weather and will very much appreciate the OVERALL change from the coast to the mountains.

I have no delusions about this being a "paradise" type of move, but am a native of PDX and after 45 years finally want to be "higher and drier" b/c I KNOW - KNOW - it will save my very sanity.

I have the possible option of continuing my work there, but also may want to try to work locally or even open my own catering business there. I do NOT have a pot of money (in fact just took a HUGE loos on my home here) and that was a deciding factor in finally moving.

My son is 14, very well rounded emotionally, super active and LOVES being outdoors, participates in many "rugged" sports and is not materially or electronically "needy." We would like to have chickens, a few sheep, possibly horses later, and definitely a small garden.

Thank you for any information any of you can impart. It is much appreciated.

[phetaroi]

I have lived in neither, but stayed a few night in both, so my response is quite superficial. To me Durango is a large town and Grand Junction is a small city. Extrapolate that concept to what kind of lifestyle you want to live.

The country north of Durango is possibly the most beautiful in the U.S. A former teacher at my school and his wife moved there for about 5 years...loved the summer hiking and winter skiing, but also grew to feel somewhat isolated. East of Durango it gets a little too desert-ish for me.

On the other hand, Grand Junction is 4 hours from Denver and 5 hours from Salt Lake City.

[72Sh3llB3ll]

I live in Grand Junction. Reasonable home prices are NOT a factor, although the recent slump and the pull out of the oil companies have caused home prices to fall some. Finding property with land for horses, chicken, etc will probably cost you upwards of $300,000 and that is on the LOWEST end. We would already have property and horses if it was affordable here. Our home ( 5 years old, 1700 sf, 3 bds 2 bths in a subdivision would sell for about 240,000 right now) I am already planning to move, but that is moot. Montrose is a very pretty town, a lot smaller than here in Junction, and a prettier climate. I don't know how prices are up there, but I do know that a lot of people " with money" have moved in recently. Where once there were farms and fields, you are seeing a lot more big fancy houses go up. And I also know that Montrose and it's neighboring town Delta have drive in movie theatres, some of the last of their kind. That makes for a fun night with the kids. Hope that helped a little. If I had to choose, I would choose Montrose, but I am looking to get out of Colorado all together. lol

[wanneroo]

All of these towns have taken a hit in the great recession so seeing that you don't have spare money, whatever you do have some sort of employment or income lined up or you are in for a big shock.

[CAVA1990]

There are other parts of the state you might want consider. Trinidad and La Junta are two that would probably fit your criteria and have a reasonable cost of living. However, don't know your job situation so that could rule them out as they're not exactly huge job centers.

[Klouri]

THANK YOU ALL for the great feedback so far. I really appreciate it and will defiinitely look into La Junta and Trinidad. I was very much looking forward to the high mountain area, and in fact just found a 3 BR hour on 54 acres for rent between Ridgway and Ouray for 850/mos. I might consider that and make that homebase for a year while I get to know the area. I hear Ouray schools are small and safe adn active.

Again, Thank you very much and I will look forward to any more information you can impart.

[jim9251]

That 3 br rental is a mobile home btw. I don't know if you want to live in a mobile home here in the winter. It's gets COLD and snows a lot. Both Ouray and Ridgway schools are very good, both are small quiet towns, well except now during tourist season. There are plenty of apartments and rentals in both Ridgway and Ouray. I have to warn you, unless you are working in the tourist trade employment here is pretty bad. Good luck to you.

[DOUBLE H]

Jim9251 is right. Things are pretty tough in this state employment wise, Durango and Montrose are no exceptions.

I know both of these towns well, been through them a couple hundred times at least.

I'll give the nod to Montrose for this reason: cost

Real estate through the entire western slope has been overpriced for way too long. But Durango takes it to the stratosphere.

For shopping (buying in bulk), it's 50/50. Sam's club is 50 miles away from Durango, in Farmington. They are 60 miles away from Montrose, in Grand Junction. Same thing with the shopping malls, same towns you need to travel to. I don't have children, but IMO the schools in both towns are decent.

It can really snow in Durango in the winter, elevation is 6530 feet. But the climate is nice in the spring through fall. Montrose tends to be colder, kind of similar to Grand Junction's weather. Montrose elevation is 5820 ft.

You're comment about overt liberalism; Durango does have a college (Ft. Lewis), is somewhat liberal. The many times I've stopped in Durango (and I attend a few music concerts at Ft. Lewis college a year) I don't believe it to be an "in your face" type variety, though. Montrose is fairly conservative. Only my opinion regarding the politics. The one thing Durango IS passionate about regarding politics, is the fact that network television comes out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, not Denver. For the folks who vote in the presidential and the mid term elections, to not be able to find out what goes on in your state political wise until you read about it in the paper the next day is, um, not what they want. I don't blame them.

Print news: The Durango Herald is the town paper, recently the Denver Post has resumed delivery to western slope towns, I think Durango gets the paper as well. They come on the Greyhound bus, though. Bad snowstorm means no delivery.

Maybe the best thing for you to do is to visit both areas, get a motel in each town, stay in both towns for a few days and really get used to the areas. You have a lot on your plate regarding what you're inquiring here, which is understandable.

Will try to contribute to this a bit more. Good luck!

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

The one thing Durango IS passionate about regarding politics, is the fact that network television comes out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, not Denver. For the folks who vote in the presidential and the mid term elections, to not be able to find out what goes on in your state political wise until you read about it in the paper the next day is, um, not what they want. I don't blame them.

They haven't figured out how to access news on-line there yet?

[DOUBLE H]

I was referring to network television. Actually I've been meaning to look into the reasons why this is. A good friend of mine lives 16 miles south of Durango on 550 and he gets DirecTV. No Denver stations. When I have stayed in motels overnight (not recently), the cable provider (I'm thinking Cox, but that might have changed) does bring Denver news as well as Albuquerque news on the 5 p.m. broadcasts, but not 10 p.m.

On-line news, yea I would imagine that gets checked. But the last time I checked on the map, Durango is in Colorado, not New Mexico. And yea, I've talked to lots of people down there about this, and they don't like it.