Salida vs Buena Vista (active family) (Denver, Colorado Springs: fit in, 2015, how much)

[dlite23]

Hi! I'm looking for pros/cons of living in Salida vs Buena Vista. For context: family of four, two kids (10 & 12), active family (team sports & outdoors), enjoy being involved in the community (coaching, school volunteering, etc), remote work.



We currently live in Fort Collins. We enjoy living here, but as our kids have gotten older it's gotten harder to avoid time-consuming travel sports (large schools, very competitive to make cut sports), be in-sync with a community, and fit in bigger outdoor adventures. We loved the elementary school experience - smaller school, neighborhood families - but the shift to a much larger middle school w/a much larger enrollment area has been abrupt.



We're evaluating moving to Salida or Buena Vista and living in town. We've spent a considerable amount of time in the Arkansas River Valley and enjoy both towns. We're curious about the pros/cons of raising a family in these two areas.


My current list:


* Salida has a four-day school week vs. five for BV. I think there are times where that's a pro and others where that's a con. Interested to hear any perspective on how the four day school week works out.
* Salida has a bus to Monarch in the winter (sounds fun) and is a 30 min vs 45 minute drive from BV to Monarch.
* Salida has easier MTB trails where you can bike from in-town. I think it'd be a while before my kids could make it out from the Whipple area up to the rest of the trail system in BV.
* Salida's schools have better test scores.
* More hiking variety from BV being in the middle of Salida and Leadville.


The list makes it look like Salida is the winner, but we really like BV.



I'm curious about activities for kids in winter (ex: open gyms), school experiences, and anyone that has experienced both school systems.

[interloper1138]

Hey, OP. I lived in Salida from 2015 to 2017 and am still there a few times a month for work.

Salida has a lot more amenities than BV, which makes living there easier (hospital, Walmart, Safeway, more trails, more restaurants, etc). As much as you might not want to admit it, you'll find yourself running to Walmart a lot more than you'd prefer to, and having to make that drive from BV can get old in the winter if the weather is bad. While I do like Buena Vista quite a bit (and actually prefer it these days since it feels like it's changed less than Salida), I would not hesitate to choose Salida if I were to move back.

The mountain access is definitely better in Buena Vista (aside from being further from Monarch) and a lot of people think it's a prettier area, but the trade-off is it's a town of half the size of Salida. For some people that doesn't matter, though. If you and your partner have never lived in a small town before, I'd weigh that decision very carefully. While many people are moving to Chaffee County from larger areas, you'd be surprised how much 'churn' there is and plenty of people leave for larger areas after a couple years of trying it out. Not everyone is cut out for more remote / rural life, even though both BV and Salida are far more 'cosmopolitan' these days than they used to be.

I can't speak to school experiences as I don't have kids, but keep in mind that if your kids are in school sports in middle school or high school they're going to have to take entire days off from school to travel hours for their meets / games. A coworker of mine is a cross country coach for the high school and it's crazy how far they have to travel for meets. This would apply to either BV or Salida, of course.

Overall, both are good towns with lots of good people and both are great places to raise a family.

[COcheesehead]

I knew someone who lived in BV and activities of everyday living, like grocery shopping are sub par compared to Salida.
Keep in mind both are big tourist towns. The seasonal influx of large amounts of vacationers can be a little much. Folks we know that live in places like Durango say getting into restaurants or just finding parking gets old at times.

[interloper1138]

Originally Posted by COcheesehead

The seasonal influx of large amounts of vacationers can be a little much. Folks we know that live in places like Durango say getting into restaurants or just finding parking gets old at times.

Definitely a good thing to consider. Salida's gotten much worse in this regard since they closed down F Street. I get why they did it, but parking sucked before that and it's even worse now. If you're a local and live near downtown you can always ride your bike, though.

[dlite23]

Thanks. Really appreciate the feedback.

Salida has a lot more amenities than BV, which makes living there easier (hospital, Walmart, Safeway, more trails, more restaurants, etc). As much as you might not want to admit it, you'll find yourself running to Walmart a lot more than you'd prefer to, and having to make that drive from BV can get old

Agreed. We have a lot of conveniences in FC that are easy to discount.

keep in mind that if your kids are in school sports in middle school or high school they're going to have to take entire days off from school to travel hours for their meets / games.

That's a good point. Thank you.

[interloper1138]

For what it's worth, I think there are only a handful of active posters on this forum that live in / have lived in Chaffee County, so you probably won't get a ton of specific info here. I would try getting into some Chaffee County-area Facebook groups as they are way more active than anything here. You'll probably catch some flak for being someone from out of the area and wanting to move there, but most people should be pretty open and honest with you about their experiences.

[Mike from back east]

Yes, Facebook and/or Nextdoor.

[otowi]

In my opinion, Buena Vista feels more like a real town and Salida feels a bit more ritzy/touristy, although for both it is a major component of their existence today. I attribute that to Salida being a major hotspot for cycling while Buena Vista is more of a hotspot for general outdoor recreation like hunting and fishing. Buena Vista is a little more central to major metropolitan areas like Denver and Colorado Springs and thus airports, major hospitals, etc., than Salida is. If you're considering these two I would also put Gunnison on your list and I'd probably give the edge to Gunnison as being more of a real town for raising a family.