I'm ready for a change. I'm in the Midwest and want to relocate to Northern Arizona or Colorado. I really like Northern Arizona (Flagstaff) but am disappointed at the price of housing there. I also like it on the South, SW, W, and NW sides of the Denver metropolitan area. Castle Rock has always been an area that interested me...nice homes at affordable prices, good location, etc. I like Boulder too but home prices there are out of my reach. I'm an ER nurse with 25 years experience at my vocation...getting a job won't be a problem. I just want to go somewhere nice to finish it out. I'm a cyclist and like riding long distances on my road bike, I like mountain biking too, I like to climb, hike, do as much outdoors as I can. I'm a hunter and shooter. I love the Grand Canyon and would be a lot closer to it than I am now, in addition to all those fourteener's in Colorado. I'd appreciate any feedback from you folks here regarding this. Thank you.

Go for it. I finished 35 years of Nursing in pretty much the same place I started, but sometimes I wonder ...what if

Real Estate is a buyers market on the front range from what I am told. The Denver metro area is too busy for me but in your line of work, gotta go where the people are. Castle Rock is nice, there is a new hospital on the south side of Denver in Lone Tree which is close to Castle Rock.

Good luck...

don't overlook Colorado Springs either. several hospitals there too, including Evans on ft. Carson.

Come to the Springs, we are not the Libtarded Bastion that Denver and it's surrounding communities are!

since you didn't mention California, I'd recommend taking Boulder off your "possibles" list because Boulder is a mini-Calif.
Way less humidity, way fewer bugs which results in never having to scrub the windshield, cool nights, and lots to do and explore,.....just do it..

The North Metro area would work nicely for you, I think. Boulder is a nice place, especially for biking, but real estate and the traffic is horrendous. There are places slightly east of Boulder, like Louisville, Lafayette, Broomfield, Brighton, etc. where the housing prices go down and so does the traffic and congestion. I personally think the southern metro area, even down to Castle Rock is growing too fast and with too many people. The north metro area is growing as well, but not quite the rate as the south. In addition to the north metro, places like Longmont and Loveland, even Ft. Collins, might be of interest to you. Lots of hospitals around, so you should have your pick. I'm not as familiar with all the biking down south, but the north area from Westminster to Boulder, to Fort Collins is a hot bed of biking activity, road as well as mountain.

Steamboat Springs is a nice little town, and the recreational opportunities are endless in that area.

Colorado is a cyclists paradise you will definitely enjoy it here.

There are folks that use their mountain bikes for elk hunting.

Come and do one of the tours...Ride the Rockies, Bicycle Tour of Colorado or one of the others.

Investigate the state, local and property taxes thoroughly before the plunge.

I'm one of them. I've bowhunted elk in unit 4,5,441(NW of Steamboat)at least a dozen times and the mountain bike is essential gear.

Boulder is rife with Communists. Forget it.
Fort Collins is more tolerable, but it's a college town like Boulder.

Steamboat Springs has definitely gone Commie, too. It was okay when I first moved there, but after 8 years of Californication and Newyorkistan refugees, it was destroyed. Culturally, anyway. You DON'T want to commute to work in Steamboat from the outliers, the roads are two lane and when the weather stinks, the drivers are worse.

Craig 40 miles west might be good for you if you hunt and fish, dunno about whether there's an ER and need for a nurse there, tho. But a sportsman's paradise, for sure.

I lived in Pueblo for three years or so, if I had to live on the Front Range again, that's where I'd go. Pueblo is a real town, diverse ethnically, with real industry, real agriculture, and enough of a population base. And access to outdoor fun is excellent. I had no trouble entertaining myself there.

Denver and the Springs are completely gridlocked for the Friday exodus and Sunday return. But there's gobs of work in the Springs with all the military retirees.

One final caveat...Colorado is high up. You need good lungs.

Might look at Durango, as well.

That would mean he has to live near you!

Oh Antlers, if you decide to go to the Springs, send me your address before you go. I've got a box that I'd like you to deliver to Les. Just put a baby mouse in the box every couple of weeks prior to getting to Les.








Then run like hell before he opens it!

Might check out Grand Junction. Just a suggestion.
Mark

Since you mentioned Castle Rock and Boulder, I assumed you wanted to remain on the Front Range. However, if you're open to other places besides a "metro" area, there are a ton of smaller towns that are infinitely more to my liking than the Front Range cities. I suppose it depends on what you want when you're home. Do you (or your wife) need malls, theatres, museums, other cultural happenings or will a small town with limited activities other than the mountains or outdoors be enough. If so, lots of towns on the west slope might suit your needs, like Montrose, Paonia, GJ, Clifton, Rifle, Meeker, Palisade, etc. Durango and Steamboat Springs are both nice towns but as mentioned, are a little heavy on the liberal side of things. As much as living in the big city sucks, I've found that Broomfield, where I live, offers as close to a small town feel as you'll find on the Front Range. Lots of different hospitals close by, close enough to Denver to enjoy all the cultural things you'd expect to find in a big city, and yet close enough to the mountains to allow for quick getaways. Traffic is something you'll have to account for and accept, though. Too many dadburned people!

If you like Mexico or San Francisco you'll just love it.

just never had the nuts to pull up stakes and move. Sometimes I wish I had.

Just keep heading north until you get to Wyoming. But, that's just me.

shhhhh! it is already crowded as heck here!

I'd be looking at Grand Junction rather than any city on the front range if retirement is in the near future.
I'd get out of Colorado Springs if I wasn't so old

This is why I live in Windsor in Weld County. Weld County has the lowest tax rates in the state. I'm 10 min from Ft Collins, Loveland and Greeley and can be on I-25 in 5 min if I hustle. I am surrounded by 27 holes of golf, 5 lakes stocked with fish and pretty damn nice views. I can be glassing 200"+ deer in no time from where I live

Grand Junction is your best bet for all you mentioned, even access to Grand Canyon isn't too tough. I'd not live there, but it's a thriving little city now; lots of medical stuff. Craig is building a new hospital. Meeker is better living. Steamboat is a
Boulder "mini-me". Montrose would bear a look-see. Rifle is trying to become something, not sure what but it don't speak english. From Glenwood east might as well be given to Boulder.
The pattern- Further west is better, possibly excepting the southern third of the state.

People are kidding themselves if they think Colorado isn't liberal as a whole. Two democrat governors in a row, and Denver and Boulder pretty much control the whole state politically regardless.

I would not go to Grand Junction or any town near there unless you like living next to meth addicts.

If you are going to stay on the front range I would really look hard at Fort Collins. It is a college town with low crime, and good housing. One thing to keep in mind though, if you live in the Denver metro area, you might as well live in Kansas. You are going to have to commute in heavy traffic to get to the "real" parts of Colorado.

Hey, what's wrong with Kansas??

antlers:

I live in Colorado Springs and I have my preferences but the Denver metro area is not among them. Neither is Boulder, which is a liberal stronghold and a place to be avoided.

I have friends in Flagstaff and visit them about once a year. I keep trying to find a depressed neighborhood in the Flagstaff area just to see if such an area actually exists there, but so far I haven't been successful. There's a very high quality of life in the Flagstaff area and that's why housing costs are high. It's worth it.

As an ER nurse you could find a job just about any place that is large enough to have a hospital with an emergency room. Why limit yourself to just a few options? If you like the semi-rural lifestyle then there are a couple dozen medium-size towns on Colorado's western slope, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana that would be nice places to live without the hectic lifestyle, crime, deteriorating neighborhoods, poverty, traffic conjestion, and polution that goes with a large metro area. The housing costs are usually reasonable in those semi-rural medium-sized towns too.

Since you like to hunt and climb then why not consider Alaska, for a few years at least? I don't know much about cycling in Alaska but they don't have a lot of roads so that might limit your biking opportunities.

The environmental quality, cycling and climbing are all great in the northwest (Washington and Oregon) but I get the idea that it takes a long time to get big game hunting licenses. The Cascades are beautiful.

Colorado Springs has grown way too big for my liking and I'm retired so I could move to one of those towns in a heartbeat but our children and grand-children live close and my wife won't leave them.

KC

Check out Durango.

Don't do it.

Colorado has warm and dry summers, mild winters, lots of shooting ranges around, tolerable gun laws, oodles of big game hunting including elk, deer, antelope, moose, & bear, lots of small game hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, cycling, backpacking, skiing, etc etc.

And lots of hospitals around where you could work.

You will hate it here.

This saddens me. I drove through Grand Junction 10+ years ago on a long road trip, and it stands out as one of the highlights of the trip.

Plenty of good suggestions so far. I was CO born and raised and went to college in Ft Collins. That said, most of the Front Range, for me, is now too busy and too crowded. But, if you need a city Ft Collins is hard to beat, as are the outlying towns around Boulder that have already been mentioned. If you can live with more rural areas (both professionally and personally) take a look at Trinidad, the San Luis Valley and the smaller towns around Durango (mancos, cortez, dolores, etc.)

I'll also add Moab, Bluff, Blanding and Cedar City UT for your consideration if you feel more drawn to the canyons then the mountains. You'll not likely exhaust the hiking/biking options over there.

good luck!

Lived in GJT for 17 years and love it. PM me if you look harder around here, there are parts of town to avoid. Seems to be no shortage of medical jobs. My kids do their part to keep the ER busy. There's no way I could handle the crowds on the Front Range. I'm still holding out for when dogcatcher moves back so we can go plinkin'!
sd

You might also check out some small towns in the white mountains of AZ. Pine top, show low and snow flake are smaller communities , but have many of the attributes of flagstaff without the cost or the hippies.

I grew up between Fort Collins and Windsor, Now that I have lived on the western Slope for the last 24 years I could never move back. The Grand Junction area is pretty good, Im not sure where dogcather gets his info about meth addicts though. The Grand Valley has great Mountain biking

Woodland Park -- In the mountains, affordable - amazing views and about 30 minutes to two big hospitals.

It seems amazing to me in this, of all forums, that Trinidad would not be mentioned. It is not a metropolis by any means but is in Colorado I do believe. It also has a hospital (used to be Mt Saint Rafael ),If memory serves but is now a modern public facility. Beautiful country overall. There is also TSJC if you are at all interested in firearms. I live in Southern Arizona and would not reccommend you come to this state. It's reasonably unpopulated and while we do have a couple of metro ares such as Phoenix and Tucson I would not reccomend them. Of course thats being selfish on my part as I would like to keep it as underpopulated as possible. As to biking they have the Tour de Tucson and most streets have bike lanes and Tucson used to have a world class builder of racing bikes so I suppose biking is big here, me ,it's too much excercise so I prefer to not do it.

Last couple of falls we've driven through there and my hunting buddy always has to say "Did you know Trinidad is the sex change capital of America?" Another factoid I'd rather not know...

Look at Gilpin County, CO. That is where I live. I think it is the lowest property taxes in the state. In the mountains are lots of hiking, climbing, biking. Live in the north part of the county and you are away from the two gambling towns that pay most taxes and you are close to Denver, Golden and Bulder where you can have a good job, but avoid property taxes. Here are a few views off my back deck looking west:

Green valley for those that don't know, is where the old fharts live.

If you wanted to live in flagstaff you would have plenty of chance to work in medicine in a third world country which is what i call anything 100miles north of phoenix. And I was born up there, and went to school at N.A.U.
Having said that If you really wanted to live in flagstaff, you could consider commuting a little bit from outside the flagstaff city area, such as munds park, williams, and other areas.

I wish I could pull up and head back to CO. Yes, it has grown, especially along the front range, but compared to the East coast it's still not as bad.

Thank you to all who have contributed to this thread so far. This is the kind of great information that'll help me out. I'm taking a road trip to Colorado, and maybe Northern Arizona, next month. I intend to do some serious looking in Colorado in particular.

Just stating facts. Mesa county is the meth capital of Colorado. It is a desert town sitting right on a major interstate. Most of the jobs there are in the oil and gas fields. It is has been said that once the price of meth is higher than the price of natural gas, everyone jumps ship. I seem to recall that happening around Junction the last couple of years...

To the OP. I lived in Junction for a year and a half. My wife and I were looking to relocate and we also checked out Flagstaff. I really love that town, but the prices and terrain were so similar to CO that I figured I ought to just stay in CO. Contact me when you come to CO, maybe we can meet up.

I hunted the Utah Book Cliffs for mulies one year and we supplied up in Grand Junction. It literally felt like a giant hairdryer on high heat blowing on us. Great guitar shop in that town though.

Hunted Flagstaff for elk one year, unit 7E, just north of town. That's really a nice town, but there aint much water around for fishing and such.

Dogcatcher, now is the time to lay your cards on the table. Please state your source and post a link to it. If it is credible it will stand.

Denver too bad welcome to New Californification.

On the reference to Trinidad being the sex change capitol of the world. It is my understanding it is. The hospital ,Mt San Rafael was a Catholic hospital originally and when I was in it in 1953 with arthritis it was. It is my understanding it changed to a public hospital because of that. More of a coincidence the foremost doctor for these operations was a Dr Stanley Biber who at the time I was there was a company Doctor for one of the mining companies. I found him to be amost competant Doctor who was not adverse to trying new procedures and drugs as he Used ACTH and Cortisone to treat my arthritis along with DiaThermy. Successfully ,I might add. And Green Valley is a retirement community and I am retired but i actually came here to work for the Primary Builder ,Fairfield Communities and decided to stay as it really is a nice community to live in.

I lived in Trinidad in the late '70's while pursuing my gunsmithing education at Trinidad State Junior College. Hunting opportunities abound within a 30 min. drive from town. Great town, close to the NRA Whittington Center just outside Raton, NM. I have also hunted the area around Glenwood Springs, it is another area you might consider.

DENVER - Former Arapahoe County Sheriff Pat Sullivan's arrest over accusations he was trading methamphetamines for sex with a man prompted 9NEWS to question the status of our nation's war on the drug.

According to the Colorado Meth Project, the majority of U.S. counties say meth is their most serious drug problem. The project has some statistics on their website that help put the problem in perspective.

The U.S. Justice Department says the supply of meth in the U.S. is at its highest level in five years because of the Mexican cartels' supply.

- Colorado ranks seventh in the country for total number of meth users who are 12 and older.
- 76 percent of all Colorado meth users began using it before they were 25.
- 43 percent started at age 17 or younger.

The Colorado Meth Project says it is making a dent in these numbers. The group's public service announcements, billboards and web outreach is educating the public.

"Eighty-eight percent of teens in Colorado see a dramatic risk in trying meth as a result of viewing our adds so, there is a positive effect to the campaign itself," Jonathan Judge, project manager for the Colorado Meth Project, said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says it's seized more than 41 kilograms of meth in Colorado this fiscal year. Most of it was taken in Grand Junction and Colorado Springs.

The DEA says this is generally not a street corner drug, like marijuana or heroin.

For more information on the Colorado Meth Project, visit http://www.colorado.methproject.org/.

Everybody concedes that New York City is the financial capital of the world, Los Angeles the entertainment capital, and Tokyo its sushi capital.


But where is the methamphetamine capital of the world? American newspapers can't seem to agree. Submit the search terms "methamphetamine capital of the world" or "meth capital of the world" into Nexis, and it spits back almost 70 citations between 1983 and 2005, with many writers and sources disputing the capital's precise GPS coordinates.


In 1983, the Associated Press started the quarrel by quoting a Philadelphia policeman who said, "Philadelphia has the dubious distinction of being the meth capital of the world." In 1987, 1989, and 1993, Los Angeles Times news stories cited law enforcement officials to bestow the distinction on San Diego. In 1989,the Washington Post generalized its location to all of Southern California. The Riverside Press Enterprise seized bragging rights for the southwest portion of Riverside County, Calif., in 1993.

Perhaps as a result of some trade-deficit confusion, the Los Angeles Times called both Japan and California the meth capital in 1995 stories. The Press Enterprise widened its definition to all of Riverside and neighboring San Bernardino counties in 1996. The Kansas City Star moved the capital closer to the geographic center of the nation when it described Jackson County, Mo., as the meth capital in a story. Alt-newspaper New Times Los Angeles yanked it back to Riverside County in 1997. Contesting the designation that year was Florida's Lakeland Ledger, which put it in Polk County, Fla.

It's not like these areas coveted the title. In 1998, Assistant District Attorney Don Inskeep promised that new law-enforcement resources "will allow us to say that the county of Riverside will no longer tolerate being the meth capital of the world."

In 2000, challengers for the name sprang up across the country as the Chattanooga Free Times, the Tulsa World, the Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader, the Daily Town Talk of Alexandria, La., and the Fresno Bee all placed the capital in their readership areas. The Press Enterprise kept insisting on bragging rights for Riverside, disregarding the assistant D.A, and the Los Angeles Times crowned California's Central Valley.

In 2001, the Cox News service quoted a source who put it in Mesa County, Colo.'s Grand Valley. The Spokane Spokesman-Review touted North Idaho that year; the Daily News of Los Angeles named Southern California; the AP tagged both Lane County, Ore., and the Fresno area as meth capitals, and the Statesman Journal of Salem, Ore.,gave the honor back to the Californicators.

In 2002, the Los Angeles Times (twice) called the Inland Empire of Riverside and San Berdo the capital. The Palm Springs Desert Sun seconded that. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted an unnamed addict who said Jefferson County, Mo., was the meth capital, and a commentary in the Lakeland Ledger attempted to win the handle back for that area.

The Kansas City Star and the Los Angeles Times must have put the phrase on a hot key in 2003, repeatedly claiming Jackson County and Riverside County, respectively, as the capital.

Probing the show-biz angle, Variety declared the entire California desert as capital in 2004. A district attorney in Athens, Tenn., waved off the label that year for his jurisdiction. "We hear we are the meth capital of the world, and while statistics are useful tools, I'm not entirely sure this (title) is justified," Jerry Estes told the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

After its 22-year-long tour of these United States, the capital finally returned home to where it had began. On June 8, 2005, the Philadelphia Daily News published a story about a major meth dealer in which it asserted that Philadelphia "has been called the 'methamphetamine capital of the world.' "

Dogcatcher is the smartest person I know...but if I were you...Park county...even with the commute....just sayin

Grand Junction may be that way but not all the towns around it. Check out Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, Gunnison (very cold winters there though). Do your own research and come by for a visit. You be the judge. You will be the one moving, make sure it is an area you will like.

I wish I could add a couple more Californicators to western Colorado.
My wife is bonded to her mother, but I'm working on it big time.
I'm prolly not up to the same outdoor and socio-political standards as the natives, but I'm willing to learn.

Y'all would be welcome additions! You seriously considering a move here one day?

Doesn't Cedaredge have a sweet gun shop? Red something?

I'd love to Drum.
My wife's 80 yr old mom lives on the property with us and I think I'm going to have a very tough time convincing her to move, at least while her mom is still alive.
I'd like to take her on a road trip there in the fall when the qualies are ablaze.
Maybe this September or October.

Biggest gun store in the state is in Colorado Springs. About 20,000 square feet of this. Thousands of guns...

Yeah, its huge. Was just there about 2 weeks ago. LOTS of stuff....Co Springs is a very neat town. Lots of things to do there.

This has been a great informative post. Wife and I are very seriously contemplating leaving Mid-MO and relocating to CO in a couple of years. She loves Ft Collins, but we will also give the GJ and surrounding area a good look.

Only gun shop in Cedaredge I have ever been aware of is Leisure time sports. It is not like it is a real big town so I wouldn't think that i have been missing something, but I will have to check it out.

I would tell you Colorado has better hunting and fishing, but Colorado native would stone me.

AZ, where you have to draw for hunts, water is limited is where you need to go.

5-7 years and I'll be there so I hope there is room for at least one more:) Just have to keep my head down a little longer though.

Not a shop but a pretty good gunsmith moved there from Ft. Collins.
Named Perry Middlestat, did some good work for me before he moved. I think he may have retired.

I think I know who you are talking about. If it is the same person I think he still does a little bit in his spare time.

"In 2001, the Cox News service quoted a source who put it in Mesa County, Colo.'s Grand Valley."

Very good, a mainstream media service quotes an unnamed source from 11 years ago, OK you win.

If the truth offends you, then by all means avoid it.

If you are into meth addict neighbors, monster trucks, pitbulls, and Tap-out stickers on your truck, then Grand Junction is heaven.

This has been a great, informative thread so far. Just the kind of information I wanted. Thank you all who've contributed so far. I can't wait for my time off in July so I can get up there and check some things out. I am sick and tired of being here in Central Oklahoma...been here for nearly 11 years now. Time for a change...

I intend to look at The Meadows and Castle Pines when I'm there too.

Stay out Wyoming at all costs, you will not be happy here. Winters are long and cold, they start about the 20th of August and last until around the 1st of June. Summer is usually the 7th of July and maybe the morning of the 8th. The wind blows incessantly, 24-7, a calm day is when you can keep your hat on your head without a chin strap. There are no cultural events like cello recitals, gay poetry readings or book signings by liberal activist movie stars. This is due to the fact the natives HAVE no culture, they are all a bunch of beer swilling, tobacco spitting, gun toting ignorant rednecks to whom getting dressed to go out to dinner means a clean pair of jeans and a shirt that's been ironed , and never mind the cow manure on the boots. We have been "discovered" by Californians, refugees from Seattle and Portland, along with a whole herd of citified folks from Back East. This has driven real estate prices out of sight, I just last week saw a 1/4 acre lot with an outhouse and a wall tent go for $350,000. Fishing and hunting truely suck, you cant wet a line or walk in the woods without getting run over by a 4-wheeler with a Colorado license plate. The wolves have eaten all the moose and most of the elk and the bears are working on the humans.
No, better you should go to Montana, I hear it's real nice up there.

I'm headed to Colorado tomorrow for about a week. I'm staying in Centennial, about 14 miles North of Castle Rock. I'm going to be checking some stuff out, jobs, housing, etc. I'm looking forward to getting the hell away from Oklahoma and work for a reprieve. I hope I like what I find up there. I sure appreciate all the helpful info. so far. Thanks.

Daughter is an OT, enlisted a headhunter for the Front Range and I was amazed at the response--a 360 degree contrast to Michigan.

On the other side of the coin I was there reading something about water use projections and the population increase estimate over the next 20 years gives one pause...but not that much...:)

OK fellas, I got up here to central Colorado Monday night from central Oklahoma where I live. I climbed my first fourteener, Mt. Evans, Tuesday AM. Yesterday AM I climbed Mt. Bierstadt at 14,069 feet. Today I've talked with the people from Centura Health (the largest healthcare provider in the State) and this afternoon I'm going out with a realtor to look at some homes...specifically in The Meadows development at Castle Rock. Jobs won't be a problem here. Centura's building a new hospital in Castle Rock that's scheduled to open next year. I'm looking for a home with 1800-2000 sq. ft. give or take a little.
What do you guys think about The Meadows development?
What about Castle Pines just North of Castle Rock?
What about Parker, Colorado? There's a bunch of nice new neighborhoods going in at Parker too!
I'm looking hard, and I'm really serious about relocating from Oklahoma to Colorado. Thanks.

Check out the Elizabeth area. It's what Parker was 30 years ago......

Big +1

I would also look in the Ft Collins area, lots of jobs up here as well. Elizabeth is more centrally located though

Antlers,

Is an 1800 to 2000 sq.ft. house large enough for your knife collection?

Just askin'

donsm70

I'll make due.
Actually I went around with a realtor today in The Meadows at Castle Rock...kinda disappointed that the price per sq. ft. is as high as it is. I've got my work cut out for me to find something that'll work for me in the $100 to $120 bucks per sq. ft. price range. Houses are built different up here too...basements and crawl spaces and sump pumps and radon devices and no slabs and no AC's in a lot of them...it's been quite the education so far. Water bills are 300% higher here too than in Oklahoma. I pay $180 bucks a year for HOA dues...they pay 65 to 80 bucks a month for HOA dues in The Meadows! It's kinda pricey up here so far from what I've seen.

I pay $200/yr for my HOA here in northern CO and that covers all of the irrigation water.

Antlers,

My wife and I relocated to the area recently. We spent about 6 months looking for a home we loved... it took a little bit, but we found our home. If you need any help or information... (from a newbee) I would be happy to help. Just PM me.

Whitebird

Stay away from those homes with sump pumps. They are just continuous troubles, especially in wet years.

The higher the HOA dues are, the more grief you will get. Unles there are actaully capital improvemens or services offered to residents, those dues go for leagl actions against residents. If you can live with them, fine, a lot of folks can't.

If you are looking around Castle Rock, go out east 20-30 miles to get away from that stuff. Look down around Franktown or go east from there, past Elizabeth out towards Kiowa.

Was just North of there in Lone Tree/Centennial visiting family and friends last weekend. A lot more crowded than it used to be, but still better than here. Would love to move back.

I used to think these two towns were very similar, course I havn't been to either in over 20 years. They are at a nice elevation range 7500-8000 and both are close to higher elevations.

Why are you leaving Oklahoma?

It's hot, dry, flat, nowhere to hunt or fish.
The people are rude, gas prices are high, and the
Thunder can't beat the Heat.

Hey, I'm right behind ya!

Drove back up to Colorado from Oklahoma yesterday. Got up this morning and climbed Mt. Evans (14,265 ft.). Spent the rest of the day in Denver. God, what a great place to be!

Castle Rock is a good area. There is a major hospital near Parker and Lincoln and another major hospital at Lincoln and I-25. tom

Forget Steamboat. It's nothing but an overpriced tourist town with strong liberal politics. The hospital is good however.
Here in Craig, the cost of living is much lower but the hospital is terrible.
Live in Craig and commute to Steamboat.

I got up this AM and climbed to the summit of Mt. Quandary. There are no easy fourteeners! Saw lots of Mountain Goats...up close too!



Spent the whole day today in the big mountains. Went through Breckinridge...what a beautiful town! This place has ALL of the stuff I like to do!

...I think Boulder is beautiful. I went up Flagstaff Mountain today. Bear Peak is closed because it caught on fire and is still smouldering. I'll be on Green Mountain tomorrow.
I love it in Boulder. The real estate is way too expensive there! If it weren't then I'd be there because I love everything about it there. The outdoors environment there is wonderful. Living there is unaffordable though...unless you're very rich. An 1800 foot home there is about half a million bucks or more.�

Well Boulder takes the cake for the place I'd most like to live in Colorado. Now I just need to win the lottery so I can afford a house there! It's a Mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. I climbed Green Mountain this AM...left the Ranger Station at Chataqua at 0500. What a great hike, climb, and mountain! Stayed the whole day in Boulder. Went to the downtown area at Pearl Street...nice! Fortunantly it won't be far to get to Boulder from wherever I wind up here. Definantlh plan on spending time there when I can. Now I gotta go back to Podunk hillbilly Oklahoma tomorrow....reluctantly.
Saw these mulies on my climb this morning.

Longmont is close to Boulder, and the prices are lower. Just a thought. I think Golden would be another good option in that general area.

I lived up in Nederland for several years while my office was in Boulder. Admittedly, it was still a haven for old hippies in those days (early 1990s), but I had a passive solar house that I could leave in the middle of the winter and not have to worry about anything freezing up and a spectacular view through the pines to the west. The commute to Boulder was about 30 minutes in the worst weather and 20 minutes normally. Might want to look around up there.

I want to be a little closer to Denver. I like Denver...a lot. It's horribly congested at certain times of the day, but if you can avoid that, it's got some great assets to it. Living in Castle Rock, Parker, Lone Tree, etc. provides close access to Denver and a very short drive to work. It also provides close access to the Mountains and to Boulder and to much of the outdoor recreation that Colorado has to offer. The majority of my time will be spent working, so I want to get that aspect set up right. When I left Colorado the other morning it was 68 degrees and you could have dropped a feather and it would've went straight to the ground. I drove straight through and filled up in some podunk hillbilly Oklahoma town and it was 108 degrees and the wind was steadily blowing at 35 - 40 miles an hour...and it was a hot wind. Felt like somebody was blowing a blast furnace at me. I love it up in Colorado. I'm going...

If you liked Boulder you should check out Fort Collins. It has all all of the things Boulder has to offer but without the high real estate costs. You'd probably be able to find work here without having to commute.