Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Moving to CO

This would actually be a pretty solid idea too. I guess same could be said for McCook, Nebraska area as well. Both would be way less pricey than Colorado real estate is right now.

Nope. Go to Grand Junction or one of the smaller surrounding towns.Stay out of the front range totally.

Plenty to think about. Thanks gentlemen. Looks like we will try to look around Como when we visit in December and if time allows, make a trip up to WY. I'm surprised at the lack of love for Nebraska.

December is a good time to look at Como. If you can deal with South Park winters, You're a tuff sumbish.....

Or a cartoon character....

Make sure you hit Casa Bonita for a fine Mexican meal when you’re in Denver...

Colorado is full. Might want to check out just south of the border in norther New Mexico. Great weather, mountains, and world class range, the NRA Whittington Center.

That’s a fact! You’d really have to like wind and cold to live in Como or Jefferson.

My new bride and I were driving through there a couple weeks ago and I mentioned it was one of the few places in the CO mountains I’d rather not live. Even though I grew up not too far away. The other side of Kenosha pass is a different world.

Lots of good people in Nebraska, but unless you get around Grand Island or farther east health care, groceries and other shopping are a long trek. Plus unless you have a trade or start a business there aren’t to many employment opportunities from North Platte west. When I retired I looked around the Sidney area and it was nice. Nestled in close to Colorado and Wyoming, but the closest quality med services were in Denver or Omaha.
98% of the hunting ground in the state is private so the public land gets hit hard. Lots of fishing opportunities. Weather is unpredictable with the winters being mild to many days of cold and snow. Summers can be bad also. Stay away from Lincoln and Omaha due to crime, taxes and both are Liberal strongholds due too UNL and UNO.

I am a Mississippian approaching retirement and have given a lot of thought to retiring out west. I spend parts of each summer exploring potential retirement locations in CO. Trinidad offers some of the best real estate prices and has great big game opportunities. It has some of the best year round weather. It's not what most folks would consider a "nice" town. It is within 3 hours of Denver, but 2 of the CO Springs airport.

Colorado Springs is often cited as one of the best retirement places in the nation. I have found that it is pretty expensive for my blood though. And it's on the front range which isn't as pretty to me. It's within sight of the Rockies proper though.

Pagosa Springs has somewhat reasonable real estate prices. It's a really nice community. It's not within 2 hours of Denver. They definitely have more extreme winter weather, but it's not as bad as much of the state.

Las Vegas NM and Raton NM are like Trinidad in that they are old and not as "nice" as modern cities, but they are affordable and they are butted right up against the Rockies. NM is more favorable from a tax standpoint best I can tell. Both those communities have comparatively mild weather. Raton is pretty isolated. Las Vegas is within an hour of Santa Fe and 2 hours of ABQ. Santa Fe is a great city to visit. It'd be a great place to live if it wasn't so expensive.

I wish there were a way I could pull off spending my summers in the Rockies in retirement. It is truly glorious. If I do it, It'll have to be in an RV. It's just too darned expensive otherwise.

Back to big game hunting. You posted this in Elk hunting. I am 55 years old and in very good cardiovascular condition. I do have some bad joints though. I have often dreamed of elk hunting. You have to be a tough SOB to harvest elk in the mountains. Killing one is the easy part and it ain't all that easy. You don't just ride an ATV up to the carcass. You may kill one miles from the closest motor vehicle access. If I ever go elk hunting it'll be with a well outfitted guide. I ain't tough anymore. Use the money you save by not living out there to do a few guided hunts each year.

Most importantly. Try before you buy. Spend some time in the place you plan to retire before you buy.

There may be some things of value in this thread.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...retire-to-trinidad-colorado#Post10252134

Shut up!!!!!!!!!

Geeeez.........

Almost everyday I say a prayer or send a lament heavenward for a return to the winters of the 1970's--it sure would change a lot of lifestyle immigrants minds about the weather in the southern Rockies........

As in 1978 when the CDOW was feeding deer and elk in the bar ditches and county roads to keep them from starvation?

That's for darn sure. We got people living out here now and I don't think they even own a snow shovel

78-79 was the culmination of a series of harsh winters. Saw lots of deer and elk being fed on state, federal, and private land (including our ranch), but didn't see any critters being fed in the bar ditches in my neck of the woods.

Can you buy a lifetime hunting/fishing license in Mississippi? Might be worth looking into before you lose your residency there.

I spent about 10 years in different parts of CO back in the late 70's to late 80's. Walden area, Grand Junction, and Greeley. I'd stay west if I were going back, but I'm not.

I always liked the Laramie area.

If you value your “liberties”....there are far better choices in neighboring states. Kolorado is fast becoming the new Kalifornia! There is no eutopia, but Kolorado certainly is not it! As a retiree, you have options....spend the rest of your time here “not” regretting your choice of domicile!
I moved to Wyoming in ‘85 ( from your neighbor to the west), and do not regret it. Is it perfect, absolutely not.....but there are far worse places. We have good Turkey hunting, good Whitetail hunting, along with all of the other game that we are recognized for. For elk hunting, much of Wyoming is easy ( relatively flat) as compared to much of Kolorado! memtb

I have my lifetime license. My plan is to return a few weeks each year in late December/early Jan. I have plenty of family late to hunt here.

Excited about looking around when visit our kids at Christmas. I'm reminded more and more each day that I'm not 20 something anymore. Flat and easy...may be more my speed. Especially looking 10 plus years down the road.