Reviews & Comments
Montrose, CO
re: Not for working people - 7/19/2012 -
9/6/2012I couldn’t agree more. My husband and I moved to Montrose about three years ago because of a job and are just waiting for the right opportunity to get us out! I find that the locals are extremely rude and if you say just one bad thing about Montrose (like how short the yellow lights are) they get all bent out of shape and think you are weird. If you mention that you happen to not like living in Montrose, they think you are the devil or something. I work at a bank in Montrose and if you ask a local for their ID, they flip out and yell at you. (I’m sorry I don’t know you and I want to make sure that the $2000 you are withdrawing is yours)
Don’t get me wrong, there are a few things that we do enjoy about Montrose. It’s close to Ouray and the San Juan Mountains which is some place that my husband and I do like to visit but with it being over a half hour drive, it’s not something we find time for every weekend. But that really is all there is to do in this town.
We are a young couple in our twenties so we do enjoy being able to go out and have some fun (cheap if possible). Montrose is not the place for that. There are two movie theatres with three screens each but don’t count on the movie you want to see showing at either of them. It’s either tween movies like Harry Potter and Twilight every weekend of some political film about who gives a crap. When we want to go out to eat, we have a few choices…Mexican, Mexican, Chili’s, Applebee’s, or Mexican (and it’s not even good Mexican either. But we do come from Arizona so I guess I’ll give that a break) If you want to go shopping, all I am going to say about that is Good Luck. I am thankful it has a Target but that’s about it. We love going to zoos and parks and museums…yeah, there is none of that nearby.
One of the biggest reasons we hate Montrose is how secluded it is. It’s about four hours away from a big city (I do not consider Grand Junction a city) so to travel takes a lot of time and money. My parents and family live in Oregon and to fly from Grand Junction to Portland takes about $800/person round trip. Because of the price and because our pay sucks, I only get to see my parents about once a year and my husband doesn’t get to join. Yes, flights from Denver to Portland are cheaper at about $200/person round trip but then I would have to take two extra days just to drive to Denver and back.
With all that being said, DO NOT move to Montrose if you like to travel or to do something different every weekend and all on a small salary. BUT on the other hand, if you are an older family who doesn’t mind not having a whole lot to do than maybe Montrose is the place for you. It just isn’t for us.
Something to consider if you are a family that has children, the schools here aren’t as great as everyone makes them out to be. I have a few friends that had to leave public school for home school because of the drugs and sex that are rampant at the local high school. Teenage pregnancy seems to be the norm in Montrose, at least more so than in any other place I’ve lived in.
I do want to say that if you love Montrose, good for you. That’s great! I know that every town is going to have its positives and negatives but it just seems like for an outsider (and a younger one at that) moving in, it has more negatives than positives. The Western Slope of Colorado is an AMAZING place to visit but not to live.