Area is changing fast. - 3/24/2008

The energy industry has discovered this part of the west. Natural gas exploration has really compromised the environment in and around Grand Junction. The economy is stronger for this but the increased air pollution, traffic of big trucks and trampling of the forests and high desert are a huge negative. Grand Junction is not a small quaint high desert town anymore. The cost of housing has doubled in the past five years and the outdoors is not the experience it was 5-10 years ago. Gas wells are popping up everywhere and there is no end in sight. Unless you work in the energy industry you will not like where this thing is going. What a shame.

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Quality of life not what it was ten years ago. - 2/13/2008

I have lived in Grand Junction for over 25 years. The western side of Colorado has always been the least spoiled part of the state as the Front Range-Eastern side (Fort Collins, Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo) has gotten to be one big crowded place, bad traffic, dirty air and all the things that go with city life. In the last five years Grand Junction has gotten a dose of this with the growth in the natural gas industry in our area. We now have some better paying jobs but we also have thousands of people moving in for the jobs and they have little or no feeling for the area just the desire to chase employment. Housing costs have gone way up and still most people in GJ don't make much more money than they did five years ago. Not everyone can or even wants to work 80 hours aweek in the oil patch. Most of the newcomers, not all, are undereducated and just here for awhile. Meth is a big problem as well as petty nuisance crimes that are on the increase. Air quality, especially in the winter, has gotten very bad with about 100 very dirty, smokey days per year. Traffic is much worse lately and the city fathers have done a poor job dealing with the growth and the general aesthetics of the area. Lots of idiots in the outlying areas with junked cars and refrigerators in their yards as no local governing bodies seem to want to tackle this. In general the quality of life has greatly suffered in the area that up until about five years ago was still a relatively unspoiled place. I guess no where is Eden anymore.......

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20 year resident of the Grand Valley - 2/12/2008

I lived there for 20 years. I miss it. There's lots to do for out door activities. Great hiking, Audubon trails, LOTS of biking and bike related activites. Tour the Valley is actually a Wine tasting treat. Many local wineries and a meadery. Dinner theater. Local parades. River activities. The downside? The economy. The price of housing is out of line with the income levels for the area. It's odd. IF you have a line on a good job (dual income for families is advised) THEN you'll enjoy it. Otherwise you'll be struggling. St Mary's hospital serves most of the Western Slope with a great facility. Community Hospital is smaller and has a wonderful 'bedside manner' because of it. The schools are varied. Each seems to have their own strengths and weaknesses. Choose carefully. My daughter decided to take a public bus to go back to her old school after we moved across town.

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Quality of life - 2/8/2008

The Grand Junction area is one fantastic place to live with many out door activities close to in your back yard. Things such as Hiking the many hundreds of miles on trails or watching the Big Horn sheep in the Colorado National Monument only minutes away. Skiing in the Winter at Powderhorn is only 1 hour short drive from down town. Many more activities like jeeping on backroad trails is only an hour away as is sightseeing in Canyon Lands Nat'l Park located in Moab, Utah 80 miles west on I-70. Grand Junction climate is quite mild with only around 9 inches rain annually. We have beautiful clear skies, mild temperature and enjoy a slow peaceful life style with only less than 100,000 population. There is one major shopping mall and a beautiful restored down town section with restruants and walking/shopping area. Its a fantastic place to retire if you like the out doors activities. As the area grows many cultural activities are becoming popular.

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Housing Woes - 10/14/2007

The actual housing cost here in GJ is actually a lot higher than suggested here on this site. Sure, you can buy a house in the low 200K's--but this will buy you maybe a fixer-upper or something small in not exactly the best of neighborhoods. Don't even think about trying to find anything cheaper--it does not exist! The same goes for trying to find a place to rent. If you are lucky to find anything with a current vacancy rate of 1.5%, then be prepared to spend anywhere from $1,200 and upwards for a half-way decent townhouse/house in an acceptable neighborhood. Which brings me to the issue of crime. Never before have I lived in a place where drugs and property damage crime has been as bad as in GJ. Our police force here is definitely understaffed and overworked. Think twice before you move out here....

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No places to rent in Grand Junction... - 9/18/2007

The town of Grand Junction itself is a nice place but after living here a year I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know. For one, due to the recent boom, there are hardly any vacant rental properties and the ones there are are extremely overpriced. The housing department and charity organizations here can't help the homeless or poor find places to live due to this, so there is an overabundance of both of these types. Also, since we live so close to the prison there are a lot of recent parolees out on the streets and in the city parks. This has lead to an increase in crime. So, while the city itself is nice and most people who live here try to be nice to you, I recommend going anywhere but here. There are a lot of jobs but the price you pay for work is almost too much to handle. What good is having a job if you have no place to go home to at night?

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Grand Junction - 8/13/2007

Grand Junction. Pros and Cons Pros.. 1. pretty town 2. nice place for a retiree 3. very nice people Cons 1. Very hot Arizona like summers 2. awful job market 3. very limited cultural scene 4. a bit pricey for a town with few jobs 5. poor selection of rests.

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There is an epedemic of illicit drug use in the Gr - 7/13/2007

particularly methamphetamine. Due to a historic lack of decent wages for people without at least a BA, life for many is difficult at best. Historically Grand Junction has been known for it's large labor pool of untrained workers. Unfornately, many businesses have taken advantage of them. There is an unspoken rule that in order to further cultivate that cheap labor pool wages must be kept low. Makes good business sense but it's pretty hard on the locals. Still, the recreational opportunities abound. I'll be moving back as soon as I can. Take it from someone who's been there for most of a lifetime, you will never run out of new and varied outdoor recreational opportunities. Please visit but then go home.

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night life etc. - 5/1/2007

how is the city for young people? is there any night life? are there many single 20 & 30 somethings in the area?

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How do you like it? - 11/3/2006

Can anyone tell me about the access to good shopping as well as doctors in the area? Is it really windy? Thanks!

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quality of life - 6/24/2006

low crime, wonderful high desert climate(hot summers, very mild winters, dry. population is predominantly happy healthy active families and retirees. spectacular place for retirement. great place to live and work if you can bring your own job. no opportunities for any young college BAs - relatively low wages to cost of living is the main problem.

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climate - 6/18/2006

summer - hot and dry. Avg humidity 16% fall - spring- Good temp. a few cloudy days Winter - can go down to zero. Usual high 40 degrees

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Grand Junction jobs - 2/28/2006

Jobs are hard to come by. Gas industry is bringing in more, but it is the only industry here.

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G.J. is a sleeper! - 11/30/2005

Beautiful scenery, close in recreation, got all the services plus more. A real hidden gem!

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