The honeymoon is Over!
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3/15/2013
I moved to Durango because of a new job my husband was offered. I was full of dreams, hopes and wishes. Everyone seemed so friendly in this small tourist town. The mountains are beautiful. The housing is not affordable, so we ended up having to live in Bayfield, which is a town of 1,000 and 16 miles away.
After two years, this is what I can tell you. This is a place of California housing prices and Mississippi wages. The business owners will tell you, with a smug laugh, that this is a "$10/hour town". If you come to Durango with plenty of money, and don't need to find a job, and can Afford to Play all of the recreational activities and afford the nice restaurants, you will love it here.
If you need to find a job, as I did, this is not the place to move to. While the people are conditioned to be friendly to everyone so as not to insult the tourists, they are cliquish and not open to actually being friends with newcomers. They hire people they know, and people who are from here. If you're from out of town, it really doesn't matter how qualified you are, they won't hire you.
It took me over a year to get my first job, which I was way over-qualified for, and underpaid to do. I am now on my third job within the last year. The employers here are mostly small businesses and they run them like there are no rules or laws that they have to follow. Anything goes, and does. Bullying at the workplace, especially among women, is the favorite pastime here. If you get hired and are from out of town, they will happily torment you until you leave.
Be advised that no matter how much you earned at your last job, you will earn 50% less, and with no benefits. Most people here are working two to three jobs just to make it. You will have pretty mountains to look at while you're struggling to put food in your mouth. You won't be able to afford to ski, or do anything fun here, but if having the mountains to look at is enough for you, then by all means, move here.
There is no shopping here to speak of other than the shops for tourists. Farmington, which has 40,000 people, is a 90 minute drive. And, there's not much there, either. It's 4 hours to Albuquerque to actually have a selection. This is a claustrophobic little place.
The medical care here is pathetic. When people have something serious, they drive either to Albuquerque or Denver.
We fell for the sales pitch when we came here and are now repenting in leisure. Come to visit, but don't think you can make it moving here unless you're already fully funded for the rest of your life. The honeymoon is over!
Bp | Bayfield, CO