Visit yes, retire maybe, but DON'T MOVE HERE!!
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11/10/2006
My wife and I moved from the Washington, DC area to Delta, Co. The San Juans mountains hypnotized us. They are stunningly beautiful!! After 15 months though, we left. Here are some interesting things we learned about Western Colorado (Grand Junction to Ouray):
1 It's a tough place to make a living. Many (yes, many) people work two or more jobs and pay is terrible. Jobs are hard to find. Gasoline is expensive. Many people feel trapped because they can't afford to leave.
2 We found out that for every two that arrive one leaves. Real Estate Agents know this and are aware they could pick the listing back up in a few months.
3. They don't like newcomers, especially Californians and to a lesser degree Texans (the place is loaded with Texans). For the newcomer to make friends with a native... "foget about it"!
4. Alot of drug usage and higher than normal suicide rate. As one woman once told me- "this is the most un-Christian place I have ever lived!"
5. They are traffic Nazi's. I have never seen an area that is so obsessed with traffic violations. What am I talking about? Drive over the speed limit, pass on the double yellow line, run a red light and you will find out real quick (they have cell phones and they do use them).
My parents (retired) fell in love with it and now love to spend their summers there. Nothing wrong with that! As I now love to say... "it's a great place to visit but no place to live!"
Luis | Fincastle, VA