Reviews & Comments
Norwood, CO
Quaint, quiet mountain town with some quirks -
7/24/2022I grew up in Norwood a while ago, and go back a few times a year to visit family. Norwood is a very quiet, small Western Colorado town on a plateau that gets a decent amount of snow and also has fairly warm summers. The high elevation affords cleaner air, and also stunning views of surrounding mountains and mountain ranges.
The people are small town friendly, and it's a small, everyone knows everyone kinda place. There is usually no "traffic," unless someone stops their car to talk to a friend walking by on the sidewalk. There is a small grocery store, post office, pharmacy, liquor store, hardware store and some restaurants, etc. Many people who live in Norwood end up moving there for life. If you're looking for a small town where people acknowledge and talk to you, where customer service actually exists, and where life is slower and more calm, this is a good place for you.
The downsides would be that is has tended to become an overflow town for neighboring ski town, Telluride, which is gorgeous with tall mountains, but somewhat occupied by ski bum, trust funder hippies. That said, you will find friendly restaurant staff, bank employees, etc in Telluride. Also, Norwood can be pretty boring sometimes. If you want a place with movie theaters, bowling alleys, etc, this may not be your area, however, the town of Ouray about 50 minutes away boasts a hot springs and very gorgeous, walkable main street with cute shops and nice restaurants, and Montrose, a little more than an hour away has some of the first chain stores and restaurants you'll see, with hotels and an airport.
The only other downside is icy roads in that area, which are usually plowed and gravelled by the time you'd go anywhere but still a cause for caution, along with the wildlife you have to watch out for, mostly around dusk and nighttime. Deer are sometimes hit on the roads, but a wary eye driving can mostly avoid that. All in all, it's not a bad place to live.