Grand Junction

[hurley842002]

I think GJ is a pretty cool town. I lived there for 5-6 years while attending college. It's grown a lot since then but I still like it. My more liberal friends frequently complain about the concervitism there so it can't be too bad. As far as western Colorado college towns it has the most to offer as far as prices for housing and restaurants go. Probably a lot more politically agreeable as well. For early childhood opportunities it definitely has more options.

Housing is definitely a big one for us. After considering moving back to La Junta and pricing homes down there, it really turned us off to the metro area housing market. GJ isn't quite as cheap as La Junta, but it's better than the metro area from what we've seen so far.

[hurley842002]

Check out Durango as well. La Plata County Sheriff's Office is not the best paying job in the world, but they seem to be hiring fairly frequently and the job will give you plenty of exposure to a variety of issues. Oil and gas are pretty big businesses on the western slope, so banking and the rest of the economy there will float on how that industry is going. Another benefit to Durango is proximity to Farmington, NM. If you can't find what you want in one, you can look in the other. GJ is a nice town, but if you can't find it in GJ, there aren't really any alternatives.

Good luck with your search.

Thanks for the info, Durango wouldn't be bad at all, and I've worked with a few of the La Plata guys at my previous job, they were definitely small town deputies, but good guys/gals nonetheless.

One thing I didn't mention as necessary, is the airport. My mother in law flies in from California frequently, so GJ has that going for it.

[cstone]

IMO, the weekenders from California in GJ are a major drawback. Given your MIL, GJ is the better choice.

[Great-Kazoo]

Found a few groovy places from delta south. That's a 30 - 45 min drive, depending on weather.

[JohnnyDrama]

IMO, the weekenders from California in GJ are a major drawback. Given your MIL, GJ is the better choice.

I lived in Durango for nine months back in 2002. That town has California weekenders that stay for weeks. And, as the general population is smaller they are much more noticeable.

[The Norseman]

"Another benefit to Durango is proximity to Farmington, NM."

I've lived in Durango going on 18 years and have never seen proximity to Farmington as a benefit La Plata County just elected its first D sheriff in over 20 years, so we are all waiting for the smoke to clear and see what we really ended up with. Durango is a beautify area to live but it's gone blue with all the west coast/east coast transplants.

[Great-Kazoo]

All we saw this week was Traffic, lot's of traffic. Are there some possible areas to explore, yes. However. At this time we can't see moving from the front range to western slope when the same crap exist. Maybe to the west of GJ, or even Utah.

[drew890]

All we saw this week was Traffic, lot's of traffic. Are there some possible areas to explore, yes. However. At this time we can't see moving from the front range to western slope when the same crap exist. Maybe to the west of GJ, or even Utah.

Where did you experience this large amount of traffic in Grand Junction last weekend?
I moved here from Greenwood Village two years ago and have absalutly zero complaints about Grand Junction traffic.

[Irving]

Saint George was ridiculously hot when we were there last summer. I don't want to derail your thread, but would you mind talking about what attracts you to the desert? It's never been some where I've considered, but my wife loves the heat and would be down to move some where warmer.

[Mtn.man]

Yup, it's HOT HOT HOT.