Where to live??

[mezz250x]

Me and a friend of mine are looking at moving out west next summer sometime. Just starting to do some research now as to where we should move to. We are looking at Colorado, Wyoming, or Idaho. There are three factors that will decide where are moving to.

1: How far from good riding are we living?
2: How much is housing/cost of living in the area?
3: What is the Job opportunity?

The main idea with me moving out there is to try something new, and to be close to the mountains. Im sick of driving 15+ hours to get to good riding. So, being close (around an hour), is a key factor in deciding where were gonna live.

Both of us are machinists so it would be nice to be close to a bigger town or at least somewhere that has machine shops. This is all we've ever done for work so we are somewhat limited on job possibilites. But i guess im game to try something new also.

Also we're looking at more than likely renting a house for a while to make sure moving out there is gonna work out. Prefferably would like to be in a rural area not buried in town somewhere, NEED a shop/garage also. Not gonna be wrenching on sleds in the front yard. So an appartment is probably not an option.

Anybody with any advice speak up, your input is appreciated, thank you.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Denver is the closest city to the area in NW Colorado which happens to have some of the best riding in Colorado. Denver, normally is about two hours from the mountains, but when you factor in the winter ski traffic it can be upwards of 5 hours, unless you leave real early (5am, which is what most snowmobilers do). You don't wanna live in NW Colorado though. Steamboat and the surrounding area is very expensive to live and houses are hard to find, most peeps up here rent townhouses and the garage area for those barely fit one car. I chose to live in Kremmling, but I have to drive and hour to work each day, but I only have to drive 20 minutes to get to RE Pass to ride.

I am unaware of the job market for machinists in Grand Junction, but it is a nice town and the area is booming. There are lot of jobs in the oil and gas fields down there, Halliburton being the biggest employer. The Grand Mesa is just a short drive from GJ and it has some epic riding. You might wanna PM Farmer about that area as that is where he rides.

Gunnison and Durango are a couple of other towns that sit in the middle of some great riding, this area having more of the xtreme flair to it. You might want to PM Alrevedup, he lives in that area and could help you more than I could.

I hope that I could help a little.

Good luck, PJ

 

[Supplicate]

You don't wanna live in NW Colorado though. Steamboat and the surrounding area is very expensive

I don't consider Steamboat as the NW, thats more north central IMO.

NW is Rangely, Meeker, Craig, Dinosaur, etc.

I am sure there is a need for machinists in Grand Junction. Oilwell tools need rebuilt somewhere, and usually they take them to specialized machine shops to be refaced, recut, and rebuilt.

 

[Ollie]

I would say denver, just becuase of the larger job market.
I am not real familiar with your trade though.

You should also look at Longmont, Fort Collins and Loveland. They are up north of Denver and have fairly large job markets. It is 2 hours from Fort Collins to unloaded at the snowies

 

[skidcat]

where to live

utah, there is lots of great riding. housing is a little high but job opportunities for your trade are all over. decent money if your any good too

 

[live2ride]

Grand Jct is a great place, 1.5 hours to the Grand Mesa. Many good paying jobs in the gas/oil fields!!!

 

[bushy]

If it was me, I'd look for a job/town in the mountains right in the heart of where I want to be all the time. It's pretty much a minimum of 4 to 6 hour round trip drive to sledding from anywhere on the front range. Factor in traffic around Denver and the I-70 corridor and your looking at getting out of town by 5 AM and heading back by 3 PM if you want to beat the mind numbing traffic. But, for a big city, Denver rocks!

I'm kind of stuck where i'm at now and wish I would have done it different when I got set up our here. Kinda depends on what lifstyle you want...You can make better money on the front range and have a better standard of living and lots of variety, or you can trade a lot of that off and be right in the hills. Kinda depends on the kind of person you are and where your at in life. Most of the mountain towns are small and pretty limited on variety and social opportunities, but they have a lot to offer for the outdoors lovers. Southcentral to southwest CO would be a great area to set up if you live for the outdoors lifestyle, and if you end up in Gunnison you'll think Minnesoda is warm in the winter! Personally I wouldn't mind ending up somewhere in NC/NW CO, west of the divide. Laramie would be worth looking into as well. Snowy Range 30 minutes away would be awesome and the town is pretty cool too! Good luck!

 

[blackcloud2k]

Northern Colorado (Fort Collins) is a great place to live and work. Lots of enginering and machine shops to work at. The housing rates are very reasonable and there is plenty to do in the summer time. I can unload in the snowies in under 2 hours and can be to rabbit ears in a little over that time. Then there is as stated the I70 corridor with riding capabilities.

 

[mezz250x]

I dont know that denver would be a good idea for us. I just looked a little bit into it and the housing seems really spendy there. And a two hour drive to go ride and be in traffic dont really float my boat.

I was looking into Grand Junction, seems like a pretty good sized town. There must be machine shops around there to work at? Is Grand mesa good riding then? Is that the only area to ride around there? Anyone else have info on around the GJ area?

PJ-what is the job/housing like in Kremmling? Where are you driving to work? I currently drive an hour to work everyday so that wouldn't bother me i guess.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

I dont know that denver would be a good idea for us. I just looked a little bit into it and the housing seems really spendy there. And a two hour drive to go ride and be in traffic dont really float my boat.

I was looking into Grand Junction, seems like a pretty good sized town. There must be machine shops around there to work at? Is Grand mesa good riding then? Is that the only area to ride around there? Anyone else have info on around the GJ area?

PJ-what is the job/housing like in Kremmling? Where are you driving to work? I currently drive an hour to work everyday so that wouldn't bother me i guess.

Housing is somewhat affordable. There are a few houses on the market, i don't know what is for rent though. I drive to Steamboat everyday. I don't know of any machine shops though, but there are plenty of construction companies at hand. TIC and TCD are the two biggest in the area with TIC being very big with projects all over. As far as jobs in Kremmling, there are none, as most peeps drive an hour in any direction to go to work. They either go to Vail, Summit County, East Grand County (the market there is not so good now) or Routt County (Steamboat). You can Google the Steamboat Pilot and read through the classifieds to get an example of what jobs are available. There are three coal mines in the area, I am sure that any of them could use a machinist or two. If I can be of any more help, let me know. See ya when you get up here this winter to ride.

 

[sledskiing]

I'm with Bushy.

If i could do it all over again i would have relocated myself in the mtn town. Most of those towns once you get through the first few years you can make a stable living.

If i lived in a mtn town my cost of living would probably go down dramatically. No need for the big diesel truck and camper. Just a Tacoma and a ramp should do the job.

Housing will all depend on if there is a ski resort nearby.

My first choice would be Crested Butte/ Gunnison. Out of all the towns i have spent a good amount of time in (Steamboat, Summit County and Crested Butte), Crested Butte has the hottest girls. Ohh and the riding is some of the best in the state.

 

[jecornel]

GJ

Poma in Grand Junction is expanding their operation and the new factory should be open soon. They build chairlifts.

http://www.leitner-poma.com/

 

[mezz250x]

Housing is somewhat affordable. There are a few houses on the market, i don't know what is for rent though. I drive to Steamboat everyday. I don't know of any machine shops though, but there are plenty of construction companies at hand. TIC and TCD are the two biggest in the area with TIC being very big with projects all over. As far as jobs in Kremmling, there are none, as most peeps drive an hour in any direction to go to work. They either go to Vail, Summit County, East Grand County (the market there is not so good now) or Routt County (Steamboat). You can Google the Steamboat Pilot and read through the classifieds to get an example of what jobs are available. There are three coal mines in the area, I am sure that any of them could use a machinist or two. If I can be of any more help, let me know. See ya when you get up here this winter to ride.

I look forward to it, getting very impatient

I'm with Bushy.

If i could do it all over again i would have relocated myself in the mtn town. Most of those towns once you get through the first few years you can make a stable living.

If i lived in a mtn town my cost of living would probably go down dramatically. No need for the big diesel truck and camper. Just a Tacoma and a ramp should do the job.

Housing will all depend on if there is a ski resort nearby.

My first choice would be Crested Butte/ Gunnison. Out of all the towns i have spent a good amount of time in (Steamboat, Summit County and Crested Butte), Crested Butte has the hottest girls. Ohh and the riding is some of the best in the state.

That is key information
Is there work around there?

 

[PwdrNut]

I agree with Sledskiing on the areas and also add the SouthFork area. But remember that the Gunnison valley and CB are COLD.
Bushmaster said it well: "and if you end up in Gunnison you'll think Minnesoda is warm in the winter!"
If your biggest goal is riding, then try to locate yourself centrally in the state. It takes me about 3 hours to Steamboat or New Mexico or Flattops, less than 2 for CB area or Southfork, and riding is within 20 minutes in the Buena Vista/Salida area(which can be some of the best on a good snow year) . Black Mesa and the Snowies are a bit further.
However jobs are about non-existent.

 

[live2ride]

Check out Rifle as well, you have the Grand Mesa, Flattops, and Marion. There may be a few that would be a bit further away that I don't know about.

 

[sledskiing]

I have no idea what the job market is like out there.

 

[Supplicate]

Check out Rifle as well, you have the Grand Mesa, Flattops, and Marion. There may be a few that would be a bit further away that I don't know about.

After spending several months down in Rifle for work, I can honestly say that I would rather cut my own throat then move there.

Poma in Grand Junction is expanding their operation and the new factory should be open soon. They build chairlifts.

http://www.leitner-poma.com/

Heh, Poma

 

[Zoomie]

I lived in Fort Collins a little more than 5-years ago, for a big city it's not a bad place to live. Probably the only big city I would ever live in. Gould is only an hour away, and Rabbit Ears is two plus hours away. I know it may take some time and money, but another option is starting your own machine shop buisiness. ...how about building custom ATV and sled parts. In Steamboat they are building quite a few live/work buildings. Two bedroom and bath apartment over a large garage/shop area. One of my riding buddies from Denver bought one because he comes up to North Routt to sled every weekend. It's really tuff with the high real estate prices and cost of living in a mountain town or rural area, but for me it's well worth it. My suggestion is take a trip this winter to Colorado and take a look around, also come back in the summer and visit the same places. You would really be supprised as how much changes between winter and summer.

 

[jecornel]

After spending several months down in Rifle for work, I can honestly say that I would rather cut my own throat then move there.

Have to agree about Rifle, only Rangley could be worse, uglyist town in Colorado, but the people are nice.

Heh, Poma

Have to agree about Rifle, only Rangley could be worse, uglyist town in Colorado, but the people are nice.

Whats wrong with Poma? I dont work there, but I bet they dont pay good.

 

[BOHICA]

I'll put my vote in for Grand Junction. Not because I live here, but because I've lived in many other places and none of them compare.

There are many riding choices close to GJ
Grand Mesa 1 hour
Flattops 1.5 hours
Black Mesa 2 hours
San Juans 2 hours
kebler pass 2 hours
Vail pass 2.5 to 3 hours
Crested Butte 3 hours
Steamboat/rabbit Ears 4 hrs
Huntington Canyon/Fairveiw Utah 4 hours

But there is more to GJ, World class Mnt biking, Dirt Biking, Golfing, Fishing, Hunting, Rafting, ETC. 300 days of sunshine with 500 inches of snow on the grand Mesa last winter is hard to beat.

Job market is very strong here due to the oil and gas industry.

Downside, Real estate is very high, A descent rental with a good size garage is going to run you 1300 to 1800 a month depending on the area.

I think you should load up your sleds and take a trip this winter and spend a few days checking out the areas that interest you.
The GJ job info line is 970-244-1449. BTW I've lived in the Mnts as well ( Gunnison). Great town, however come April your ready for some warm weather.

I moved out west in 92 ( to Gunnison then GJ in 94 even spent 3 yrs in Utah) from upstate NY and havn't looked back. You just can't beat Riding and golfing on the same day in January.
Good Luck
Mark