Hermit
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I had a friend that lived in Warland Wyoming one year. Said something about it being a bit cool and somewhat breezy there.
You don't say - as I look out from our back porch to the tops of Cincy DT buildings. Not the best, not the worst, but as you mention, other factors more important.But in the end, moving to be near family was a bigger factor. Weather here in Cincinnati is definitely worse than GJ
This thread of the size and extent of potential retirement geographic areas reminded me of this map.
It's the highest or near the highest in a number of categories.Colorado has the hottest real estate market in the US right now. It is the highest in numbers with people moving there.
It reminded me of this map. A famous look at how native New Yorkers see the world.
"The view from 9th Avenue"
Glenwood Springs is indeed very nice. It would be my choice in Colorado if I ever moved back. My old bones miss the Vapor Caves.
Hi, I retired 10 months ago.
I had intended to sell my house in Irving, TX, and move to an apartment in Kitsap County (West of Seattle) to start the next phase of my life. I wanted a cooler climate, scenery, and plenty of choices of what to go see and do.
But my approach to the pandemic has been to halt those plans and hole up in my TX house until it's all over.
But now I'm considering other possibilities. I still don't feel comfortable moving 2200 miles for various reasons, mainly I absolutely want to avoid air travel during the pandemic, and there's always the "what if"s of family. (I'm single but have family in the DFW area.)
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Hi BigMoneyJim,
I live in Longmont, CO so just north of Denver and am familiar with the area. Colorado Springs is beautiful and quite attractive. We own some land further down and hope to retire there one of these days.
I have another suggestion though. Have you considered Cheyenne, Wyoming? That is not much further up the I-25 corridor and is still part of the Front Range. The nice thing about Wyoming is that the tax burden will definitely be less, houses are still a bit cheaper than Colorado and one bonus is that there is a new air service out of Cheyenne to DFW! I think it is twice a day now in something heavy like a Boeing 737 so not a puddle jumper and can fly in inclement weather. The only thing I don't like about Wyoming is that the wind never stops! LOL. Good luck in your search. Best regards, Jon
I have lived in Colorado Springs for 5 years. It is a booming city and houses sell fast. I live on the east side far away from I-25 crazy traffic.
I've lived in or around Co Spgs most of my life. Grew up in Manitou Spgs in the 70s-80s. Also lived in Denver for a few years (too big, busy for our taste), and even in TX (Corpus Christi - too hot and too many bugs) for a few years.
In addition to the areas already mentioned, you might consider checking out the areas "up the Pass." Heading NW out of Manitou Spgs, Hwy 24 goes up Ute Pass and there are several small communities that are at a slightly higher elevation and more rural (but still an easy drive down to the Springs). Cascade, Chipita Park, Green Mountain Falls, and Woodland Park are all areas I would recommend exploring. We live just outside of Woodland Park and find, especially now that commuting to the office isn't a thing, we rarely need to drive down to the Springs, as Woodland is a town of about 8K-10K with plenty of grocery stores to keep us stocked. Ute Pass is sort of a gateway into the mountains for Springs residents, so there are also quite a few restaurants up here - though you would need to take a 30-45 minute drive to the Springs for better variety.
Something to keep in mind that we've noticed some who move from out-of-state miss is that if you're planning to move here full-time you'll likely want to invest in an AWD vehicle. The weather isn't as bad as a lot of Texans fear, but there will be snow days, some of the roads are steep, and we've helped many a stranded 2WD vehicle of people who moved here in the spring/summer not realizing how it can get.
Another location idea might be Canon City. It's a small- to mid-size town west of Pueblo - a little further off I-25. It's warmer and lower elevation than the Springs, but has a nice smaller older town sort of feel, and is also close to the mountains. It's big enough that you can find everything you need there, and is close to Pueblo if you need specialized medical care.
Last but not least, I'll throw Buena Vista and Salida out there as towns to investigate. They're deeper in the mountains / further from big metropolitan areas. But they're both very nice and seem to be growing in popularity with more affluent retirees (who aren't affluent enough to live in Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge).
Safety inspections have been gone for many years. Emission inspections do exist along the front range. Sand still pits windows along the front range.A question for those who live in Colorado Springs:
When I lived there long ago, I had to get my windshield replaced almost every year. It got sandblasted from the winds coming off the front range, and I couldn't pass the annual inspection without a new one.
Many cars today have a very high windshield replacement cost, so that would be a concern. Are the inspection standards still so strict?
I'm on my 4th or 5th windshield for my 2013 Jeep Wrangler. Wranglers are known for being very bad on windshields. Add to that over 10 miles of dirt roads and my circumstances are different than most. I have insurance on the Jeep that pays for windshields if there is a crack or major chip so I just wait for that to happen before I get the windshield replaced. In the 1970s I had a Ford Econoline van that got the windshield replaced every 2 to 3 years due to sand pitting. No regular dirt roads at that time, but all in Colorado.I’ve lived in Colorado 26 years. Most of that time along the front range. I’ve had to replace one windshield in that timeframe and that was the result of a rock on the interstate.
I'm on my 4th or 5th windshield for my 2013 Jeep Wrangler. Wranglers are known for being very bad on windshields. Add to that over 10 miles of dirt roads and my circumstances are different than most. I have insurance on the Jeep that pays for windshields if there is a crack or major chip so I just wait for that to happen before I get the windshield replaced. In the 1970s I had a Ford Econoline van that got the windshield replaced every 2 to 3 years due to sand pitting. No regular dirt roads at that time, but all in Colorado.
I'm not sure what issues your friends had, but it surprises me to hear that as a long-time CO resident....no shortage of former Texans who have made CO their home.