Yes I know colorado has been califorincated. Yes I know the politics are pathetic. So there is that.

I know there is absolutely nothing out there. Elevation is 5500-6000'.
85-90 degree's in the summer. Can get cold in the winter.

Things like, does the wind blow 50 mph all the time. Is there any water and if so is it any good.
Does nothing grow there but juniper and sagebrush.

Is this Mel Gibson Mad Max territory? Only mice and buzzards can survive there?


Thanks guys.

quote:

I know the politics are pathetic. So there is that.

That ALONE precludes me from ever thinking about moving to that liberal shithole.
I wouldn’t care if there was lakefront property going at fire sale prices.
NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

Rural (Gunnison) Colorado is less contaminated than the cities… I had a house in Almont until a divorce. Ex got the house, horses, car and worse, the dogs - - - I got the shaft.

I live outside of Walsenburg, a small town on the front range. Not quite SE CO, but kinda close.

Wind doesn't howl all the time, mostly from about Oct. through about Apr. or May. Can get windy during those times, so we always have everything screwed, glued, or nailed down.

Water has been an issue lately, as most of CO is in a drought. I'm unsure of SE CO, but here, we have water restrictions, the rivers are dried up, wells are going dry. Make sure water isn't an issue where you are looking.

As far as critters....We see all kinds of wildlife here. Mostly cattle country, so we have coyotes, foxes, elk, mule deer, white tails, pronghorns (lots of those), lots of birds from sparrows to raptors (wife saw a bald eagle the other day), and of course mice, pack rats, and snakes (from garters to rattlers). There is a lot of wildlife, just more desert denizens than what you'd find in the mountains.

You're more than welcome to email if there is something specific I can help you with. Good luck in your hunt!

We lived for 2 years in Springfield, Colorado where I ran the Range program for the Comanche and Cimarron National Grasslands. The Forest Service had offices in Springfield (my primary station), La Junta, Colorado, and Elkhart, Kansas. Springfield, in particular, was a dying prairie town; seemed like half the businesses in town were vacant. It was like going back in time when we lived there. Summers were hot, I don’t particularly remember high winds, so maybe it was just in the spring. This area was right in the heart of the Dust Bowl, and at that time (around 2000) there were still folks around who had lived through it. It was never far from their minds.

I thought one benefit to taking that job was a opportunity to buy an acreage and have a few horses. I had even bought a Super Duty for a horse hauler. Crazy people way overpriced. They seemed to think they were metro Denver. Try as we might, never could buy a place—we rented.

Most grocery shopping was in Lamar, a bigger town that had a supermarket. Fairly often we drove down to Amarillo, Texas and got a room for Friday or Saturday night. I like Amarillo and the people there are great. If you’re really interested in that part of the world, that’s where I’d look. I used to say, “Springfield is 30 miles from Kansas, 30 miles from Oklahoma, and 130 miles from anywhere you’d want to be.” Our daughter called it “Russia.”

If you're considering the high plains of southeast Colorado, you might as well live in another part of the high plains region in southwestern Kansas or the Oklahoma/Texas panhandle area, and at least benefit from the potentially lower taxes and better laws and politics.

My family has a bunch of farm land in Baca County. Same family of tenant farmers has worked if for us for a long time. About all I know is that drought has done in the crops this year. Lots of off-gridders and marijuana growers in Trinidad. The rest of our farm land is around Spearman & Perryton in Texas. I know the folks in Spearman are really nice. It’s close to Amarillo in Ochiltree county.

We drive through there going back and forth from the Texas Hill Country to visit my dad in the Colorado Springs area. We drive through the OK panhandle and into Colorado, where we make our way up. We sometimes vary the route just to see more.

We pass through a lot of small towns, and knowing you’re in Colorado with the Rockies close by, they don’t interest us. The high country is where it is at for us.

There are conservative holdout areas, so I could see us moving into my dad’s house there in Woodland Park if left to us. However, state politics would probably drive us out eventually.

I would personally not like to live where the height of social activity is tarantula mating season. If I did, however, I'd like the already-alluded-to Oklahoma panhandle, if for no other reason than OK politics. (My father was born in Boise City.)

Also personally, for wide open spaces and relative solitude, I prefer desert. It has changes of terrain (flat or mountainous) and varied vegetation (Joshua trees, saguaro and other cacti, creosote bush). Unfortunately, the best desert (the Mojave "high" desert, for its milder climate - not deathly hot all the time - and scenery) is mostly in California. YMMV, of course.

Sounds a lot like Elko, NV with a bunch of nanny state bullshit to me.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
I would personally not like to live where the height of social activity is tarantula mating season.

Ummm - we're vacationing in CO in October.

Now I need to see what Amazon has in portable flame throwers

They won't bite unless you interrupt what they are doing..

It appears ORC wasn’t all that interested in the high plains of Colorado after all.

Sorry your feelings were hurt Tmats that I did not respond to your post.

I did have some direct contact with one of the posters. I appreciate the info guys. It was insightful and helpful.

I have not had a a lot of time lately to be on here. Thanks again all.

Without fair elections, Colorado is a done state. The politicians and the dems in charge have destroyed the state. I would look elsewhere.

Again, this isn't about politics. There is more ranch land in Co. than any other Western state 10 fold. I am not just looking at Co. But not excluding it based on current political leanings either.