Colorado

[bcnewe2]

Ok so I need some advise. DH is thinking about taking a job in CO. Close to the Glenwood Springs/Carbondale area. We currently live in AR and I HATE it here! So this move sounds like it could be ok with me. The problem is that we aren't millionaires and finding housing anywhere close to where he's going to be working will be hard pr impossible. I know we'll have to sell the sheep and our land to even be able to think about living out there. Sheep on a postage stamp size lot is not going to happen. But one of the good things about this job will be that in his employment contract I will have access to sheep whenever I want it. The job is with a group of local community colleges and one of the colleges has a working farm as part of their program so I will consider selling all my sheep for the move with access to their sheep on an as needed basis...do you think they know that's all the time?

 

Problem is where are we going to live.

Does anyone have any advise on "cough cough" affordable housing on the South Western side of the state? I'm hoping to find someplace to rent or caretake for. I know I'm probably dreaming but I can't imagine giving up farm life for even CO. I currently own 4 bc's and don't have any immediate plans on any new ones. I will have to find homes for the 2 working LGD's but don't think that will be hard as they are great dogs. I bet finding housing for 4 dogs and a teenage son is going to be on the impossible side.

 

Any of you that live in CO, can you tell me what average families do for housing?

 

It's always been a dream of ours to live out there but I had long ago forgotten any dreams that didn't include acreage and sheep so it's going to take some getting used to the idea. It's a great job. My son and I will be able to attend any of the 11 colleges for free that DH will be working for. That alone is going to be great but I'm still totally freaking out on the prospect of no sheep to tend. Eeeks...A city girl again with 4 working dogs! What will we do with our evenings and early mornings?

 

TIA

Kristen

[Laurae]

Well, there is virtually no part of Western Colorado that I would consider "urban," Kristen. Glenwood Springs is tiny. I don't see why you couldn't have sheep in that area, though it might be difficult to keep sheep through the winters. I am not familiar enough with the housing market there to advise you. Housing in the Front Range is generally expensive, but the cost of living is likely higher in GS. I guess any land here is probably more expensive than Arkansas, though.
That's probably not very helpful. But Colorado is simply a gorgeous place to live. We do have a somewhat active stockdog club here, too :-)
Come on over!

[bcnewe2]

Oh Laura

I'm so ready to get the heck out of AR!

 

I'm hearing that a postage size lot with a small house is in the 250k area. I paid less way than that for my 40 acres and house here in AR. it's not the weather I'm worried about it's the price of land!

Where do you live? and what do you consider afforadable land prices there? I'm quite excited to see that there's lots of active sheep people. There are some down here but none that are close and most are of the good ol' boy school of thought. Not to keen on women competing or lord forbid beating them! I'm dying for regular people!

 

To anyone from AR I appolige. I'm sure I haven't met you yet! I've met almost no one in the 2 years I've lived here! I've decided there's just not that many sheep people to meet in this part of AR!

 

I'm going to sell the sheep so I can figure out exactly what's going on in CO, before we try to set up a farm, plus it's a long way to haul them so I'm thinking I'd just start with a new flock when I'm ready! It's a long way from my original home (MO) and a whole nother country compared to AR! I'm not sure I can stand to live that far away from my grand baby but I'm certainly willing to try, that's another reason that I think I want to sell the sheep. If I can't stand living that far away from the rest of the family it'll be easier to geet back to MO!

 

Looking at the pictures my DH took while he was there gets me excited! I will need a whole new wardrobe! I've worn a sweat shirt jacket as my winter coat here almost all winter. I still own a carhart but used it mainly late at night when I'm out lamb checking and it's just a bit to chilly for the jacket! We can hardly use the wood burning stove cause it's just not cold enough to need it!

 

DH was looking at some land, don't know exactly where but it was 40 acres with nothing on it and they wanted 5 million!

 

Thanks for the welcome note Laura, we're working on it!

 

Kristen

[Liz P]

I am in love with CO as well but couldn't afford land in most places. I did find some plots that were about $1000 an acre (20 to 50 acres) but they were not near enough to large towns, or any towns for that matter. One had the selling point that it actually got mail delivery 3 times a week and was only 15 miles from paved roads

[Laurae]

The lure of Glenwood Springs is its proximity to the ski resorts, especially Aspen. But those are the upscale properties. I wonder if you could buy acreage for more reasonable prices, if you don't mind being outside town a little. Rifle is a tiny town a few miles west along 70 that probably has pretty affordable land. (Bonus: it's the turnoff for getting to Meeker. ) I could be wrong, but let me have a look and ask around, and I'll PM you with what I find out. Keeping sheep in the winter is less to do with the cold and more to do with the deep snowcover and cost of feeding hay throughout the year. Many people here who live in the mountains keep stock through the spring and summer and sell or bring down their sheep to friends on the front range to keep during the winter. Though Glenwood Springs is on the other side of the divide, so may not be at very high elevation. Okay, I just checked and GS is the same elevation as Denver (though still probably gets a fair bit more snow), so perhaps it's easier to keep sheep there year-round.

 

I live in the Front Range, the strip of land directly adjacent to the Rockies. I live in a smaller semi-rural town north of Denver, outside of Boulder. I don't have acreage at all, but I do have a few friends who keep sheep. (Don't bring your sheep; we can set you up over here.) Any chance you can come visit to see what it's like here first?

 

 

ETA: Well, the area is definitely more expensive than I thought . But I'm still looking . . .

[Allie Oop]

I LOVE the Glenwood Springs area! It's beautiful! I have an acquaintance who bought a little piece of property outside of Rifle, which as Laurae said is not too far, and as I recall it wasn't too terribly expensive (although I have found that expense is a relative thing). I think all property is pretty dear these days. There is kind of a mix of property along that I-70 corridor, everything from ski resorts to farm land to wineries. I like the Grand Junction area, too, but that's a bit far to go. Contacting the various local Chamber of Commerce's is probably a good start and subscribing to local newsletters for realty companies. Also local newspapers are a good resource.

 

Good luck! I hope it works out for you!

[kelpiegirl]

I found this neat site that lists ag jobs- you know ranch manager, cowboy, that sort of thing, and I saw lots of CO jobs listed- I will try and find that for you. I recommend you head out there yourself and see what there is. First, talk with a real estate agent, and tell them what you need.

[sluj]

Zillow is a neat site that lets you search real estate listings by city, and has a really nice map tool for exploring surrounding areas. Unfortunately it only seems to list houses sold by agents, so you might not be able to see farms, but at least you can get a general feel for how expensive a given town is.

[bcnewe2]

Thanks guys. I'm on the hunt now. I don't know how I can swing a trip out there till DH finds something for us to look at. But I'm still worried that the housing will put us out of the market. I really can't imagine living without sheep and still need to see if DH can swing the free access to sheep at one of the colleges. That would make it bearable.

 

Laura, I can see how far you are on the map but how far are you driving time? Just trying to get a feel for the time factor and sheep drive time!

 

I'll keep you all posted.

Julie, I’d love to be a hired hand on a huge ranch. Me and the dogs. What a dream!

 

Any web sites you have or find will be appreciated!

 

K~

[Laurae]

Laura, I can see how far you are on the map but how far are you driving time? Just trying to get a feel for the time factor and sheep drive time!

 

About 2.5-3 hours (unless you're coming down to the Front Range Saturday or Sunday evening in the winter and thus sitting in the I-70 parking lot ). I'm going to PM you the email of someone who is pretty involved with the Colorado Wool Growers Association. She lives near Grand Junction and may also be able to give you some good info.

[Lichen]

Kristen this is probably a moot point by now, and I hope you'll made the move. If not... I lived in Carbondale/GS for years, and went to school on the "working farm". Glenwood is a tourist town, and is terribly cute but very, very expensive. Carbondale too. WAY more expensive than Denver. There are scattered small towns between there and Aspen that are expensive, but you may be able to find a place to RENT, and it would need to be off the beaten path. A lot of sheep herders there - the National Sheepdog finals are held there on alternate years (in Carbondale). Most people, unless they rent (and when I was there, 2003-7, some 80% of residences were rented), can't afford to live there. They live in New Castle, Silt, or Rifle to the west, or Gypsum or Eagle to the east, and commute to Glenwood. I would see about using someone's sheep there in Carbondale on rental, to work sheep. The school is not an option. They will not "buy" your sheep - they take in animals as rescues only. You cannot work them with dogs, because the school is licensed as a research facility by the govt. and there are strict regulations around the animals. The farm exists for the veterinary students there, not for profit.

 

In short, if I were you and wanted a few acres, I would check rentals in Carbondale and El Jebel, then west to Rifle, and east to Eagle. I had a friend who owned horses and rented a little place in Gypsum with 10 acres, another friend who owned dogs and rented a place in Rifle with a few acres. It's doable.

 

What I must say, is it's a wonderful place to live. I have been all over Colorado and lived in several towns, and I loved my time in GS. It's progressive, artsy, beautiful.