HELP!!Want to move to Colorado(CS, Denver,boulder area)

General General Discussion
1

Ok, Im about 2 years from graduating with my Accouting degree from a very good business school on the east coast. I am so sick of maryland, the weather, and the shity gun laws. Me and my cousin ( 22 and 23) want to move out to Colorado. Were looking for a good area where we can get 10-50 acres where we can hunt bear, deer, elk, ect. He is a licenced Electrician and I am a soon to be retired guardsman and soon to be CPA. We want to stay less then 30 minutes from an area that has alot of options for jobs. I was looking at land in the 100-175 range for around 40 acres about 5 miles from Colorado springs. We want to have a nice quiet place to hunt and shoot and all that shit, but be close well paying jobs.W e want to shoot 3 gun, pistol, HP, and f-class so it would be nice if there were some ranges withing a hour or so. It seems like the housing in this area is about what it is in maryland (fairly high).

Any sugestions or help from you guys would be great.
Are we asking to much for this area?

Are we being realistic in what we want?

Thanks guys

(also what is the bear and lion seasons like out here? fairly restricted?)

2

Lofty goals! I like that!!!

I live in the Denver area, but my brother lives in CO. Springs, and there is a lot of job potential down there.

I think the price range you’re looking at really depends on many factors. Is the land wooded, open, water rights included, is there well water available on the land, does it have electricity to hook in nearby etc.

I think you need professional help on this.

Here is the Web Site of a guy I know personally who does nothing else other than help people buy and sell ranch type properties all over Colorado. Yes he is a Realtor.

www.BeaconMtnRanch.com His name is Dave Banzhaf.

Good luck

Tack

3

The Denver-Boulder area is one of, if not the best metro area in the United States for singles. The women here are beautiful, and 1000 times more laid back and down to earth than east costers. You’ll be in heaven, but you’re not going to find land that cheap in the immediate surrounding area. If you don’t mind driving 1-3 hours, it should be doable. You might also want to consider land in Wyoming (the border is about 1 hour from Denver). The only bad part there as far as hunting goes is that you wouldn’t be a resident, and would have to pay more for permits.

Pack your car and don’t look back - you won’t regret it.

4

Well the price isnt set. I have looked at alot of land in the 20-150 acre range withing 50 miles of Colorado springs for around 1-200k. I figure another 2-250 to build a house on it so for less then say 450k total. Would love to find a nice house on a piece of property with the above mentioned.

Would love to have some open field (can u say 600-1k range) and some wooded/ water. I know were asking for a lot, but this is our dream. I hope the women are decent in CS Area.

Also i heard it doesnt snow to much east of the Mountains. What kind of avg snowfall can you expect. Thanks for the great input guys.

5

Colorado Springs gets the worst of the snowfall east of the mountains. Sorry, but true.

Tack

6

Make sure you add a spare bedroom or two so that I can come out, stay with you and ride my mountain bike :smiley:

7

I don’t know for sure, but most (younger) people aren’t even close to as happy in CS as they are in the city. Not very much to do down there compared to this area.

As far as snow goes, the last few years we’ve had half a dozen days per winter where it snows like hell (12-36 inches), then it all melts within 3-7 days. IIRC, Denver claims 300+ days of sun per year. Our weather doesn’t stick around long. I walked inside at 12:00pm today and it was raining, cold, and everything was wet. When I walked out at 2:00pm it was sunny, warm, and the ground was dry. Colorado is one of the few states where you can ski, golf, and swim in an outdoor pool all in the same day…

8

its still up in the air where we want to move to in CO. It has to be close to a good job market but if i wanted to live in the city, i would just move back to baltimore or D.C and make even more $$. I wouldnt want to work in denver , as the gun laws on CO are one of the moving points for us. Beautifull land, gun laws, hunting/shooting, good jobs are what we want.

I was doing some reasearch and Manitou Springs sounds like a pretty modern place to live. only about 5mi from CS and in the mountains.

Is it really that hard to find ground water? dont most roads have electric lines running parallel. Are they alot of good ski slopes within the major cities? What about gun stores, shooting ranges, malls, movie theaters ect?

My cousin has spent time in just about every state hiking and backpacking and said CO is by far the nicest state with denver and CS 2 of the nicest cities he has been to. Sales tax looks pretty cheap too :slight_smile: Good for a Tax accountant

9

Manitou Springs is nice, but I don’t think you’re going to find the acreage you want there. Maybe outside of it, but the prices might be out of reach.

To get a large parcel of land, you have to get out of the urban areas. Manitou is an urban area, and it’s in the foothills…not the mountains. There is a difference.

As far as electric lines, water etc…it depends on the parcel and IF there are these ammenities, you’ll have to be closer to the roads, traffic etc. Some parcels have water you can well in to, some are dry…and it’s very expensive to drill a well, as well as expensive to run electricity. They both usually charge by the distance in feet, yards, miles etc. Many parcels do not have electricity, or wells close by. Many times you will have to travel off the roads to get to these parcels.

As far as Gun shops go, there are a few in CO. Spgs., and one of them specializes in tactical stuff. The sad truth is that the “Gander Mountains”, “Sportsman’s Warehouse”, and internet sales are slowly putting all of the local shops out of business. 2 of the best in Denver closed just this year and both had been around for at least 20 years.

You need to do more research with INFORMED sources like the realtor I sent to you. Not internet searches. You’re looking for “Utopia”, and the only way to find it is by talking to someone who knows the market, knows the area, and can send you in the right direction. Even then, you will probably have to make sacrifices as there is no perfect solution unless you have unlimited (Millions $) funds. There’s plenty of what you want in that price range.

Tack

10

You’ll be close to NM, lots of good hunting here.

11

Working in Denver isn’t as big an issue as living in Denver. Even if your 9-5 is in the city of Denver, you can still carry your gun concealed with a permit, which should cover most of your work-related firearm concerns.

As far as gun stores go, my favorite is Jensen Arms in Loveland (about 30-40 minutes north of Denver). There are a few others around, but like Todd said - not many can compete with the prices at places like Sportsman’s Warehouse, Bass Pro, Gander Mountain, etc.

If you’re a skiier, the further west you go up I-70, the better, but it gets expensive fast. Lakewood or Golden might be a good option if you want to be closer to the ski hills, but can’t afford mid-high six figures + for something in Evergreen.

For malls, the best in the Denver area are Cherry Creek, Park Meadows, and Flat Irons. Cherry Creek is mostly expensive stores (Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom, Hugo Boss, etc.), Park Meadows is a cross between regular and expensive, and Flat Irons (near Boulder in Broomfield) is more reasonable (Gap, Banana Republic, Nordstrom, Foleys, etc.).

Movie theatres are everywhere. If you’re in the Denver-metro area, you probably won’t be more than 10-20 minutes from something new with stadium seating and massive screens.

If you’re willing, it sounds like the best solution might be a house in a more urban area with a patch of land 1-2 hours away for weekends. Not ideal, I know, but still good.

12

Nick,

I’ve been thinking the same thing since this thread started. Money is going to be the issue for all of the ammenities they’re looking for. Plus, they’ll have to drive to get to it. There is no middle ground unless you can afford it.

Again, there are 40 acre parcels closer to town, with water and streams and MAYBE you can shoot your guns on them, but if they’re close in…they’re BIG BUCKS, and you probably won’t be able to shoot on your land! Just depends on location. I hope the fellows realize this and investigate it before they buy. And even then…it could change.

We use to go up highway 6 behind Coors in 1979 to practice our IPSC stuff…No More! No shooting at all allowed in that canyon. And this is becoming more common as the poulations increase. Just too many people. Gun clubs are closing because of this too. Table Mountain in Golden for example, and I’ve been a member at the Aurora Gun Club since 1979, and it’s a matter a of a few years before the “Urban Sprawl” wants to come to close into “Harms Way” by rifle bullets flying a couple miles over the hill.

Other than those two Gun Clubs there are no others close to Denver, The closest would probably be out in Watkins which is an hour West of Metro Denver on I-70…and I’m not sure it;s even open anymore. I know there is a very active Practical Shooting club in the Pueblo area which is 45 minutes or so south of CO. Springs.

All things to think about. The fellows need to talk to a realtor for specifics. Everything else is just an attempt to help, but none of us know all the issues with every piece of open land in Colorado. And I’ve been here over 30 years now. I do know that IF I had $1M- $2M, I could get out of Dodge, shoot on my land, and afford for utilities to be brought into my home.

Tack

Tack

13

The more i have looked into it, the Fort Collins Area seems very attractive. College town, with large industries and a great area for hunting. Anyone live near or close by. Im sure there are a ton of places to shoot and hunt close by or even over the boarder in WY.

14

Ft. Collins/Loveland area is really nice with lots of national forest and close proximity to Wyoming. You would be close enough to Camp Guernsey (Wyo) to shot there too! https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=6936

You could commute to Denver if you had to and be out of the mess down there. Boulder is close too but too many social liberals for me.

I lived there quite a while ago but still have lots of friends in the area. Elk hunting on the Western slope, pronghorn in Wyoming, prairie dogs galore, man I miss the
West!!!

I’ll be back soon I expect!

15

I agree that Ft. Collins would be a good place to look. As far as commuting to Denver…I wouldn’t do it. At least a 1 hour drive in “Non-Rush Hour” traffic. I use to drive it a lot when I called on HP in Ft. Collins. I was coming through S. Denver then where the Denver Tech Center is, which is still a hot bed for jobs.

Tack

16

Yep, Maryland blows as my cousin (cobracutterpb) says. Just got back from colorado the beginning of this week after spending some vacation time there again. I really love the state, including the weather. I can’t stand the miserable humidity in Maryland and the wacky gun grabbing liberals everywhere. It really would be a dream of my to get the hell out of here and head out west.

17

…just don’t try to get it all at once…Get in a hurry and you’ll be paying forever for that dream…
I would look at Ft Collins and also around Pueblo…30 miles from C/S and the land is much cheaper…Forget Manitou unless you want a postage stamp and lots of zeros in yer’ mortgage…
Californicaters have driven the prices beyond comprehension in recent years and land with water and access is expensive…
Come on out and get a smaller place with some dirt, and start hunting for what you really want…no reason to deprive yourself of Colorado while you look…

18

I think this is sound advice. The longer you wait, the more$$$ it will be for land which is the key cost driver. Get started with something that fulfills part of your dream, like maybe 10 acres with utilities that are fairly accesible (Electricity less than 1/8th of a mile away, and “Known Well Water” available), save your $$$ over the next few years and “upgrade” to something else. That would be a pretty darn good beginning.

As I remeber you guys are pretty young. Still in school…Make the right decisions in “Moderation” and you’ll prosper. My $.02 worth.

Tack

19

You can get the acreage you are looking for east of CS out on the plains. But most will already have a home of some sort on them. I was looking at 40 acres with a horse barn, turn out area and small ranch style home for 300k. But it’s the plains. Flat, very little in the way of trees.

Head west on 24 and you are in the mountains. Get out beyond Woodland park and you can start finding mountain property in the 4-6k per acre range. But you are now looking at 30-45 minute commutes. Much more snow up there. But Beautiful, basically living on the side of Pikes Peak.

We decided because of our small kids to be in town.
CS is growing. It is a military town. You either work for the DoD or for someone that does. Construction is booming, electrician shouldn’t have any problems. I imagine the same goes for a CPA.

Not much in the way of good ranges in town. But Peublo has carbine matches and IPSC and IDPA. There is 3-gun and High Power west of Denver…about 90 minutes drive from here.

20

Water rights = $$$$$$$$$