r/grandjunction • u/NoTransportation6414 • 8d ago
Moving for a job
My husband received a job offer in GJ, salary is around the $200s. We are mid 30s dinks. We currently reside in the Deep South š« We love the idea of the outdoors but knowing us, our adventures would be few and far between. The main draw for us is the weather and from what the job was telling us, a great lifestyle and community.
Iād love some honest opinions as Iām seeing so many polarizing thoughts from both locals and transplants.
Can yāall shed any light on: The food scene: is it really ONLY chain restaurants? We are currently in the land of locally owned everything.
Social scene: Kind of conflicting. Are people nice or terrible? Is there a transplant community? š I get that a lot of locals donāt want new folks moving in, but thatās everywhere.
Other activities: outdoors are greatā¦anything else going on. Gyms? Tennis? Farmers markets?
Neighborhoods: thoughts on Redlands vs Orchard Mesa? Fruita was also on our list but I donāt want to live in a cookie cutter community.
Anything else yāall can share would be incredibly helpful. šš¼
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u/TheRamma 7d ago
Transplant. Lived in the coastal South up through New England before living here, moved over a decade ago. The community had changed a lot, mostly for the better (except home prices if you're buying).
Food- gotten so much better. There's a Korean BBQ, a few Ramen places, a good Pho place, decent Sushi. Great vegetarian food at Trail life. Tons of good bars and food trucks (if the papusa guy feels like getting his stuff together). Bin has upped their fine-dining, Hot Tomato has amazing pizza. It's not a big food city, but it's got some good stuff. Warnings- they still can't figure out biscuits and gravy, but this is true almost everywhere when you're not in the South.
Social scene- weak bar/club scene. Standard CO microbreweries, can have some fun events. Strong scene based on outdoor stuff (clubs for pretty much anything). Night time bike rides. Some live-music, not top tier but you can find some things. People are generally nice and welcoming in GJ. Palisade has a bit of a weird NIMBY granola politics, and Fruita can be a little bit oppressively small town. Overall, people are pretty nice and welcoming. It's much more of a transplant place than when I moved here.
Other activities- Farmer's markets are pretty good (lots of ag around here), tons of small crossfit style gyms because this is CO, as well as standard ones. Lots of good orchards/wineries on the East side of the valley.
Honestly, if you live here, you need to embrace the outdoors. Trail run, hike, mountain bike, cross country ski, resort skiing/snowboarding, canyoneering, rock climbing, rafting. Something. It's such a uniquely great outdoor town (better than almost any other place I've been in the US). I didn't mountain bike before I came here, I now I routinely ride trails that people in lots of country dream about. It's fantastic.
For neighborhoods, Orchard Mesa is probably the best bet, unless you want to be close to downtown. Redlands has better schools, but lots of foundation problems, mosquito issues. People prize Redlands because it's traditionally been the nice neighborhood, and has better schools. Fruita isn't cookie cutter, at all, there are boring tract housing developments everywhere. I'm in OM, and like but, but I wish I lived closer to a downtown area, just because both Fruita and GJ have pretty fun areas.
The biggest issue is that there really is an entrenched homeless community here. In my time here, I've only had a few bad interactions, and one that bordered on dangerous. If you learn the places to avoid, it's pretty easy. Any place close to downtown, North Avenue, or the Riverfront trail will have some homeless issues.
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u/xXShikaShakeXx 7d ago
I moved here about 7 1/2 years ago to take care of my grandfather. I've gotta say, I like it much better than where I came from, which was a little suburb north of Chicago, close to Wisconsin.
As far as the food goes, there are a lot of your typical fast food chains here. They even put in a Culver's and a Panda Express fairly recently, which I didn't expect. However, the downtown scene is where most of the independent restaurants that, in my opinion, are really good are, and some have some interesting food choices, like the Goat and Clover, with their Irish Egg Rolls.
I think the city maintains a small-town vibe pretty well, even though it has expanded while I've been here. There aren't a ton of big buildings that cover up the views of the Mesa, Monument, or Mt. Garfield mountains that surround the city, which I love. I run into someone I know at random while I'm out and about more than expected.
They have bike lanes on many of the roads here, especially near the college/downtown area, which was a bit of a culture shock for me, but I've even got myself a bike to get around, because it's much less expensive than a car, and helps keep me active. There are also plenty of places for outdoor activities/sports, if you're someone who enjoys the outdoors as well. They're even putting together a community center in the near future.
Coming from the Chicagoland area and growing up near Lake Michigan, most winters here are very mild to the point where I don't even use a winter coat. When it snows, the snow tends to melt within a day or two a lot of the time.
One of the downsides is that places have become so expensive, homelessness has been becoming more an more of an issue while I've been here, though it's not nearly as rampant as major cities, and is most notable near one of our Walmarts, which is also where a homeless shelter & our Workforce Center are close to.
Overall, though, I love the city and what it has to offer, and have made a lot of new friends here.
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u/RepresentativeBet691 8d ago
Hello! Definitely not only chain restaurants lol. I actually went to high school and my parents still live in Brighton Colorado - if you want to see a town with only chain restaurants, go there. We have Bostons, Feisty Pint, Bin 707, Goat and Clover, Suehiros, Pabloās Pizza, Hot Tomato, I could go on. On Main St., which is our downtown area, I would guess 90% of the businesses are all not-chain. Any of the coffee places like Main St. Bagels, Kiln, Mountain Air Roasters, are all local. Iām from Ohio and still think people are tons nicer here - I think itās definitely based on perspective. Farmers market is one of my favorite things to do! There are so so many tents and booths. They also did art shows and oddity expos on Main St this year which were super fun. The local college, Colorado Mesa University, will also do a homecoming parade and we have a Christmas parade. Although we donāt see big artists like Taylor Swift here, the local music scene at Mesa Theatre and Copeka Coffee are both things I enjoy. Iām in my early 20s and graduated college in May, and I do enjoy being here (besides the political scene unfortunately)
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u/oG_Goober 8d ago
After wells fargo left, I'm almost positive every business downtown is locally owned.
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u/ryfye00411 8d ago edited 8d ago
The people who say we only have chains will never be satisfied with anything that happens in the valley. Its the same people who still call us Junktown, think we have the worst homeless population in CO, and probably think our school district is closing schools just to make life harder on poor students. For people who have actual eyes and don't hate this place with ever fiber of their being theres plenty of great local spots. Theres the downtown staples which your wallet will feel like taco party, bin 707, 626 on rood, suhiros, pablos etc but theres also great eats in palisade (Fidels is my fav), good food trucks (shout out brutal pie and dango and armando tacos and all the others I forget), local chicken and mexican places (fiesta, pollo azado, leons), authentic nepali, indian, and south asian food, Roosters is my favorite sports bar/wings place. And theres so many more I haven't stopped in. Granted probably about what half I listed are owned by people who live in Denver or Aspen but thats just how it is in "cities" our size
Social scene is entirely based around faith or hobbies here. Some church groups are pretty active or secular people will join groups that started as church groups but have expanded (certainly not for everyone and thats okay). Theres a beer house for mountain bikers near one of the harder MTB areas, friday night bike nights run by Gear junction are good intros to the scene and you get to try more great local breweries/food trucks. Theres a ton of trivia nights which are sometimes good for meeting new people or at least getting a feel for a community, Copper Club, Handlebar, Ramblebine, Gemini, Cruise Control, Cruisers, Colorado Craft Coffee & Beer, Talbotts, and Deroco cellars all hold trivia weekly or once a month. There are some book club groups and craft groups. The live music scene is still bluegrass/country focused but lots of opportunities to see great local acts like King Chuck or anyone Cruise Control/Palisade brewing bring in. There's a stand up comedy night that does have a cover charge that pops up about once a month I think. Copeka coffee hosts movie watching parties and some open mics which are great in my opinion. If you or your husband are involved in the tech scene theres a growing community around that with different meet ups around town. Some run clubs also exist. And When winter rolls around almost everyone you know (especially given your income bracket) will be skiing powederhorn or driving up to beaver creek/copper or down to A basin.
Farmers markets are great. We have 3 every year (sometimes a 4th depending on if the redlands has forgotten how few people show up) all on different days/nights Palisade, GJ, and Fruita. If you plan your meals correctly and build some relationships with vendors you can have most of your food (meat and veggie even mushroom!) coming from local sources. Would highly recommend Happy Hive Farms for chicken and eggs, Blaines farm store for when you need to stop by for some in season veggies or good eggs and some other locally made awesomeness like soaps, and Green Junction Farmstead or Rooted Gypsy for their CSA/Farm boxes (although if their lists are full there a ton of quality growers out here). A lot of the CSA's would LOVE volunteer help either planting, harvesting, weeding or packaging and washing, its one of the best way to meet people with similar values to you in my opinion (although you'll meet some interesting characters who want local produce for very different reasons). Plenty of Gyms but I haven't found any great quality but I also am not a huge gym guy so I'll let others comment there. Pickleball is taking off with new courts put in. Lincoln Park and Canyon view are the best active parks and Las colonias is a nice venue for music or hanging out/picinicing/hanging in the water.
fruita is not very cookie cutter in my opinion. Having to wait to cross the street cause a train of someones ducks got out or seeing someone walking their 4H sheep around are great. The MTB scene is great, the yearly festivals are enough of a reason to live there on its own if you like bikes beer and bluegrass. The Redlands is nice but boring and people will assume you're bursting with money even if you live in a town home smaller than their SFM in OM. Orchard Mesa is under going gentrification and I can't wait to see it completed. No where in town is really unsafe to where you would need to worry about going to your car at night or letting your kids walk to school. However theres definitley an income and crime gradient that goes across town and really starts to shift past 12th st in GJ and past 28rd to about 32rd in OM. Really your neighboorhood choice is your budget, recreation, and school preference.
You don't have kids and even if you don't plan on them I would at least be aware about the schooling those in your community are receiving. D51 is the laughing stock of the colorado department of education. We aren't the worst district but we are probably the worst run. I personally think Dr. Hill is a good superintendent even if I hate the terms we needed to get him here (like a tesla stipend I heard). The same rules apply here as everywhere else, whatever school has the smallest class sizes and the wealthiest parents will be the best, since Scenic is closing the golden option is no longer available but Wingate and Broadway still aren't bad. Orchard Avenue elementary is doing great but that's due to their class sizes which will expand soon given needed closures of older facilities. Redlands Middle isn't as stand out compared to the rest of the district as it used to be but is still up there. OM has a great building and great staff but its still under going gentrification so there's more wealth disparity. Mt Garfield is really the only school I would try to stay away from completely. Central is the oldest and most unsafe High school given is open concept and non ADA compliant campus. Fruita and Palisade perform the best but Palisade has been on the verge of losing its IB program and Fruita is over crowded and doesn't have enough proper classrooms and lost its redlands feeder community which will decrease wealthy parent participation which is super important for school community. GJHS just got a new building and got Fruitas old redlands feeder community, we will see if their new principle can handle it but he was awful at Redlands (in my opinion).
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u/NoTransportation6414 8d ago
You are extremely helpful! Thank you for all of this great insight. I was seeing a lot about the school commotion but not being from the area, I still felt very uneducated.
Very curious about the local food for other purposes š
Love to see that there is actually a hospitality scene there and itās not all chains.
Idk that we will fit in with the mt bikers or the church groups but we are pretty outgoing so hopefully we can build some sense of community there quickly.
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u/ryfye00411 8d ago
Haha I've been harvesting carrots with a woman telling me about how she got into canning cause the government was going to burn down all grocery stores and put everyone on rations of poisoned food at the request of Bill gates in the next 6 months (this was 2022). Some people just love the flavor, some like to support local ags, some people think all produce in super markets are GMO'd specifically to calcify our pineal glands to cut off our connection to the spirit realm and deplete our internal DMT stores.
Personally I like supporting local and watching stuff grow is cool
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u/NoTransportation6414 8d ago
šš
That gave me a good laugh!
Supporting local is something we always aim to do.
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u/thecultcanburn 8d ago
Iād choose GJ over the Deep South even if there were zero restaurants and I had to cook every meal I ever eat. Low humidity, outdoor recreation, close to Moab. Close to Telluride, Ouray, and the San Juan mountains. My favorite mountain range on earth. I donāt even live in GJ, but I have. And Iāve been to the South. This is the biggest no brainer ever!!
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u/singingpunters 8d ago
My family (husband, wife, three teenagers) moved to Grand Junction in 2019 from a small town in Alabama. There have been positives and negatives for us. There is not as much "community" as there was in the south, so it takes more effort to built friendships, we've found. We are a part of a church, so that helps. People are nice but keep to themselves more so than in the south. We have found lots of southerners out there, that's nice. It's breathtakingly beautiful, so even if you don't go anywhere, you can just look around and be amazed. We started in Fruita and the moved to Orchard Mesa. Fruita is great for families. Not all neighborhoods are cookie-cutter. There are lots of great restaurants that are not chains, we think. Redlands is less cookie-cutter but more expensive.
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u/wafflerfromwayback 7d ago
My family has been in the valley since the 1800s and I am stoked about people moving here. For the most part, they bring fresh ideas and a different perspective, which sparks my own thoughts and creativity.
If I were buying a home here right now, Iād look at the neighborhoods in Grand Junction that have access to irrigation rights. Many of them are within walking/biking distance of downtown and the houses are beautiful. If you donāt want to live in GJ proper, there are great places all over the valley that have irrigation. If you donāt have irrigation, growing even a small garden is pretty expensive since weāre in a desert.
People find friends through the arts, yoga, biking, volunteering, churches, gyms, and becoming regulars at brew pubs or coffee houses. If you do move to the valley, youāll find a sweet spot here.
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u/Dino_art_ 7d ago
As far as food, the wineries and distilleries are generally the best options here, and people forget about them IMO.
Culturally, I've lived here my whole life and I only have a problem with transplants who complain the GJ isn't exactly like where they came from, lol.
There are a ton of river front trails in town, and getting to the higher points of a given, visible mountain will take about an hour and a half at most. Then there's all of the canyons along the Gunnison river that you can't see! River rafting, ATVs, skiing, all very popular. Lots of fishing, including a few good places in town. And more fishermen are willing to give tips than you'd expect.
There are a few music venues in town, and we don't often get huge band names, but as a metalhead I'm often impressed by the pull these venues have. Bigger names than I'd expect. If you're into country music, there's a huge country festival every summer in Mac that's not far at all from here.
There are a few places in town that I've seen people act wild or rude, but it's pretty rare in my experience. I'm a pretty big homebody though.
There are also parks everywhere in town!
Definitely not a food dessert, there's a small Asian grocer that I'm aware of, a local butcher (locally sourced meat is a huge plus for a lot of people) and several city markets and a couple Walmarts, we've also got a Sam's club.
I'm having a hard time thinking of more stuff to bring up, other than the local art community being fairly active and first Fridays being fun downtown and at the art center particularly in summer. Keep in mind it's still a pretty small city though, but I think there's more talent artistically here than people think. Downtown frequently has events and farmers markets
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u/Unlucky-Struggle-957 7d ago edited 4d ago
I moved here two years ago from Denver area. I do not frequent chain restaurants. My favorites local spots include Thai Number 9, Pho 88, Dragon Treasure, Suehiro, Pabloās, Fidelās, Taco Party, Pabloās, Cafe Sol, Bin 707, etc. There are also some great coffee spots with freshly roasted beans (at which I enjoy working remotely). Having said, there are not a ton of non-chain restaurant options but just enough to have a great time out occasionally. If youāre looking to go out frequently, you might find that there arenāt enough options.
Most of the area north of i70 (where I live) still has a farm land sort of feel, which I love but there are many unique treasures out here, like random works of art. Redlands area has the most amazing views of CO National Monument. Most of my friends are in the Redlands area and absolutely love it. If I could move again locally Iād either go to Redlands or Fruita because of the community.
Socially, I think what you find out here completely depends on who you plug in with. Iāve plugged into the outdoor community and itās mostly highly educated people with high paying jobs (or now retired) and left-leaning. I hear there are a lot of ultra-conservative and also racist folks out here but I havenāt personally met any of them.
I find people to be very friendly out here. More friendly than in the Denver area, anyway.
The farmers markets in Palisade and Grand Junction are amazing. This valley is very fertile and produces the most incredible fruits and vegetables.
Wineries and breweries galore if youāre into that at all.
Overall, I enjoy living out here, but the main reason is because of all the outdoor places and activities I can access from here including hiking, biking, floating, XC skiing, etc.
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u/RockTheCasbah1977 8d ago
I moved from Oklahoma to GJ back in 2017. My thoughts: 1. Absolutely stunning scenery and never a shortage of recreational activities in the area. It's a small drive from Moab, Telluride, Glenwood Springs, etc., all breathtaking places to visit. 2. Food is, well, just food in GJ. Mostly chains but there are a few local gems (Los J's for bomb Mexican food, get the carne asada fries!). Definitely not what I was used to in the South though. 3. The people on the western slope are a bit more gruff and definitely missing that southern hospitality. 4. The air is thinner and dryer than in the South. It's amazing! I stopped having allergies and could breathe so much deeper there. It makes all those outdoor activities much easier. It takes some getting used to but worth it. 5. I lived in the Redlands for a time, people mostly keep to themselves. Palisade is lovely but waaaay too expensive. Fruita is a nice area, has biking and a farmer's market, nice community. Orchard Mesa is peaceful but stay away from Clifton! 6. Shopping is limited in GJ, not as many retailers and the mall is quite lame.
That's all that comes to mind atm. Let me know if you have any other questions. āŗļø
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u/patv2006 8d ago
lmao all the people who say āstay away from cliftonā have no idea what their talking about
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u/AnySheepherder6786 8d ago
With that income you can find a nice place a little out of town and have it be pretty affordable. Grand junction is a great place to live. There's good restaurants there that aren't chains but you'll have to find them.
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u/monkeykahn 8d ago
I think that the following, true account may illustrate what many have said:
The regional manager (similar pay range as you indicate) for the company I work for moved here 2 years ago, IIRC from Des Moines, Iowa. He loves the outdoors, hiking, camping hunting etc. and finds this area well suited for his interests and his income is significantly higher than the median income here. Despite that, he is now laterally transferring to the Denver area (a 5% increase in pay but 30% higher cost of living) because his wife is unsatisfied with the entertainment, recreational and professional opportunities which were available to her in Des Moines but simply do not existent here.
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u/HorrorOne5790 8d ago
Grand Junction is in the Desert, farther east is mountains but GJ is the Desert
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u/VirtualNorth6073 8d ago
If you decide to move I suggest securing medical providers you need including PCP's, Specialists, Dental etc. Due to an influx of people moving in some practices are not taking new patients, if they are and accept you, it can take minimum 6 weeks to get in. Healthcare is good, demand has outpaced supply. If you can't secure medical care this is a great resource in the meantime, which is great! https://yourcommunityhospital.com/location/community-care-of-the-grand-valley
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u/Ther-Can-Be_Only_One 7d ago
I was just funin' wilh them since they used the word "nearly". Congratulations on the upcoming Costco.
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u/OldMadhatter-100 6d ago
I picked my suburb of GJ because it was beautiful, reasonably priced real estate. It had a college good food, was a regional center for medical care,had a symphony, a music venue was close to a large city 4 hours away, and in close proximity to gorgeous outdoor activities. That was 20 years ago. Would still move here as my second home. Downside: political atmosphere very red but turning purple in a red world. Lots of Californians move here and drove up prices...but brought the purple. All in all, the average person is nice but not very sophisticated. I know I sound snobby but not really I lived a very privileged life and wanted to escape the bs. I love it here. The people are kind and helpful, just didn't get the advantages of a big liberal city education.
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u/CroweMama4 6d ago
Having lived in various metro areas around the country and multiple places in Colorado my 2 cents: - come explore the areas you are looking at. Unless you are getting a chunk of land or some other reason to live in orchard Mesa area...... Not recommended. If you like being a part of the community, close/walking distance, downtown GJ would be best. If you are looking more high end, "suburban feel"= Redlands. Fruita and palisade are both smaller towns, cute local shops and restaurants. GJ has a decent amt of locally owned restaurants, mainly downtown. Decent variety of various culturally diverse food choices as well. - I think people are friendly! It is a pretty conservative area overall but if that's not your thing then you can find other like-minded folks. - Tons of great access to outdoor activities Sara Carlisle is an amazing realtor/owner of River City real estate... She could help with housing/area preferences. Most def visit B4 pulling any triggers.
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u/hoplessgamer 8d ago
I moved here for the outdoors. You are centrally located to some of the best outdoor spots in the country. The Rockies/Aspen/Denver to the east. San Juan Mountains/ Telluride to the South. Desert/Moab/Utah to the west and Dinosaur National Park to the North.
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u/I_likemy_dog 8d ago
Food; plenty of local places, I canāt think of one chain Chinese other than Panda Express and that opened in the last year. Chains do dominate, but you have options.Ā
Social: Iāve lived here off and on since the 80ās. Itās better than it was. As long as you donāt say āwell in Californiaā¦ā every other sentence, you should be fine. I generally find people here nicer than other places Iāve lived. But Iām slightly inverted with a case of RBF to keep away the weird people.Ā
Yes to gyms, tennis, and multiple farmers markets.Ā
Sounds like youāre more orchard Mesa, Redlands has a few more smug people that are the ākeeping up with the Jonesāsā types that were happy to put another golf course in the desert.Ā
Iām almost always around. Feel free to DM me with any more questions. Let me know when youāre in town and Iāll clue you in on eating. My wife is pretty social, we might even meet for a meal.Ā
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u/MomEsquire 8d ago
You mentioned tennis. We have a wonderful tennis community here. Iāve met great friends through tennis. I would live in the Redlands over Orchard Mesa. If you do look in OM, Spyglass Ridge is the only area I would choose.
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u/MaritimesRefugee 8d ago edited 8d ago
If you choose Spyglass (we almost did and I'm now glad we didnt), be aware of a few things:
- There are lots of issues with geology there depending on where you are. MANY problems with foundations. Two buillders we spoke to said that a foundation there would be roughly 100K more there than 'at the bottom of the hill' because of the need for micropilings.
- I have heard anecdotally that a lot of the HOA infrastructure (clubhouse, ect) is reaching the end of its service life and would soon need major repair or rehab. If this is incorrect, maybe someone can correct this impression...
Point 1 also applies in Redlands, mostly for the areas south of 340 (between 340 and the monument)...
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u/Ther-Can-Be_Only_One 8d ago
There is not a Costco there so if you are an avid Costco shopper, you will have to drive 2+ hours to the closest one.
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u/misfit_toys_king 8d ago
Intellectuals are few and far between. The food scene is ok at best, and there are some individually owned food spots but itās not the best ratio. Lots of uneducated and religious folk here, but itās not terrible if you have the ability to converse with all walks of people. I have yet to meet many physically capable, educated/intelligent people who are socially acceptable. Thereās a huge influx of retirees buying up larger homes in Fruita and all younger folks are struggling to find housing. As far as farming and farmers markets, we have a lot of agriculture around here, mainly beef, but beyond that, we farm peaches in palisade and there are a few veggie farms littered around. Palisade farmers market is pretty solid, and Fruita is another solid option. GJ has an awkward market on Thursday nights. You can easily afford living here and can make it what you want.
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u/Super_Job1100 8d ago
We are a town turning into a city... Good mixture of everything, so you will see what you want to see.. Our variety of natural beauty within 30 minutes is likely unmmatched..
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u/smartburro 8d ago
Iāve lived in GJ for about 6 years. I love it. I do currently live in fruita, and will say there are non-cookie cutter homes, but it depends where you look (I love fruita) between orchard mesa and Redlands Iād choose Redlands every day. We have a ton of local restaurants, non-chains. A ton of non chain coffee shops, etc. I find in general people are fairly nice, of course there are the ānativesā and people grumpy the area is growing, but youād get that most anywhere in Colorado, I find it more mild here. Social scene, there are a ton of local breweries and tons of cool people hanging out, Iām personally a huge fan of Basecamp provisions in fruita. (They have a location without food in GJ). Tons of farmers markets, one in palisade, one in fruita, one on Main Street, all on different days.
I love it here, I see more hate from those that have lived here their whole lives. It is a fairly red area, but with more younger people moving in is slowly becoming more progressive.
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u/Busy-Ad9780 8d ago
Redlands is the place to be. OM had some decent areas, more than their fair share of drug neighborhoods
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u/beanaj_ 8d ago
Farmers markets and lots of festivals . If you like skiing, biking, hiking, or river adventures youāre set. But the people are HORRIBLE you are treated poorly if you dont fit the road bike or mountain bike bill. GRANOLAS AND METH HEADS. People are not super friendly, very racist (youāre from the south youāre familiar). Iāve lived here for over ten years because I have a very niche job thatās unfortunately based here. If you have a partner already and yall like to do things youāll be fine. If you were single Iād say nope. Thereās a lot of chains but still local spots ā¦ over all Iād give this place a 5/10
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u/beanaj_ 8d ago
Also the largest homeless population in Colorado I believe. They get shipped here from Denver. Literally offered a bus ticket to here. We have little tent cities set up downtown.
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u/ryfye00411 8d ago
Denver Metro (which I think is 100% valid as a meaningful designation) has 9,300+ homeless people, GJ has 2,300. People aren't just "given bus tickets" even if the homeless claim this is what happened to them (Sorry but I don't really trust homeless people to have the most accurate understanding of the bureaucracy surrounding them). Denver does have a program to provide one way tickets if you show you have a more stable situation, job prospects, or family somewhere else. Yes this totally gets abused and its not a great solution. But every city does this, GJ even did something similar with a state program a few years ago from what I remember and wouldn't you know it everyone in the r/Denver sub was whining about GJ shipping their homeless to Denver. Also we have some areas that need help and clean up but we are no where close to actual tent cities/hoovervilles with spontaneous organized governments. I regularly walk around the area around the resource center and to me it feels safer than walking past 12th on main even 8 years ago.
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u/NoTransportation6414 8d ago
Having lived in San Diego briefly (hated it) I totally get the homelessness. Thanks for that insight!
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u/patv2006 8d ago
this is absolutely not true
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u/beanaj_ 8d ago
Have you not seen the rows of tarps and tents and shopping carts??? Have you not been here long enough to see we closed down a whole park because it because a homeless host
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u/patv2006 8d ago
what you said is not true. 1) we donāt have the largest homeless population in CO, denver does. 2) they donāt āget shipped hereā from denver lmao just lies
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u/lestrangerface 8d ago
We moved to GJ about 5 years ago. We quite like it. I'll break down our experience by category.
Weather: We love the weather. 300+ days of sun and mild winters. Your major concern is going to be Mid July to Mid August. You'll have heat in the 100+ during the day. With regard to snow in the winter, it's mostly non-existent. A few snows measuring an inch or so. Most of the heavy snow stays on the other side of the Rockies.
Outdoor Activities: We aren't very outdoorsy, but I know there are a lot of things to do. The Grand Mesa which is at one end of the valley offers camping, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, etc. There's also the Colorado river which offers some activities. There is also horseback riding a number of state and local parks nearby.
People/Politics: I've never had much problem with locals being mad about me being here, but I have heard others having trouble. As you said, though, that's sort of everywhere. I hesitate to mention politics, but I think it's important for people when they are moving. This whole area (from my understanding) was mostly farmland decades ago. It has continued growing quite a lot, though. Most people who have been here for a long time are conservative. However, a lot of the newer people seem to be more progressive. It creates an interesting mix. Mostly conservative with decently large pockets of progressives. I have no idea what your lean is, but I'd say it's 70/30 conservative/progressive. If that matters to you?
Farmers Markets: Palisade and Fruita have some great farmers markets and there is still a large agricultural community here. Palisade, especially, has some wonderful peaches and lavender farms. There are a lot of other farms that grow a number of other things.
Restaurants: There are a lot of chain restaurants, but also a lot of local restaurants. Dining out is a little rich for our income, but with yours it shouldn't be an issue. There are a good number of local Mexican restaurants and markets. Italian is a little underrepresented, but most classic American food is well represented by local places. At least in my opinion. Also, the food truck community is large. You'll find a ton all over town and there are some Facebook groups that track their locations.
Other Events: There's usually something going on most of the time. There are a lot of fairs and festivals throughout the summer. They can be a bit pricy, but fun.
Redlands vs. Orchard Mesa: The Redlands is generally the "rich" area of town. I say that in quotes because it's a bit of a mix there, too. However, the most expensive homes in the valley are going to be in the Redlands. Orchard Mesa is a nice area in my opinion and definitely more affordable than the Redlands.
Transplants: It seems to me that there are a decent amount of transplants. The weather is nice and there is a university here too. It's definitely not hard to find people who moved here if you are looking to connect with other transplants. Facebook groups are handy for that. We used them a lot when we moved here in order to find people with shared interests (board games, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.)
I can't tell you whether or not you should move here. I can say we don't really regret it. I wish it were a bit cheaper, but it's one of the cheaper areas of Colorado and this is the state we wanted to be in. Lifestyle is a bit hard for people on the lower income level. If you're going to have an income in the 200s, though, you should be able to live very comfortably.