It's hot and in the middle of nowhere. But Amtrack's Southwest Chief goes through.

where they grow some of the best cantaloupes ever.

Other than that - if someone is offering you a job there, consider a lobotomy first. It is a small town in the middle of nowhere.

place to retire that is not in the snow belt, but not in the sun belt. We'd like a small town, but not so small we'd feel like hermits. Jobs wouldn't really be a factor for hubby and myself as we have a pension to live on, but our daughter (who is 28) is living with us and might decide to a move as well. We really don't like where we are and do like the southwest so we've been doing research on smaller towns out there. What is Rocky Ford like? Cantaloupe is one of my all time favorite foods!

Rocky Ford is a tiny agricultural town. A smaller version of La Junta, which is a smaller version of Pueblo. I don't know much more about it than that - and the cantaloupes. They sell those all over the state, though!

I lived in Colorado for almost half my life; raised my kid there - and continue to be very fond of the state. That said, of all the places in the state, I (personally) think that the southeastern quarter is the least appealing. The topography is much more like the midwest and it can be very, very dry. My dad's family moved to an area near Lamar (a little east of La Junta) in the late 1920s, because my grandpa was hired to farm down there. Just in time for the Dust Bowl - and that area was in the epicenter of that nastiness. I'd be a little concerned about current drought conditions.

It's an agricultural area - dry farming (irrigation) - so you'll find that kind of culture around there. Not a bad thing, but it can be a shock if you're not used to it.

You might want to look at some of the areas in western Colorado. Grand Junction is a city (not a town) and has a pretty decent combination cultural attitudes and features. A small University (which was a state college until a couple of years ago); a small symphony; the requisite number of Elk, Moose, and Eagle lodges . . . and enough liberals to keep you from losing your mind amongst the yes, pretty conservative majority (as you would find in La Junta as well - but I'm not sure about the liberal influence down there).

The weather is much milder than the eastern slope. It does snow, don't get me wrong, but it just never seemed as long or hard of winters. It also has it's own agricultural beauties - Palisade peaches (Palisade is more or less a suburb); wineries (some very good ones); and not far away, Olathe corn (which will spoil you to average corn). Farmer's markets, etc., and I had great success with my gardens and fruit trees, also.

Gorgeous scenery - it sits in a valley, surrounded by the Grand Mesa (largest in the world) and the Bookcliffs . . . with the Rockies to the east and the San Juans to the south . . .. Actually, it is really a nice place to live (come to think of it . . . why am I where I am *scratching head*??)

It might be too big to fit your bill, but do add it to the list to look at!

from the little time she's had to check it out, she's ready to go tomorrow! lol

While I'm not sure I would call it a 'hidden jewel', it is a pretty nice place.

Where ever you go, I wish you an easy and uneventful move and a fantastic new life in a new town!

But for Western Slope towns, I'd prefer Durango or Montrose. They do get snow, however.

but they're actually closer to the uranium mines. (the issue here, madmom, is mill tailings - GJ used them for landfill in the 50s and 60s. Most have been removed. Of course, they might explain my prodigious apricot yields every year!)

It's also colder and has a heaping helping of "yi hah!" . . .

Durango is beautiful. And expensive. And colder than billy blue hell in the winter.

How about Cortez? I hadn't really thought about that one.

He's lived there for a little while now.

It is close the Mesa Verde National Park, which is amazing.

We will not discuss my getting stuck on the big boulder you have to scramble up on your way out of Balcony House . . . *blush*

I had a flat tire on an RV there one day. Because it was the interior tire on a pair of duals I couldn't change it myself and because it the pieces of tire trashed the plumbing under the vehicle we wound up spending a day and a half there.

It isn't in the scenic part of Colorado, it's at the western end of the great plains and it's mostly grass and sagebrush. The people who worked on our RV were very nice, friendly and competent and they directed us to a couple of very good restaurants. We noticed a lot of tree lined residential streets and a very new and clean looking high school. The downtown shopping area seemed a little down in the dumps like a lot of towns and we didn't notice any big shopping malls, but there has to be at least one big box store somewhere nearby.

From my observation I would say the population is possibly majority Hispanic.

One negative I noticed was a lot of cattle feedlots in the area. When the wind blows from the right direction the smell could be a bummer. But overall it seemed to be a typical American small town, with all the pluses and minuses that phrase implies.

and if the wind is wrong...whew. Also a pretty Republican area, although there are some active Dems there. It is part of our state senate district, and a friend of ours ran (and lost) in 2010. Kind of flat dry plains, about 4500 feet. Windy, hot in summer, cold in winter, although you get warm breaks in the winter.

La Junta is friggin awful.... As far as Colorado is concerned, it is one of the worst imho

Question/s do you like nature? what is your $ limit on a home and how many bedrooms do you need? Do you want more property? There are a lot of wonderful places to live in Colorado, to many to choose from