My wife and I are looking to relocate back to Colorado but with the Denver metro being so expensive we are looking elsewhere. We have flexibility in our jobs to live practically anywhere but we want to be a bit choosy about the location. We found a beautiful house in the far Eastern Colorado city of Holyoke but after some further investigation we found the location too far disconnected from our own beliefs to buy there. The biggest negative was their city code against any marijuana businesses within city limits. That tells me that we won't align well. My wife has her medical card here and it helps her immensely in controlling anxiety and allowing her to have a reasonable sleep schedule.
The house in Holyoke really caught our eye, though. It wasn't the typical bland houses we find in the Denver metro that all look like cookie-cutter 70s and 80s houses. The house was built in 1912 and the yard had room for gardening. We have been finding other houses that are similarly desirable further west in Sterling and Fort Morgan.
My biggest question is: are those towns going to be as right leaning and anti-marijuana as Holyoke or somewhere closer to moderate and accepting. I don't need a city to be on par with Boulder but I don't want to be bugged about where I go to church every 5 minutes.
That's the struggle. It's hard to make a mayonnaise house into something charming and unique. It will always be mayonnaise at its bones. I'd have to tear down and rebuild and I do not have the money for that. I'm with you on the gardening, though. That was just one example of using that space. I have a travel trailer that I'd like to park as well. And we'd like to have or build some nice outdoor seating and living areas.
I've purposefully ignored Greeley because of the smell. I've never experienced it but heard about it the whole time I was in Colorado the first time. I've always equated it to the paper mill south of where I grew up. If the wind shifted, you smelled it and it wasn't pleasant. I've always heard Greeley is much worse, though.
I'm still looking at Denver metro just for job purposes but I'm free to be as remote as I want and was looking for other options. I'm also pretty set on Colorado just because the general path of the state politically. It's not perfect but it's better than the bible belt.
Have you lived in places like Fort Morgan, Sterling, or others in that general vicinity? Is there a sliding scale based on how far East you are from Denver? My previous experience was Colorado Springs which was pretty nutty "f-you got mine" libertarian and bible thumping religious at the time. I don't necessarily need it to be a liberal mecca but I do want it to be a place where everyone isn't trying hard to out-jesus or out-trump everyone else.
Idk, I feel like a generic house can become beautiful with the right touch. I think you are right that it will never look Victorian, but I think (as long as you don't have an HOA or overly restrictive zoning), a normal suburban house can look great with creative landscaping, paint, and ornimentation.
I've visited the plains towns a few times for various reasons. The people were friendly enough, but I don't think there were many Kamala voters out there. There isn't much as far as amenities or economic opportunity out there, so I expect that if you aren't just completely dedicated to the community and culture, you will jump ship and move west as soon as you turn 18.
I feel like I've heard the Springs isn't that bad. Yes, it is defintely a more conservative city, but it is big enough that there are liberals/lefties living there, and they form tight-knit communities. From what I've heard, Grand Junction is worse. Maybe Loveland or Castle Rock, but then, those are likely gonna be the style of house you don't like.
For a house with character that is still cheap(ish) with moderate/liberal neighbors, I feel like your best bet would be a poorer Denver neighborhood (prob east of 25), something on the outskirts of Foco, or something in one of the poorer mountain communities. If you stray off 25 or 70 too much, it starts getting red pretty quick. But honestly, even our bible thumpers, imo are better than moderates in the bible belt.
I'm really just working through options here. And I turned 18 long ago. :) I'm not really against those metro houses but the style you can get for less in some of those smaller towns is definitely appealing. I'm still looking all over the Denver metro and Fort Collins, even in Colorado Springs. I think even those conservative leaning areas closer to civilization are better than what we have here in the bible belt, as you say. Now that the SC has agreed to reconsider Obergfell, I'm sure this state will ban gay marriage as soon as they can and probably even try to invalidate ones that are already done. I'm a normie white guy but I know that the more these hatemongers can ostracize and make illegal, the less this state is going to be livable.
Personally, I have political beliefs on the liberal and conservative sides of the spectrum, but none that could be considered far right. I think Colorado at a state level insulates some of what I'm expose to here, as well. However, just doing the reading on Holyoke and how they did everything in their power to keep the weed out tells me they are well beyond my tolerance level. Even here we have medical and it's fairly well accepted even by the right wingers. You see dispensaries everywhere and all the product has to be grown and processes within the state to be legal.
I'll keep my search up on the Front Range and see what pops up as appealing. I not really pressed for time but I'm not Uncle Scrooge with unlimited money so I get to/must be picky.