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28th Street is the closest thing to "Main Street" that Boulder has. 28th is HW 36 when traveling between Estes Park and Denver. There are some homes on 28th along the northern portion of town but for the most part 28th is where the grocery stores, Target and lots of business and restaurants occur. This is THE busiest and most high traffic road in Boulder.

A new Trader Joe's for example just went in on 28th at the 29th Street Mall area. 28th has a lot of RTD buses for local passengers and riders going through Boulder.

If you stay on 63rd St. going north crossing HW 119 (Diagonal Highway) heading away from Gunbarrel you really start getting in the country. The scattered homes and farms along 63rd are isolated yet really close to Boulder, Longmont, Gunbarrel and even Lyons.

There are alot of horses and open pastures in the area and for someone wanting country living but to be close to the city this is ideal. The views of the mountains just a few miles to the west are spectacular. The cost of living is very reasonable but the cost of land is still BOulder County prices but not as high as the city of course.

Monte Vista is a small town desert town of about 5,000 people. It is just about 10 miles or so west of Alamosa along HW 160 in the heart of the San Luis Valley. The town is surrounded by agriculture and mountains on the horizons.

The average household income is about $28,000, below Colorado's average. This is a nice little town but it is not "in the mountains" and can be super hot, dry and windy in the summer and desolate and cold in the winter. Monte Vista is pretty especially during the spring and fall and is also famous for the sand crane migration. There is the annual Monte Vista Crane Festival each during the first week of March.

Red Cliff is a tiny town of about 300 people in Eagle County south of Vail along HW 24 on the way to Leadville. This is a pretty valley along the Eagle River and named after the red quartzite cliffs.

The town was a silver mining community early days. This is an amazing valley area with lots of property for the adventurous souls looking for mountain property or land for horses. Average household income is about $50,000.

Estes Park is one of the most touristy places in Colorado due to Rocky Mountain National Park...however it is also a great town and I have several friends who live there and really love it.

Estes Park is great for nature lovers and those who want to take advantage of the world class hiking trails (but that by no means is only found here, that is throughout most of the mountainous part of the entire state!)

Thinking about buying real estate in Estes? The price of property is especially high though there are some areas that have "normal" neighborhoods and high but not extraordinarily high prices considering it is "Estes". The National Park really gives Estes Park a unique market and the tourism in summer is rediculous.

There are many pros and cons of Estes, but if you are a people person, a mountain person and want to buy property in an up and coming town that will only get stronger check out Estes. As of late 2013 the flood in the area really threw the town for a loop and destoyed a lot of property but the community has bounced back and seems to be back to normal for the most part, the community got stronger!

Drake has a population of about 1,000 folks. For most Drake is the little summer town about half way between Loveland and Estes Park along the Big Thompson River road--HW 34.

There is a campground along the river appropriately named, Riverbend Campground close to town. If you take HW 43 just west of Drake there are some county roads and homes up the North Fork of the Big Thompson and eventually you get to the little town of Glen Haven. This whole area was seriously flooded during the recent 2013 floods.

North out of Drake there is Storm Mountain Road and a set of roads where there are beautiful properties and homes. This is pretty area and would be a great spot to buy land or build a cabin, not far from Estes nor Loveland really if you did not have to commute on a regular basis. There are a lot of tourists in the area sight seeing and camping in the summer months mostly because of the proximity to Rocky Mountain National Park.

The area has plenty of hiking trails and whitewater rafting/kayaking and fishing spots.

Gypsum is a small town right along I-70 just west of Eagle, basically Gypsum is between Vail and Glenwood Springs on the south side of the interstate.

Gypsum Creek Golf Club is a notable landmark when you are driving through and the area is also know for the Gypsum drywall plant and mine. Gypsum the mineral is calcium sulfate dihydrate, known in its clear form in a rock shop as selenite, in sculpting as alabaster and simply gypsum in building materials and mining--it is also known as plaster of Paris. It is also used as a fertilizer as a source of sulfur for crops.

The town is near both Glenwood Springs and Vail and has economically done well because of the vicinity. There is beautiful land and existing properties that anyone looking to live in the mountains but have access to the ski resorts or larger towns would enjoy. Gypsum is more affordable than nearby Glenwood or Vail but the area is just as nice, just not as many amenities. The average household income in Gypsum is about $60,000.

Glen Haven is a tiny town with only a few handful of people who live in the town, there are residents around the town. There is the famous Bed and Breakfast Inn with a restaurant room and Victorian style rooms. The Inn has been called "One of the Most Romantic Places Ever".

This little sleepy mountain town north of Estes Park is along the North Fork of the Big Thompson River. In September 2013 a "1000 year flood" rages through Glen Haven on its way down the North Fork as it made its way to the The Big Thompson River just about 10 miles down stream to the east. The Big Thompson River was the famous site that also historically flooded in 1976. The 2011 flood all but destroyed the businesses and homes of the town and as of a month or so after the flood everything is in the process of being repaired and rebuilt.

Not to deter the hardy mountain folk and for anyone looking for a pretty mountain spot to live that is not far from the front range towns of Fort COllins/Loveland, Glen Haven may be a perfect place, especially now, to invest in land and property. Considering the devestation from the flood there may even be some folk who are selling their properties in order to avoid future flood events.

Just 10 minutes east of Castle Rock is Franktown, this is a very small town of only about 400 people. The average household income in town is high relative to the average for Colorado, it is about $60,000 in Franktown.

The little town has an historic cemetary and is really a fairly short commute to the Denver area to its north, especially for those commutting into the tech center of south Denver. There are some businesses in town but there are some really amazing homes (big properties) outside of town. This would be a great place to invest in land/property if you needed to be near Denver but wanted a country feel and view of the mountains.

There are many many resorts of course, but also some condos and nice homes up on the hills around the ski area. This place is great in the summer and also in the winter if you can take the tourists you will love it.

Conifer is a small unincorporated town not far west of Denver along HW 285. This is a beautiful area that is commutable to and from Denver if need be. It is close enough to Denver but is still deep enough in and through the foothills to feel like the mountains. Many people who have dreamed of living in the mnts but still work in the front range live in Conifer. The price of land and homes is more reasonable than many other comparable places.

The area has some ranches and cattle range still in the southern realms and there are many homes and neigborhoods that are still growing. There are minimal but adequate amenities such as groceries, services and restaurants. Firefighter? Conifer might be a great place to get a job, or if you are in the construction industry too. Schools have a great reputation too.

Highway 285 can get kind of crazy due to tourism traffic especially in the summer but the roads are great and well maintained in the Conifer area.

Louviers is a very small town SW of the Denver metro area right along the foothills area. The town is along HW 85 south of Highlands Park and Chatfield State Park before HW 85 reaches I-25 at Castle Rock.

The population of Louviers is only about 250 people and the average media income is $40,000 or so. This is a pretty area but more of a wayfar for travelers, luckily the nice little town is just west of HW 85 on the other side of Plum Creek so it is protected from the traffic. There is a park with a nice baseball diamond and the neighborhoods have trees and are rather pretty. And if you work in Denver this area is not a bad place to checkout for country lovers, the commute wouldnt be too bad at all.

The neighborhood around Rollins Drive is more affordable by far than any other neigborhoods in Boulder. This is the area and neighborhoods NE from the major intersection of Valmont?Foothills Highway in east Boulder. This is known as a more affordable option for folks who really want to live in Boulder but can't afford to do it west of 28th Street where the real estate climbs significantly steeper as you move west towards Pearl Street pedestrian area. Rollins Drive is one of many small courrts and streets that fishes through the area. Check it out, there are great schools and bike paths all around to get into town and to explore the countryside that is just to the north and east of the neighborhood.

Rifle Ct. has a few homes/ranches just off HW 36 north of where 36 starts heading towards Lyons and gets out of town. Longhorn Road describes the area even better (Rifle Ct. is off Longhorn). This is a great area if you want to live a bit in the country but be close to Boulder for shopping, schools etc... It is not cheap in this area but not as expensive as many areas in BOulder. You can buy larger acreage for about the same price of much much smaller plots of land in or nearer to Boulder proper.

Cokedale is a small town of about 100 people, it lies just west of Trinidad in the far southern realm of central Colorado (about 10 miles west of Trinidad on HW 12). Cokedale lies just a mile or so west of Trinidad Lake and Trinidad State Park.

The town is a former coal mining town and today the average household income is below the Colorado average, in town it is about $25,000. The area is really pretty and is in kind of a scrubby, foothill area, if you keep going west of town it gets more mountainous. There are mining ruins around Cokedale and places to hike and explore.

Sherrelwood is an area of Denver with a population of nearly 20,000 people packed in between Federal Heights and Westminster. Sherrelwood is basically the neighborhoods along the east of HW 36 and the west of I-25 just before the two highways meet each other just north of Denver. This is a great location for getting to most places in the Denver area including DIA.

The average household median income in the Sherrelwood neighborhoods is above $40,000. Funny but the area of Sherrelwood is not really a known word outide of the northern Denver area, the area is better known as part of Westminster or even the southern tail of Federal Heights, this area of Denver is very congested and there are no lack of restaurants, shopping venues, malls, theatres and things to do. Not a bad place if you want to live close to Denver and do not mind being so surrounded by highways.

Haswell is a very small Colorado town of less than 100 people out on the dusty plains far east of Pueblo, It takes about an hour to get to Pureblo to the west and in Haswell you are just a little too far east to even see the mountains. It is kind of like you are already in Kansas or Oklahoma.

There are no major interstates, HW 96 runs through the little town and that is about it. There are not many amentities and work is hard to come by. The financial hardtimes of the early part of this century has taken a toll on Haswell, it is already pretty isolated and low income is a norm there. If you are looking to purchase land or farm for drought resistant crops this may be a good place if you want peace and quiet and affordable land and home prices. This however is not the best place to raise kids due to the schools being very isolated and under funded.

Masonville is a very small area in the mountains just west of Fort Collins, all shopping and amenities etc are in Ft Collins for residents but they seem to prefer that! There is a general store but besides that not much besides land and country roads. If you love Fort Collins but want to be a little ways out of the city check out the land and homes for sale up around Masonville. It is a pretty tite little community, I had some friends that rented a home pretty close to Horsetooth and he loved to fish and she loved the country but they both worked in Ft Collins so renting in Masonville was a great compromise.

Mineral Road to me is better known as HW 52 which heads east from the Diagonal Hway out into the plains. HW 52 runs all the way east past I-25 and beyond. The part called Mineral Road near Boulder is directly across from the IBM facilities on Diagonal Hwy. There are some homes and farms on Mineral Road and for being so close to Boulder (5 minutes) it really does feel like the country. If you find a ranch or home along Mineral or its side roads and you like the country this would be a great place to live.

Habitat Dr is the turn off the main road 63rd, that goes into the Habitat apartments in Gunbarrel. This is a pretty complex and the nearby homes are very nice. There are bike/walking trails all around and off Habitat and the Twin Lakes are just across 63rd just to the east of Habitat.

This little mountain town of only about 100 people has amazing views and a high standard of living, the average household income is above Colorado's average at about $60,000. The town sits in a pretty valley at nearly 10,000 feet.The town sits in a valley a mountain from Telluride to the north. This is a truly beautiful place to visit and explore and there are great forest access roads (winter only) that cut between HW 550 to the east and HW 145 to the west of town.

Named after the gold rich Arabian city, Ophir did have a goldrush of its own thus lending the name. Ophir was also the site of the world's first commercial system to generate and transmit alternating current electricity.

Manzanola is a town of about 500 that lies about 30 minutes drive from Pueblo. Manzanola is east of Pueblo along the Arkansas River Valley where HW 50 heads along the highway. The town was originated around the railroad and there is still a lot of history and railroad memorabliai to be had in Manzanola. About 1/3 of the population is considered below the poverty line and the average household income is well below Colorado's average. The average in Manzanola is $20,000. There is some shopping in Manzanola but most residents travel west to Pueblo for restaurants, shopping and cultural events and trips to the mountains. Denver is a good 3 hours plus from Manzanola.

Leadville "North" refers to an area north of the established, mining town of Leadville in central Colorado. Leadville North is commonly known as the West Park subdivision too. "Leadville North" is literally just north of town less than 1 mile from downtown. The area is quite, harsh but beautiful winters and perfectly warm and mild summers surrounded by ski resort not far to the north and south and wilderness/hiking/climbing all around. The Collegiate Range is just to the west and there are reserviors and lakes in the area for fishing and woods for hunting in National Forest land all around. Not a bad place to call home and schools are fair.

The population is about 2,000 and growing. The average household income is about $40,000 and the homes and land are nice and spreadout for the most part.

Lake City Colorado is a small town deep in the heart of Colorado's mountain country, surrounded by wilderness and some of the highest peaks in the state. This is a great place for adventurers with RVs, rafters, climbers and hikers and campfire enthusiasts --although with this fire season maybe skip that last one;(

Lake City sits up at almost 9,000 feet and has a population of about 400. This little town still has over 200 historic structures, a testament to the old mining boom days in the 19th century. The little town has faithful residents, nature and history lovers--the average household income in about $40,000 and there is one school.

At this elevation and placement in Colorado the July temperatures reach into the low 80s in the day and February hovers around zero degrees F for many days at a time. This is a surprisingly livable place offering wildlife, solitude, clean air and fair real estate prices.

As HInsdale County's county seat, this little town is isolated from surrounding communitites. Grand Junction far to the north and Durango far to the south. The Front Range is about 6 hours drive away to the east.

Crook is a little NW Colorado town of about 150 people about 10 miles from the border with Nebraska. The town lies just north of I-70 and is not far west of where I-70 & I-80 meet in Nebraska. The trucking industry and agriculture is strong in the area, this is a remote area and people do not commute to any area cities, the Front Range communities of Colorado are hours away. The closest town is Sterling to the west on I-70.

The household income is about $30,000, a bit below Colorado average. The people are nice and the the area has a true country feel, more like the midwest than western really. But you will find your far share of cowboys.

Ridgway (yes w/o an "e") is home to only about 700 souls, it was a railroad town founded along the Uncompaghre River in the northern San Juan Mountains. The town has the only stop light in Ouray County, at HW 550 and HW 62. This is a seriously amazing area of SW Colorado at around 7,000 feet it is surrounded by steep cliffs, water/lakes/creeks/rivers, cool nights and clear skies. The area is famous for its wildlife especially bald eagles.

A funny trivial fact about Ridgway is that the phonograph Grammy Award trophy is made and has been made exclusively in Ridgway by a little company is town.

The average household income in Ridgway is $40,000 bout average for CO. The town brings in a lot of tourists especially due to the popular clothing optional Orvis Hot Springs. This is a sweet little town worth the drive to check out this remote mountainous area of Colorado.

Lone Tree is a community just south of Centennial, so its also a southern Denver suburb. There are about 10,000 people who call Lone Tree home. With Parker and Castle Rock to the southish, Lone Tree is a great location to commute into Denver/Tech Center but not be in the heart of Denver.

The average household income is about 100,000 so this is a wealthy community with amazing well layed out neighborhoods, great schools and abundant shopping and restaurants. A real downfall is that it truly is still the city, not the mountains of Colorado or countryside further east, I-25 & 470 cross the heart of Lone Tree making this a serious commerically active and traffic heavy, sometimes congested area. For those who like to be close to Denver this is great but going just a bit south to Castle Rock gets you more into the classic Colorado vibe and much more affordable housing/living.

There are about 4,000 people who live in Basalt. Situated mid-way between Aspen and Glenwood Springs, Basalt is a bedroom communitity and affordable place for people who live, work and play in Aspen and its resorts and mountains.

Basalt is a highway community and there are some mobile home parks and small scattered homes in neghborhoods along the highway, there are also some homes and properties up in the county roads mostly off roads leading north out of town. It is a pretty valley where Fryingpan River and Roaring Fork River converge, it is green and has pretty views and really is much more affordable than Aspen and Glenwood. The views are amazing but the downfall is the transient, touristy nature of HW 82 that flies by most of the time. Its named for basalt rock formations in town. There is an indy and interesting subculture in Basalt that is more real and more rough than polished flitzy Aspen feel. The average household income however is not low it is well above the average in Colorado @$67,000 a year.

Romeo is a very small dusty town in SW Colorado not far north of the Colorado/New Mexico border. This is a poor community and as you drive through you have missed it! Alamosa to the north is where those from Romeo can shop and visit a restaurant. Most of the residents work in the area and there are ranches and some farming in the area.

Pritchett is a two horse town about 30 miles from Oklahoma and Kansas. This is the dusty plains of southeast Colorado. The town is directly east of Trinidad, the closest Front Range town to the west. There are farms and ranches out in the grassy farmland country around Pritchett.

The average household income is about $20,000, far below the average in Colorado, there are only about 150 people who call the area home and it is a quiet spot away from any major interstates or even big highways except HW 160. New Mex is no far to the south and a bit of the rodeo/southwest flare is found in Pritchett. Land is cheap but the summers are hot, dusty and dry and the winters are no better.

Montrose rocks! There are a lot of rocks, canyons, a desert and high country mountain feel that combines with the quiet and remoteness of the SW and found in abundance in this neck of Colorado. Uncompagre National Forest to the west and Gunnison to the east this is a unique spot in Colorado and definitely in North America.

Montrose offers amazing land and culture, views and shopping options for half the cost of higher end ritzier (and busier) mountain communities in Colorado. This is no Aspen but the views are just as spectacular and the people are down to earth and friendly. There is no much land and county roads to explore. Ranches and some farm land abound, and lots of tucked away mountain properties for the rugged.

There are about 15,000 people who call Montrose home and the average household income is about $33,000. this is a chill mountain community that you should check out if you want to live in the heart of Colorado, with a bit of the southwest flare that comes with the area.

Padroni is only about 5 miles from North Sterling reservior and surrounded by big ag fields and cattle ranches. The town of Sterling is about 10 miles to the south and I-76. There is not too much happening in Padroni and only about 100 people life there.

Padroni is too far from the Front Range to really commute, especially on a regular basis and DIA the airport is a haul away as well. Out in this are of NW Colorado you can not see the mountains to the west and it feels more like nearby Nebraska than what many think of as Colorado. The dry hot summer wind blows and the cold dry winter wind as well. This is a farming community and also has some truckers that live there due to the trucking industry along I-76. The average household income is about $25,000 a year, well below Colorado's average.

Elizabeth is a small town of about 1,500 people less than 20 minutes east of Castle Rock. Elizabeth feels isolated because there are no major interstates but really it is within 30 minutes of most of Denver and not really that far from Colorado Springs to the south and DIA up to the northeast.

The average household income of Elizabeth is $50,000 a year, so above the Colorado average. It is a nice and quiet community and many who live there have been there since the 1960's when a large influx of residents took root. There are some interesting shops and restuarants and most who live there commute to Denver.

Foxfield is a nice little community south of Denver just east of Centennial and south of Cherry Creek Reservior. There are only about 800 people who call Foxfield home, it is an area only about 1 square mile straddled between Arapahoe and South Parker Road. However, there are seriously nice homes and big properties in Foxfield. The average household income is just over $100,000 and the homes go for around 1 million. This is a great area if you work in Denver and have the means to invest in a gorgeous big home. The schools are great and everything in the Front Range is within a short drive including the mountains to the west:) There is also a lot of recreational possibilities such as lakes to hike and boat in and golf courses all around Foxfield.

Carbondale is in site of the lovely Mt. Sopris and just about 20 miles from Aspen. Carbondale is just south of Glenwood Springs on the way to Aspen. There are about 6,500 people who call Carbondale home and the average household income is about $52,000 which is less than Aspen's $60,000. This is a bedroom and more affordable community than living in Aspen. There are so many beautiful properties around Carbondale and there is affordable homes and apartments in the town.

The town was names after Carbondale, Pennsylvania where some of the early Colorado settlers came from. Many of the early settlers were part of the silver boom in Aspen and many early settlers also farmed the pretty wet valley. Until the 1980's Carbondale was in the coal business from mines mostly up in the nearby coal Crystal River Valley. There are natural hotsprings up in that regions not far from Carbondale. There are also many trails and county roads and amazing places to explore in the area.

Burlington is only 10 miles within the Colorado border and the first town you hit when coming from the east into Colorado along I-70. The country seat of Kit Carson County, Burlington is surrounded by big irrigation circles, ranches and the trucking industry. There are about 4,000 people who call the town home. Summers are Kansas dry and hot and windy and winters are dry and freezing and windy, but the sun does shine most days and the people are decent.

The average household income in Burlington is reported to be about $34,000 a year, less than the Colorado average but not far off the mark. You can not see the mountains from here, not for another hour or two drive but it is Colorado even though it just feels like Kansas:)

Brighton has about 33,000 people and is a rural but city like area well north of Denver. Brighton has several large, new subdivisions that are relatively cheaper than the other Denver suburbs such as Thornton or Westminster nearby to the west.

Brighton is north of Commerce City but feels well away from the industrial stink of the interstates and industry of that area. Brighton was founded in the 1870s as a stage/railroad depot and farming community and continues to have that open crossroads feel. I personally would not want to live in Brighton, the new homes are cheap yes but they are cookie cutter for the most part and great if you need to be close to DIA or to commute to north Denver. I would much more prefer to live in a different Denver area or better yet up near Boulder or west towards Golden.

Bethune is out in the far eastern border of Colorado, just 20 miles from Kansas. The average household income is about $29,000/year in Bethune and there are about 300 people who call the little agricultural community home. Since it is along I-70 there is a lot of trucking industry related jobs. Bethune is way too far to commute on a regular basis to the front range cities of Colorado.

Berthoud is a town of about 5,000 situated just east of the Front Range between Fort Collins and Denver along the Little Thompson River. This is an old agricultural town and becoming more and more a bedroom community of Front Range towns to Berthoud's west.

There is a pretty view from Berthoud and this small town. The average household income is $70,000, a high average for Colorado, even for the Front Range. There is a farmer's market each week and a nice community feel to this community and a great place for kids to go to school. Berthoud offers great country living that is close to the major centers of the Front Range and easy access to the mountains. Berthoud is a spot to check out to find a nice new home at a reasonable cost with a big yard and a great view of the mountains to the west.

Crowley is a small town of about 200 people east of Pueblo, about 30 miles away. Many who live in Crowley are part of the agricultural industry or cattle/ranching. Many also work in Pueblo or even in the Springs. This is a dry hot place in the summer months and cold and windy in the winter, the sum shines most days however and in the spring and fall this is a pretty place. The average household income is about $30,000, less than the Colorado average. This is good for home and land prices, real estate can be very cheap near Crowley.

Less than 10 miles west of Glenwood Springs the pretty location of New Castle is an agricultural area in the Colorado River valley on the way towards Grand Junction. There are about 2,000 people who make New Castle their home.

Most of the town of New Castle lies to the north of I-70. Lakota Canyon Golf Course is a pretty area north of town and the course is fairly long. Shopping is not great in town but Glenwood is close, the schools are also great and associated with Glenwood. The average income per household is reported at $55,000, above the average of Colorado.

Silt is about 50 miles east of Grand Junction and only about 10 west of Glenwood Springs. Silt is in the pretty river valley of where the Colorado River is broad and full of green meadows in the summer months. Although Silt is right off Interstate 70 it still has a quaint feel and not a highway feel.

There are less than 2,000 people that call Silt home and there are some great county roads and beautiful homes and large acreage mountain land up and around Silt mostly to the north of I-70. Up to the north there is the pretty Grass Valley Reservoir and more farmland. The Silt area has a lot of farmland and interesting crops, not just traditional monoculture, pesticide ridden farming methods.

Situated pretty much dead center in the middle of the expansive San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, the town if center is also surrounded by circles, irrigation pivots that is. This is an agriculturally "centered" area to say the least.

About 2500 people live in or around Center. Alamosa is about 25 miles to the south and the private airport known as Leach Airport is close to town. The average household income is about $25,000 a year and as mentioned most is ag related, county or city of Alamosa employees or school district employees.

To the east are the beautiful Sangre de Cristo mountains and to the west are the massive San Juans and San Juan National Forest. This is a pretty valley surrounded by amazing mountains and forests. The Great Sand Dunes are also to the east at the foot of the Sangres.

There are about 700 people who live in the little town of Hugo, Colorado. The town in about 60 miles east of Colorado Springs and is only about 10 miles south of I-70. This little agricultural community mostly employs farm/cattle industry and trucking industry as well as the local city government positions and the public school district folks. The school district is the Genoa-Hugo School District as there is one elementary, middle school and high school that serves the town.

The average household income per year in Hugo is about $30,000. One of the notable things about Hugo is its vintage swimming pool from the 1930's, this is a favorite spot for town folk in the summer months. The facility also offers a picnic area, playgrounds, volleyball court and basketball court. The area is pretty and the parks in town are as well.

Holyoke is just 10 miles from Nebraska and about 10 miles south of I-76, truly in the middle of nowhere high plains NE Colorado. There are about 2,300 souls that call Holyoke home and amazing this is the most populated town of Phillips County, Colorado.

The average household income is about $32,000/year and most of the jobs come from the trucking industry, county and city government work and agriculturally related work. There is one runway in Holyoke for private planes just southeast of town.

Only 60 miles from the Kansas border along I-70, the little town of Arriba is a hot dusty town in summer and cold and dry in winter as well. The high plains are not the most forgiving place but there are spring and fall days and starry winter and summer nights that makes this a great and peaceful place out in the country.

Arriba is way to far from the Front Range and Denver to commute so most people who live in Arriba are involved in the local government or school district, in the trucking industry or agriculture. There are only about 200 people there and the average yearly income is only about 25,000, this is a humble little high plains interstate town.

There is also a clown museum in Arriba:)

Atwood is only about 5 miles from Sterling that is a bit to the east down I-76. Atwood is based on agriculture, livestock and the trucking industry because of the interstate. The average household income is actually fairly high at $45,000/year and this is not because people are commuting to the Front Range. It is a very long commute to Denver.

There are only about 200 people and they are scattered through the area in ranches and farms primarily. There is a little town as well but there are very few places to shop or eat. Most Atwood residents go into Sterling for most services.

Ault is about 20 miles due east of Fort Collins, a little farm town in the high plains of Colorado but not too far away so that you lose the amazing mountain views. There are only about 1,400 people that call Ault home.

Incorporated in 1904, the history of Ault has a lot to do with the railroad and farming. There is the Ault Fall Festival that still celebrates the the agricultural history of this sweet little village. You will find ranches, cowboys, applepie, a railroad and ag museum and good food and company. The average yearly income in Ault is about $35,000, about average for Colorado. When you put this average income together with the simple live, reasonably priced land and real estate in general and not too many places to spend your money--Ault makes an affordable place to live.

Only about 400 people live in Rockvale and it is a dusty hot place in the summer and cold and dry in the winter as well--they get some snow but most of the snow falls a range away over near Westcliffe.

Rockvale is not that far from Canyon City, less than 25 minutes away to the west along HW 115, Florence is a tiny town between Canyon City and Rockvale. The average yearly income is about $30,000 in Rockvale which is lower than the Colorado average. There are not many jobs in the area, the nearby high security prison closer to Florence is a major exployee as well as the grocery stores and Wal Mart in Canyon or even all the way in Pueblo that is not that far away to the east.

Strasburg is about 25 miles east of Aurora and the Denver area along the I-70 corridor. It is a tiny community mostly involved in agriculture and the trucking industry and all things interstate that come with being along a main roadway from the great plains and the eastern states into Colorado.

Strasburg prides itself on sports and its schools have good spirit, a fall football game is a big community deal in the town. There are about 1,500 people that call the place home. Strasburg historically was known as Comacnche Crossing and was the location of the "joining of the rails", the real last link in the coast-to-coast railroad finished there in Strasburg in August 1870. It completed the Denver extension of the Kansas Pacific Railway. In town to this day you can check our the The Comanche Crossing Museum and learn about the history of the railway through this last part of the high plains before the journey into the Denver Basin and eventually into the great Rockies.

The average media household income in Strasburg is about $50,000, this is a nice middle class agriculturally centered community.

Stratton is a small agricultural community about 25 miles from the Kansas line. The town has about 650 folks who for the most part work on the surrounding farms, ranches, for the city and school district or are part of the trucking industry along the I-70 corridor that is the towns lifeline.

The average median household income in Stratton is about $32,000 a year. It is very affordable to live and buy a home and property in this area of Colorado. Many of the homes I was able to view for sale online were nice, average homes in town for less than $100,000--try getting that in any suburb in Denver! The downfall is that your basically in Kansas, no view of the mnts and hot dry summers and cold windswept winters, spring and fall however can be quite pretty and the stars shine bright well away from the bussle and lights of the Front Range far to the west.

Superior is a community of neighborhoods consisting of about 13,000 people. It is along the western border of HW 36 less than 10 miles from Boulder, basically before you go over the hill on HW 36 and drop into the Boulder Valley.

The Flatirons Crossing Mall and all the new apartment complexes and neighborhoods that have been built around it in the last decade make up the bulk of Superior as well as the McCaslin exit, it Superior on the west of HW 36 and Louisville on the other side.

The history of the area is about coal mining, first discovered in 1894 and Superior the town was founded just a few years after that first discovery. It is named for the "superior" quality of the coal that was taken from the area. The industrial mining there continued until closed down in 1945. The town became very small after that mostly consisting of farmers and ranchers until the development that exploded along the Front Range, especially along the Boulder/Denver corridor in the last parts of last century.

The average household income in Superior is about $80,000 and many of the homes while nice and fancy are over priced and on small lots in a cookie cutter fashion, for your buck you'd be better off in the mountains or else where along the front range. The character of the neighborhoods has been compromised by too quick of building and pushing through instead of looking at lasting character and space as assets.

Telluride is a unique and beautiful ski town in southern Colorado. There is the famous Telluride music festival and the ski hills, but there is also a vibrant town with neighborhoods with character--even though the cost of living is prohibitive to most unfortunately.

While the first gold claims were made in the area in 1875, Telluride ultimately became famous as a silver camp and a lot of the town's old time mining history can still be witnessed and seen if you poke around a bit in the surrounding hills. The San Miguel River flows through town against the beautiful western San Juan Mountains that surround the small tucked away community of Telluride and its little neighbor Pandora. In the surrounding mountains there are crystal clear blue lakes and amazing hiking and fishing as well as hunting opportunities.

While many many tourists come and go year round the town only has a standing population of about 2,000 people in the little box canyon at 8,750 feet elevation. The town's airport is the highest commercial airport in the US. The average household median income in Telluride is a bit over $50,000/year, this is not a cheap place to live nor visit but it well worth checking out for a ski trip or summer getaway. There is a lot of great camping and forest roads in the area as well to explore and experience Telluride in a more rustic, real and less expensive way than staying downtown.

There are also some famous people that make Telluride their home, or at least did or do for some of the year. Most notably Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey and Ralph Lauren. You can guess that property is spectacular in both price and look and feel. When I started looking around online about real estate in Telluride there were many many website and most of the featured properties had amazing lots and large homes and went for around 3 million! I looked at land for sale without structures and found a 1.3 acre lot for 1.3 million, then a 0.1 acre lot for $225,000, wow this place makes downtown San Fran look like the suburbs of Sacramento.

Two Buttes is a very small town of less than 100 people in SE Colorado, less than 20 miles from the Kansas line and not that much further from Oklahoma. There are not really traditional neighborhoods here per se more like spreadout ranches and small homes. The median household income is about $25,000 well below the Colorado average.

There is some farming in the surrounding fields but this place, like many fields in the plains, relies heavily on pivot irrigation and NOT on rainwater. This dry dusty plain is not meant for agriculture or at least not sustainable viable ag.

Vona is a very small town of only 100 people just north of I-70 about 30 miles from the Kansas border. This is a farming community surrounded by big monoculture fields and not much else, you can not see the mountains and it feels like Kansas.

Hot and dusty in the summer and cold and windy in the winter this is a rough area and not what many think of when they think of Colorado. But the air is clean and the sky is big like the open high plains that it sits on.

The commute to the Denver area would be brutal, most residents are part of the agricultural community in the area or the trucking industry that uses the I-70 corridor. The average median income in Vona is about $30,000. I took a peek at the real estate and farm land, there is a 710 acre plot with a home and other structures for $749,000 for example.

Walden is centered in the green headwaters of the North Platte River valley that gently flows through North Park. There is the famous South Park in southern Colorado but there is also Central and North Park. Walden is the center of North Park, the large open space "park".

In Walden there is the the Walden -Jackson County Airport as well as Walden Reservoir just west of town. Just 20 miles south of the Wyoming border, Walden is a true and unique northern Colorado mountain town. Routt National Forest and wilderness areas surround Walden.

There are beautiful properties and views all around Walden, farms, ranches and neighborhood homes are available. There are country roads and remote, huge beautiful homes also.

Walsh is along HW 160 way out east not far from Kansas and Oklahoma. This is a small small town in the dusty plains of SE Colorado. With a population of less than 1000 people, Walsh is pretty much a farm town. It is too far to commute to the front range and about 80 miles from Trinidad along I-25 to the west. This is Oklahoma you can not see or feel the mountains.

Ward is a "Home Rule Municipality" up at 9,450 feet in the high country of Boulder County. Tucked up near Peak to Peak HW 72 between Nederland and Estes Park-Ward has about 150 wild folks that call it home.

There are bikes, shacks, old trucks, fireworks, cabins, chainsaws and art and dogs, dogs, dogs in Ward.

Ward was established as a gold mining town back in 1860. The town of Gold Hill is a neighbor to Ward just a bit to the northish. Ward is near the top of Left Hand Canyon a canyon and road that heads west out of downtown Boulder. Silver was just as big as gold in Ward's boom history.

Ward's population is interesting and has fluctuated from the gold boom to where in WWII the population dropped to only 4 people. Then the hippies of the 1960's and so on grew the population quickly to 100plus. There is a restaurant, little store and a coffee shop "downtown". It is a funky little republic of its own and famous for being its "own country".

Welby is a little known suburb north of Denver, just north of Commerce City and south of Thornton. Welby sits near the intersection of I-25, I-270 & I-76. This is a highway town and has a lot of industrial and trucking industry influence.

There is a central park called Rotella Park otherwise there is not much recreational areas. But the towns nearby do have great recreation and the mountains are only 20 minutes to the best along I-70.

The town is relatively dense and full of middle class neighborhoods. There are about 13,000 people that live in Welby even though it is only about 3.8 square miles. The average income per household in Welby is about $40,000, fairly average for Colorado.

Nearby Commerce City and the interstates does make Welby one of the less desireable places to live in the Denver area. But getting just a bit north away from Commerce City and going towards Thornton is not that bad.

Delta is the town where HW 50 meets the mountain HW 133. This is a gorgeous town of about 9,000 people. The town is literally surrounded by national forest including Uncompahgre, Grand Mesa and Gunnison National Forests.

The Delta area is a green mountain valley carved out by where Gunnison River and Uncompahgre River intersect. The Uta Indians also used this as a crossroad and meeting area, it has been a highway of sorts for a long long time.

Because it is remote there are a lot of independently wealthy or self-emplyed people in the valley. There are two private airports for pilot to come in one and this area would be ideal for a pilot who wants a remote, mountainous, hunting or camping property to someday retire on and build upon slowly. The land is amazing!

Wellington is along I-25 north of Fort Collins in northern Colorado. Considering the town is along an interstate it is still a pretty place, with lakes and farms especially to the west of the interstate. The many Poudre River Reservoirs lie to the west and the mountain views give Wellington a feeling of the country even though the city is only 10 minutes away to the south.

The cost of living is significantly less in Wellington compared to Fort Collins and it is a great place to get away from the city but still be close to the action. There are about 6,000 people who call Wellington home and the average median income is about $47,000, a bit higher than the average in Colorado.

Interestingly in 2000, a woolly mammoth was unearthed when a construction crew was digging home foundations. Nearby CSU analyzed the find but the tusks and much of the body was shattered or disintegrated before they could study it.

West Pleasant View is basically an extension of Golden geographically. Colorado's largest school district, the Jefferson County Public Schools, has its headquarters in West Pleasant View. Denver West and all the jobs and activity that it holds is just to the neighborhoods eastern door.

The average median household income is about $40,000, pretty average for Colorado and the Denver/Front Range area. Many of the homes for sale in the neighborhood are between $250,000-$500,000.

There are some interesting properties in West Pleasant View, some ranchettes with more land than others. There are also what many would consider to be traditional middle class neighborhoods. Golden is close by and all the restaurants and shops along the I-70 corridor that lines its southern boundary.

Deer Trail is a town of about 600 people right along I-70, 55 miles east of Denver. When you are traveling to Colorado from the east you know you are getting close to the good stuff (Mountains!) when you reach Deer Trail, your not in Kansas anymore:)

Kansas Pacific Railway built a train depot there in 1870 marking the founding of the town. The town has gone through booms and busts over the last century plus and a major flood in 1965 being the most recent. Deer Trail is famous for being the home of the world's first rodeo on July 4th, 1869. There is competition from west Texas and other western towns for this honor it looks like Deer Trail was the first official cowboy competition.

The town's average household income is about $30,000 and many residents work in agriculture or the trucking industry, some commute into Denver. Actually, Deer Trail School District 26J is the largest employer in the community.