Tag Archive for: Living in Grand Junction CO

Retire in Grand Junction – your grandkids and kids will thank you!

What is there to do in Grand Junction Colorado?

A retired couple contacted me from Arizona. They wanted to know “What is there to do in Grand Junction Colorado?” They retired to Scottsdale many years earlier. Their children and grandchildren visited them when they first moved there, then the visits waned. They added a swimming pool, which worked for a while. As the grandkids got older, a pool and sunshine were no longer enough. The grandkids complained “there’s nothing to do.” They realized it was time to move to a place where everyone wanted to come visit, any time of the year, not just during spring break.

They like wineries. A relative recommended they consider Palisade, Grand Junction or Fruita. And so, their research began. They reached out to me because they found this website!

Keeping and nurturing relationships during retirement is important. I get it. So is the desire to live in a mild climate surrounded by lots of amenities, healthcare, and outdoor activities. While Arizona is a beautiful state, the Scottsdale/Phoenix area is very crowded and extremely hot in the summer. Why not consider an alternate retirement community that has all four seasons and endless opportunities for fun and personal growth? Consider retiring in Grand Junction, Colorado! Or Palisade, Fruita, Clifton, Orchard Mesa, or other communities within Mesa County. Collectively known as the Grand Valley. Read my post about the weather.

I helped a retired Minnesota client sell her townhome in Minnesota and she moved to Arizona. She didn’t last long. Too hot, not enough to do. After a visit here, she wondered, “Is Grand Junction a good place to live?” She now lives on a hobby farm in Fruita! Her adult daughter moved here too, and her son and his wife come to visit a couple times a year.

Retire in Grand Junction

Paul Aspelin on the Riverfront Trail along the Colorado River

Why retire in the Grand Valley? We have access to downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, year-round golf, tennis, and pickle ball. We have incredible hiking trails, extensive gravel/mountain/road biking opportunities, river boating and rafting, fishing, hunting, ATV trails and camping. Lots of parks and walking trails, including a zipline over the Colorado River! We are known for our fruit orchards, wineries, distilleries, and breweries. And all this is “in town.” Check out my Two-Day Itinerary post.

There are so many easy day trips from Grand Junction to incredible eye candy, hot springs, arches, canyons, lakes, mountains, resorts, public lands, and of course, Dinosaurs! So many things to do together with family and friends as you age. If you want to retire to a community where your family and friends want to visit you year-round, then the Grand Valley is your answer! Grand Junction is a basecamp with access to so much more!

More Than Just Outdoor Activities

Not only is this a beautiful and bountiful area naturally, with a fantastic climate and no humidity, there are other benefits that make Grand Junction and the surrounding communities a great place to retire to. In my opinion, here are just a few:

Low cost of living (and visiting) area
Easy access thanks to Grand Junction airport and connections via Denver and other cities
Warm weather activities
Winter weather activities
Close to diverse terrain like high desert, mountains, rivers, and lakes
Colorado Mesa University classes for 65+ and you can entice the grandkids to enroll
Many things to do right in Grand Junction, Fruita and Palisade
Check out my day trips from Grand Junction post for ideas on what’s nearby that your kids and grandchildren will enjoy
Colorado is more centralized in the US compared to the SE like Florida – allowing you to reach so much more that’s only a day’s drive away

Grand Junction Living and Hosting Visitors

Snowshoeing on the Grand Mesa

Find a retirement home that’s convenient and easy to get to and your friends and family will want to come to visit you all year round!

It’s how they perceive the location that determines if they come visit. Grand Junction always has something going on for all ages and abilities!

When you purchase a home here, try to get an extra bedroom or two for visitors. It will encourage them to visit if they know they can save money by not needing to pay for a hotel. Having them stay with you gives you more opportunities to connect and share time with them.

We’ve hosted friends and family several times since we moved here. Based on their desires, we never run out of things to do or show them. Some have no interest in hiking, and that’s ok. We help our visitors adjust to the elevation before we go even higher to places like the Grand Mesa, Ouray, or Telluride. Some of our visitors fly right into GJT airport while others choose to fly into Denver and drive up and over the mountains to reach us. If they need one, car rentals are super easy at the Grand Junction airport.

We make sure we give them a list of suggested items to pack or have extras on hand like stainless steel water bottles, hats, sunscreen, and vitamin C (for high elevation days).

As our friends and family come to visit and get to know the area better, we hope someday they too might choose to move to Grand Junction like we did!

Consider starting new traditions in your new location. Invite everyone to come to you for a holiday spent at a mountain resort or discovering our nearby national parks! Make new memories. The opportunities are truly endless in Mesa County and beyond!

If you are considering a move and would like a tour of the Grand Valley, give me a call. I have several articles on this website about retiring in Grand Junction and things to do in the area. Look around the site and consider me your Grand Junction retirement real estate expert!

Move to Grand Junction, we’re waiting for you!

Text/Call me at 612-306-9558

Contact me directly regarding non-MLS listings.

PAUL ASPELIN, REALTOR®
GRI, SRES®, CNE
Licensed in Colorado

Connect with me on LinkedIn or send me an email.
Learn more about my real estate experience and how I serve my clients

by Paul Aspelin, REALTOR

Fruita, Grand Junction, More to Know, Relocating to Grand Junction

Living in Grand Junction Experiment

Guest Post by Michelle Aspelin

Before Paul and I made a decision, we wanted to do a Living in Grand Junction Experiment. We already had an idea of what living in Grand Junction might be like, but we wanted to really test it out first before we decided. Our daughter started attending college at Colorado Mesa University (CMU) in the fall of 2019. We had visited the area two times before we drove here from Minnesota to move her into her dorm room.

We visited her in October 2019 for Parents Weekend. After she had returned to class, we were sitting outside of the CMU library with our bagels and drinks from the café inside. It was a warm fall day with the sun warming us at our outdoor table. Paul said, “I could see us living here after we retire.” We were surprised at the thought as we were only in our late 40’s. With that thought in the back of our minds, we continued on with our life in Minnesota.

Maybe Arizona?

In the fall of 2021, we drove our second daughter to Arizona to start her college experience. We realized that we didn’t need to hurry back to Minnesota after we got her settled. It was the start of being “empty nesters” for us. We made several stops in small towns on our way back to “check them out”. Might we live in Arizona? Visiting places like Sedona and Flagstaff were terrific. We didn’t realize Arizona had such a diverse environment. It’s not all hot desert in Arizona! We enjoyed the mountains too.

How about Southern Colorado?

On that same trip in 2021 we stopped in Grand Junction for a few days, giving it more consideration. When it was time to go, we drove south. Stopped in Delta, Montrose, Ridgway, and we were totally in awe of Ouray. Drove the Million Dollar Highway (whoa!) to Silverton. Stayed in Durango to give it some consideration. Then we continued east to Pagosa Springs and NE to Salida and through Denver. With each stop, pondering the question, “Could we live here?” Our online research continued. More visits to see our kids. And then we planned an experiment.

Living in Fruita Experiment

Parade of Lights in Fruita, CO

One year we drove to Moab, Utah for Thanksgiving with family and friends. We were there for several days and loved the experience. We went back again two years later but decided to extend the trip in order to do an experiment. Took the long way back from Moab via Gateway and on to Telluride, stunning mountain town. Took the free gondola up to see Mountain Village, magical! However, housing is ultra expensive! Then, we made it to Fruita, CO.

By this time, we had a better idea of what living in Grand Junction might be like, but what about Fruita? We rented a very cute 2BR/1BA home for 3 weeks, just a block off Aspen Avenue (the main street). We wanted to see what it would be like living in Fruita, Colorado. We shopped at the (very busy) grocery store. Found more great dining places. Experienced some downtown activities like the Parade of Lights in December. Went to the Visitor’s Center several times to learn more from the locals (always recommend this).

We drove into Grand Junction to see our daughter and visit more stores, dining and other places. During this trip we also drove on the other side of the Grand Mesa to consider Cedaredge and Paonia. We investigated Rifle and went to some of the wonderful parks there. Paul loved seeing them ice fishing in Rifle Gap State Park’s 350-acre reservoir!

During our Living in Fruita Experiment, we found we liked the charm of the small town of Fruita but kept driving to Grand Junction on a regular basis. They aren’t far apart, 15-20 minutes, depending on where you are going. But the experiment was useful. It helped us decide that we wanted to move to Grand Junction, not Fruita. If you have the opportunity, try an experiment like this in the city you might consider moving to. Act as if you already live there. See how it feels. We have fond memories of the train whistles as they passed through Fruita. Read our post about the Grand Junction Train Station to learn more about train travel to and from Grand Junction as well as the historic Grand Junction Union Depot.

Researching Grand Junction and Mesa County

We continued to read articles and do research online. I used the “Find Places to Live” feature on niche.com to compare cities on a dozen different categories like cost of living, schools, jobs, crime, health care, night life, etc. FYI, Grand Junction is ranked the #2 place to live in Mesa County. We researched income taxes, property taxes (so low in Mesa County!), sales tax, government and civic entities, nonprofits, local businesses, and community involvement. We joined Facebook groups, followed business Facebook pages and made connections on LinkedIn.

It was time for a lifestyle change. We were young-ish, we didn’t retire when we moved to the Grand Valley. We started connecting with business professionals in the community when we visited. Our Living in Grand Junction Experiment was like we were “dating” Grand Junction. I can do my job from anywhere, I make websites and work from home. Paul easily transitioned his real estate career from Minnesota to Colorado and is loving it!

The Living in Grand Junction Experiment

While our experiment of living in Fruita, CO was a concise 3 weeks, our Living in Grand Junction Experiment was longer and more drawn out. Visiting several times, learning more, experiencing more, researching more, asking “What if…” oh so many times. We were thankful for our experiments.

When we weren’t visiting Colorado, we were preparing our home for sale. Doing updates and minor repair work, donating or selling most of our items, and mentally preparing ourselves for the cross-country move. You can read more on this website, like Paul’s post, Living in Grand Junction – What I learned in the First Three Months. If you are considering moving to Grand Junction, check out Paul’s post called Why Move to Grand Junction? It includes sections on the various housing types as well as a description of the area.

Hopefully you will be inspired to do an experiment of your own! Paul would be happy to show you around Mesa County and answer any questions you have about moving to Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade or anywhere within Mesa County. Paul Aspelin 612-306-9558 or send him a note on the Contact page.