htxag09 said:

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Is it common for people to want to retire in a college town that isn't their alma mater? Just seems odd to me, I would think any town in the west that fits your other criteria could work. Any reason it has to be a college town?

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The people who sit around my seats at Kyle Field all went to other colleges but retired to BCS.

How about Walla Walla or Spokane?

Spokane is a cool little town

Third or fourth or whatever for Ft Collins. That is a fun town. Gateway to loads of outdoor activities. Very walkable and hella good beer.

I have family in Boise and visit fairly frequently. It is really nice there and so many outdoor opportunities.

Fort Collins

I'll throw Pocatello, ID in there as fitting much of that.

It has a small regional airport with some surprising deals on flights at times, just a shade over 2 hours to Salt Lake for their airport and shopping as well. Idaho State is relatively small as far as colleges go and cost of living is very reasonable.

Good thread

Logan, Utah

Gabster43213 said:

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Our criteria are:

1. Shopping Mall
2. Movie Theatre
3. Good Quality Grocery Stores
4. Reasonable Cost of Living
5. Commercial airline service within 2 hours.

Thoughts for those who travel frequently through the West?

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Come to Canyon, Texas and West Texas A&M!

Mall in Amarillo (15 miles)
Theater in Amarillo (10 miles) but maybe the Varsity will reopen
United Supermarket and Wally World
Good cost of living
Amarillo Intl, 26 miles (27 minutes)

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The "West" starts for us at the eastern edge of New Mexico/Colorado/Wyoming.

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I would argue the 100th meridian, but the NM border is only 67 road miles away

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I would like to enjoy the outdoors especially in my early retirement years.

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Easy drive from here to NM/CO. Can be in Albuquerque in four hours

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Oh.......one more criteria: A moderate to conservative political climate.

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Definite winner here. Remember Georgia O'Keefe? She left her teaching job at WT because she hated the extreme patriotism during WWI. Remember LBJ? We're the only part of Texas to vote against him in 1964. He closed the Amarillo AFB because of it.



I'm actually having a little fun with the OP. I love living here, I know it isn't for everyone. I'm really kind of making the point that there are tons of places that the OP would probably enjoy. Just keep looking. And a few more details might help. Do you like mountains? Durango. Desert? Los Cruces. Nearby big city? Fort Collins. Big skies and sunsets? Canyon.

Everyone,

Thanks for the recommendations. Keep them coming.

To answer a couple of questions:

Commercial airport in short distance - we plan to do some traveling in retirement and don't want to face two layovers followed by a two hour drive home from the closest airport.

Shopping Mall - as we get older in age, the mall provides a great place for early morning walks especially if we are in a cooler environment. Plus, we currently live in a very small town where the nearest mall is 100 miles away.

Movie Theatre - again, we live in a very small town. The closest movie theatre is a run down six plex 50 miles away. The next closest is 100 miles away. And, the wifey loves the movies.

Outdoor activities are important. I would like to fish a fair amount in retirement or enjoy camping in some nice parks.

University environment - I have always lived in one. They usually offer numerous cultural activities. Yes, I am a sports buff. Been exposed to D2 for several years now. A larger D2 to a small to mid size D1 program would be great.

Canyon Ag, I lived in Lubbock for a couple of years. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Completely forgot about Canyon!

What about Pullman WA/Moscow ID? Never been to either one. Population of the two together appears to be about 55,000.

Another vote for Canyon here. It's in a tremendous location.as far as proximity to all the outdoor offerings of NM and CO yet it is decidedly Texas. I have family there and love visiting.

Ft. Collins is also high on the list but it is expensive as hell.

Gabster43213 said:

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What about Pullman WA/Moscow ID? Never been to either one. Population of the two together appears to be about 55,000.

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Never been myself but have a neighbor that went to Wazzou and really enjoyed it. I plan on going up there for a game next year so I'll let you know.

Eastern Washington is certainly more conservative than Seattle.

agdaddy04 said:

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Eastern Washington is certainly more conservative than Seattle.

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True of so many states. Austin/Houston/Valley vs. normal Texas. Eastern NM vs. ABQ/SantaFe/Indiancountry.

Corvallis is surprisingly not THAT liberal... esp compared to Eugene and Portland. Though, Austin may be considered conservative compared to Portland.

The town is pretty neat though. 1 Hour from the Mountains, 1 Hour from the Coast, In the wine country (really good wine country is closer to Eugene though).

Cloudy weather may get to you though. I know my SIL and BIL hated not seeing the sun... but the rain is never bad enough to prevent you from doing outdoor activities.

Not a college town, but Lake Havasu City, AZ.

Gabster43213 said:

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What about Pullman WA/Moscow ID? Never been to either one. Population of the two together appears to be about 55,000.

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My brother lives close to Moscow ID. I've only been during the late spring/early summer and it's awesome if you love the outdoors. I don't think my brother is ever going to move. Laramie is also a fine college town although they have a pretty small airport.

Colorado Springs

Logan, UT

- home of Utah State
- great fishing on the Logan, River and nearby Bear Lake
- at the base of the Wasatch Mountains with excellent camping options
- very conservative
- little over an hour to Salt Lake

An Ag in CO said:

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The moderate to conservative requirement pretty much kills the west. Boise is very different from the rest of Idaho when it comes to politics. Provo has shifted more liberal the last few years and will probably continue to do so under the new mayor.

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Gabster43213 said:

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Oh.......one more criteria: A moderate to conservative political climate.

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Fort Collins, CO.

Colorado State is an ag school that was formerly Colorado A&M. Lots of rural areas surrounding Fort Fun. I lived there 4 years and loved it. People I worked with referred to Boulder as The People's Republic of Boulder

Tommy Gun,

I have only been to Logan once as a teenager (40 years ago). On the map, it looks like a great location. However, I was doing some reading last night and a Methodist (which I am) talked about how he and his family felt great discrimination while living there.

For anyone here, is the concern valid?

Gabster43213 said:

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Tommy Gun,

I have only been to Logan once as a teenager (40 years ago). On the map, it looks like a great location. However, I was doing some reading last night and a Methodist (which I am) talked about how he and his family felt great discrimination while living there.

For anyone here, is the concern valid?

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I think it's a valid concern and hopefully someone could chime in who has lived there. I know there is a poster on the outdoor board who lives there as we've commented back and forth about it in the past. I can't remember his username at the moment.

I used to live about 2.5 hours SE of Logan across the border in Wyoming. My wife and I visited frequently on weekends to ski, shop, and eat at the Texas Roadhouse (best steak around in those parts). We always thought it was a friendly town and I would converse often with the locals at the Beaver Mountain ski hill.

Obviously, living there takes on a different dynamic so it's something to think about for sure. Salt Lake City has actually gotten pretty diverse and Mormons are no longer the majority in that city, however, just about everywhere else in the state is still heavily Mormon and a lot more traditional.

Even in Wyoming there is a large Mormon population and I worked with a quite a few. I never had a bad encounter with any of them and there was mutual respect for our beliefs.

I have no experience, but I'd bet that you'd be hard pressed to be in any kind of elected or selected role if you were not Mormon. In other words, they'd live and let live, but don't ever expect to be president of the PTA. Or if you own one of two identical types of businesses in town, don't be surprised if the Mormon one gets most of the business.

Anyone here familiar with air travel from Laramie?

My wife's roommate from college lives in Rawlins, and I think to get most places affordably you end up having to go to Denver

I live up in Oregon among plenty of Mormons. What Canyonag77 says about Mormons in small towns in Utah and Idaho is true. It's not a problemthe further you get from Utah.
Also, many people up here in cold and snow country retire to the desert southwest or migrate back and forth. Long, dark winters with lots of snow and bitter cold gets old after a while.

Gabster43213 said:

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Anyone here familiar with air travel from Laramie?

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It's about two hours to Denver International by car.

Another vote for Ft Collins, and Even though it's in CA, I'd throw out SLO as an option.

Oh and if you wind up in Ft Collins be sure to grab some Aggie beer

water turkey said:

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Colorado Springs

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I loved living in the springs. Even though there's 3 schools there I still wouldn't really consider it a college town though.

Ft Collins is pretty damn liberal. Not as bad as Boulder but getting close. Definitely left of anywhere in Texas.

Didn't seem too bad to me. But I worked for LCSO so wasn't surrounded by many liberals