Moving on...again

So, I've accepted a reporter/feature writer/photographer position with the High Timber Times, part of a chain of five papers that keep the foothills' residents informed and entertained.

The position is an entry position, so I won't be getting rich, but the opportunities are great. Part of the deal is that I have to move up to the area somewhere between Morrison and Bailey to be "in" the area and part of it. I don't have a problem with that; flatlanders can only guess at mountain life. I know, because I'm a flatlander looking at those hills and wondering what's up there.

What's NOT there is a plethora of places to live. Oh yah, you can move into an 1860's cabin that's been updated and carries a noble history of being Kit Carson's grandmother's home (I have to look up who Kit Carson is, do you know?) and is available, all 850 square feet and $650 a month. The walls inside are dark, dark wood with a low ceiling and a kitchen area tacked on like something out of Little House on the Prairie. Tall grass inhabits the "back yard" that is complete with a sagging chain link fence. You'd think this place would sit amongst tall pines that whisper and creak with the wind, but it sits behind the InterMountain Humane Society's main office and next to the row of 8 dog kennels. To the right is the Panda Kitchen with the pungent aroma of seafood and ginger mixing with the smell of woodsmoked pizza from the drive-thru pizza stand next door. Dogs barking, Chinese food, wood smoke, and noise from the "285 Rush" completes the auditory picture.

Did I mention the front door isn't a standard size and nothing I own except my MacBookPro would fit through it?

I'm not sure there's enough room for me, my stuff, my cats and the ghosts that must inhabit Kit Carson's grandmother's house.

I did make the mistake of walking into one of the many real estate offices up there. A promising wall of places advertised rustled from all the open windows in the place, but all have been rented, and the agent there began pressing me to "buy" something up there.

One place is a "lease with option to buy" at the bargain price of $99,000. This two bedroom, one bathroom, one floor open planned gem sits in the middle of a development at the end of a two lane country road 6 miles from Hwy 285. There are neighbors on both sides and aspen trees that line a shallow creek in the back. The house across the street looks like a Highlands Ranch wannabe and is uninhabited. I'm told the owner is very motivated, what with the divorce and all. I don't know, because it means going back to two cars, the Grand Prix AND the Jeep. No way those roads can be managed in winter by my low-riding town car.

If you're drawn by the mountains and have an itch to live there, this is the time to buy. There are beautiful homes up there for half the cost of something comparable down here. Hwy 285 is a manageable drive and it is beautiful up there. If you haven't purchased a home in the last three years or you're a first time buyer, you get an $8000 bonus for buying right now. Something to think about, although I don't qualify.

This is turning out to be more of a challenge than I first thought; I wish I would have had some time to find a place while knowing I had the job at the paper. My lease is up in a week and right now, there's no place to call home, sweet home in them thar hills.