Telluride

Telluride is now mostly famous because of it's part time wealthy residents, but that isn't how it got it's start. The area was first used by Ute Indians who hunted in the area in the warmer months. In 1875 the first mine was officially established just above Telluride and proved to be good for a variety of metals including lead, iron, copper, and the much sought after silver and gold. The town itself had originally been named Columbia, but after confusion with a town by the same name in California, the name was changed to Telluride. As people headed west to seek their fortunes, the train had a stop here and by 1890 the population of Telluride climbed to over 5,000, more than double of what it is today. By the end of WWI, the mining boom had ceased and residents left for the war or to settle elsewhere.

As with many towns, there are those who will stay just because they don't know where else to go. Residents of Telluride were just that way, and although there was not much left but beautiful scenery and skies, they remained with the town. It wasn't until the 1970s when some of the townspeople thought of opening a ski area to improve the economy. Just eight years later there were visions of a village and world class ski resort. With the right financial backers, Telluride as we know it today was born.

This remote and beautiful mountain village is now one of the most expensive places to buy property. Homes and even condos go for millions of dollars and many rich and famous love to own part-time homes here. But to run a town like this takes those who aren't independently wealthy. The median income of full time residents is $66,901, which is still considerably higher than the rest of Colorado. The median home value here is just over $1 million dollars, which is well over four times that of an average priced home in Colorado. As would be expected, food and accommodation services are the most common industry with a large portion of the townspeople working in it.

The town itself is lined with charming, victorian style buildings with one of the most scenic backdrops you can find in Colorado. Many of the stores cater to the tourists and it is well worth a visit here if you're coming to Colorado. Telluride is just as beautiful in the summer as it is in the winter, and there are numerous festivals year round.

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.