re: Where to move - US

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Castle rock is one big suburb, I totally disagree about traffic, you’re in the thick of it being so close to Denver. Home prices are crazy high especially for what you are getting there.

Here are some small towns in CO that we love:
Buena Vista, has everything, a little down town area, Arkansas River (world class fishing, white water rafting, I even saw people surfing it last time we were there) runs right through town including a board walk kind of thing. Good food/bar scene, no traffic, in the mountains. Prices are reasonable for CO if not a touch on the high side. Lots of people go there for summer. About 2.5 hrs from COS, about 3 hours from DIA.

Canon City - a little more blue collar than Buena Vista. Less expensive, decent food/bar scene but a notch below Buena’s. I like the people here a lot. Happens to be the home to 5 prisons including the one holding El Chapo. Lots to do around town, you’re right in the middle of a cool range. You are about 1 hr 15 min from COS, which can fly you anywhere.

Alamosa- got a pretty cool vibe. Cost of living is super low here, definitely a lower socioeconomic area than COS. Not close to any major airports (3 hrs from COS). Some neat things that bring us to town a couple times year, sand dunes National park, hot springs north of town, farmhouse brewery that we love.

There are more, but this is a good start. If I could do it all again I would have bought like 10 acres outside of Buena Vista, that place is awesome.

Winters in CO are mild. When the sun comes out that stuff melts and it’s breathtakingly gorgeous. There is nothing like a sunny, cold, winter day in CO. The best.

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We've probably crossed paths, I spend a lot of time in Canon City. Salida is also one of our favorites, scenic and fun but not overrun and expensive like Breckenridge and all the other trendy ski towns.

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-Reasonable cost of living
-Smaller than a major city (with preference for micro-city)
-Decent schools (ideally public; do not need "blue ribbon")
-Good sized airport within an hours drive
-Opportunities for outdoor recreation (eg mountains, lake)
-Access to reasonably fast internet (for taking on remote job)
-Community feel with middle/upper-middle class demographics
-Weather/climate without the extremes (no insane snow/cold or constant humidity)

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I love living out west but it will be hard to find a place that meets all these requirements.

If it wasnt for the humidity I would put Huntsville (madison schools), AL up there along with Oak Ridge, TN. Although somehow TYS airport is busy as balls. HSV I can park like 60 feet from the door.

An underrated city I found was El Paso, TX. The schools arent the best but they've made improvements on the upper west side. The airport rocks!! I can get there like 50 min before my flight. Directs to IAH, LAX, etc.

Living in the desert at 4,000 feet is awesome. I get like 340 sunny days a year it seems. My lawn is colorful rocks that dont move or grow.