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tselan (Anonymous) says…

I grew up here. it is the coolest place to live as a kid. there is a slow moving river just out side of town a big city park with swimming and wave pool. friendly , helpfully people with very little crime. Craig is safe from one side to the other , i would freely walk around at night in Craig. the hunting camping and wilderness set Craig apart. we are at the foot of black mountain an the beginning of the high desert, it's beautifully all year. I truly love Craig.
Now for the bad ,Craigg and the goodOlee boy's that runCraigg. theycontroll everything. They manipulate citycounsele , the police and sheriffs. the city politics are dirty to the core. example; i just received a ticket for cat at large for 800$ Craig politicss suck craig the area and people are great.

Reaver (Anonymous) says…

The illiterate comment above has some good points, however hard to understand.

The schools are a bit below average for Colorado. I grew up and went to school here all my life, and ended up being successful in college and career as well. I have to blame the below-average education on the atmosphere rather than the schools, however. It's not necessarily a negative, but generation after generation of coal miners and ranchers generally breed good people and hard workers rather than engineers and doctors. Like I said, not a negative thing but rather a different emphasis in lifestyle that really depends on who the parents are and what their priorities are.

There aren't any dangerous spots in Craig. Crime is the last thing one has to worry about here.

The economy is based primarily on our coal mines and hunting tourism. The town is generally packed full during hunting season (autumn). As far as the health of the economy - it's OK. We're not down in the dumps right now but not booming like the 90's were either. It would help to know why you are considering moving here to help you with employment ideas.

There is a large variety of churches. It shouldn't be hard to find one that suits you.

The winters are bad much like the rest of Colorado. We had record snow fall last year. It's not hard to get used to, however. The first winter might be tough.

If you like outdoor activities then Northwest Colorado is great. Between Craig and Steamboat there is a lot to offer for outdoorsy people.

As for the bad things; I'm not too sure about the politics because I don't pay attention to them but it sounds like the comment above me is really sensitive to a heavy fine and likes to spread blame. I have a hard time reading his comment. The worst things in my opinion are the winters and the lack of a young and fun nightlife. Since you are parents to young kids, this probably doesn't affect you as much.

SmallTowner (Anonymous) says…

My family and I love Craig. We are transplants and have been here about 3 years. The summers are amazing, as the weather and activities (with festivals, lakes, mountains, fishing, parks, pools, etc…) create great opportunities for families. We have only had experience with preschool so far, but the Early Childhood Learning Center has been excellent. I agree with Reaver on the summary of the schools.

The winters can seem long, especially when Spring teases you with a day or two before Winter comes back. Craig is not really set up to relieve that winter for families with young children, although there are many more activities for school-age kids. “Rec center” is kind of a bad word here for some reason. Our family has had to become customers of McDonalds for the play center there.

Craig is compact, so you can get pretty much anywhere you need to in town in about 5 minutes.

I have never seen a community more willing to assist people who are going through hard times. My family has benefited from that generosity. People are friendly in general and service-oriented. It is a small town though, so there will be some infighting and petty gossip (and some of the bloggers are nuts).

All in all, I feel that this is a great place to live and to raise a family.

misterwhiskers (Anonymous) says…

The town is nice…some people are too…

But there are some Honest Truths….

Very poor education system and even worse…any sort of passion to make it better.

A heavy and widespread general ignorance….if your way isn't their way…then I would suggest the highway.

There is a term you will come to know upon moving here… “The Good Ole' Boy System”. The local government, officials, law enforcement and even this newspaper are about as crooked as the roads that will get you here.

…that may be what you are looking for though.

misterwhiskers (Anonymous) says…

Smoke & Mirrors…

Here are some of our wonderful community members that would love to have you and your children move to our town…

http://www.craigpolice.org/sex_offend…

djs (Anonymous) says…

Hi To ALL,

Thank you so much for your views on all this, I really appreciate your time and it's really helpful. Misterwhiskers when you say 'their way or the highway' can you tell me what 'their' way is? Thank you. Basically the reason we want to move to Craig is because I've heard in passing that it's a great place to raise children the 'old fashioned' way. We want to teach our boys: simplicity, hard work, honesty, respect…you know things that so many children are lacking these days. My husand is a mail carrier and would like to possibly transfer to Craig or any other government job. I am a stay at home mom, not because we've got riches but because we chose to sacrifice a 2nd income inorder to raise our own children and because it's what we felt God was putting on our hearts to do. We just want a happy life for our boys and ourselves. We don't get caught up in materialistic things, we just want to be outdoors and enjoy our surroundings…nature. We're actually planning a drive up that way in about a week. Can anyone tell me where I might want to go to check out employment, housing, good places to eat, etc. ? Thank you all for your views and please keep them coming, I will be logging on periodically to check posts.

Reaver (Anonymous) says…

djs,

I applaud your plan. Some good places to check out housing right now would be the classifieds or Craighomefinder.com. Of course you could always go to a realtor. For a few local restaurant reviews and some menus and stuff there is explorecraig.com, or go to www.craigdailypress.com/news/bestofwi… to see what the county voted as best places around the area.

As far as employment for your husband I would recommend going to the post office directly to see if they have any openings. I'm not really sure where to go to look for government jobs. Maybe someone else has some insight to that.

SmallTowner (Anonymous) says…

Places we like to eat: Fiesta Jalisco (on 4th and Ranny), Carellis (on Yampa between 3rd and 4th), the Burrito Shack (actually Jilbertos at Steele and Victory Way), Galaxy for Chinese (on Yampa near Victory) and sometimes the Holiday Inn has pretty good food. For sightseeing: I would walk around town north of Victory on Yampa avenue and visit the shops there, visit the pool at Washington and 6th, along with viewing the carvings around the park from whittle the wood (which you will also see in various places around town); visit Loudy Simpson park and walk around the nature trail there (we always see some pretty spectacular birds), go up to the high school to look around (Finley Lane), and maybe visit Elkhead Reservoir if you have the time. For government jobs, check Craig City hall (and go inside to see the winner of this year's whittle the wood) or the Courthouse where the county is based. Most jobs are going to be posted online on their websites. It would be a good idea to find someone from a church you are interested in to show you around.

OyveyCraig (Anonymous) says…

No.

The winter is killer. Come visit January before making a decision.

I my opinion, there is close to nothing offered for children and transplanting is hard. It can be a very toxic community.

Reaver (Anonymous) says…

The community is only as toxic as the people you decide to associate with, in my opinion. I was into sports as a kid so there was plenty to do. The wave pool is pretty entertaining as well.

djs (Anonymous) says…

Thank you for the food/employment/attractions recommendations, we appreciate it. I also want to thank everyone for their honest opinions & personal experience even if some differ from others. There is truth to the saying “You are only as good as those you choose to surround yourself around”. And yes that's a good idea, we are also planning a trip up there during the winter as well. We'd like to experience both summer & winter season before we commit to a move. We'll be in Craig middle of next week, looking forward to the experience.

OyveyCraig (Anonymous) says…

Well, I would love to have the chance to choose some great folks to associate with. That's the problem. I, as a mother of small children, have found it hard to find good friends here. It's a tough town to find your “place”. Hope that clears that up.

Reaver (Anonymous) says…

Very much so. Thanks, Oyvey.

onewhocares (Anonymous) says…

Like any place there's good and bad to consider. On the positive side, there are so many wonderful, down to earth folks here that going to the grocery store takes time planning for visiting. On the negative side, the expectations at the high school are very low causing a very high drop out rate once they make it to college (if the kids even go to college). Ironically, there's many awesome teachers, but the school district as a whole is way behind other districts (such as Routt) so when the kids do go to college, they feel they can't compete at the college level and drop out. Not all of course, but a way too high number. It just makes it that much more important as a parent to really stay on top of your students learning and to add as much to it as you can. (which we should anyway) Another ironic problem is, the kids are so insulated here from other cultures and ways of life, that when they leave, the outside world is so foreign they end of coming back (lots of time w/o an education.) so it's doubly important to take your child to the cities often and expose them to the world outside Craig. Now another positive, the nice calm of the town making coming home from the cities a very nice experience. Very negative aspect: listen to the post above and come visit in February when it is 35 below. The snow isn't bad, but the cold is brutal.. Another negative: the politicians. They have been here forever and terribly stagnate the health of the county and it seems outsiders are really discouraged from coming in to add to nice things missing from our town.
Lastly, and something I wish I had known before raising my kids here. The cancer rate is scarily high, more than anywhere else I've lived. There is a uranium tailing pile west of town approx 18 miles that many feel is the culprit. I have attended one too many memorials and have to agree. The wind blows west to east so Craig is in direct line for loose particles which for me scares me to death for the sake of my children. It's an ominous thought, but a realistic one. And lastly, I'd wait and see what the gas & oil companies do to our county in terms of pollution and water contamination. The politicians that encouraged this practice played up on the positive side in terms of economy, but failed to educate the public on the types of chemicals used and the history of so many other small towns that now have terrible problems caused from it and the cancers that go along with it. In all honesty, I'd stay tuned before making a decision.

nadja (Anonymous) says…

I've lived here 30+ years. My sons both went to school here from kindergarten through high school and went on to do very well in college. One got a masters from Colorado School of Mines and the second got his BS from UNC in Greeley. The district's low test scores are puzzling to me, because many kids do very well when they leave.

As far as being culturally stifled here, it's up to the individual and parents to bring culture and diversity into their lives. If you never leave Craig for anything, yes, you'll be a bit stunted.

Craig has been a good community to raise a family in. It may be lacking in some activities, however if you enjoy the outdoors, fishing, hunting, etc., this is a perfect place to be.

I used to like the winter cold and snow, but as I've gotten older I no longer enjoy it. I do however enjoy our pleasant spring, summer and falls.

grnleaf (Anonymous) says…

djs,
The winter's are long, cold and depressing and spring, summer and fall are short lived before the winter arrives. Craig is very isolated; the cost and planning to travel over the mountain for any sort of “culturization” adds up quickly and is expensive (I liken the effect to Isand Fever). While there are a handful of teachers who are effective, the overall bundance is lazy, laxed and held unaccountable for poor classroom management, discipline and effective teaching strategies. In all the years my children were in school, I witnessed teachers on their personal cell phones while students roamed around the classroom, sitting behind their desk checking Facebook accounts (among other inappropriate school related things) and students simply being unattended in a classroom. The people of the community are very kind, however do not take to outsiders well. Perhaps the divorce rate is proportionate to the community size, the rate seems elevated among other communities. Also, the rate of depression and suicide seems higher than what it should be when considering the population. Adding another con to the list: the inflated cost of living. If it is a goal to stay as a one- income family, the budgeting is very difficult with the housing and gas cost alone. You also asked about safe versus unsafe areas in Craig: each “section” of town has it's part or parts of town that are less desirable and are prone to higher rates of violence and/ or disturbance. It would seem there are many other choices in communities to raise your children where there is not such a debate about whether the town is good or not. Perhaps see where your husband can transfer to, and compare those areas to Craig and other places. Citydata. com (I believe) would be a good place to start. Also, check out the sex offender list in Craig. For the size of Craig, it seems high; then again, it may be proportionate. Good luck!