Neighborhoods
Get to know the beautiful cities and browse my lifestyle guides to learn about the best neighborhoods for you
Aspen
Aspen is perhaps the world’s best-known winter resort in America, with dining, entertainment, cultural offerings, and a natural environment that awes even the most well-traveled visitors. Once a Victorian mining town, the vibrant and healthy community of Aspen has since ascended as one of the world’s most famous ski areas. Summer days begin with mountaintop yoga and meditation followed by lunch and fly-fishing in the afternoon. When the snow flies in winter, Aspen turns into a wonderland of activities from snowmobiling to skiing, ice skating to winter fat biking. The most famous ski resort in the world doesn’t disappoint when it comes to dining, arts, nightlife, and outdoor adventure. Winter brings skiing on Aspen's four area mountains, while summer blooms with hiking, biking, classical music concerts, theater in the park, lectures, and food and wine festivals.
The Neighbors
A mix of longtime locals, second homeowners, and international guests who seek a mountain paradise.
What to Expect
A bastion of culture in the summer and a sports mecca in the winter.
Off-seasons of fall and spring offer a return to a quieter small town when many restaurants and shops close and neighbors take time to stop and talk on the streets.
The Lifestyle
High-end retailers, small cafes, and historic hotel saloons channel rustic sophistication.
In winter, après-ski kicks off evenings of cocktail and dining culture that last late into the night. Summer means outdoor concerts featuring classical, jazz, and contemporary artists. But in the end, each and every season is rooted in and revolves around the mountains.
Unexpected Appeal
The town’s rich artistic tradition of classical music, jazz, visual arts, ballet, and theater.
At the downtown Aspen Art Museum, there is free entry and a rooftop cafe in the Shigura Ban-designed building. The historic Wheeler Opera House is the place to catch live acts ranging from musicians to comedians and even local school plays. Spending a Sunday afternoon on the lawn at the Aspen Music Festival’s Benedict Music Tent is a summer rite of passage.
The Market
Free market real estate is dominated by high price points and low vacancy rates.
Single-family homes, ranchettes, and condos are always in high demand. Many prefer to live within Aspen city limits, where land is hard to come by, so tear-downs and remodels are common and price tags high. In Aspen city limits, you will find a mix of updated Victorian mining cabins in the West End, large, opulent homes on Red Mountain, and penthouses and condos in the downtown core. Outside of downtown, in greater Pitkin County, larger custom homes are commonly built amid the wilderness, on larger parcels and offering expansive mountain views. Both working cattle and hay ranches as well as smaller, “gentleman” ranches are just a short and scenic drive from Aspen’s downtown core.
You'll Fall in Love With
The Rocky Mountains, which soar skyward in every direction.
People here say the mountains are the great equalizer. Everyone—visitors, locals, homeowners, and renters—come together in the outdoors to enjoy a day of skiing, hiking, or rafting along the Roaring Fork River. Yoga on the top of Aspen mountain, the sounds of music students playing along the sidewalks in summer, and the excitement of fresh snow in winter bring the community together in harmony.
Basalt
World-class fly-fishing and mountain biking destination with a fresh perspective.
The landscape and look of downtown Basalt have not changed in 150 years. At the confluence of two rivers, small restaurants and shops line Basalt’s main street, Midland Avenue, while more modern development has emerged to its west, a neighborhood known as Willits.
This quiet, historic town is best known in Aspen as the site where two Gold Medal glasses of water—the Roaring Fork and Fryingpan Rivers—converge. Basalt is both charming and energetic, where people still talk politics at the barbershop, love the outdoors, and shop at the local farmers’ market on Sunday mornings. While the historic settlement is downtown, the modern neighborhood of Willits, on the town’s western edge, is home to new stores and loft-style living.
The Neighbors
Long-term residents that enjoy living in the mountains and among one another.
Many Basalt residents moved to the Roaring Fork Valley for the Aspen-area mountains. Attracted by more affordable real estate and an approachable lifestyle, you will often hear of Basalt residents who “moved down-valley” to buy a home and raise a family. Basalt is an outdoor and cultural destination that appreciates year-round amenities, good food, and strong community connections.
What to Expect
A confluence of Colorado cool and international sophistication.
Basalt is a place where neighbors gather at the local coffee shop to discuss art, politics, and the day’s outdoor pursuits. Centrally located within the Roaring Fork Valley, equidistant between both Aspen and Glenwood Springs, Basalt enjoys easy access to both of these larger communities. The town encompasses the best of today's American West—at once historic and modern, with an eye towards sustainability and innovative design.
The Lifestyle
An unassuming community, bound by a shared love of mountains, rivers, and family.
The Roaring Fork and Fryingpan Rivers define Basalt, but the way of life here is also about exploring the surrounding mountains, building community, and protecting the wildlife and the natural resources that first put Basalt on the map more than 130 years ago. People here enjoy a slower pace of life and take pride in its historic downtown, as well as its New Urban community of Willits. Here people enjoy lingering meals by candlelight, outdoor movies in the parks, and friends and family waving hello from their front porch.
Unexpected Appeal
A surprisingly sophisticated culinary scene.
Home to locally-owned restaurants, chefs from around the world, and wine lists that are diverse and expansive, the dining scene in Basalt offers both fine dining options as well as cozy, casual bistros. From pans brimming with seafood paella to mile-high homemade pies, French crepes, modern Mexican, and barbecue, Basalt suits every taste and appetite.
The Market
Appealing, approachable, and brimming with potential.
Lured by a quieter lifestyle—yet wanting to remain near enough to the bustling ski resorts of Aspen—buyers flock to Basalt where there is a more approachable lifestyle and lower price point for larger properties.
You'll Fall in Love With
Life along the river in a small Western town.
Raft, kayak, or fly-fish the Gold Medal waters of the Fryingpan and Roaring Fork Rivers or drop anchor in the expansive Reudi Reservoir.
Carbondale
Historic ranching community meets modern-day utopia for the sustainable generation.
Carbondale is fiercely independent, proud of its creative arts, locally owned businesses, and commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Outdoor sports such as hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and skiing in nearby Aspen are paramount components of its residents’ lifestyle. An eclectic mix of ranchers, artists, organic farmers, and retired business owners, Carbondale is a small community passionate about creativity, the environment, new ideas, and action. Activists, yogis, shop owners, locavore chefs, athletes, and families fill Carbondale’s streets day and night. Every month, the community comes out for First Fridays, enjoying all that the historic Main Street restaurants, shops, and cafes have to offer.
The Neighbors
Ranchers, local proprietors, athletes, and families living in accord.
Carbondale is the town for community-minded locals who believe in healthy living and saying hello to neighbors on the street.
What to Expect
A strong creative identity, established by the town’s early settlers in the late 19th century.
Snowmass Village enjoys relatively warm temperatures for a mountain community, far enough away from the bustle of Aspen, yet close enough to take part in all that it affords. The town’s culture is defined by the common good—public art, locally crafted foods, goods and spirits, community ovens, bike paths, and dinner with friends.
The Lifestyle
Outdoor pursuits, horseback riding, music, and plentiful culinary delights.
In Carbondale, you'll find locally-owned retailers of every variety: boutiques featuring international antiques, art and photography galleries, organic juices, tea houses, and yoga studios. The streets tend to be quiet by midnight, as people are typically busy preparing for the next morning’s outdoor adventure.
Unexpected Appeal
Yogis and artists seamlessly coexist with world-class athletes.
Carbondale welcomes all, as long as you bring something to contribute to the community table.
The Market
An eclectic array of options, suited to a variety of home-seekers.
In Carbondale, there is open space to let the eye wander, but a small inventory of single-family homes near historic downtown. Most residential units are family homes and apartments. River Valley Ranch is the town’s largest planned community with a cross-section of offerings including golf, fishing, and a neighborhood clubhouse.
You'll Fall In Love With
First Fridays, Mountain Fair, and an uncompromising sense of community.
Carbondale’s historic Main Street harkens back to the turn of the century with old saloons on the corners and pastures with local cattle grazing nearby. But the real world is never far away, with film festivals, theater productions, Third Street Center delivering innovation and ideas to this small town lifestyle.