08/20/2026
Dear City Friends… Welcome to Rural Colorado!
I think sometimes when we say rural Colorado, people picture nothing but a lonely dirt road and a house sitting 40 miles from the nearest human.
But rural doesn't necessarily mean middle of nowhere. It can mean small towns, mountain communities, ranch country, a few acres outside of town, or a home tucked up against the foothills. You might live five minutes from Main Street and still have deer in your yard, coyotes singing at night…and apparently a bear helping himself to dinner in your chicken coop.
Nobody really puts this part in the real estate brochure. The mountain views? Absolutely.
The quiet mornings? Yep. Fresh eggs, open spaces, star-filled skies and wildlife wandering through your property? Of course.
But let me tell you how my night went…
I was headed out to lock up the chicken coop when out walks a bear—with one of my chickens in his mouth.
Now, as some of you know, I have probably the loudest hound dogs in the county, and thankfully they did exactly what country dogs are supposed to do. They raised absolute hell and ran that bear off.
Unfortunately, we still lost a few chickens.
And while that's definitely not the romantic version of country living, it reminded me of something important for anyone thinking about trading city streets for a few acres in rural Colorado:
Out here, you're not just moving to the country. You're moving into their country, too.
There are bears, mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, rattlesnakes, elk and deer. Trash needs to be secured. Chicken coops apparently need to be built like Fort Knox. Pets and livestock need a little extra watching, and that adorable deer standing outside your window may eat every flower you planted before you've finished your morning coffee.
Rural living teaches you pretty quickly that owning the land doesn't mean owning everything that crosses it.
We share it.
And honestly, that's part of what makes living here so special. We get the sunsets, silence, fresh eggs, muddy boots and wide-open spaces—but we also have to respect that nature doesn't stop being wild just because we put up a fence and call the acreage ours.
So when you're shopping for rural property, ask about the well, septic, roads, fencing and property lines…But don't forget to ask what else calls the neighborhood home.
Because sometimes your new neighbor isn't across the fence. Sometimes he walks out of your chicken coop with dinner in his mouth.