Be careful when considering the Denver area as part of your retirement plan. While a lot of its water comes from the western slope (a problem in itself), much of the recent development relies on water from a large aquifer (four of them, layered, actually) that is not recharging. There are huge developments in Douglas county, richest and fastest growing county in [mumble, the state? the country? the world?] where the mortgages extend beyond the time when the water will run out.

Talk about being underwater on your loan!

There is also a large subdivision in Colorado Springs where they messed up the water rights and basically don't have any. Be aware when moving west that we have two things you don't have back east--besides sunny days--which are:

- Separable property rights. You only get the surface rights to your building lot. The Union Pacific railroad probably owns the mineral rights, which means that they can come in and put a gas well in your front yard and there is NOTHING you can do about it. Happens all the time.
http://www.hcn.org/issues/328/16489

- A completely separate legal and judicial system controlling water. If you put a stone wall or driveway or cute little pond in your yard, you're almost certainly breaking the law, and the law is enforced. Happens all the time.
http://www.gazette.com/articles/lot-61473-pond-cracks.html