Monica McCarthy, Local Realtor
44 episodes listed below
Small-town Salida, told through its people.
Living in Salida, Colorado is a neighborly interview show rooted in Salida and Chaffee County. Monica McCarthy talks with local business owners, community builders, and residents about work, housing, outdoor life, youth programs, and what makes the area feel like home.
PRESS PLAY
Living in Salida, Colorado is a place-based interview show about the people who make Salida and Chaffee County work. Monica McCarthy hosts with a conversational, neighborly style. She is direct enough to keep episodes moving, but relaxed enough to let guests explain their own route into town. That route matters. Many conversations begin with an origin story, then widen into the decisions, compromises, and community ties that make life in a rural mountain area possible. The guest list reflects a town built through small institutions and local initiative. Robbie Ballinger talks about Chavano Restaurant, local sourcing, and naming a restaurant after a mountain tied to the valley. Andrew Stossmeister brings the perspective of Heart of the Rockies Radio, youth sports, coaching, teachers, arts programs, and raising kids in Chaffee County. Katie Blanton’s Coffee by Topo story turns a bicycle coffee service into a downtown gathering place with community, inclusivity, and sustainability at its center. Betsy Dittenberg explains the Chaffey County Community Foundation and the role of philanthropy in keeping a year-round community healthy. Steve Lee’s Cowork Salida conversation shows how remote workers bring jobs with them while still needing shared local infrastructure. Episodes also visit Monarch Mountain, Elemental 5, and Full Circle Restorative Justice. Outdoor access is always nearby, but it is not the whole story. The show is just as interested in childcare, resilience, affordability, nonprofit work, youth development, and the everyday acts that help people belong. It suits listeners who want more than postcard Salida. They get a patient, friendly record of how a small mountain town is being built, one conversation at a time.
Made for: For current residents, would-be movers, frequent visitors, and Colorado mountain-town watchers who care about the people behind local businesses, nonprofits, schools, sports, and civic life.
What sets it apart: The show is not a travel gloss or a real estate pitch dressed up as lifestyle content. Its strength is the patient local detail: organizations, restaurants, studios, radio stations, and the practical choices that keep Salida connected.
*Welcome to the Living in Salida Podcast* – your backstage pass to the charm and reality of living, working, and playing in Colorado’s coolest little mountain town! Join local Realtor and Salida enthusiast *Monica McCarthy* as she chats with locals from all walks of life—artists, adventurers, business owners, and everyday characters who make this town tick. From real talk about work and housing to quirky tales of small-town living, it's your insider guide to the heart and soul of Salida, CO. Whether you live here, want to move here, plan to visit—or just crave a peek into authentic small-to...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Monica McCarthy makes Salida's cultural infrastructure legible through grounded conversations with the people running its community organizations, radio and arts programs.
Living in Salida, Colorado works through extended conversations between Monica McCarthy and people shaping daily life around Salida. She asks practical follow-ups about how local institutions operate, then leaves guests room to connect their work with housing, families and the…
Monica McCarthy turns Salida's civic life into the neighborly conversation you hoped someone would invite you into.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A downtown Salida restaurant, its name, and the local logic behind both.
Salida's restaurant scene gets a grounded, local-minded look here, as Monica McCarthy sits down with Robbie Ballinger, the owner-operator of Chavano Restaurant, to talk about a place that opened in March 2025 and quickly entered the town's food conversation.
A relaxed Salida conversation about youth sports, resilience, and why coming home matters.
McCarthy's Salida show gives Andrew Stossmeister room to talk through the everyday pressures and bright spots of life in a small mountain town.
A practical mountain-town episode about expansion, grants, and keeping skiing within reach.
Monarch Mountain anchors the season closer, giving the mountain a real civic weight instead of treating it as just another place to ski. The episode moves through 377 acres of new terrain, more than 1,000 acres of existing terrain, and 1,600 acres of guided backcountry, then…
A mountain-town studio story about turning movement into a community anchor.
Joe Lobeck, Lexi Lobeck, and Josh Lobeck come across as the steady center of Elemental 5 in Pontchart Springs, where an acrobatic studio mixes ninja fitness, parkour, tumbling, and aerial arts with a five-elements philosophy.
A grounded Salida episode on school prevention, diversion work, and a wider restorative vision.
Eric Lee's work with Full Circle Restorative Justice gives this Salida episode a clear civic center: community health and safety through restorative prevention and intervention.
Andre Wilkins, a Salida High School music teacher and theater director who arrived in 2012, describes the school's performing arts offerings, including a jazz band and symphonic choir that earn CMC gen ed credit.
Monica McCarthy talks with Robbie Ballinger, the owner-operator of Chavano Restaurant in downtown Salida.
Monica McCarthy talks with Andrew Stossmeister, the sports director and general manager for Heart of the Rockies Radio.
Host Monica McCarthy interviews Katy Blanton, owner of Coffee by Topo in Salida, Colorado, discussing her journey as an entrepreneur who started a mobile coffee business and grew it into a community-focused coffee shop.
Host Monica McCarthy interviews Betsy Dittenber, executive director of the Chaffee County Community Foundation, about her background and the foundation's mission to enrich lives through philanthropy in the local community.
Host Monica McCarthy interviews Steve Lee, owner of Cowork Salida, about remote work opportunities and the expansion of coworking spaces in Salida, Colorado.
Monica McCarthy wraps up season two with Monarch Mountain.
Monica McCarthy sits down with Joe Lobeck, Lexi Lobeck, and Josh Lobeck.
Monica McCarthy interviews Eric Lee, executive director of Full Circle Restorative Justice, about youth diversion, school connection, and community dispute resolution in Salida, Buena Vista, and Canyon City.
This episode features an interview with Jennifer Dempsey, a performer and director, discussing her contributions to the creative arts scene in Slida, Colorado, including her work with circus outreach and theater in non-traditional spaces.
This episode features an interview with Andrew Bascue of Porchlight Builders discussing the process of building custom mountain homes in Salida, Colorado, including his personal journey and practical tips for prospective homeowners.
This episode features an interview with Jan Justice, exploring her background and the vibrant theater and art scene in Salida, Colorado.
This episode features an interview with Courtney Landry, head of Salida Montessori Charter School, discussing early education options, parenting in Salida, Colorado, and her personal journey to the community.
Host Monica McCarthy interviews Lane Wilson, co-owner of Oveja Negra in Salida, about her journey to the town, running a business there, and the local biking and music scenes.