Moving to Springs fom Texas (Denver, Colorado Springs: houses, scorpions, living)

[Dagumol]

Please let me start this off by stating that I am from Texas....however, I AM not like a lot of people here. I do not with to move to your State and change it. I want to blend in. There are a lot of things here that I want to get away from. The overly-crooked politics (being a crook in TX is a badge of honor) are too much. The law enforcement is over bearing. They believe in the the ideology that ALL people are law breakers and it is their sworn duty to catch them. So a lot of the police here will stare you down or follow you until you nervously make a traffic mistake warranting a pull over; and if you so much as have a pot seed in your possession you're toast.
I don't mean to be on a rant because there are some things here that i love like catfish hunting at night and warm winter months. But then again the heat will kill a person seven months outta the year.
That outta the way.......
My wife is from Springs and has taken me up there a couple of times. Although I did not really want to go and protested all the way (I wanted to spena week on South Padre Island), I did and fell deeply in love. I made an outgoing effort to talk/interact with as many people there as I could and just observe how they treat one another. I was very impressed. I even did what my wife jokingly calls taboo and started off a conversation by saying, "I'm from Texas." The person did not even bat an eye and took her time to talk to me and explain how the MMJ laws work. Okay, this person worked at an MMJ dispensary and I pulled over and walked in and started asking questions....in hindsight, I hope she did not suspect me of being a cop or DEA officer....

Now we are looking to relocate. What I am trying to do is chat with somone who made the move from CenTex to COS and how the weather change affected you and how you coped. Just you personal experiences in the transition in general. Thanks for reading.

[Dagumol]

I probably should state that i am not just a pothead looking to move to the Amsterdam of America, LOL.

[lurtsman]

I moved from crapville, IA (yeah, that's really the name of the city...what?) to COS. The weather there wasn't that different from texas, except the winter months suck horribly. Okay, that is a pretty significant difference. However, Summer's were very hot and humid, just not as bad as Texas. The summers here are wonderful. They are hot, but in july and august most days we get a late afternoon cloud cover with a light thunderstorm that drops the feels like to the high seventies. Remember how nice the seventies are?

The winter here isn't bad. Due to the very low humidity and very strong sun rays, going out in 30 degrees in my pajamas is just fine. I'll go out and play with the dog that way, no problem. By 40, it feels great. By 50, you can wear a T-shirt. (T-shirt is comfortable from about 50 to 85 or so) Note: This assumes the sun is shining, if it is shady, a T-shirt is comfortable from 60 to 90. The sun hits us almost all the time, except for thunderstorms / thunder showers. (Can I make that a thing? Sometimes the rain is pretty light even with thunder)

I considered Texas for a while because I wanted the warmer winters, but decided I didn't want those horrible summers. Here all four seasons are wonderful. We have no problem with people coming here from Texas, especially if they want to blend in. You'll find yourself accepted here before you even know you moved

I picked this city after an 18 month long research period in which I consumed almost every wikipedia page for every major city outside of the North East, which was crossed off my list because of the weather there. Given that I picked it, it's not much of a surprise that I find everything to be wonderful. Your mileage may vary, of course.

PS. The thing that may be the weirdest for you about the weather here coming from central texas is the winter cold snaps. When winter storm cleon came through here we got quite a few inches of snow and the temperatures dropped from highs around 50 to highs around 10 to 18. It was very very cold. However, the cold snap has passed, yesterday was about 55, and the next five days are expected to be around low forties. Note also, I live on the North side of town which is slightly higher in elevation and our average temps are around 3 to 5 degrees lower.

[Miss Hepburn]

I love Texans, lived there for years.
Edit:.... Oh Pot? You'll think you died and went to Heaven here.

The change...no roaches, no scorpions running across your
Living room floor.
No sweat, so less laundry, no mosquitos (ok 2 in last 3 years in my bedroom
But someone brought them in from FL, I figure)
No fleas.

Brown grass, few lush gardens, no figs, no hot red peppers anywhere on bushes,
No armidillos on the roads....no magnolia trees, well that are like there,

No ambulances from heat stroke...just altitude sickness emergencies in Cripple Creek with the elderly mostly.

You will still find Mex groceries and restaurants and lots of culture...esp at the Flea Markets...Denver esp. If you miss home.
But Fiesta Mexicana in Woodland Park and the Blue Bonnet in Denver for real
Mex food.

Welcome....I love it here, BUT, watch out for the drivers here and the many traffic issues bec of an accident in broad daylight...there is a Vortex over Colorado Springs that spaces people out for some reason.
Oh, don't expect many services to ever call you back either...if they have enough work,
You will mean nothing to them. No return courtesy calls.

If you cancel your mail or paper...expect to find it all piled up when you come home....
Its the Vortex, I tell ya.

[Dagumol]

Less insects, especially those with stingers and/or bloodsuckers, is a big appeal.

[Terytee]

No termites either! Lurtsman's post was spot-on. I have relatives on the East Coast who always seem to think I live in veritable winter wonderland here in CO, when it's almost opposite. I moved here BECAUSE of the climate. Colorado Springs is considered "Southern Colorado," and the weather is typically very mild. We get some doozy snow, but it's generally short-lived.

Very little humidity makes a world of difference in the hot and cold months. High 90's are very comfortable in the shade, and low temps are fine when you're in the sun. Also without the humidity, everything looks so much more vibrant. The sky can be incredibly blue....and it's as if someone pulled a color filter off your eyes.

I like Texas, and Texans, but just can't take the summer temps out there. I dig the houses out there.....brick with big lot sizes. Out here, not so much. The lot sizes are pretty small and for many homes, you can look out a side window and almost see what kind of sandwich your neighbor is eating for lunch, and it's either vinyl siding or stucco, but that's about it.

Many homes in this area, don't even have air conditioning, but I highly recommend it.

You'll dig it out here.

[Dagumol]

We were up there last July and went up to Rampart reservoir. I spent about 3-4 hours just lying in the sun next to the water. I just loved how great it felt. I mean, I was in direct sunlight and did not suffer heat stroke or get burned. I typically wear SPF 80+ if I have to spend more than 20 minutes out under el sol here. I did not get carried away by fire ants either.
It is really sounding like the weather there will not be much of an issue at all for me. Thank you to everyone for your responses so far.

[beezle1]

Keep up the sunscreen here. Sun is more intense in this altitude even if it does not feel as hot.

[Dagumol]

What is the music scene like in Springs? I am primarily a bassist who also plays drums and guitar. I currently play in the band at my Church but also play in an 80's hair band. I play a LOT of Beatles, Thin Lizzy and Van Halen. I saw there is a Guitar Center but didn't get time to check it out (I like hanging out at GC-that's where I meet a lot of Musicians 'round here) and I stopped into a small music shop in OCS that was nice. But, how many musicians are up there and what is the live scene like? Do people get into going out to see a live band? I am in Austin and there cannot be enough live music here, which also means that paying gigs are hard to come by. Well, $120 per night for the entire band. I never do it for the money, I love music.

[Mike from back east]

Dag, one of our local papers covers music here. We aren't Denver but we got some music happening.