Colorado ranks No. 4 where Americans would most like to live (Denver: apartments, new home)

[Viper2]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaTransplant

Opinions are great. We all get one.

I've lived in both Colorado and Oregon. I put Colorado ahead of Oregon. It's a different kind of beauty-dryer, sunnier-but still gorgeous. And those mountains! Wow.

Compared to the Pacific Northwest, Colorado has a serious lack of trees and water bodies. Both areas have mountains, although the mountains in the Pacific Northwest look better.

Cascade Mountains > Rocky Mountains any day of the week.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by Viper2

Compared to the Pacific Northwest, Colorado has a serious lack of trees and water bodies. Both areas have mountains, although the mountains in the Pacific Northwest look better.

Cascade Mountains > Rocky Mountains any day of the week.

However, Colorado has better skiing and the major cities have more days of sunshine then the major cities in the Pacific Northwest.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Yuck.

I would take the front range with our mountains over LA, San Diego and San Francisco with their mountains any day. Plus we have way more sunny days.

But CA has way more 70+ degree days. I think the Sierras give the Rockies a run for their money. San Francisco is a much more interesting city than Denver. The Front Range pretty much reminds me of a larger version of Reno.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

But CA has way more 70+ degree days. I think the Sierras give the Rockies a run for their money. San Francisco is a much more interesting city than Denver. The Front Range pretty much reminds me of a larger version of Reno.

Ca may have more 70+ degree days because most of the cities there do not have a winter. I have lived in San Diego and Pueblo and I prefer the 4 seasons we get to the weather they get. Plus I prefer the skiing in the Rockies over the Sierras as the Rockies have much better snow and mountain towns.

San Francisco is a nice city but its very expensive, more so then any city in Colorado, and their weather is much worse. In fact Mark Twain said the coldest winter he ever experienced was the summer in San Francisco.

To me the Front Range Urban Corridor more resembles the north east urban corridor with less people, better mountains and much better weather.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by naturegirll

I first drifted thru CO in 86 for about a month, then came back in 94 & was astounded at how much had been built in that time inbetween....left in 2000 when it seemed like a big building craze was going on & everyone from California was moving to CO....was back briefly in 2006, and back again now...

The things that made CO desirable, at least based on my ideas of what makes CO special, are slowly disappearing due to the amount of people piling into the state.....this last move back drove that reality into me real fast.....it's heartbreaking to see open spaces disappear, and I will never understand how people can build a ridiculously large house on the side of a mountain (and not even bother to try to blend it in with the surroundings)....yes, I had the old Indian with a tear rolling down his cheek commercial flashback.....Being so high on a desirable list is a bit of an honor, I just wish those people had more respect for what they desired........

The Colorado I knew as a kid in the 1980's is drifted away. Denver I felt at the time was a distinct place but with so many coastal euro eco trendie types moving in, especially from California, it's lost a lot of it's distinction.

Disagree? Look at a Denver Broncos game. Up until the end of the old Mile High, the place was packed every seat, every game. I remember getting a ticket was a major pain, especially if you wanted 2 side by side seats. Now tickets are freely available and the stadium is half empty every time I look and last year when I was at a game I can confirm first hand. The passion and intensity for the football team and the city and state spirit, literally seemed to die with Barrelman.

But everything goes in cycles and with a poor economy and credit drying up, it's going to force people to stay put instead of seeking out the next promised land and perhaps people will get back to knowing their neighbors and community and being a part of it all.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by Viper2

Compared to the Pacific Northwest, Colorado has a serious lack of trees and water bodies. Both areas have mountains, although the mountains in the Pacific Northwest look better.

Cascade Mountains > Rocky Mountains any day of the week.

I think a lot of people have been "confused" by the few pics they have seen of Colorado, which tends to be taken in an area like the Rocky Mtn National Park.

Colorado is basically a desert state with some "islands" of wetter areas at high elevation. Most of these wetter areas due to terrain, government ownership of land and harsh climate are inaccessible or isolated to the point it's not really realistic for the average person to live up there.

The Cascades in many ways are more scenic I'll give you that. Of course for some of those lush areas you pay the price with day after day of rain sometimes.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

To me the Front Range Urban Corridor more resembles the north east urban corridor with less people, better mountains and much better weather.

Maybe if you lowered the average level of education by about four years, cut incomes in half, and got rid of ethnic diversity and liberal politics.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by wanneroo

The Colorado I knew as a kid in the 1980's is drifted away. Denver I felt at the time was a distinct place but with so many coastal euro eco trendie types moving in, especially from California, it's lost a lot of it's distinction.

Disagree? Look at a Denver Broncos game. Up until the end of the old Mile High, the place was packed every seat, every game. I remember getting a ticket was a major pain, especially if you wanted 2 side by side seats. Now tickets are freely available and the stadium is half empty every time I look and last year when I was at a game I can confirm first hand. The passion and intensity for the football team and the city and state spirit, literally seemed to die with Barrelman.

But everything goes in cycles and with a poor economy and credit drying up, it's going to force people to stay put instead of seeking out the next promised land and perhaps people will get back to knowing their neighbors and community and being a part of it all.

Colorado is a much better place now then it was in the 80's. Pueblo had a unemployment rate of over 17% in 1982 now its at 9.9% and while bad does not compare to the economic collapse we had back then.

As far as the Broncos I have season tickets and am at every home game. They are all sold out with only "no shows". Sure this season there has been more then normal, for Denver that is 1,000 to 2,000 no shows per game. That is more to do with the way the Broncos are playing then anything else. In fact Denver games are never blocked out in the local market like other teams.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Maybe if you lowered the average level of education by about four years, cut incomes in half, and got rid of ethnic diversity.

Really? Why don't we look that up.

First from Forbes:

The most-educated city in America: Boulder, Colo., home to the University of Colorado with high-tech employers like IBM and Sun Microsystems to keep alumni in the area after they graduate.

The link: http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/24/economics-education-colorado-biz-beltway-cx_jz_1124educated.html

Then CSU Fort Collins was ranked as the first in federally funded research and development among all public institutions and No. 49 among all private and public institutions in 2008-09 with a record high research expenditure of $311.7 million. This if from the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

Colorado is the 2nd most educated state in the nation since DC is not really a state:

1) District of Columbia 45.7
2) Massachusetts 36.7
3) Colorado 35.5

The link: Most Educated State in the US

Incomes are less in Colorado but then again so is the cost of living. In fact its much less making our money go father here then there. Colorado could be more diverse but I live in Pueblo and we are very diverse for a city of only 110,000 people. Denver is as well but places like Boulder and Fort Collins need some work.

No state is perfect but I perfer Colorado over the north east.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

Colorado is a much better place now then it was in the 80's. Pueblo had a unemployment rate of over 17% in 1982 now its at 9.9% and while bad does not compare to the economic collapse we had back then.

As far as the Broncos I have season tickets and am at every home game. They are all sold out with only "no shows". Sure this season there has been more then normal, for Denver that is 1,000 to 2,000 no shows per game. That is more to do with the way the Broncos are playing then anything else. In fact Denver games are never blocked out in the local market like other teams.

That's not what I have seen on tv and in person. And getting tickets isn't hard at all. If there are all these season ticket holders many don't seem to give a damn.

Personally I don't live in a world of statistics, useful to hear sometimes but meaningless in daily living. Colorado has changed since the 80's and not all for the better. That's my own personal experience. Does that mean the state sucks? No, just that there are many things I don't like, Denver for instance is just too big for me now, however there is a lot that is still great and that I still enjoy.