Does everybody in colorado love colorado? (Denver, Colorado Springs: ski resorts, lease, insurance)

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

I'm just curious but what cities and towns in Colorado have you actually lived in, and how long for each one? And what do you do for a living? Do you have a family?

Lived for nearly 50 years in Colorado--Front Range, Western Slope, bigger cities, small towns, farm and ranch. Then to Wyoming. Currently back in Colorado on a temporary assignment. Worked in both public and private sectors. I currently work as a self-employed contractor (no, not construction) in a specialized field. I won't be more specific than that on a public forum. No kids.

[LoveBoating]

For the last 5 1/2 years that we have lived in Colorado (Englewood & Parker), we pretty much loved it. After coming from "bland" weather in SoCalif., the Denver metro area weather was "exciting" (lightning shows and downpours in the summer and those "white-out" snow conditions in the winter). We were really reminded about how much we missed the weather we both had in Indiana and Michigan before moving to SoCalif. However, there is a lot more construction going on now all over Denver metro than there was when we first got here in June 2002, AND there are definitely more people. There is heavy traffic also, but since T-Rex is done on the I-25, travel on that freeway is 100% better (I use it everyday Mon-Fri). Living in a house in Parker was very nice, but now Parker is a "sprawling area" of houses and a LOT more people and traffic. It is still called the "town" of Parker, but that will soon change to the "city" of Parker. Like I have said, we pretty much loved living here, but since my hip replacement in 2005 and a shoulder surgery (fall in ice/snow) in 2007, we decided to sell the house and move to an even "milder" winter climate.....North Carolina (Charlotte area). We are almost 60 yrs old and have had enough of what winter weather can come to the Denver area.
And, in our opinion, if we were young/single, Denver would be the last place we would think about moving to.......not really a young/single person's paradise.

[almost heaven]

Thank's for all the info. I here what you are saying, I do not expect everything to be perfict. I know Colorado has it's isues. Thanks for all the good information.

[breaksraver13]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

Example; the other day, I was flying to South Carolina, boy my arms were tired; bodumCHHHHHHHHHH! As we were preparing to land, I said to the old bucko next to me, "It sure is green out there." Then he proceeded to tell me what a drought they've had and how awful dry it was out there this year. I said, "I understand ya hear, but I'm from Colorado." The poor old guy just didn't seem to hear me because he went on to tell me how dry it was. I said, I don't care how damn dry you think it is, my A$$ aint gonna like the sweat drippin from it cause I aint used to it. He went on to tell me how it aint humid. That night, as I stepped from my rental car to make my way to my cheap motel, my glasses fogged up. This is approximately 10:00 pm and there's this presence of hot humid air about me. To y'all, it aint humid! To me, it's disgusting.

If you are used to that, fine. I'm used to this. Thank God not everybody wants to move here. There's four exits outta here. Seeya!

Where in SC..........I'm in SC and I am relocating to CO...........I tell people all the time, you guys can have all the humidity and THICK air you want because I OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

And, in our opinion, if we were young/single, Denver would be the last place we would think about moving to.......not really a young/single person's paradise.

i agree. if you're like you just stepped out of a ski/snowboard movie or a somewhat conventional yet fun loving 29 year old woman it's probably pretty good, for example. otherwise, maybe not.

[elemental]

As you can see from the gamut of answers here, there is no one place that is paradise to all. While I have visited many, many places, only NY has been my home prior to moving here. It is a rough place to live, rather diverse, has beautiful beaches and the population density to provide real opportunities to succeed. The corruption sucks; people you don't know are rarely nice to you at first glance, but the proximity to NYC means you're only a few minutes from anything you can think of.

After just returning to NY, I now see it in a different light. When I couldn't wait to leave, certain things about Colorado drew me here and thankfully, they were all exactly what I had envisioned. Long Island is a pretty humid place on a daily basis- being an island and all...- so upon returning, I realized that the humidity was nasty, but my nostrils were no longer dry. 85 degrees and humid there feels like 105 degrees here. The dry heat thing is nonsense unless you're in the shade- the sun here feels like a microwave on full, but I would rather have that than have sweat running down my back the moment I exit the car.

It's rather green there and the brown here is a stark contrast. However, it's easy to forget once you hit the mountains or any of the many lakes in our area.

The sunshine here really does wonders for the psyche. You don't realize it until you have spent 5 days in a gray climate complete with bad attitudes and crazy drivers. I love waking up each morning to see the sun's beautiful rays coming through the windows.

As far as wildlife, a friend of mine said recently "you live in the discovery channel". If you seek it out, the wildlife here is amazing and a sight to behold. Nevermind the 50-plus 14,000 foot peaks! About three weeks ago, we went up towards Jamestown hoping to see something crazy like a bear or a mountain lion. Guess what we saw? A huge bear bounding down a high bluff. We pulled out the binoculars and marveled at this creature. What a sight. Then, this evening, we ran up to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the Elk. Literally hundreds in a field with several males duking it out after bugling like mad. In the distance I see something relatively smaller move. Through the camera lense, I see three Coyotes playing. Unbelievable! Not long ago, we were on a hike in Boulder and at dusk 4 foxes were playing tag. If nature is your thing, the only place that might be better is the galapagos islands- or a permanent residence at the Sydney Zoo!

The people are light years more friendly outside of Denver, but even in Denver, they are far friendlier than downstate NY(on the whole). It is far cleaner here and that made me angry on my last visit to NY. With all of that education, all of the manpower paid for by $12000 property taxes, how can there be litter on the streets. Even in areas of considerable wealth, there was crap all over the street. Very disheartening.

So, you really want to make everyone happy? Here's how you do it: we need a set of tests like those administered by match.com which take into account hobbies, belief systems, education, dependencies, etc. and group all of the people by their scores. Like to hunt, fish, trap, the mountains and sleeping under the stars.. you live here in Colorado or Montana. Like the arts, classical music, fine dining, metaphysical experiences, LA or NYC are your two choices. How could you have a better neighborhood than one where many things in common cause more interactions, hence tighter neighborhoods? If everyone liked to play frisbee, there would be frisbees flying across the street at all times of the day. Think of it as a centrifuge for neighborhoods. What an idea huh??

In summary, make a list of what you would like in a home town, compare it to the one you live in now, then start exploring. The town/state that has the most matches wins. I figure if you can meet the bulk of your requirements, that will be one less thing to be unhappy about. Then find a therapist to work on the mental issues and you're all set! )

[elemental]

p.s. If you come from a large metro or even a large suburban area, one of the few things truly missing is a concentration of good food. The great sushi is 15 miles from a great steak house which is an hour from the Italian food. I haven't even seen Greek food here, so I went straight to a Greek diner after having a slice of pizza for lunch. MMMMM GOOD.

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by elemental

As you can see from the gamut of answers here, there is no one place that is paradise to all. While I have visited many, many places, only NY has been my home prior to moving here. It is a rough place to live, rather diverse, has beautiful beaches and the population density to provide real opportunities to succeed. The corruption sucks; people you don't know are rarely nice to you at first glance, but the proximity to NYC means you're only a few minutes from anything you can think of.

After just returning to NY, I now see it in a different light. When I couldn't wait to leave, certain things about Colorado drew me here and thankfully, they were all exactly what I had envisioned. Long Island is a pretty humid place on a daily basis- being an island and all...- so upon returning, I realized that the humidity was nasty, but my nostrils were no longer dry. 85 degrees and humid there feels like 105 degrees here. The dry heat thing is nonsense unless you're in the shade- the sun here feels like a microwave on full, but I would rather have that than have sweat running down my back the moment I exit the car.

It's rather green there and the brown here is a stark contrast. However, it's easy to forget once you hit the mountains or any of the many lakes in our area.

The sunshine here really does wonders for the psyche. You don't realize it until you have spent 5 days in a gray climate complete with bad attitudes and crazy drivers. I love waking up each morning to see the sun's beautiful rays coming through the windows.

As far as wildlife, a friend of mine said recently "you live in the discovery channel". If you seek it out, the wildlife here is amazing and a sight to behold. Nevermind the 50-plus 14,000 foot peaks! About three weeks ago, we went up towards Jamestown hoping to see something crazy like a bear or a mountain lion. Guess what we saw? A huge bear bounding down a high bluff. We pulled out the binoculars and marveled at this creature. What a sight. Then, this evening, we ran up to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the Elk. Literally hundreds in a field with several males duking it out after bugling like mad. In the distance I see something relatively smaller move. Through the camera lense, I see three Coyotes playing. Unbelievable! Not long ago, we were on a hike in Boulder and at dusk 4 foxes were playing tag. If nature is your thing, the only place that might be better is the galapagos islands- or a permanent residence at the Sydney Zoo!

The people are light years more friendly outside of Denver, but even in Denver, they are far friendlier than downstate NY(on the whole). It is far cleaner here and that made me angry on my last visit to NY. With all of that education, all of the manpower paid for by $12000 property taxes, how can there be litter on the streets. Even in areas of considerable wealth, there was crap all over the street. Very disheartening.

So, you really want to make everyone happy? Here's how you do it: we need a set of tests like those administered by match.com which take into account hobbies, belief systems, education, dependencies, etc. and group all of the people by their scores. Like to hunt, fish, trap, the mountains and sleeping under the stars.. you live here in Colorado or Montana. Like the arts, classical music, fine dining, metaphysical experiences, LA or NYC are your two choices. How could you have a better neighborhood than one where many things in common cause more interactions, hence tighter neighborhoods? If everyone liked to play frisbee, there would be frisbees flying across the street at all times of the day. Think of it as a centrifuge for neighborhoods. What an idea huh??

In summary, make a list of what you would like in a home town, compare it to the one you live in now, then start exploring. The town/state that has the most matches wins. I figure if you can meet the bulk of your requirements, that will be one less thing to be unhappy about. Then find a therapist to work on the mental issues and you're all set! )

i like your take on it. to me, most places have the good and the bad. to discuss the bad in hopes of it becoming better doesn't take away from the good, for me; it adds to it, ultimately, at least ideally. to ignore the bad or try to escape it for some pie in the sky seems sort of futile to me at this point. much as match.com seems great in theory, but can for some people pgrow into misleading experiences or wonderful "honeymoon phases" that can, of course, become more of the day to day reality - for better and/or for worse - later on. in other words, i think you can get "the brochure version" of things via these means, and the brochure can tend to emphasize the simple and good, while most things can seem to wind up more convoluted than that when you get closer to them and it can take more than the brochure to find out whether the good outweighs the bad for a person. my opinion, anyhow.

[UnderAMountain]

All the more power to you.East Coasters get 1 chance in the mountains and I say good luck.

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by UnderAMountain

All the more power to you.East Coasters get 1 chance in the mountains and I say good luck.

just curious what this means. a) there are plenty of mountains in the east, and some of their base to summit vertical is > than that in the rockies (starting @ 500', summiting at 6000', e.g.) b) 1 chance in the mountains?

just curious!