Why do so many people born in Colorado leave the state? (Pueblo: schools, property taxes)

[Indigo Cardinal]

Originally Posted by Xander_Crews

So Colorado is the one geographic location in the country, erm.. world, that people are taught to take care of where they live?

Bet you can see real far from that high horse.

I believe Cosmic Wizard was speaking tongue-in-cheek.

[Xander_Crews]

Originally Posted by Indigo Cardinal

I believe Cosmic Wizard was speaking tongue-in-cheek.

Yeah, he cleared it up in a rep comment. Ha ha. With the ridiculous views some people on these boards are so strident about, you can never be sure.

[CosmicWizard]

Xander_Crews wrote: Bet you can see real far from that high horse.

And the poop really splatters when it hits the trail from those lofty heights.

[Indigo Cardinal]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Indigo Cardinal wrote: Bet you can see real far from that high horse.

And the poop really splatters when it hits the trail from those lofty heights.

You do realize you're attributing that quote to the wrong poster, correct?

[CosmicWizard]

@Indigo...I edited/fixed my mistake. Thanks for pointing it out.

[Colorado Rambler]

Interesting thread...

Fishermen/women on this forum may be familiar with the books of Colorado fishing writer, John Gierach (originally from Ohio, heh!). His first book was published in the late 70's - "Sex, Death and Flyfishing" - and he has just published book number 17, "All Fishermen are Liars." That's a lot of years of writing about the outdoor experience in Colorado, especially in the region of his home river, the St. Vrain. I heard him speak just recently and he was talking about going with a friend along the St. Vrain and the streams which feed into it and just throwing out lures to see what fish (if any) remain after last year's horrific flood. According to Gierach, fish populations are way down and it's all inter-connected because many of the insects and other bug populations that sustain the trout were also wiped out in the flood. It could take as long as 30 or 40 years just for that one river system to recover if it ever does. Yet another casualty of climate change...

The vast increase in Colorado's population from when I was growing up to now is depressing enough. The drought in the SW and other parts of the state, floods, horrific forest fires, and thousands of acres of dead and dying forests depress me more than I can say. People who got a little taste of paradise living in Colorado 30 or 40 years ago have a hard time seeing what the state has turned into, especially knowing that it's only going to continue to go downhill. I don't look forward to spending another summer going up into the San Juans and getting tears in my eyes when I see the state of the forests, believe me. I can also see the time coming probably even sooner than I now expect when I and a lot of other people will be driven out of the 4-Corners region through sheer pressure from the drought.

The Front Range holds little appeal for me - if you've seen one city, you've seen them all. I'd move to New Mexico, but IMO their problems are as bad as or worse than Colorado's and New Mexico's economy leaves much to be desired. Wyoming is a little better, but the environmental degredation is taking its toll there, too. As it now stands I just don't know. It's very sad...

[dnvrsoul]

Originally Posted by Mach50

1) State becomes high magnet
2) State attracts highly competitive workforce (Natives leave)
3) Competitive workforce requires more money raising COL (Natives leave)
4) Change in workforce leads to changing culture of state (Natives leave)

Sounds like California to me.

Couldn't have said it better myself....

[JukieF]

I'm a third-generation native Coloradoan. I left the state in 1994 because I was getting married to someone who lived in Oregon and had a very good job there he didn't want to leave. We lived in several wonderful places and then went back to Fort Collins, where I was living when I left for Oregon, seven years after I left the state. I was shocked at how much everything had changed, but I was happy to be back. My husband, who grew up on Long Island and lived in Portland for 17 years, loved it. We'd still be in Fort Collins, but my husband got laid off and not only could he not find a job in Fort Collins, he couldn't find a job anywhere in Colorado. This was during the recession. He went from being in high demand to having trouble getting hired. High tech, especially in Fort Collins, really dried up during that time (he's an analog IC designer). We ended up in New Hampshire, which we love, but we would have preferred to stay in Colorado.

Nevertheless, when he retires we're moving back to Oregon, not Colorado. I can't take snow and cold winters anymore.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Mach50

1) State becomes high magnet
2) State attracts highly competitive workforce (Natives leave)
3) Competitive workforce requires more money raising COL (Natives leave)
4) Change in workforce leads to changing culture of state (Natives leave)

Sounds like California to me.

You missed one:

5) State becomes so screwed up and wrecked that even the transplants who came a few years ago want to leave, too.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

You missed one:

5) State becomes so screwed up and wrecked that even the transplants who came a few years ago want to leave, too.

That is a personal preference one. I am a 4th generation Coloradoan and still love it here.