Looking for information about Colorado- moving

[Chellby]

Originally Posted by otterprods

I'm not sure what you're referring to as "Canyon Springs" or where you think it is, but "Cañon City" is not any closer to Denver than Pueblo is. Monument certainly is though, if that's what you meant. Boulder will be a lot more expensive than any of the other places we've mentioned thus far. Don't go there unless you can afford to spend a lot more on rent.

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Sorry, I keep typing 'Canyon Springs' when I mean Colorado Springs. I keep doing it and not catching myself in time.

I was only thinking Boulder because of the good school system, but they do seem a lot more expensive. I didn't check the housing there, and probably won't if they're going to be WAAAAAAAy out of my price range.

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Boulder is essentially unaffordable for those with limited income. Period.

As for climate, if you don't do well in sun, then forget Colorado. Colorado does get a lot of sunshine, but that also means that it is at about the top in the nation for UV radiation--because of Colorado's high altitudes. Colorado has one of the highest incidences of skin cancer in the US because of that. Just about anyone who has lived in Colorado for a few decades has to deal with getting skin cancers or pre-cancerous skin growths removed. I have--and so has everyone else I know who has lived in Colorado for a length of time and spent any time outdoors. It's a fact of life in high altitude areas of the Rocky Mountain West. Oh, UV is also a major cause of cataracts. Most long-time Coloradans get to deal with those when they get older, too.

I really wish I could edit the original post, but it won't let me. It's not that we don't do well in the sun, it's more that we've done the graveyard shift for so long that we're not accustom to it quite yet. My fiance does well in the sun as he's part hispanic but I am pure white, so I burn like no tomorrow. :/

But that's good to know about the skin cancer and cataracts. That's something I would have never thought about.

Originally Posted by xeric

You don't say where you are in Southern California, but most of the areas there that are west of the desert have equal or greater average annual precipitation than most of the Colorado Front Range cities. The precipitation just has a different seasonal distribution than here. I realize California is in the midst of a serious drought, but the same thing could (and has) happened here.

I feel weird stating where I live, but I guess I can at least say I live in Riverside County. We've barely gotten any rain here, especially in our city as it always seems to go around us and flood the surrounding areas. I'm sure (And hoping) that Colorado has more. We can deal with the same amount of rain as here, but I love that I'm seeing thunderstorms in your area now. That's a rare site here.



Thank you all for the great responses, and sorry for any confusion. I'm glad I'm figuring out all this information now, and not in a year when we're planning to move. This is our first, real, big move by ourselves as we've only moved (with our parents before we met) a few times before, just a few cities over. We're just done with California, and everything else in this state.
Colorado just seems to be a somewhat of a good fit for us, as we both don't do well in major humidity, or else we would have checked out places more toward the east. We're still researching, even other states to see what would be a good fit.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Chellby

Sorry, I keep typing 'Canyon Springs' when I mean Colorado Springs....

Colorado just seems to be a somewhat of a good fit for us, as we both don't do well in major humidity, or else we would have checked out places more toward the east. We're still researching, even other states to see what would be a good fit.[/b]

if you really like RAIN... Colorado is having serious water problems as CA, and will continue. It is pretty brown in for 6 months / yr

Western WA is plenty wet (not sweltering humidity, but 'cool' humidity). Affordable places there would be Port Angeles and Sequim (less rain and on water)

Also Chelhalis and Centralia (rainy)

For drier WA....
Look at Wenatchee, WA (or Ellensburg / Moses Lake / Spokane / Walla Walla).

WA is an Income Tax free state with 4 seasons, and free college instead of High School for your kids. It would be a pretty ez transition from CA.

Walmart will pay for your school? (I think so, to an extent) If so... find a place to live with a college! Get some degrees and move on up (or out).

Colorado will be a pretty big change from CA. WY and SD even more, but I would personally head there rather than Colorado if cost of living is a constraint. Colorado schools can be great (or otherwise), but state funding for CO schools is really a mess. A lot of CA immigrants do quite well with Colorado transitions.

[Chellby]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

if you really like RAIN... Colorado is having serious water problems as CA, and will continue. It is pretty brown in for 6 months / yr

Western WA is plenty wet (not sweltering humidity, but 'cool' humidity). Affordable places there would be Port Angeles and Sequim (less rain and on water)

Also Chelhalis and Centralia (rainy)

For drier WA....
Look at Wenatchee, WA (or Ellensburg / Moses Lake / Spokane / Walla Walla).

WA is an Income Tax free state with 4 seasons, and free college instead of High School for your kids. It would be a pretty ez transition from CA.

Walmart will pay for your school? (I think so, to an extent) If so... find a place to live with a college! Get some degrees and move on up (or out).

Colorado will be a pretty big change from CA. WY and SD even more, but I would personally head there rather than Colorado if cost of living is a constraint. Colorado schools can be great (or otherwise), but state funding for CO schools is really a mess. A lot of CA immigrants do quite well with Colorado transitions.

Thanks. I was looking at Washington as I have family there, but rather stay away from them as we weren't ever on good terms.

Walmart does pay for some school but I wasn't looking at for myself/fiance. More of the family we're going to start having in the next few years.

I'll check out WY and SD (I keep thinking that means San Diego and have to keep changing it to South Dakota. XD ) Now I wish my parents took me to other states more often so I could have an idea of other states. I know very little of Wyoming and that's because of Yellowstone.