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These kinds of posts can resonate with anyone, living anywhere.
I relate to them, not because I miss the greenery, nor because I miss the cold winters that are found in the East.
I'm from California. I am not currently living in California, but in a place with winters that I hate (snow! Yech!) and with no mountains. That's why I want to move to Colorado, very much. (Yes, I realize that Colorado has winters too, but I've done my research and have been assured that the winters are not as bad as where I'm currently living.)
Dry and crowded? I'm used to that. I'm used to mountains and arid weather, and smaller house lots. Not to say that I wouldn't like green and lush, and bigger lots, but not if it comes at the expense of humidity, and cold, cold winters.
But I absolutely can identify with not warming to a place that everyone says, "On paper," is supposed to be so wonderful.
You are an Easterner, and certain things you are used to and you miss a lot of things from "back home." I completely understand this. I miss the things back in California, and while Colorado isn't California, it has some of the Western, desert aspects that I miss and crave.
Everyone is different, and what you miss and what I miss are different, and neither of us are wrong.
I would advise the OP to give it a little more time, and most importantly, DON'T FEEL GUILTY for not loving Colorado the way that you "feel" you should, and perhaps the way others are expecting that you should.
You may grow to love it (you may be happier in some other part of Colorado), or you may never love it. And if you don't love it, in the long run it's better to leave. Don't waste your years living in a place that you don't love, and constantly "missing" a place you left. (Ask me how I know how that feels! ) You might grow to love Colorado, and if you do, that would be wonderful. But if you don't, you don't. That's an option too. I wish you luck!
Can you move back to CA, or is that not a possibility? It sounds like it that you would be happier in the west though. When you mention no mountains, are you in the midwest presently?
We moved here from the East Coast back in July. I've mostly lived in Long Island, NY, suburb of Philly, Charleston, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Chapel Hill, NC. I just can't put my finger on it out here. I mean I kind of feel like Colorado *** for me *** seems a little overrated as such a desired locale. We live in Broomfield for now and are renting, but are thinking about either Boulder or Denver next year. We are making good money out here. I like the mountains, but everything seems very crowded in summer and fall to go hiking. Everyone flocks to it. Skiing is expensive and crowded too. It's tiring to head into the mountains after a long work week anyway and battle the crowds. I miss green lush rolling hills and big gorgeous trees. I miss a nice green yard filled with beautiful trees and plenty of space between the neighbors. I miss pretty neighborhoods with charming historic houses set back on their own wooded lush lot with windy charming streets. I kind of think it is too stark and open here for me with these massive treeless wide open spaces where you can see for miles. The houses are crammed together with no privacy. Also, I can't put my finger on this, but somehow it feels like resources are scarce out here and everyone is scrambling for them. It's like this vibe of this being this super cool place everyone flocks to, and so it's always this scramble. It seems like housing is generally overpriced. Sometimes, it seems like there is a hazy dirty film over everything here too because it doesn't rain much. The sun is unrelenting too, and it feels super exposed to blaring intense sun. I miss the shade of huge trees and windy shaded little roads.
I certainly don't mean to offend anyone who is endeared to Colorado. I think it has a lot to do with what you are used to maybe? This is a super negative post :-( I guess I'm just hoping to hear from anyone else who can relate to CO not feeling like the right fit for them. It's not that it's a bad place at all, but it's very different from the East and my paradigm of environment. I feel like it's just not the right fit for me in the long term. Anyone else get some of what I'm saying? Lived in Colorado but preferred other places over it? Anyone from other parts of the country who have a tough time getting used to the rougher terrain and climate?
This is exactly what I (and others) have been posting about on this forum. Colorado seems to be a fantasy for many, but when you get here reality slaps you in the face, especially on the crowded Front Range. I can understand your feelings of estrangement with the high, arid landscapes of Colorado, as well as your frustration trying to get anywhere in the mountains when living in Denver. I grew up in Colorado, but as a child, I spent my summers on my grandparent's farm in Kentucky. Talk about doing a complete 180! I was always amazed all over again every time I visited. It was so green! And there were fireflies and streets lined with hardwood trees when my grandma used to take me into town. I remember the local newspaper grousing about the "drought" because it hadn't rained in a week. Hah! "Kentuckians, you have no idea," I thought.
Colorado Springs is my hometown, but I got fed up with the unending urban sprawl of the Front Range which grows more crowded with the passing of every year. I now live in one of the most remote regions of the state, and I love it! I can be up in the mountains within 30 minutes as opposed to the 2 hour plus drive on a crowded Interstate out of Denver. I can camp in the San Juan mountains for weeks on end and never see another soul.
But the Western Slope of Colorado is still part of the arid West. I can step outside my house and admire the view of the tall mesa's just east of me, but I grew up here and Kentucky aside, I love the Western landscape. This is and always will be the "land of little rain." The "lack of resourses" feeling that you have is probably about the lack of water as it is anything else. There is an excellent thread on this forum about Colorado and the rest of the West running out of water. There is a limit as to how much water can be diverted to the Front Range to grow lawns (Kentucky Bluegrass - hint, hint). You can build reservoirs to your heart's content, but those reservoirs cannot hold something that is not there, especially in these times of warming and drought. Meanwhile, developers on the Front Range continue to take advantage of the Colorado cachet and build cookie cutter housing ever further east toward the Great Plains. When I see such new neighborhoods east of Denver or Colorado Springs, I wonder why folks just don't get it over with and live in Kansas instead. Lord knows, the housing would at least be more affordable.
I am not offended in the least by those who have posted that they don't care all that much for Colorado. If I were living to the east of Denver on the edge of the Great Plains and fighting every weekend to drive up I-70 to get to some over crowded resort area, I wouldn't care too much for Colorado either. The Front Range doesn't live up to the expectations created by John Denver and "Rocky Mountain High," and that's the reality of it. If you want to live somewhere that John Denver sang about, consider the lyrics to "Country Roads, Take me Home," and relocate to West Virginia instead. Plenty of beautiful mountains AND a green landscape.
One of the best days in recent memory was when we were in our 26' moving truck towing a car, which was covered in pock marks after having the windshield replaced a week prior to our moving, from Boulder to Maryland. Six years was more than enough for me. I am so happy to be back east and I certainly understand your feelings. The only thing worse than being in a place that you don't like is being there one more day than necessary.
We now live in historic Frederick, Maryland in a beautiful brick colonial on a tree shaded street with a beautiful creek, which leads to a beautiful lake that is a one minute walk from our house. Our dog is supper happy with our move as she swims in the creek every day of the year. I hear so much from C-D that there are four seasons in CO, which to me is a joke. When we closed on our house on April 30th, 2004 in was 39 degrees and snowing. By June it was full on summer, which the popular opinion is delightful. Not to me. 90+degree weather feels a lot hotter because of the altitude. We ran our A/C every day in the summer and our second story was still 80 degrees. Fall is also very short. I truly love having real four seasons. Sometime this month the flowers will be blooming and spring lasts until June. Summers here aren't too bad, with the exception of July. I happen to like humidity. It makes me feel better.
Contrary to popular belief Colorado isn't for everyone. I love living on the East Coast and my brother in law loves living in Ft. Collins. He would never be happy where I live and I certainly wouldn't happy where he lives. Simple as that.
Glad you were able to move back to where you really wanted to be! Sometimes it's good to leave our comfort zone though and experience other places to decide where you would rather be. I have been through Frederick before and it's really pretty there.
I think you get get what I mean. In some ways, it feels so foreign out west compared to the east. It's so strange not having the lush canopy of trees and to be able to see out here for miles and miles of flat land instead of just a few hundred feet ahead. Totally different sense of place! It all feels more public, shared, and exposed out here! Not bad just different....
Yes, sometimes with all the trees, it felt more private in the east. That's why I think we have all the privacy walls in CA. That was something to get used to, but now find that I actually like them.
This is exactly what I (and others) have been posting about on this forum. Colorado seems to be a fantasy for many, but when you get here reality slaps you in the face, especially on the crowded Front Range. I can understand your feelings of estrangement with the high, arid landscapes of Colorado, as well as your frustration trying to get anywhere in the mountains when living in Denver. I grew up in Colorado, but as a child, I spent my summers on my grandparent's farm in Kentucky. Talk about doing a complete 180! I was always amazed all over again every time I visited. It was so green! And there were fireflies and streets lined with hardwood trees when my grandma used to take me into town. I remember the local newspaper grousing about the "drought" because it hadn't rained in a week. Hah! "Kentuckians, you have no idea," I thought.
Colorado Springs is my hometown, but I got fed up with the unending urban sprawl of the Front Range which grows more crowded with the passing of every year. I now live in one of the most remote regions of the state, and I love it! I can be up in the mountains within 30 minutes as opposed to the 2 hour plus drive on a crowded Interstate out of Denver. I can camp in the San Juan mountains for weeks on end and never see another soul.
But the Western Slope of Colorado is still part of the arid West. I can step outside my house and admire the view of the tall mesa's just east of me, but I grew up here and Kentucky aside, I love the Western landscape. This is and always will be the "land of little rain." The "lack of resourses" feeling that you have is probably about the lack of water as it is anything else. There is an excellent thread on this forum about Colorado and the rest of the West running out of water. There is a limit as to how much water can be diverted to the Front Range to grow lawns (Kentucky Bluegrass - hint, hint). You can build reservoirs to your heart's content, but those reservoirs cannot hold something that is not there, especially in these times of warming and drought. Meanwhile, developers on the Front Range continue to take advantage of the Colorado cachet and build cookie cutter housing ever further east toward the Great Plains. When I see such new neighborhoods east of Denver or Colorado Springs, I wonder why folks just don't get it over with and live in Kansas instead. Lord knows, the housing would at least be more affordable.
I am not offended in the least by those who have posted that they don't care all that much for Colorado. If I were living to the east of Denver on the edge of the Great Plains and fighting every weekend to drive up I-70 to get to some over crowded resort area, I wouldn't care too much for Colorado either. The Front Range doesn't live up to the expectations created by John Denver and "Rocky Mountain High," and that's the reality of it. If you want to live somewhere that John Denver sang about, consider the lyrics to "Country Roads, Take me Home," and relocate to West Virginia instead. Plenty of beautiful mountains AND a green landscape.
West Virginia is beautiful but it has a bad economy and a lot of poverty!
Although I've lived in Colorado since 1977 I do get tired of the winter by about March 1.
We at least have 2 more months to go.
The solution is to travel. You don't have to stay here full time.
You make a good point about getting out during the winter, if you don't like it, but many people have jobs and/or family responsibilities that can make this difficult.
I just got off the phone with my dear friend in Montrose, an elderly lady who used to own a guest ranch on the Western Slope. She has long cautioned me not to move out to Colorado, even though I was only thinking of "in retirement," for many reasons and she knows how much I love the San Juans and that area. I keep visiting and even marked out a property or a condo that I lust after "if I moved out there." Now, she did admit that her niece is spending her first winter in Boston for a residency, and boy, did she pick a doozy of a winter for her first one. I've been following the Western Slope weather and felt tempted to come out there for some milder temperatures and less snow (although I know that more snow is healthier for the area).
There is nothing like a high-mountain summer day. On vacation. Not working. Spending freely. Time out from daily life. Daydream.
Can you move back to CA, or is that not a possibility? It sounds like it that you would be happier in the west though. When you mention no mountains, are you in the midwest presently?
California is too far away from family at the moment. I do have some family there still, but they want to move to Colorado!
Yes, I'm trapped somewhere in the midwest. The midwest isn't for everyone.
YES, I definitely want to be in the west. Colorado feels like "home" to me. I realize that there will be differences between it and California and it would be wisest for me to spend some time (rent) before deciding where I want to settle.
One thing that I take away from being in the midwest is that many people think that you MUST love it, and that pressure and guilt just makes it worse when you find that you don't.
I understand that if you're constantly bellyaching about where you are, it's "better back home, whine whine whine" that it gets old. (I was doing some of that, at the start.) But there's also the other side of the coin, where no allowance is made for being homesick, no tolerance for having a different preference, it's you MUST love it here and you MUST hate where you grew up! And that's not working for me.
That's why I say to the OP (and others are saying to the OP) to give it a chance, but if it doesn't work, don't stay. Life is too short to be stuck in a place you don't like.
California is too far away from family at the moment. I do have some family there still, but they want to move to Colorado!
Yes, I'm trapped somewhere in the midwest. The midwest isn't for everyone.
YES, I definitely want to be in the west. Colorado feels like "home" to me. I realize that there will be differences between it and California and it would be wisest for me to spend some time (rent) before deciding where I want to settle.
One thing that I take away from being in the midwest is that many people think that you MUST love it, and that pressure and guilt just makes it worse when you find that you don't.
I understand that if you're constantly bellyaching about where you are, it's "better back home, whine whine whine" that it gets old. (I was doing some of that, at the start.) But there's also the other side of the coin, where no allowance is made for being homesick, no tolerance for having a different preference, it's you MUST love it here and you MUST hate where you grew up! And that's not working for me.
That's why I say to the OP (and others are saying to the OP) to give it a chance, but if it doesn't work, don't stay. Life is too short to be stuck in a place you don't like.
I never lived in the midwest, but I lived close to it, in Western PA. I never felt people there felt that you must love it, etc. In fact, most griped about the weather, especially the winter, and quite a few moved south or west. Maybe further into the midwest, they feel like that, though I never experienced that. Overall, I think PA is more like the east though. In fact, there have been times I've gone back to visit, and some people wondered why I would leave CA and want to come visit there. It's simple, it's where I grew up and my roots are there.
It would be wise to spend time renting in CO though before you buy. It isn't a decision that should be made hastily. Best wishes to you! Will you be moving soon?
I never lived in the midwest, but I lived close to it, in Western PA. I never felt people there felt that you must love it, etc. In fact, most griped about the weather, especially the winter, and quite a few moved south or west. Maybe further into the midwest, they feel like that, though I never experienced that. Overall, I think PA is more like the east though. In fact, there have been times I've gone back to visit, and some people wondered why I would leave CA and want to come visit there. It's simple, it's where I grew up and my roots are there.
I don't think everyone gets butthurt if you don't like the midwest, but I also know I'm not imagining it when people are butthurt. There definitely can be that vibe out there.
Part of it is, I suspect, the type of people you encounter. If they are a well-travelled person, then probably they're aware of what else is out there and aren't going to be angry at people for having different tastes.
Unfortunately for me, for a long time I was surrounded by people who were "salt of the earth," but who couldn't afford to travel much. (Or possibly, they didn't feel travel was a priority, for whatever reason.) It irked them that I spent my vacation time back in California. Why didn't I love the midwest? Why did I want to leave their wonderful, wonderful land? Why, it has everything anyone would ever want or need! (I'm not exaggerating here. I've had people say this, and it wasn't said out of resentment that I didn't LOVE LOVE LOVE the midwest—it just seems to be a default mindset for some, hopefully not many, people out there.)
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It would be wise to spend time renting in CO though before you buy. It isn't a decision that should be made hastily. Best wishes to you! Will you be moving soon?
I won't be moving this year, but hopefully making a visit, hopefully for a few weeks (finances allowing). It's also a possibility that I'll not live there fulltime for several years, but possibly will go back and forth on extended 'visits' that will keep me from being too restless in the flat midwest. It's finally come to a head for me, and I cannot deny that I have been very unhappy in the midwest, at least being stuck in the midwest, year in and year out.
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) You might grow to love Colorado, and if you do, that would be wonderful. But if you don't, you don't. That's an option too. I wish you luck! 
