I'm not sure if I like living in Colorado (Denver: 2014, home)
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You sound like I felt about 30 years ago, Elvira. Moved from Misery to the Colorado High Country (aka...not Denver/FR) in '84 and have never missed the heat/humidity/traffic/gloomy Winters/lack of anything to do but eat/shop/drink and sweat. 4 seasons...all with humidity that rachets up the heat (heat index?) and drives in the cold.
Used to hate that drive back across KS too the East.....so much so that one day on the way home I said "Enough".... quit my job...rented my house...and left. No regrets. BEST decision other than getting married and building a house here I've ever made.
FWIW...took us 6 years to stop the "love/hate" and stop renting/set down roots. Thing was...I knew I'd never move EAST again...so we made it work and never looked back.
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.)
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.
I agree with you about people who are well traveled not being offended, however I have met this type of person in CA too, who says, we have all you need here, why do you want to go elsewhere or back east. This type of talk does offend me though. I agree that CA has more to offer than any other state-more diverse, better weather, more variety, etc. but you can still miss other places. It's good that you are getting out of the midwest if you don't like it. Did a job/ and or the lower cost of living bring you there? CA was at first settled by many midwesterners. Maybe they took some of their attitudes with them when they moved, LOL!
as a poster on C-D for many years now, I'd cautioned folk about the vast differences between what presented in Colorado vs what they imagined might actually be here, and advised them to come visit before making a decision about relocating here. I asked a lot of very pointed questions about what folk thought they were going to get here compared to where they were coming from, and
was frequently taken to task by many posters that Colorado was the panacea to everybody's possible wants/needs in life.
Yet the reality is that Colorado isn't for everybody due to a wide variety of issues. The biggest fallacy for many was that Denver is not in the mountains, but it is where most of their jobs and residences were located. Having ready access to the mountain living generally meant owning a 2nd home or just visiting when possible on weekends.
In almost 50 years here, I've seen many people come here and discover that for themselves, leaving after a fairly short time in the area.
The bottom line is that if it isn't what folk expected, needed, or wanted, then there's nothing wrong with moving on to try another place or heading "back home" to what they realize was in their comfort zone. If the OP isn't happy in Colorado and the arid climate, so be it. Riparian climate zones and lower altitudes have their charms, or access to the seashore, or whatever is important to folk from those areas is what counts.
Chloe333, I second the suggestion to wait it our a year. It takes year to get a feel of the place, and many more years to establish a solid community. When I moved here from the first time from L.A., the place seemed very quiet, very remote. When I moved back after being exiled in Holland, MI for four years, it didn't seem so isolated. I live right at the foothills, and the unbroken vistas stirs me like a war song (but that could be my Cherokee and Comanche blood talkin').
goodgirl49, I also lived in L.A., and even though I grew up in a town of 1500 people in Texas, I never felt crowded. The key to that was living right up on the edge of the San Gabriel mountains--within minutes, at the top, you're nowhere near any of the 15 million in that basin.
I guess it's just a matter of 1. Finding a pot that works for you. 2. Giving it time to work. 3. Get the hell out if it isn't working. Life's too short to not be pleased at the patch of ground upon which you pitch your tent.
I agree with you about people who are well traveled not being offended, however I have met this type of person in CA too, who says, we have all you need here, why do you want to go elsewhere or back east. This type of talk does offend me though. I agree that CA has more to offer than any other state-more diverse, better weather, more variety, etc. but you can still miss other places.
I've heard people say that, and I was more puzzled than offended. I think that CA is a wonderful place, but if you like snow then there are lots of CA that aren't going to suit you. If someone is homesick, that's what they are. No use in fighting that.
Nowadays I do hear people gripe about CA (often people who have never lived there) and I just smile and say, "Whatever." If that's the way they feel, fine, they can stay away! It's popular enough already! I think that's how a lot of Coloradans feel too, right?
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It's good that you are getting out of the midwest if you don't like it. Did a job/ and or the lower cost of living bring you there? CA was at first settled by many midwesterners. Maybe they took some of their attitudes with them when they moved, LOL!
I came to the midwest for family reasons, mostly.
I don't know why any Californians would get butthurt if someone doesn't want to stay there. Because it's true, CA has so much to offer, that if someone doesn't like it, that's fine, there are plenty others who will.
I always interpreted the excessive butthurt in the midwest is some sort of inferiority complex in the merits of their area. I don't think they should feel that way. Every place has its charms and they should be confident in that, without feeling that it's "us vs. them" (other states vs. their state).
I moved here from Jersey 5 years ago. I'm not a skier and I'm scared of heights, so climbing is out for me. I DO miss the green lushness of Jersey and PA, as well as the immense amount of history I grew up with. I could take SEPTA into Philly and stroll down Elphreth's alley, the oldest continously inhabited street in the US, for god's sake.
I think if you were closer to Denver (Broomfield is kind of on the edges) you'd like it more. It's easy to access the cultural benefits of a large city and there's a lot more to do. In Jersey, I longed for a more rural lifestyle. Here, I enjoy the fact that I have a far more urban lifestyle, something that would never have occurred to me. In Jersey, even my friends in the most remote areas could be in NYC or Philly in an hour or so. Here, the remote areas are truly remote. But also, the city itself is more pleasant than NYC or Philly in that it's just not as chaotic. I commuted to NYC for 2 years and regularly felt overwhelmed and claustrophobic. That doesn't happen in Denver.
I currently live in Edgewater, which I think is a nice situation - it's close enough to be in downtown Denver in 10 minutes or I can just hop on the highway and head for Boulder.
I miss DC and Philly like you wouldn't believe, but I like my life here too. I'd say yeah, give it a year. Travel back to the east coast maybe once or twice a year if you can, even if it's just for a long weekend, just to indulge in those things you miss. Invite your friends and family to visit you as well.
I've heard people say that, and I was more puzzled than offended. I think that CA is a wonderful place, but if you like snow then there are lots of CA that aren't going to suit you. If someone is homesick, that's what they are. No use in fighting that.
Nowadays I do hear people gripe about CA (often people who have never lived there) and I just smile and say, "Whatever." If that's the way they feel, fine, they can stay away! It's popular enough already! I think that's how a lot of Coloradans feel too, right?
I came to the midwest for family reasons, mostly.
I don't know why any Californians would get butthurt if someone doesn't want to stay there. Because it's true, CA has so much to offer, that if someone doesn't like it, that's fine, there are plenty others who will.
I always interpreted the excessive butthurt in the midwest is some sort of inferiority complex in the merits of their area. I don't think they should feel that way. Every place has its charms and they should be confident in that, without feeling that it's "us vs. them" (other states vs. their state).
I've never really missed the eastern winters and snow living in CA. What bothers me the most is the traffic and high cost of living. I also think quite a few people can be superficial. The only place I have lived though is the San Fernando Valley, so I can't say what other parts of the state would be like. If it were possible I would move out of LA.
I completely sympathize with the OP. I'm ok here, but I'm not in love with Colorado. It's just a place, to me. It's got its ups and downs. But when I first got here, on top of trying to adjust to the altitude and the dryness, I was pretty down about the brown. It was like there just wasn't enough color in the world. And things get so dusty and dirty.
Most people love the dryness. I don't.
Most people say the mountains are beautiful and splendid...I liked Mount Rainier better.
The one thing I really like is the people. I've met a lot of wonderful people here. I'll be here a while, because my kids are doing well in the schools and they've been uprooted enough times, so I'll stay put until they are done and on their own. But I have a feeling I won't be here forever. I miss Virginia. *shrug*
Still, OP if you haven't been here a whole year yet, do wait until late spring through summer, it does get green. I got here in December of 2011 and I know I appreciated the landscape more once it greened up a bit.
I've never really missed the eastern winters and snow living in CA. What bothers me the most is the traffic and high cost of living. I also think quite a few people can be superficial. The only place I have lived though is the San Fernando Valley, so I can't say what other parts of the state would be like. If it were possible I would move out of LA.
I'm from the Valley(ish) area. Yes, I agree with you about the traffic, cost of living, and superficiality of some people. I forget sometimes how "brainwashed" the people are, into believing that certain superficial things are so, so important. That's one thing I do like about the midwest; they're not as caught up with that. The traffic is a mixed bag; it's very hectic in L.A., on the other hand, some drivers in the midwest can't seem to handle the freeway very well, in ways that are annoying. (Merge on the freeway! Just MERGE! Come on, do it!)
The traffic in LA never bothered me too much, in part because I grew up with it and it's "normal," and also I always worked closer to home (no more than 20-30 minutes) and was lucky enough to travel on freeways that weren't the worst. And if I had to, I could do surface streets or alternate routes. My father went one step further--he took the bus to work, rather than driving and having to find parking. (Fortunately the bus route went very close to his job and the commute time was reasonable.) So we all worked around it.
I really do think that growing up somewhere makes a huge difference. As a native of California, certain things are accepted and normal. Like the dry, arid weather. More "brown." The traffic is annoying, but I always learned to work around that, to adjust my life and schedule to that. Again it was "normal." It was accepted that it took a long time to get downtown, so you didn't do it too much. It was accepted that you didn't even bother going on some freeways on certain times of day. (I know it's gotten worse. )
And that's part of the reason why I dislike the midwest. They have a different set of "normal." Not worse, not better, just different. I don't always like their version of "normal."
The weather is the biggest sticking point. I just can't stand the snow, and the cold, and it never ceases to annoy me. "How can people PUT UP WITH THIS!?!?!!" I yell, shaking my fist (figuratively).
One time my mom went on a vacation down to Alabama, where it is so lush and green and beautiful. She was slightly unsettled by it. "It's TOO green, it's almost obscene." It wasn't her version of "normal" and she found it a bit creepy! And yet that same green goodness would be the exact thing that someone else would miss, bitterly, if they lived in California (or Colorado!).
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