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Nobody was "forced off their land" in the sense the Native Americans were literally "forced" off their land at gunpoint
and forced to march to some far-off wasteland. What the rural former Coloradoan is likely whining about is that economic opportunities were apparently not abundant back in whatever day and place he recalls and land prices presumably rose as a result of accursed "outsiders" moving in. Honestly though, its hard to know exactly what folks like that are griping about at any given time as they'll complain about the time of day and act like it's someone's fault it's 3:20 and not 4:15 like it was back in the good ole days. Honestly, get over it. Life is hard. Change is constant. Deal with it and stop your griping. Its pathetic and does not reflect a true rural "bootstrap" ethic, which I question even exists given the amount of whining and griping we seem to hear from that demographic. What is sorrier than a whiny, kvetching Marlboro Man?
Bravo. Well said. It reminds me of "anti-gubmint" types complaining when they lose their subsidies.... and then complain about "the entitlement mentality of urban liberals".
Meanwhile, rural America sucks down tax subsidies, food stamps, etc. from urban and suburban areas...
Not that I have anything against "red states" or rural folk, just when they act like hypocrites. If you believe in "pulling oneself up by bootstraps", then start pulling! Time is money...
I'm not sure what's with everyone saying the Californians turned Colorado into California 2.0? Many Californians that moved here did so because they are more conservative and were tired of the politics back in California. Besides, not all aspects of California are bad. We've picked up some of the good ones.
As much as people don't want to hear this, we could easily double Colorado's population. It just has to be more spread out. Sorry Grand Junction/Delta/Montrose, but I nominate you for the status of Front Range 2.0.
Well said. Yep, for every liberal Californian I've heard say "oh, we're tired of California traffic, housing costs, pot laws pollution, etc" I can easily find a conservative who is tired of crime, taxes, business regulations, etc.
Also, yeah, Colorado has plenty of space, but where the heck is the water going to come from, as another poster pointed out?
Well said. Yep, for every liberal Californian I've heard say "oh, we're tired of California traffic, housing costs, pot laws pollution, etc" I can easily find a conservative who is tired of crime, taxes, business regulations, etc.
Also, yeah, Colorado has plenty of space, but where the heck is the water going to come from, as another poster pointed out?
I think the water will have to be piped in from desalinization plants in the future.
CO is "Hot" right now, and there's pros and cons. Denver seems to be the biggest draw for settlers with is annoying because it clogs up the already congested roads. The infrastructure wasn't built to handle the mass wave that arrived in the last 10-15 years.
It's good for business surely and property values as well. More people= more money changing hands.
I'm not a CO native (WY), but have property in CO. I don't feel too bad for the more whiny of the natives, a lot of them tend to be very self-rightous and it's nice to see them get put in their place by the new settlers.
It's an ill wind... I got "put in my place” in part because of the "new settlers." I now live in one of the most gorgeous, largely undiscovered parts of Colorado. I look out my window and see nothing but green for miles around. I have the Sleeping Ute Mountain to the west and spectacular mesas to the east. It takes me maybe 10 minutes to get into town, plus another 20 minutes or so to reach the boundary of the San Juan National Forest. It's hardly ever a big deal to get up into the San Juans on Highway 145 and it's easy to find camping places where you won't encounter another soul for the entire summer. You 'new settlers" are more than welcome to your urban amenities on the Front Range - cookie cutter neighborhoods with houses built almost on top of each other; commuting 30 - 60 minutes (depending) to work on the over-crowded Interstates, hardly ever getting to see the mountains because more and more of the newer areas on the FR are being built to the east on the plains; the horrific battle to get out of town on I-70 - especially when a truck jackknifes on Vail Pass in the winter or Eisenhower Tunnel gets closed, the exorbitant asking prices for rents and real estate... Oh, let me count the ways.
You go, new settlers! You and I don't even really live in the same state, and that's fine by me. The one thing we do share is the water problem, although all the rain we've had in the entire state of Colorado this May has at least temporarily given almost all parts of the state some relief from the drought. And to the poster who suggested we pipe desalinized water to Colorado, good luck getting tax payers to pay for what would be one of the biggest water boondoggles in the West yet - and lord knows, we've had plenty of boondoggles.
It's an ill wind... I got "put in my place” in part because of the "new settlers." I now live in one of the most gorgeous, largely undiscovered parts of Colorado. I look out my window and see nothing but green for miles around. I have the Sleeping Ute Mountain to the west and spectacular mesas to the east. It takes me maybe 10 minutes to get into town, plus another 20 minutes or so to reach the boundary of the San Juan National Forest. It's hardly ever a big deal to get up into the San Juans on Highway 145 and it's easy to find camping places where you won't encounter another soul for the entire summer. You 'new settlers" are more than welcome to your urban amenities on the Front Range - cookie cutter neighborhoods with houses built almost on top of each other; commuting 30 - 60 minutes (depending) to work on the over-crowded Interstates, hardly ever getting to see the mountains because more and more of the newer areas on the FR are being built to the east on the plains; the horrific battle to get out of town on I-70 - especially when a truck jackknifes on Vail Pass in the winter or Eisenhower Tunnel gets closed, the exorbitant asking prices for rents and real estate... Oh, let me count the ways.
You go, new settlers! You and I don't even really live in the same state, and that's fine by me. The one thing we do share is the water problem, although all the rain we've had in the entire state of Colorado this May has at least temporarily given almost all parts of the state some relief from the drought. And to the poster who suggested we pipe desalinized water to Colorado, good luck getting tax payers to pay for what would be one of the biggest water boondoggles in the West yet - and lord knows, we've had plenty of boondoggles.
I can't figure out if you spend your time on this forum to make yourself feel better or worse. Denver seems like more of an idea than a place for you.
I can't figure out if you spend your time on this forum to make yourself feel better or worse. Denver seems like more of an idea than a place for you.
I stay on this forum because I'm a masochist. As far as Denver goes, I suppose it is both an idea and a place. I have lived in Denver's Cherry Creek district, Aurora, and on S. Sherman Street not too far from DU. For a while I dated a civil engineer whose company was building one of those ticky tack places east of Denver. I've tried to flee Denver on weekends AND weekdays, and it can be very frustrating driving I-70 into the mountains. I also worked at the Denver botanical gardens which was my best job evah, toured the Fine Arts Museum more than once, make extensive use of DPL, attended all kinds of concerts at Red Rocks and others of Denver's music venues. I've eaten at many outstanding Denver restaurants, etc., etc., etc. But at the end of the day, Denver became too crowded for the likes of me, plus all that insane growth has turned Denver into Any Urban City, USA. To me it feels like the unique things that made Denver Denver have greatly diminished or disappeared entirely.
I came, I stayed for five years, I left. Colorado is beautiful but mountains could not make up for the greenery of the east. I feel everyone in America should experience the "mountains" and the "coast" at some time. I also lived in Huntington Beach. Beautiful but still could not call it home. There is still plenty of room in Colorado. Coloradoans, be friendly!
It's an ill wind... I got "put in my place” in part because of the "new settlers." I now live in one of the most gorgeous, largely undiscovered parts of Colorado. I look out my window and see nothing but green for miles around. I have the Sleeping Ute Mountain to the west and spectacular mesas to the east. It takes me maybe 10 minutes to get into town, plus another 20 minutes or so to reach the boundary of the San Juan National Forest. It's hardly ever a big deal to get up into the San Juans on Highway 145 and it's easy to find camping places where you won't encounter another soul for the entire summer. You 'new settlers" are more than welcome to your urban amenities on the Front Range - cookie cutter neighborhoods with houses built almost on top of each other; commuting 30 - 60 minutes (depending) to work on the over-crowded Interstates, hardly ever getting to see the mountains because more and more of the newer areas on the FR are being built to the east on the plains; the horrific battle to get out of town on I-70 - especially when a truck jackknifes on Vail Pass in the winter or Eisenhower Tunnel gets closed, the exorbitant asking prices for rents and real estate... Oh, let me count the ways.
From this you seem like a good guy. Definitely not one of the whiners.
I once had someone cut in front of me for a line to a parking lot shuttle at a ski resort. Their justification for it when confronted: "I'm from Colorado". If I was having a bad day that idiot would have been missing some teeth. Luckily the snow was good and all they got was some explicatives.
Some people like the rural lifestyle, some people like the city lifestyle; some people get energized by being alone and being surrounded by quiet nature, and some people get antsy without having a busy city surrounding them. I do not understand why people make fun/denigrate a lifestyle choice.
Studying the development of communities and cities show that cities are a necessity, in my opinion. Retaining rural communities are vital to the health of a state/area as well.
I think we all agree to that, but some people may move to Colorado and not care about the mountains -and that's okay. The urban sprawl is there, and making others feel badly about their lifestyle choice is something I struggle to understand. Unless there is a clear and evident threat to *your* lifestyle, why write words that cut down a person's choice of living space?
Where I can understand frustrations is when the lifestyles collide, like Mandalorian said- I vividly remember going to Cripple Creek with three friends from Denver (I'm from Colorado Springs) and the van driver, pushing 75, was chatting with her replacement, and their transition from one driver to another took a while because... this was Cripple Creek, where life moves slower. My Denver friends were so antsy and frustrated that it was "taking so long" for them to get a move on. Fast(er) city lifestyle/expectations hit up against the slow(er) lifestyle found in rural communities. That can get a little upsetting.
I suppose it goes to the age-old question: why can't we all get along? We depend on each other.
I also grew up in Denver and lived in several areas of the state, including the Western Slope. The fact is, the front range is so over run with people, it doesn't have the same feel as it did even 15 years ago, let alone 30. I got out, and found another place in the state that's similar to where I grew up.
If you read any threads regarding traffic, housing costs, education, etc. people complain that Colorado isn't what they hoped it would be for the most part. There were times that one could drive from Denver to Grand Junction in less than 4 hours, simply because there wasn't any traffic. Or from Denver to Pueblo in 1 1/2 hours. Our infrastructure just hasn't kept up. Houses are built on the sides of mountains now, taking away from the natural beauty. Denver has connected with Castle Rock, not long ago, that wasn't thought of.
Mandalorian, most natives aren't like the one you dealt with. Most just miss what the state used to be.
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