Texas Girl moving to Colorado!! (Denver, Fort Collins: income, work, house)

[lindsay91701]

Me and my family are planning to move to the Fort Collins area this summer. I have lived in Texas my whole life and want a new experience. Colorado really seems like the place for us. I have three children (ages 6,5 and a new baby girl) and my husband works in the motorsports bussiness. We love to be outside and Texas just gets to hot during the summer and seems to be getting hotter! I have horrible allergies and asthma (geek i know) and the air quality is just not up to par here. Don't get me wrong I love Texas and yes everything is BIGGER but wouldn't say better just cheaper here. People are definetely friendly here and everybody loves to talk ALL THE TIME but there seems to be a narrow mindness about race and relgion (not all off Texas). These are my problems with Texas just wondering what the attitude is there on relgion and race I am a white female who excepts and studies all religions so I don't personally have a problem but want my kids to grow up without any prejudices around them. I was also wondering about the motorsports industry is it big there and is there any shops you would recommend that treat thier custmoers right. Do people suffer from allergies there? And most importantly HOW COLD IS IT????

[Shuffler]

You'll find everything you're trying to escape from right here in CO, so don't set your expectations too high. It's been really cold lately...Dec-Feb are usually the coldest months, with most of our snow coming in March-April, but even that's been inconsistent the past few years. Summers are getting hotter, and depending on how much snowpack is retained, there may be more water restrictions on a regular basis. Right now the SW part of the state is getting big-time snow...but that water doesn't come here to the Front Range.

Motorsports industry is big here, and with it are coming big problems in terms of land access issues...lots of trails are in question and will possibly be closed to motorized access by USFS in the coming years. Never used to be a problem, but with all the people coming here and getting out, it was bound to happen. Also with the economy the way it is, and rising fuel costs, folks might not be willing to spend their income on 'toys' like ATVs, boats, sleds, etc. Just my $.02.

Anyway, not to burst your bubble....CO is a great place, but it was even greater about 3 million people ago..... :-)

[sterlingj]

While it can definitely get cold in the winter, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the number of pleasant - even warm - days in the winter in the Denver/Metro area. As has been frequently mentioned, cold temps don't feel as cold here because of the low humidity.

I just returned from the Dallas area and was shocked at how cold it felt. Even on a sunny, 50 degree day, it was still cold. In Denver, a sunny 40 or 50 degree day feels wonderful. You will see people jogging in shorts and t-shirts on such days, which are very common. A key difference is that Denver gets most of its winter precipitation in the form of snow, which may be a new experience for those coming from parts of Texas. In any case, daytime temps in the winter in Denver are normally very comfortable. However, expect a dozen or so downright cold days each winter. Another nice thing is the definite lack of bugs...cockroaches, ants, etc. are not much of a concern here, although you will probably see the occasional spider.

Based on what you have mentioned, I think you will really like the Denver area. People here seem to be more open-minded and accepting than those in Dallas. There is a huge emphasis on outdoor recreation here, as well. This can be seen even in the design of subdivisions, which typically incorporate extensive trail and sidewalk systems (unlike those I have seen in the Dallas area).

[Katiana]

I agree with Shuffler who says everything you are trying to escape is here. For example:

I have horrible allergies and asthma (geek i know) and the air quality is just not up to par here.

Nor is AQ great here. About 50% of the winter days are poor air-quality days. Re: allergies-a lot of people find relief from their allergies at first (few years), then as they live here longer, become more sensitive to the allergens here. This is a bad place for asthma; humidity is one of the treatments and that's something we don't have much of.

but want my kids to grow up without any prejudices around them.

Such a place does not exist. I don't want to give the impression Denver/CO is extremely prejudiced, it's not. There seems to be less outward prejudice here. But there are always those around who are prejudiced.

Do people suffer from allergies there?

Yes, see above.

And most importantly HOW COLD IS IT????

There is a weather thread on the CO forum, also some threads about driving in snow. There is also weather data on the City-Data main page for each city. (It's not much different anywhere in the Front Range.) It's a four season climate with low humidity. There are cold days. Shuffler explained it well. Some people from warmer climates never get used to the weather here. Heck, I'm from Pennsylvania, and it took me a while to get used to the changeabililty of it (70 degrees one January day, 20 the next, etc.)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by lindsay91701

my husband works in the motorsports bussiness. ..... I was also wondering about the motorsports industry is it big there and is there any shops you would recommend that treat thier custmoers right.

Why would your husband want to leave a business and move to a completely new place and start all over? What does your husband really think about moving?

Probably won't notice much difference:

there seems to be a narrow mindness about race and relgion (in Texas)
seems like the place for us

Will notice a difference but is it worth a big move?

We love to be outside and Texas just gets to hot
I have horrible allergies and asthma (geek i know) and the air quality is just not up to par here.
want a new experience

[Tom Emmerling]

Motor sports are big here. There is a large motor speedway along I25 at the Erie exit. There is also talk of a huge Indy car speedway by DIA in the coming years. Sounds like they bought the land for it already.

My wife came out here from Nebraska and said her allergies have greatly improved in Colorado. So I guess depending on what you are allergic too yours may improve also. As far as air pollution, there is probably more here in Colorado than in Texas. Just guessing though.

Now as far as racism, etc, I think you will have your bad eggs anywhere you go. I think for the most part people are pretty accepting here. As far as your kids go, I think that is totally in your control. It is about chosing who you are friends with and what you teach them yourselves. Sounds like you are a very accepting family. I think they will have no problems picking up on that and making your values their own.

[lindsay91701]

Thanks to everybody who answered honestly....exactly what I was looking for. As for the prejudices I was talking about I live in a part of Texas that seems to be more than normal people throw racial slurs around here like nothing. I feel like I am actually the minority here not to be a racist. It wasn't until I moved to Austin TX that I relized people could be more open minded-not looking for a perfect place just don't like having to explain these things to my kids at such a young age. I think alot of that is generational and will disappear after time I mean who would of thought 5 years ago we would have a black man running for president...we're getting there

[jkcoop]

Originally Posted by lindsay91701

Thanks to everybody who answered honestly....exactly what I was looking for. As for the prejudices I was talking about I live in a part of Texas that seems to be more than normal people throw racial slurs around here like nothing. I feel like I am actually the minority here not to be a racist. It wasn't until I moved to Austin TX that I relized people could be more open minded-not looking for a perfect place just don't like having to explain these things to my kids at such a young age. I think alot of that is generational and will disappear after time I mean who would of thought 5 years ago we would have a black man running for president...we're getting there

My husband was born in Houston, we lived in Dallas for years. I know what you are talking about in regards to how people speak about other races, so I can tell you, from my experience here (we live in Longmont), that no - it isn't even close to what you experience. We cringe when family comes to visit because they just don't realize how bad they sound and how offensive they are.

In regards to allergies. My husband did not have any living in Texas and came here and he has them pretty bad, so it's hard to say how you will react and if it will be better for you here.

The lack of humidity here you will really like. I do remember Texas winters being yuck because of the dampness. We do have some beautiful days here, but the winter winds I do so very much hate. They are rocking the house right now in fact. Don't be fooled that it doesn't get hot here in the summer - it does. It just doesn't seem as bad without the oppressive humidity. But it does get hot.

[lindsay91701]

JKCoop
So In general besides the weather do you think Colorado is a better place to live for a young family? I mean I think just being in a place with such beautiful surroundings would be a great thing to wake up to. Here's the better question do you ever regret the move???

[jkcoop]

Originally Posted by lindsay91701

JKCoop
So In general besides the weather do you think Colorado is a better place to live for a young family? I mean I think just being in a place with such beautiful surroundings would be a great thing to wake up to. Here's the better question do you ever regret the move???

No, we do not regret the move in any way. We have a 14 year old son who is very into skiing along with my husband (not my thing). We love to hike and backpack into the back country. The lifestyle here suits us better. We were transferred with my husband's company, which made the move easier from a financial stand point. We moved about 9 years ago, so it was a great age to make the move for our son.
Obviously it is much, much more expensive to live here. You need to be prepared for that - going from a state with no state income tax to one that does is an adjustment, on top of the general cost of living being a lot more.