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Dave Barnes says it snows every day from October - April. I've been tracking the weather there daily and it hasn't showed any snow yet this month. Unless the weather online is not accurate ?
What is dog skiing and yurts ? I'm not familiar with any snow sports because I've never lived with in the snow . I like to do hikes year around for exercise. It beats the hamster wheel at the gym. I usually hike the beach or a trail or at least do 6 miles around the lake . I would hate to give that up because of weather . I Guess California has a reputation for fires and earthquakes . But I'm 31 and I've only been in the epicenter of one earthquake ever ( which happened to be one that collapsed every house on the block and luckily everyone was in their yards by that time ). And I have only been asked to evacuate due to a nearby fire once in my life. Fires and earthquakes have definitely not affected my daily life or activities whatsoever. Now if I lived in Northern California ... that would be a different story. I believe San Francisco has a high earthquake probability. Living in orange county is truly a bubble where you are exempt from almost all bad things ( excepting dating narcissistic cheats and liars ). If you're a city person you would hate it ... the only city-like thing you have here is traffic . But I love it because I'm a person who loves the suburbs . I also love how I can feel rural when you're on the trails . It's just very expensive !! I can't see myself ever paying the millions of dollars it takes to get one of the nice homes here. Or the 700,000 takes to get a decent home ... ��
Someone mentioned that they have to do other activities in the daytime and have your car safely in the garage by the evening . This would kind of suck for me. I would most likely be working indoors all day and I love to go for a hike or run in the evening. I love the stars and I love the moon and I love the chill out of night air. I would be seriously limited if I had to go home after work and stay in doors and hide my car in the garage. I would never be able to get my errands done after work either.
How bad is the mosquito issue ? It's probably silly but I'm totally freaked out by them. One night camping I got bit all night and that was up by Sacramento and I did not go back !! I love camping and hiking and don't want to be eaten alive . Is it just occasional or is it pretty common ??
Some people will be sarcastic or try to pull your leg here on weather or other stuff. Or the info is lacking sufficient context. On front range, it is typical to get snow 1-2 times per week. There are certain high mountain areas that get it far more often.
Dog skiing is when a dog is roped up and pulls you on skis on level ground. It is sometimes done at winter festivals to amuse crowds but there are people who do it for their own fun and to exercise their dog.
Mosquitos are generally not bad but can be in summer near water and near dusk.
Yurts are round fabric huts, sometimes set in backcountry for overnighting and reached on cross-country skis, snowshoes or snowmobiles.
Hail can be damaging at times but is more often light enough not to damage. It is usually brief and scattered. I see it maybe half a dozen times per year in western CO, though there are spots on front range where it is much more frequent. I haven't had car damage, yet. I have pulled under cover a few times to escape it, though that isn't always possible. It comes up fast so you may have to get off roads when it is forecast and not wait for the actuality. The radars pick it up but it can spread fast and unevenly.
Hmmm if mosquitoes come out at dusk (when I generally go to do my cardio outdoors) around water, then maybe it's in my best interest to steer clear of lakes? I usually walk lakes or beaches and obviously the beach isnt an option ... I have been researching earlier today living near wash Park because I love the lake, but if mosquitoes are present there every summer than I should just skip it. To me that's pretty awful though because summer is when you want to enjoy the water and mosquitoes totally ruin it. I had also been researching bear Creek Lake Park.
I also came across park meadows when researching and I think I'm in love. It totally reminds me of orange county. They even have a Tesla there! That's a great place to apply for retail jobs even just as a second job on the weekends. Hopefully the people are not all snobs like they sometimes can be in those nice areas. Centennial seems like a good city near Park Meadows and the rent wasn't as high as some of the surrounding cities and the median age wasn't super high and it seems like it even has its own airport. And supposedly it's only 5 miles/10 minutes from Denver. I don't know how accurate that is if you factor in snow but I'm assuming you could commute to Denver for a day job.
I've been looking at Lakewood and Broomfield also since they are supposedly Denver suburbs. I did read that uptown is the place to be if you want to meet young single professionals. And as nice as it would be to meet people, I just don't know about being in the city center and living in the highest amount of traffic and paying top dollar rent for skyscraper Apartments. Even though people will already be established having families living in the suburbs so my meeting people capabilities will be more limited .. I still prefer that to the hustle and bustle. Obviously I would have to deal with it when commuting to work but other than that I would rather not. What do you think of these cities ? Are they nice Denver suburbs ? I looked at apartments online there and they range from 1000 to 1300 for a one bedroom. Supposing I get a decent job it should not be a problem. It's still very cheap compared to California. California has a lot to offer, especially the beaches and mosquito-free lakes, but I actually get sick of it feeling like summer most of the year.
This might sound like a stupid question since Colorado is known for it snow ... but which area has the least amount of snow , or where is it the most maintained by the city ?? As someone who doesn't know how to drive in the snow this is kind of important because I'll be learning and the less snow the better at least to start off. I would kind of assume Denver would be the most maintained?
You are starting to get played with on some of these topics. You may need to look beyond this forum for validation of some assumptions, like constant snow and mosquitos, etc.
Dog skiiing...typing too quick there. Meant to say dog sledding and skiing. Although I have seen people using large breed dogs to pull cross country skiers and we do have an activity know as Skijoring, where a horse will pull a skier across flat land, at a pretty high rate of speed, before launching them off a huge ramp. Steamboat and Leadville like this version of it. NW Crow covered the yurt thing. In any case, if you live here, you may want to explore winter sports options. Just because its 32* and snowing does not mean a lot of us go and hide. Winter opens up an entirely different world.
Mosquitos aren't like a huge plague here but they do exist nearly everywhere there is greeness. They tend to be found predominately around stale, standing water. If they really bother you, then use a repellent.
Colorado and any particular city in it can usually be found in the top 5-10 of most fit and active places to live. We would not be in that position of we all rolled home at night, hid inside from mosquitoes, storms, snow, or any other potential natural disaster. There is plenty to do here. But if you expect to have a lonely hike along an alpine mountain lake within 15 minutes of an upscale home that you walk to after work for a screaming budget price, it isn't going to happen. Denver metro is 3.5 million people, a large percentage of which are active after work. There are parks, trails, town centers and numerous things to keep you busy. There also is a large percentage of transplants here, just like yourself, so that bring all their baggage with them when they move here too, and that includes narcissistic liars, bros, ski bums, pot heads, professionals, entrepreneurs, families, athletes, and a wide assortment of other characters. We actually feel like a comfortable place for a lot of California refugees because we are typically dry, we have mountains close by, we have a lot of activities and a broad range of social opportunities. We do lack an ocean and Hollywood.
The least amount of snow...Springfield Colorado. In all seriousness, while Colorado may be known for snow and skiing, the geography of this state is soooo diverse, dealing with snow is typically not a big issue and it certainly is not a none stop issues all through winter. If it really concerns you, there are driving schools out here that specialize in driver training for winter conditions. Combine that with good snow tires, and you as set as anyone. Then its just getting it stuck in your mind that you are capable. I also would add that the level of plowing you might want to see probably doesn't exist here either. There is NO WAY any municipality can clear every street of every city after every storm. It logisitically isn't possible for the tax base we have. Primary streets are plowed first, secondary streets second, and residential streets are last. Somewhere in that schedule the snow has melted away, except for shady areas north of large buildings, trees, etc. so most residential streets never get plowed at all. Unless you are planning on moving right away, I'd find a local television channel you can watch regularly via the internet, and see who bad a winter here really is.
This might sound like a stupid question since Colorado is known for it snow ... but .... where is it the most maintained by the city ??
Regardless of what city best clears the snow from roads, and even when good conditions exist for driving around, you may get sick of seeing winter dwell on for months at a time. You need to prepare yourself for about half of the year being dormant and non-green (November through April). Nature will be in remission with lots of bare trees and faded greys and browns colors for roughly 6 months straight. We can get snow in September, all the way through May. When you don't want any more to fall, and you want to be free of it for awhile, it can show up again.
You mentioned being tired of summer dominating where you are, but you might strongly dislike the parallel of winter dominating as well. You might surprise yourself and discover how much you actually like CA weather, and deep it runs. You might crave the warmth that you are used to. Bright sun is good, but when it's with a cool breeze and a grey/brown landscape, it won't be the experience you are used to and/or means so much to you. You might get frustrated having to wait so long for summer to really kick in, and then get upset when it ends rather quickly.
It's easy to approach weather differences in sort of a data/statistics sort of way. Once in a new environment though, the learning is significant on a whole different level. The same result would likely be true for life-long Coloradans trying to enjoy CA and warm/humid weather in abundance. You can know the differences and downplay them mentally, but the body will "speak up" and get your attention that things aren't right. It's also a visual experience, and you can't change or redraw your new landscape.
Last edited by Sunderpig2; 10-07-2016 at 02:45 PM..
I grew up just east of you in the Inland Empire. The rest of my family lives in OC, and I lived there when I was small (my parents grew up in Santa Ana and Huntington Beach, respectively). I moved here when I was 23, and am 32 now.
First of all, it hasn't snowed yet. Second of all, it has dipped below freezing 1-3 times already. Freezing means "below 32 degrees", which virtually never happens in OC. Our air is very dry (even in comparison to OC). Thus, when it is cold, it doesn't necessarily feel as cold (or as hot) as the air temperature would have you believe. Layering is something you would become familiar with here.
Most of the replies in this thread warn you of things that can happen here. It can snow a foot. It can make your leased Beemer look like a golf ball. But in general, life here is far less erratic than life in CA.
I've never had problems with mosquitos here. Ever. I may have had a few bites in the 9+ years I've been here. Less than I had in Riverside.
You can hike year round here. Sometimes with snowshoes on. Sometimes with snow on the ground, on or off the trail. It is possible. A few days a year, it is not.
Orange County is truly a bubble. My family thinks I live in the land of dragons.
Living in the Front Range is also like living in a bubble, and 95% of it could be classified as suburban. And we have traffic too, but still not like OC. In order to "feel rural", you have to live on the periphery, which doesn't always cost a lot. It does cost $400K for a "decent" home here though (Denver and northward). Not much improvement there, unless you consider Colorado Springs (which is home to tons of OC-escapees, and their descendants), which is much cheaper, and arguably prettier, and also VERY suburban.
I don't park my cars in the garage. I have a garage, but I don't park there. I've never had hail damage. Getting a windshield replaced every few years is a possibility though, and you'll have to get used to buying washer fluid frequently (something I never had to do in CA).
David Aguilar hiking to work wearing his snowshoes whilst fending off the Zika/West Nile virus carrying mosquitos.
Meanwhile, a hailstorm has destroyed his Beemer.
I imagine this and laugh.
This is why no one wants to move here.
Pictures can be very misleading. Any shot you see of CO is beautifully green or gorgeous fall colors of red and yellow. Its hard to picture six months of greys and browns hmmm. I was in for a shock when I moved to WA, despite talking to lots of people before relocating. I knew it snowed a little, I knew winters were cold, and I knew there was a lot of overcast days. I was happy to be able to afford a 2 bedroom townhouse with no one living above or below me when I got there, which cost less than a one bedroom in CA. I was also looking forward to escaping endless CA summers. Because I didnt realize exactly how cold it got (17 degrees) I came with my CA flip flops and thin hoodies and froze. I also thought I would be able to enjoy the moon and millions of stars with the dark skies. Nope! No moon. No stars. Just pitch blackness. I would wake up and not know if it was day or night. I got depressed (SAD) and moved back. Next I moved to TX. Researched it first on the forum. Knew it would be hot. Was prepared for that, with my cali wardrobe. Was not prepared for fireants that buid ant hills the size of ice cream trucks that could not be killed with the average raid bottle. I had welts all over from being bit when I slept because if there was ants in the yard they were driven inside by the heat. There were hornets putting up nests faster than I could knock them down. And I was not prepared for being woken up every night with tornado warning alarms. I moved back. Sooooo... my point? Im trying to make sure I know exactly what Im in for this time. If its going to be all brown and grey and my street wont be plowed and I will be getting up early to dig my car out before work, I need to know these things. $400K for a home is more than I would care to spend. I can get a small house for that in Mission Viejo CA (according to zillow) .. Im looking to settle somewhere that has sunshine most of the year even if its cold so I dont get SAD, be able to get a decent job, and eventually get a small (2 bed, 2 bath) home... hopefully with more than just a covered patio for a yard, for around $300K. This brings me to another question... do no plants grow in CO?? In every house I see on zillow people have decorated their yards with gravel or rocks instead of plants. Yuck. To me thats an eyesore. Thats something I would expect of AZ or NV where its too hot for anything to survive. Is it too cold in CO to have a garden? I plant peonies and sunflowers. I love nature. I love having flowers in the backyard or front porch.
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