How are the CA transplants doing? (Denver, Colorado Springs: apartment, lease, home)

[sunsprit]

What you'll miss about the landscape here is that the area is a high altitude desert environment, which means there's no dense deciduous forests of hardwoods with a secondary growth layer at the ground level.

It's mostly firs, pines, and confiers, with a few stands of aspen ("quakies") which bring spots of color to the mountains in the fall.

The trees are, for the most part, widely spaced ... again, very much unlike the lush green dense growth of "forests" at lower elevations in wetter climates. Denver is above timberline for many tree varieties.

The spring can bring a greening up of the area, but ... by mid-summer ... many of the native and cool season grasses will be brown. Folks try to grow kentucky bluegrass lawns here, and it's a struggle to keep enough water ($$$$) in the ground to keep it healthy. There are other grasses, much coaser ground cover, that will do OK, but they're not the lush carpet you would expect at lower elevation in a milder and wetter climate.

How much this all will affect your outlook depends upon your take on the place.

[I_LUVNM]

by Loveboating."...Charlotte, North Carolina gets a "mild" winter. They do have a winter there, but their winter is definitely a "MILD" one!!!!!!!!!!"

I just want to say I know the Carolinas really well. My ex is from there and I dreaded going there for vacations, holidays and so on. It has stifling humidity in the summer and even up in the mountains it is humid and hot with very little breezes which is why I can see why they call them the smokies because the smoke isnt going anywhere. If you have arthritis, be prepared for more aches since the humidity really increases the pain and I know his mom had to move to the west because of that and is doing much better in the drier west. There is no paradise anywhere on earth. You just pick the place that best fits you and go with it. For me, Id rather have the cooler summers.

[LoveBoating]

Ok......if North Carolina/Charlotte isn't necessarily a good "weather" area for my wife and I to move to, where is???? It is true that we both have "some" arthritis, I have a hip replacement and she has asma (that she takes care of very well), but winters here in the Denver metro area are just TO MUCH for us to handle anymore.
Thought about moving to Florida, but found out that living there can be/is pretty expensive and it gets even more humid and hot than North Carolina.
We don't want to move back to Southern Calif., or to Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico or Texas.
ANY SUGGESTIONS, before we totally say "yes" to moving to Charlotte????????

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Ok......if North Carolina/Charlotte isn't necessarily a good "weather" area for my wife and I to move to, where is???? It is true that we both have "some" arthritis, I have a hip replacement and she has asma (that she takes care of very well), but winters here in the Denver metro area are just TO MUCH for us to handle anymore.
Thought about moving to Florida, but found out that living there can be/is pretty expensive and it gets even more humid and hot than North Carolina.
We don't want to move back to Southern Calif., or to Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico or Texas.
ANY SUGGESTIONS, before we totally say "yes" to moving to Charlotte????????

Loveboating
You might want to look into North Florida.
It's very different from the southern part of the state.
You'd have to deal with occasional cold in the winter (it's 36 right now, but is supposed to warm up to 66 as the day progresses) however, winter arrives late, and spring comes early. I like having a change of seasons.
We've had our humid days, but to me it really hasn't been that bad.

[tao]

I agree with Cil. Check out Northern Florida.

[Amy WJ]

LoveBoating might want to look into Northern CA, Oregon or Washington for a dry, mild climate. There are parts of all three of those states that have those qualities.

[doggiebus]

LoveBoating, If you stay close to the coast in N. Florida , there is a sea breeze at the very least, so it isn't as bad as inland Florida.

[I_LUVNM]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Ok......if North Carolina/Charlotte isn't necessarily a good "weather" area for my wife and I to move to, where is???? It is true that we both have "some" arthritis, I have a hip replacement and she has asma (that she takes care of very well), but winters here in the Denver metro area are just TO MUCH for us to handle anymore.
Thought about moving to Florida, but found out that living there can be/is pretty expensive and it gets even more humid and hot than North Carolina.
We don't want to move back to Southern Calif., or to Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico or Texas.
ANY SUGGESTIONS, before we totally say "yes" to moving to Charlotte????????

Well I agree with the others that north Florida is better because you at least get ocean breezes and it helps some. The hurricanes are scary so I dont recommend right on the coast like Pensacola, more over toward Tallahassee is better but hurricanes are something to think about. Dont buy a cheap built house. You might look into St. George, Utah. It is warmer then the rest of Utah, it a retirement area and it dry. Hot in summer but a dry heat and not anything hot like Arizona. Another place is inland Washington. The coast is wet and humid but get more inland and it isnt bad like in the apple country of Washington.

[Thunderbird]

Originally Posted by Amy WJ

LoveBoating might want to look into Northern CA, Oregon or Washington for a dry, mild climate. There are parts of all three of those states that have those qualities.

I'm not sure about Northern California as it rains bunches there. One of my brothers and a few friends live there and they complain about the rain all the time. A lot more painful for those who have bone aches and pains too.

[leavingcali]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Ok......if North Carolina/Charlotte isn't necessarily a good "weather" area for my wife and I to move to, where is???? It is true that we both have "some" arthritis, I have a hip replacement and she has asma (that she takes care of very well), but winters here in the Denver metro area are just TO MUCH for us to handle anymore.
Thought about moving to Florida, but found out that living there can be/is pretty expensive and it gets even more humid and hot than North Carolina.
We don't want to move back to Southern Calif., or to Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico or Texas.
ANY SUGGESTIONS, before we totally say "yes" to moving to Charlotte????????

What about Oregon? Still less expensive than CA, pretty, and the Southern and Eastern parts of the state have sunnier, warmer, drier weather.