What is it like to live in Colorado? (Denver, Boulder: credit card, lender)

[CosmicWizard]

Charles wrote:

Ninety five percent of the time you get up, drink coffee, take a shower, get dressed drive to work, work, drive home or run an errand or two, watch TV or go online or work around the house, brush your teeth and go to bed.

My day-to-day life is very similar to this, ANYWHERE I've ever lived! Except I drink Yerba Mate instead of coffee.

[beenwashed]

Well i woudl like to thank the people who gave a decent answer. I get the fact that for the most part you live, work, eat and sleep up there. Not a suprise to me whatsoever. And i completely agree with some of you that you are the holder of your happiness. I'm not saying that Colorado will be our utopia or bring us great happiness. However, after having lived in Oklahoma for 3 years, and several other places prior to, Oklahoma is probably the crummiest state to live in. I just wanted to know if people who are actually active people (not couch potatos) go out and be active in the moutains. And yes, being debt free in oklahoma is the same thing in colorado. It's a choice that we have made to be debt free. Ok, so we may make the same money as you, but our house is smaller and we drive some beat up cars. So what, at least we dont' have to worry about where we're goign to come up wtih the money to fix our car, pay for a visit to the hospital. We don't have to feel that we're stuck in a certain situation forever until we can get more credit. We refuse to be slaves to the lender and actually, we are doing quite well. It's worth a try for everyone to jsut consider what life would be like living debt free. And it goes much faster than you think....check out DaveRamsey.com

As for my original question, thank you katiana and sheridan. Dreaming of Hawaii, we have been up there many, many times. We have spent more time up there than most people. And for us...moving is a thrill. His job moves us around about every three years so we better get used to moving anyways. Yea we do research and visit places but none of that stuff actually tells you anything about actually livig there. When we researched the place we live now in Oklahoma, it looked decent. Then we got here and were shocked. The town is jsut in shambles, the population is moving out, stores are closing, the whole town is just dying. And we visited and researched all we could, thus my question to people about generally living in coloraod. We woudl move to the front range, but as to the actual city...we won't know until about 1 month ahead of time.

[Shuffler]

Originally Posted by beenwashed

Well i woudl like to thank the people who gave a decent answer. I get the fact that for the most part you live, work, eat and sleep up there. Not a suprise to me whatsoever. And i completely agree with some of you that you are the holder of your happiness. I'm not saying that Colorado will be our utopia or bring us great happiness. However, after having lived in Oklahoma for 3 years, and several other places prior to, Oklahoma is probably the crummiest state to live in. I just wanted to know if people who are actually active people (not couch potatos) go out and be active in the moutains. And yes, being debt free in oklahoma is the same thing in colorado. It's a choice that we have made to be debt free. Ok, so we may make the same money as you, but our house is smaller and we drive some beat up cars. So what, at least we dont' have to worry about where we're goign to come up wtih the money to fix our car, pay for a visit to the hospital. We don't have to feel that we're stuck in a certain situation forever until we can get more credit. We refuse to be slaves to the lender and actually, we are doing quite well. It's worth a try for everyone to jsut consider what life would be like living debt free. And it goes much faster than you think....check out DaveRamsey.com

As for my original question, thank you katiana and sheridan. Dreaming of Hawaii, we have been up there many, many times. We have spent more time up there than most people. And for us...moving is a thrill. His job moves us around about every three years so we better get used to moving anyways. Yea we do research and visit places but none of that stuff actually tells you anything about actually livig there. When we researched the place we live now in Oklahoma, it looked decent. Then we got here and were shocked. The town is jsut in shambles, the population is moving out, stores are closing, the whole town is just dying. And we visited and researched all we could, thus my question to people about generally living in coloraod. We woudl move to the front range, but as to the actual city...we won't know until about 1 month ahead of time.

Well, good on ya for being debt free...with the country entering uncharted economic and energy waters, you'll be far better off than 99% of the other wage slaves out there wishing/hoping that they can click their heels together and be taken away from the looming mess.

Sounds like you have the right mindset of living below your means and not carrying debt.

Whether that really matters or makes much difference in another couple years largely depends on how this whole thing pans out, and more specifically how Colorado is impacted. We shall see...

[multitrak]

Originally Posted by beenwashed

I'm not saying that Colorado will be our utopia or bring us great happiness. However, after having lived in Oklahoma for 3 years, and several other places prior to, Oklahoma is probably the crummiest state to live in.

NOT! after having lived in oklahoma for 30 plus yrs, i can't disagree with your assessment of it here...it sucks big time! but each time i visit the colorado rocky mtns and the mesas and canyons, i find it harder and harder to leave. if it's not bliss, then it's pretty damn close for my wife and i. but one day soon we will be in colorado to stay...we can't wait!!!

[bullfish15]

A lot of people move out of their current state because they don't like it. Sure, they will have the same routines and responsibilities, and I think with few exceptions most people who move here are not trying to escape a bad life somewhere else. They believe the old adage "The grass isn't always greener on the other side" applies. (Side note: Denver's grass is brown so it really doesn't apply!) A lot of Colorado natives discount the transplants and their complaints about their home states as "sour grapes" or what have you. Sure, you will get the token ski bums who use their Denver apartments as launching pads to ski resorts, but for the most part people are not so naive to believe all their worldly strifes will disappear upon completing a cross country move. Colorado is a great state and Denver is a very good city. People are attracted to this area and will, to the chagrin of many, continue to move here. Some people's pejorative attitudes about others moving to Colorado are a signal that they feel threatened... like they are being pushed out and this is their land. Guess what... It is EVERYONE'S LAND! A lot of this nations cities have turned into crap holes. People don't want to deal with it anymore.This is a free country, and they ain't gonna stop coming here. Welcome to the forum new and prospective Coloradans!

[Sockeye]

Originally Posted by bullfish15

A lot of people move out of their current state because they don't like it. Sure, they will have the same routines and responsibilities, and I think with few exceptions most people who move here are not trying to escape a bad life somewhere else. They believe the old adage "The grass isn't always greener on the other side" applies. (Side note: Denver's grass is brown so it really doesn't apply!) A lot of Colorado natives discount the transplants and their complaints about their home states as "sour grapes" or what have you. Sure, you will get the token ski bums who use their Denver apartments as launching pads to ski resorts, but for the most part people are not so naive to believe all their worldly strifes will disappear upon completing a cross country move. Colorado is a great state and Denver is a very good city. People are attracted to this area and will, to the chagrin of many, continue to move here. Some people's pejorative attitudes about others moving to Colorado are a signal that they feel threatened... like they are being pushed out and this is their land. Guess what... It is EVERYONE'S LAND! A lot of this nations cities have turned into crap holes. People don't want to deal with it anymore.This is a free country, and they ain't gonna stop coming here. Welcome to the forum new and prospective Coloradans!

...and please learn a little bit about CO's history, and respect our desire to preserve and respect what's left of her pristineness.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by bullfish15

A lot of this nations cities have turned into crap holes. People don't want to deal with it anymore.This is a free country, and they ain't gonna stop coming here.

Until they turn it into the craphole that they left. Which, unfortunately, is exactly what appears to be happening--and that's especially apparent to those people who have lived here a long time, have a historical perspective and see what has already been lost. Maybe that's why they have that "pejorative" attitude.

[bullfish15]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Until they turn it into the craphole that they left. Which, unfortunately, is exactly what appears to be happening--and that's especially apparent to those people who have lived here a long time, have a historical perspective and see what has already been lost. Maybe that's why they have that "pejorative" attitude.

I disagree. I don't think the people who are moving to Colorado have shut down the steel mills and factories in the rust belt. I don't think the people who are fed up with the People's republic of California and it's wacko regulations and laws are turning Denver into LA. I don't think people moving out of the deep south are bringing their states illiteracy statistics with them. I don't think people from NYC are bringing the high cost of living with them. (Housing prices are a different issue... the cost of living other than housing is similar with most other places I've been to.) I DO think the illegal immigrants who have moved here in droves HAVE brought the problems of Mexico with them.

I'll give you this much... People who have been here a long time do have a historical perspective and have witnessed the changes... But this is a dynamic and ever evolving era. Denver and Colorado in 2008 are different than 1992, as different as it was in 1962 and 1892. You don't have to want things to evolve, but you aren't going to stop it.

[Katiana]

buffish15 is certainly correct about the steel mills. It was not the people who shut them down, it was economic change. The unions and the owners all had their part in it. There are still people in Pittsburgh who think the mills will come back. They will think that to their dying day. There are people there who keep saying Pittsburgh is just ready to turn the corner. They have been saying that for the last 20 years, at least.

The only constant in life is change.

[CosmicWizard]

Jazzlover wrote:

Until they turn it into the craphole that they left. Which, unfortunately, is exactly what appears to be happening--and that's especially apparent to those people who have lived here a long time, have a historical perspective and see what has already been lost. Maybe that's why they have that "pejorative" attitude.

As you say, it's a matter of historical perspective. Words similar to these, were probably spoken by the native americans when the proud pioneers of Colorado turned it into the craphole that they left.