New Englander a bit homesick out west (Denver: unemployment, high school)

[Sleddog905]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

There are ticks and Lyme disease in Colorado, and mosquitoes and West Nile virus, and Prairie Rats with Bubonic Plague...along with horseflies, gnats, and other little annoyances. It's also very crowded, depending on where you choose to live. Traffic up and down the I25 and I70 corridors is horrendous most of the time and we have plenty of homegrown and transplanted 'rude drivers'. Evidence of very poor planning on the part of the cities and counties is everywhere. Skiing has become a rich man's pursuit, and speculation on land and real estate has crushed a lot of people's dreams of owning a little piece of paradise. As for winter in Colorado, try living in the mtns year-round and it's really no different with regard to the snow and cold in New England...granted, you can drive down the hill to the milder climes of the Front Rage from time to time. The Fall colors are spectacular in their own regard, just as they are out East. It's very dry in Colorado and water isn't always abundant. Doesn't seem to limit the number of golf courses and vast expanses of commercial lawnscapes, though. Colorado is very good at mismanaging it's resources.

I know there are some bugs in CO, but it's nothing compared to what there is where water is more abundant. This summer was the first time I saw a horsefly in CO, and they were only around for about two months. Of course, I live at 8700 ft, so it's generally colder which means our summer season is much shorter than in Denver. I have yet to see a mosquito, but that doesn't mean I don't think they are in CO. Yes there are ticks, but according to the CDC there were only 5 confirmed cases in CO between 1993 and 2007. DVBID: Cases by State | CDC Lyme Disease Now compare that to the Northeast states.

Of course traffic is bad in the Denver area, but I don't live/work there. Even in Denver though, as long as you aren't trying to get around during rush hour (or on 25 at ANY time), you can still get around town pretty quickly.

I do live near the mountains so I know how long, cold and snowy the winters are up there. Bailey isn't technically in the mountains, but we sure get our fair dose of winter. It's also much more affordable to live in Bailey and Park County than it is in Jefferson County. We could afford our log home on 4 acre plot of land, and we're still in commuting distance of Denver. Are things getting more expensive? Absolutely. But at this point, I'm still paying a 1/4 of the taxes on my home than what my parents in CT are paying, and they only live on 1 acre.

Anyway, this isn't about what this area has and that area doesn't, it's about how you feel in your environment. Even if I could list 100 things that I love about Colorado, and only 10 about New England, some day I may decide that I need to move back there. It's certainly not always quantitative. You may yearn for a place and not fully understand why, so sometimes you just have to follow your heart. At this point I have no intention of leaving Colorado, but I could never fault someone for missing home even if they don't know why.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

There are ticks and Lyme disease in Colorado, and mosquitoes and West Nile virus, and Prairie Rats with Bubonic Plague...along with horseflies, gnats, and other little annoyances. It's also very crowded, depending on where you choose to live. Traffic up and down the I25 and I70 corridors is horrendous most of the time and we have plenty of homegrown and transplanted 'rude drivers'. Evidence of very poor planning on the part of the cities and counties is everywhere. Skiing has become a rich man's pursuit, and speculation on land and real estate has crushed a lot of people's dreams of owning a little piece of paradise. As for winter in Colorado, try living in the mtns year-round and it's really no different with regard to the snow and cold in New England...granted, you can drive down the hill to the milder climes of the Front Rage from time to time. The Fall colors are spectacular in their own regard, just as they are out East. It's very dry in Colorado and water isn't always abundant. Doesn't seem to limit the number of golf courses and vast expanses of commercial lawnscapes, though. Colorado is very good at mismanaging it's resources.

There is little to no Lyme Disease in CO.

[coffeebean]

The trouble is, they all moved out of New England around the same time, so it's not like moving back would really fix that.

I felt this way about our college town, and in the end I realized that as the truth it was. You can't go back to what was, and instead of looking behind you, start looking forward. Enjoy your past for what it was, a great piece of your life, and be ready to move forward to this next great piece of your life. Dig your heels in so to speak, and make some roots. It takes time to make great, life-long friends, but I'm sure if you give it time, and yourself the right frame of mind, it will all happen.

[Shuffler]

Originally Posted by Katiana

There is little to no Lyme Disease in CO.

the CO version is just called 'tick fever'...my bad

the caretaker at our property in N Colorado had it a couple summers ago...not fun at all.

[Katarina Witt]

They are caused by different organisms, just to clarify.

[Curious in CT]

I know I'm writing this really late, but I just found this thread. I have moved from CT to CO in January of '07. I know EXACTLY how Leafchime feels. It's very hard to pinpoint on just one thing. I too love Colorado. Have everything I could want. Love the scenery, the parks, the weather, the people, my home...blah blah blah. But I just miss CT so much. It comes and goes, but when it comes, I just want to pack my bags and go. My first year or so was so easy not to miss anything back home because everything was so new to me. We had a lot of visitors, went to a lot of cool places and sightseeing adventures. Now that that's all gone and the newness went away..I'm left feeling sort of empty. I heard from a relative who once moved away from CT to just wait it out for 2 years and the homesickness will go away. I feel the opposite, like I've been here for 2 years and now it's all hitting me. I'm going back home in June with my hubby and kids for vacation to visit. I'm really just praying and wishing that once I get there, I'll realize that it's nothing special. It will be damaging to me, I think, if we go there and I miss it even more. Hopefully the bugs and humidity will make me long to be back in Colorado....that's what I'm hoping! I'm a little nervous to go back for those reasons.

I think most New Englanders get super homesick in the fall. There's just nothing like it out here. It's the whole package...even if you didn't experience it all every year while living in New England, it's there. I always wanted to go back in the fall, but maybe that's not a good idea. I too wonder, just like Leafchime...does the homesickness eventually go away...or will I alway long to be back to where my roots are?

[livecontent]

I was born, raised and educated in New York State. Now, I have been in Colorado for over 30 years;it is more time than I lived in New York because I lived in other states before I moved to Colorado. No, the homesickness does not go away and disappear, if you call homesickness fond remembrances of places, people and events of times past. These memories and desires will always be with you, but do diminish as time goes by. These memories also are self creating delusions that make the past appear better and grander than the reality.

My mind thinks of trees, water, odors of the damp environment and food, always food. Yet, I know that where I live now is much better, but the tug of past places is always there. I also have come to realize that these desires for the the past are also a desire for the emotions, energy and dreams of my youth, which are no more.

I grew up in an area where there were many immigrants from Europe, still alive, who came to the United States in the great immigration wave at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. I can remember their stories; their look of longing and yearning to see the place where they whence came, be it Italy, Poland, Ireland, Germany or Russia or my roots--Sicily.

Because of distances, means of transport and expense, they left relatives behind knowing that they would never see them again; they left places that will only remain as memories. Past contacts were all by letter; as telephone conversations where prohibitive expensive for most. These people where cut off from their culture and their ethnic origins. Yet, they made do and created groups, neighbors and culture of mutual support that somewhat emulated what they left behind.

I view myself and my family as somewhat similar to these groups of immigrants where our "new land" is Colorado and our "old country" is New York. At least, we can make a return visit, quickly. We can stay in contact, now, instantaneous through phone and computers--so we really do not have it bad at all compared to these other immigrants. In addition, it is the same country, we speak the same language. Well, almost, we, New Yawkers just pronounce it differently with our expressive hands, Ya Knawatta mean; ya hava problem with dat...

We, from wherever we came, have some comforts for our longings,because we brought our foods with us.....Mangia, Mangia----Eat, Eat, with those simple words we "Amerikans" have become one people from many.

Livecontent

[formercalifornian]

Take heart. You are not alone.

I love Colorado, but I miss Maryland (not NE, but close enough) terribly. Yes, there was horrible traffic and the dreaded humidity, but it also had magnolias and cherry trees and winding roads and early American history and fantastic architecture and fall colors and the bay.

I'm headed to Connecticut next fall with my Dad, and I plan to soak it all in while I have the chance.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by formercalifornian

Take heart. You are not alone.

I love Colorado, but I miss Maryland (not NE, but close enough) terribly. Yes, there was horrible traffic and the dreaded humidity, but it also had magnolias and cherry trees and winding roads and early American history and fantastic architecture and fall colors and the bay.

I'm headed to Connecticut next fall with my Dad, and I plan to soak it all in while I have the chance.

I once told my kids I'd like to see the autumn leaves in Pittsburgh again one more time. They thought I was being morbid. But there's nothing like it!

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by formercalifornian

Take heart. You are not alone.

I love Colorado, but I miss Maryland (not NE, but close enough) terribly. Yes, there was horrible traffic and the dreaded humidity, but it also had magnolias and cherry trees and winding roads and early American history and fantastic architecture and fall colors and the bay.

I'm headed to Connecticut next fall with my Dad, and I plan to soak it all in while I have the chance.

I once told my kids I'd like to see the autumn leaves in Pennsylvania again one more time. They thought I was being morbid. But there's nothing like it! A couple years ago we did go out there in the fall and it was beautiful. It almost always is. But yeah, I was glad to return to Colorado.