From California To Colorado. Why??? (Denver, Pueblo: condo, mortgage, homes)

[Torrey]

Originally Posted by Oceanaddict

Could you tell me why so many Californians leave such beauty and the ocean to boot just to live in Colorado?

I think Colorado is pretty to... but hey... the ocean, mountians, vineyards...

My question is WHY would you leave all of that to live in Colorado?

Thanks for the awnsers in advance as I am looking forward to hearing the responses.

I'll tell you why. California is just a time bomb waiting to explode, and nobody knows exactly when, but it will happen eventually. When California slides off into the ocean, all those smart enough to move to Colorado will have beach front property again....

[CAMom]

What a great topic. Many of the responses above are good and seem to have all the same underlining comments; overpopulated, immigrants and cost of living.

Everyone's needs are different, such as ours are values, nice neighborhoods and room to breath. We currentl live in the San Fernando valley. A small community which has changed so much in the last 10 years. My husband grew up in this town and has seen more than I with the change and his parents as well. I see even more change as I'm a stay-at-home mom and get my errands done during the week day. I made a trip alone on a saturday to costco to find not one parking stop and very rude people. It occured to me that's why so many people are angry, on meds, and think about only themselves. There's just such a hugh influx of immigrants and people trying to make it in the entertainment industry that the value of a nice place to live has fallen. When people can't afford to buy a home and are forced to rent the 'pride of homeownership' doesn't exsist. Not that all renters are to blame for the way neighboorhoods are turning out.

It's very sad to watch all this happen to what use to be a nice place to live. Our son would have attended the schools my husband went to therefore making 3 generations at the high school. The ratio of english to spanish in the schools here is 25% white and the remainder mixed. The teachers are tired and therefore kids aren't getting the attention they need because the classes are being dumbed down for the sake of helping those less fortunate.

If you have lots of money you could live near a nice beach and have good ratios and great people but making over 250,000 is hard to come by for a middle class family.

Our move to colorado in the fall comes with much excitment. We can't wait to enjoy the clear skys, nice people and all that colorado has to offer. We picked a place called Parker, it felt like home the moment we arrived.

Good luck to those that can make a new life for themselves in a new place.

[jazzlover]

So, the point is that California grew too fast, got overrun with immigrants and transplants, became less than desirable, and the natives want to move to someplace like Colorado--so it grows too fast, gets overrun with immigrants and transplants, becomes less desirable, and the natives want to leave . . . I get it.

And you wonder why so many of Colorado natives dislike Californians and other transplants?

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

So, the point is that California grew too fast, got overrun with immigrants and transplants, became less than desirable, and the natives want to move to someplace like Colorado--so it grows too fast, gets overrun with immigrants and transplants, becomes less desirable, and the natives want to leave . . . I get it. And you wonder why so many of Colorado natives dislike Californians and other transplants?

Jazz, take two mint juleps and call me in the morning....

In 30 years we'll both be long gone....by then everyone will move to some resurrected farm town in the midwest to discover a quaint way of life they read about in a magazine and the newbie-oldtimer angst will replay itself, like a cheap 8 track tape.

[Katiana]

Thanks, Mike. We needed that!

[CalifDreaming]

We are moving from the SF Bay because of a job that my husband just got in the Springs....I am not sure how we will like it but I think we will.

[cut]

[I_LUVNM]

Originally Posted by CalifDreaming

We are moving from the SF Bay because of a job that my husband just got in the Springs....I am not sure how we will like it but I think we will.

I wish you well on your new journey to Colorado. Most of all, have fun as much as possible and Colorado is one of the best places to do that!

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

LA Girl, I noticed that a lot of your post about why you love California has to do with the ocean. You will not be happy in Colorado! I moved here from the east coast thirty years ago, and I still long for the ocean. Colorado is a beautiful state; every day the mountains look different. The sky here is bluer than anymore else in the world (except Nepal). But there is no ocean! Anyone who has lived for a while close to the ocean will understand the pull. That's why when we retire in three years we will be moving to Hawaii.

This is what happened to me. I grew up on both coasts but have spent the bulk of my life in Colorado.
You can take the girl away from the ocean, but you can't take the ocean out of the girl.
Those "mild winters" were kinda getting to me, too.
We finally moved to north Florida.
Enjoy Colorado, y'all. I'll be back for visits.
As Mike noted, it will be interesting to see which trendy state the herd migrates to 30 years from now.

[LAgirlAtHeart]

Thanks, Mike, I think a deep breath is needed.

I wanted to say that I've encountered the term "free thinkers" on this forum a lot. All from people based in Colorado. Is this a common term in Colorado? I remember the word from 60s movies but it took me more than a little by surprise to see it used so frequently when referring to Californians. In trying to define the term I would think that most people would consider America a country of "free thinkers" and not limit it to a specific state. I hope I don't sound preachy, I really don't mean to. Most of the posts here are great or helpful, or at least funny, but some are so angry. I don't want to move to Colorado but you don't see me throwing out nasty comments about it. Give Southern California a break, it's a great place to live.

And thanks for the advise about Fort Collins, I really appreciate it! Call me a "free thinker" or an open-minded person, say I don't think inside of a box, or that I don't like single-minded people; whatever label you want to put on me, any advise on towns I might like is apprecitaed!

California might slide into the sea some day and most angry people who hate the coast will be laughing their asses off. But don't laugh too hard; the "free thinkers" call it karma, religious people say "do unto others...", any way you look at it, be careful, it's a b*#ch.

LA Girl

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

So, the point is that California grew too fast, got overrun with immigrants and transplants, became less than desirable, and the natives want to move to someplace like Colorado--so it grows too fast, gets overrun with immigrants and transplants, becomes less desirable, and the natives want to leave . . . I get it.

And you wonder why so many of Colorado natives dislike Californians and other transplants?

I don't think that's a fair assessment. My family moved here to Colorado so that our children could have a relationship with their grandparents, a retired military couple who've lived here since the early-80's after roaming the states for many years at the behest of the US Air Force.

Our move had nothing to do with immigrants, crowding, or politics. It had everything to do with family relationships and a job opportunity. I love California, and I'm growing to love Colorado more and more with each day that passes. They are two very different places, each with its own merits. Rest assured, I have no desire to make Colorado into an in-land California.

Furthermore, I would venture to say that my family has a lot to offer our new home state, and I'm growing weary of the constant insults because I happen to come from the west coast. We are hard-working, educated people, who care about our community, respect our neighbors (regardless of their politics or country of origin), and are trying to raise responsible, healthy, loving children. All in all, I think our relocation is a net gain for Colorado.