Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, it's really not a matter of being unhappy...but I think I would rather look out my window and see a mountain than the freak behind me who seems to think that he has to mow in shorty shorts...ICK....of course, that isn't the only reason we want to move...we have always lived in this one state...traveled quite a lot...but lived here...Texas has two temps...
mildly cold winters and extremely hot summers and it isn't rare for it to start getting hot in April...and be really hot for Thanksgiving...not to mention the humidity...so I suppose it would be quite different there...as for downsizing and all of that...I really have no problem with that...the older I get...it just becomes stuff...stuff to wash...stuff to dust...stuff to maintain...I would also considering just buying a piece of land and putting a travel trailer on it....so nope, not in search of some gigantic house to have to mess with...Thank everyone for responding...guess I will end up being where God thinks I should be...
Oh I've lived in Texas so I know the feeling.
But there are so many other people who want to see that mountain out their window and it's not an easy deal to make that happen. And often in Colorado the view you get is that of I-70 or someone else's backyard.
Jazz, it's obvious that my point is effectively moot, because the OP is apparently at a very different place is his or her life than a thirty- or forty-something engineer, and I don't really know if he/she will be able to make it.
I understand that you have a half-century worth of Colorado experience, but my point stands that Colorado is a great place for tech and engineering people to make a living, especially when compared to the other major employment centers for that type of work. Is it a permanent change for the Colorado economy? Perhaps not, especially given the region's limited natural resources; however, for my generation and perhaps the next, we can live an extremely nice lifestyle here in the front range.
Unlike the Bay Area, it's possible here to live in a reasonably-priced house in an excellent school district within a short drive (or even walk) of many potential technology employers. A person can work a full day and still be home in time to eat dinner with family and take a child to Scouts. For some of us, it's even possible to live on one income! Imagine that.
I loved California, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done to leave, but, all in all, Colorado has a lot more to offer a young to middle-aged, educated family than other major employment centers, and that was what I was trying to get across in my post. It's possible to build a well-rounded life here.
Fuss and fume all you like about coastal transplants and the changes we're bringing to Colorado, but it remains a very attractive place for families like mine. It's a mistake to discount my knowledge, even as you're asking me to acknowledge yours. I'm quite the expert on what kind of lifestyle appeals to a forty-something tech employee with young kids, and Colorado has a lot to offer.
Last edited by formercalifornian; 01-13-2010 at 09:11 AM..
People were saying about the same thing as you are way back in 1892, when Colorado was living through its first big artificial Ponzi scheme growth bubble, enabled by the federal Sherman Silver Purchase Act. When it finally became obvious to the politicians that the bubble could not be sustained--and threatened to destroy the US currency (does some of this sound a little familiar?)--the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was summarily repealed in 1893. What followed in Colorado was a depression that essentially lasted from 1893 to the outbreak of World War II--over 50 years, with only some occasional economic gains interspersed. The old saying fits pretty well here, "History may not repeat, but it often rhymes."
It's really interesting and disturbing when you read about the Panics (what they used to call depressions) of '93 and '07 which heavily involved railroad and bank failures, similar to today's failures of car companies, investment houses and banks. Looks like we're experiencing aspects of the both of them.
Jazz, it's obvious that my point is effectively moot, because the OP is apparently at a very different place is his or her life than a thirty- or forty-something engineer, and I don't really know if he/she will be able to make it.
I understand that you have a half-century worth of Colorado experience, but my point stands that Colorado is a great place for tech and engineering people to make a living, especially when compared to the other major employment centers for that type of work. Is it a permanent change for the Colorado economy? Perhaps not, especially given the region's limited natural resources; however, for my generation and perhaps the next, we can live an extremely nice lifestyle here in the front range.
Unlike the Bay Area, it's possible here to live in a reasonably-priced house in an excellent school district within a short drive (or even walk) of many potential technology employers. A person can work a full day and still be home in time to eat dinner with family and take a child to Scouts. For some of us, it's even possible to live on one income! Imagine that.
I loved California, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done to leave, but, all in all, Colorado has a lot more to offer a young to middle-aged, educated family than other major employment centers, and that was what I was trying to get across in my post. It's possible to build a well-rounded life here.
Fuss and fume all you like about coastal transplants and the changes we're bringing to Colorado, but it remains a very attractive place for families like mine. It's a mistake to discount my knowledge, even as you're asking me to acknowledge yours. I'm quite the expert on what kind of lifestyle appeals to a forty-something tech employee with young kids, and Colorado has a lot to offer.
I would agree with some of your post, except for one thing: I think, in pretty short order, Coloradans are going to be talking about all of those niceties in the past tense. We have grown too fast, made too many grievous structural mistakes, squandered both financial and natural resources, and braniwashed ourselves into thinking that the current predominant suburban lifestyle (in which I do not participate--by choice) is either healthy or desirable. As I said in my earlier post, it is analagous to how 1892 Coloradans deluded themselves into thinking that a strucurally distorted and unhealthy economy was actually desirable and "normal"--right up to the point that it crashed. Then tens of thousands of Coloradans--many of them recent transplants to the state in that era--stood around and asked themslelves, "What the hell happened?" And then a lot of them left.
I would agree with some of your post, except for one thing: I think, in pretty short order, Coloradans are going to be talking about all of those niceties in the past tense. We have grown too fast, made too many grievous structural mistakes, squandered both financial and natural resources, and braniwashed ourselves into thinking that the current predominant suburban lifestyle (in which I do not participate--by choice) is either healthy or desirable. As I said in my earlier post, it is analagous to how 1892 Coloradans deluded themselves into thinking that a strucurally distorted and unhealthy economy was actually desirable and "normal"--right up to the point that it crashed. Then tens of thousands of Coloradans--many of them recent transplants to the state in that era--stood around and asked themslelves, "What the hell happened?" And then a lot of them left.
Point taken. With that in mind, I'll edit my post...
Quote:
I'm quite the expert on what kind of lifestyle appeals to a forty-something tech employee with young kids, and Colorado has a lot to offer...at least for the time-being.
But there are so many other people who want to see that mountain out their window and it's not an easy deal to make that happen. And often in Colorado the view you get is that of I-70 or someone else's backyard.
Nope...I wouldn't even entertain the thought of moving unless I was able to find a area with a view...no more subdivisions for us...that is what we would be leaving...believe me, I wouldn't sell my house and bother with packing just to look at a highway or someone else's backyard...
As I said in my earlier post, it is analagous to how 1892 Coloradans deluded themselves into thinking that a strucurally distorted and unhealthy economy was actually desirable and "normal"--right up to the point that it crashed. Then tens of thousands of Coloradans--many of them recent transplants to the state in that era--stood around and asked themslelves, "What the hell happened?" And then a lot of them left.
Three earlier generations of my family were living around Durango (Hesperus, Breen, and Kline) at that time. None left but they did have to give up ranching full time as meat prices plummeted, moved to town (Durango) and got regular daytime jobs (law enforcement, shopkeeping, etc.) to supplement their ranching income. They were pretty flexible.
Jazz, it's obvious that my point is effectively moot, because the OP is apparently at a very different place is his or her life than a thirty- or forty-something engineer, and I don't really know if he/she will be able to make it.
Yes, in a very different place indeed...I am a 48 year old female and I would be bringing with me my disabled husband (married 22 years and he has been disabled with a brain injury for five) and our youngest daughter and her baby and husband...dogs...and quite possibly our oldest daughter if she could be convinced...so "making it" would be a family effort so that we could live there...my husband is unable to do much of anything so I feel that he deserves to be able to sit on a porch somewhere and look at a beautiful view instead of the congested mess of where we live now...like I said...if I cannot find a reasonable home in an area that I desire...I will most likely buy some land and be there as much as possible with a travel trailer....but I am determined to give my husband and family some
enjoyment of beauty that Texas doesn't provide...
Yes, in a very different place indeed...I am a 48 year old female and I would be bringing with me my disabled husband (married 22 years and he has been disabled with a brain injury for five) and our youngest daughter and her baby and husband...dogs...and quite possibly our oldest daughter if she could be convinced...so "making it" would be a family effort so that we could live there...my husband is unable to do much of anything so I feel that he deserves to be able to sit on a porch somewhere and look at a beautiful view instead of the congested mess of where we live now...like I said...if I cannot find a reasonable home in an area that I desire...I will most likely buy some land and be there as much as possible with a travel trailer....but I am determined to give my husband and family some
enjoyment of beauty that Texas doesn't provide...
In that case, Terri, I think you're facing pretty significant challenges. That said, sheer will is a powerful ally. Best of luck to you.
Nope...I wouldn't even entertain the thought of moving unless I was able to find a area with a view...no more subdivisions for us...that is what we would be leaving...believe me, I wouldn't sell my house and bother with packing just to look at a highway or someone else's backyard...
Not all subdivisions are overlooking highways or are packed tightly. In Monument there are subdivisions where you can jump from roof to roof and others with 5+ acres. Things to consider, which were new to us, are taking care of acreage, access to town, snow removal on a long driveway, water suppy(usually well), and kids' or grandkid's in your case, access to other kids. These might seem trivial, but can affect you quality of life in the long run. Our neighborhood has 1/2 acre lots which may seem small to you, but the area has a neighborhood 'feel' without being on top of each other, and our daughter can walk to friends homes. She has friends in Jackson Creek which is high density, and I can see the the benefits, especially for kids in having close parks, sidewalks, and tons of other kids around.
I hope you find what you're looking for here.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
