Moving From Seattle to Denver Metro - Adjusting to Weather Changes (Highlands Ranch: homes, living in)

[eepstein]

Denver is among the sunniest cities in the country, so your wish will certainly come true!! Bear in mind that Denver has quite a bit more extremes weatherwise than Seattle does. Way more snow during the winters as well, however rarely lasts too long because of the rapid warmups afterwards.

Summers are also quite a bit warmer than Seattle. Usually between 88 and 92 during the day, although last summer I heard that it was in the 90's most of the time. Night are pleasant in the 50's and 60's usually.
Some thunderstorms also....but overall, an improvement over Seattle.

Originally Posted by LaylaM

My husband and I are planning a relocation from Seattle area (PNW) to either Denver or Fort Collins within the next year. Our reasons are many, but one of the chief factors is that we are in grave need of more sunshine. We've been here 30+ years and it's time for a change of scenery. I lived in Northern Colorado in my 20s and loved the climate, terrain, people, everything - but I am wondering how we will adjust now that we're older:

How have you adjusted to the CO dryness, colder winters and snow vs rain, humidity and somewhat milder temps in the Northwest?

In particular, are there any folks 60+ who have made the move from the PNW recently and, if so, do you find any difficulty with snow and ice? We both grew up with snow (Midwest), but Seattle doesn't get very much, so we're kinda out of practice.

I am happy to hear how anyone (young or old) feels about the pluses and minuses of these very different climates and how this affected their relocation process.

Thanks!

[LaylaM]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

One thing to really remember, LaylaM.........some folks, young or old/older can handle the Front Range/Denver metro winters better than others. I've visited this forum when a snowstorm (or even blizzard) was going on, or just over, and read about people complaining about the snow and others that want to yell out how happy they are that there is snow.

While living there, I worked in Senior Healthcare and seen a lot of Seniors that would cancel their doctors appointments because they didn't want to go out into the cold/snow. Snowing can be a beautiful sight while viewing from inside a nice warm home, until a person has to drive in a "whiteout" condition or shovel their driveway out of inches-to-feet of snow. The younger generation can handle this much better than us older folks can!
And, we seen both when we lived there......inches and feet of snow.
All I can say is "chose your moving destination well" because you don't want to be in the "complaining" section when the white stuff starts flying and ice starts forming!

You make a valid point about Seniors handling snow and cancelling medical appointments. All of my older relatives, including parents and grandparents, remained in the Chicago area for their 'golden' years and the snow was an inconvenience only until the walkways and major roads were cleared. My dad shoveled snow until around 80, then hired it out to someone. In really bad weather, my grandmothers would simply call a cab, if they had to keep an appointment.

We do plan to spend 2 of the coldest winter months in AZ every year, so this will give us a break from the white stuff.

Do most older people retire in hot places? Do people prefer squelching hot weather more as they get older?

[BabyBoomers2]

"Squelching hot weather" would be in Miami or the Keys in the summer, although Orlando temps can get up there as well. Of course it gets mighty hot in Vegas and Phoenix during the summer months, but not the humidity to contend with. One thing for sure, older folks can do more in heat than they can do in cold-to-very cold weather.......they just keep the water and beer well stocked in the old cooler! On our boat, that is exactly what we do!

So, you will have two homes? If that's the case, you should read the thread on the Retirement forum about having two homes.........very interesting.

Originally Posted by LaylaM

You make a valid point about Seniors handling snow and cancelling medical appointments. All of my older relatives, including parents and grandparents, remained in the Chicago area for their 'golden' years and the snow was an inconvenience only until the walkways and major roads were cleared. My dad shoveled snow until around 80, then hired it out to someone. In really bad weather, my grandmothers would simply call a cab, if they had to keep an appointment.

We do plan to spend 2 of the coldest winter months in AZ every year, so this will give us a break from the white stuff.

Do most older people retire in hot places? Do people prefer squelching hot weather more as they get older?

[LaylaM]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

"Squelching hot weather" would be in Miami or the Keys in the summer, although Orlando temps can get up there as well. Of course it gets mighty hot in Vegas and Phoenix during the summer months, but not the humidity to contend with. One thing for sure, older folks can do more in heat than they can do in cold-to-very cold weather.......they just keep the water and beer well stocked in the old cooler! On our boat, that is exactly what we do!

So, you will have two homes? If that's the case, you should read the thread on the Retirement forum about having two homes.........very interesting.

We plan to rent, not own a second home. We don't want to be locked into one location or take on all of those extra maintenance costs.

I would still be quite interested in reading the 'having two homes' thread. If you have the link, please post it. I couldn't find it on first glance.

[mic111]

I'm not your targeted question answerer as I've never lived in the PNW. I did move here from the San Francisco Bay area. Here are a couple of things to think about.

You didn't mention your experience at higher altitude. If you haven't spent alot of time here I suggest you make a visit of a couple of weeks to see how you adjust. My dad can no longer visit me as the altitude in Denver makes him sick and his Dr. has instructed him to not travel here any more. If I travel to anywhere over 9000 ft I can stay for two nights. If I stay a third I get altitude sickness. We love to camp in our RV but have to plan the route carefully so that we are at high altitude camp grounds for no more than two nights in a row. My friend moved here with her daughter. After a couple of years they moved back to CA since her daughter was always getting sick from the altitude. An older lady in my neighborhood recently moved to the coast. I don't know what her health problems were but she spent a couple of months taking care of a sick relative on the coast. Her health problems were much improved. She was so delighted that she only came back to pack and put her house on the market. For the majority of people the altitude will not be a problem. But for a few of us our bodies don't adjust well to it.

If you do move here buy a house with south and west facing windows. A gentleman moved across the street from us. Within 2 years he was moving back to CA because it was too cold and dark. He had no south facing windows (his garage was on the south side) and no west facing windows into the main living area. His office and the entry to the house was on the west.

Good luck with whatever decision you make. My inlaws moved to the PNW and have been thrilled with the moisture and greenery. They've been there almost 10 years so I think they are there to stay. I think they lived here over 30 years so had enough of the strong sun, dryness and brown.

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by HonestOne1

Moving from Seattle to Denver for more sunshine is like moving from Antactica to Alasksa for "less cold".

You need to change your username.

[LaylaM]

Originally Posted by mic111

I'm not your targeted question answerer as I've never lived in the PNW. I did move here from the San Francisco Bay area. Here are a couple of things to think about.

You didn't mention your experience at higher altitude. If you haven't spent alot of time here I suggest you make a visit of a couple of weeks to see how you adjust. My dad can no longer visit me as the altitude in Denver makes him sick and his Dr. has instructed him to not travel here any more. If I travel to anywhere over 9000 ft I can stay for two nights. If I stay a third I get altitude sickness. We love to camp in our RV but have to plan the route carefully so that we are at high altitude camp grounds for no more than two nights in a row. My friend moved here with her daughter. After a couple of years they moved back to CA since her daughter was always getting sick from the altitude. An older lady in my neighborhood recently moved to the coast. I don't know what her health problems were but she spent a couple of months taking care of a sick relative on the coast. Her health problems were much improved. She was so delighted that she only came back to pack and put her house on the market. For the majority of people the altitude will not be a problem. But for a few of us our bodies don't adjust well to it.

If you do move here buy a house with south and west facing windows. A gentleman moved across the street from us. Within 2 years he was moving back to CA because it was too cold and dark. He had no south facing windows (his garage was on the south side) and no west facing windows into the main living area. His office and the entry to the house was on the west.

Good luck with whatever decision you make. My inlaws moved to the PNW and have been thrilled with the moisture and greenery. They've been there almost 10 years so I think they are there to stay. I think they lived here over 30 years so had enough of the strong sun, dryness and brown.

No altitude problem that I know of. I lived at 8,000 ft for a year a long time ago. Last summer we hung out in Estes, Nederland, Boulder and Fort Collins for nearly 3 weeks without any difficulty. Is that enough time to tell if altitude is a problem?

Funny about your in-laws loving the gray, damp climate in PNW. I guess wherever we're from can get old after a while and nothing's perfect.

[LaylaM]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

You need to change your username.

And use spellcheck.

[mic111]

Originally Posted by LaylaM

No altitude problem that I know of. I lived at 8,000 ft for a year a long time ago. Last summer we hung out in Estes, Nederland, Boulder and Fort Collins for nearly 3 weeks without any difficulty. Is that enough time to tell if altitude is a problem?

I think 3 weeks is long enough. Also if you lived at 8000 ft you would have known if you had an altitude problem.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by LaylaM

That is so true! According to most 'local' experts, Seattle gets about 139 days of true sunshine per year. Colorado gets roughly 270-300, depending on whether you include some of those partly cloudy days. Additionally, the Seattle climate rarely warms up for very long - sometimes our summers last less than 2 months. CO does get cold, but the temps go up and down throughout the seasons.

I think you have an overly optimistic view of Denver's weather. First, it's kind of hard to enjoy the sunshine, when the temperature is like 5-degrees outside.

Second, I don't know where you get for figures from. But Denver averages only 115 days of "true" sunshine, plus 130 partly cloudy days, and 120 cloudy days. The claim of 300 days of sunshine each year is only accurate if you count every day that the sun peeks out for even a minute.

http://www.9news.com/weather/resourc...default.aspx#4