We are relocating very soon! Please Help! (Denver: house, to buy)

[gertiemom]

@TheDarkSide You say you went back to Dallas...was it not a good experience for you living in Denver then? Or other circumstances made you go back? This move for us is a mixture of things. We want to experience something else, get out of Florida and it was a better paying job for my husband. We are hoping we like it there but we have very supportive family here so we are kind of thinking we will give it a year and if things don't work out we will formulate a plan B! Kind of thinking of it as an adventure but hope it sticks!

@mic111 I see what you're saying about the construction. They supposedly remediated the sights but what's the point if they are going to go dig around in it! I find it so odd that those places were turned into a wildlife refuge! But not really surprised, sounds par for the course! My husband was just talking about Japan this morning. The are saying that something like 300 million gallons of contaminated water are being dumped into the ocean everyday as by product of trying to cool down the reactor...also does not surprise me. I think to some extent a lot of people just don't want to know about these things. After all what can you really do about them? The almighty dollar will almost always win over the peoples justifiable fears and good sense!

Well, of course we are trying to get this stuff done and it is Labor Day weekend. We haven't been able to get ahold of anyone about any places we are interested in. But everyone has been so helpful, thanks so much for all your replies so far! I have looked around some more at other properties in case we decide against the place we really like but the school problem really has me going in circles.

[gertiemom]

We are moving to Colorado from Florida and one of my main concerns right now is making sure we have proper clothing for the cold weather. What is absolutely necessary and what is a luxury. We need coats gloves hats and boots I am assuming. I have shopped around online for coats but I'm not sure what we really need! Do we need ski type coats does everyone need waterproof snow boots? It would be most helpful if maybe someone could provide a link showing me images of what kind of coats, hats, gloves and boots we need so I can see what I really need for everyone without going overboard or under doing it if someone would be so kind! I am shopping for myself and my husband and I have a 6 year old and a 1 1/2 year old child.

My next question is about the wildlife. How cautious and or concerned do we need to be about dangerous wildlife when playing outside with the children etc.? What are the animals we need to be most concerned about if any? Here in Florida we keep on the look out for dangerous snakes and spiders they are everywhere but rarely encountered unless we were to go into one of the nature parks (with the exception of black widows, we do see them fairly often). Even so even in our own yard I make sure I am aware of our surroundings.

[davebarnes]

I live in Denver.
I wear shorts and a golf shirt 300+ days a year.
I wear blue jeans and a golf shirt 65 days a year.
I wear a fleece 60 days a year. I wear Crocs every month.
I don't own boots or a coat.
I walk 2+ miles 5 days a week.

FYI - state law requires that each person in the household own at least one item from The North Face.

[blackmet]

Originally Posted by gertiemom

Okay so I think we found a place we are interested in in Arvada. It is zoned for Weber Elementary it has a grade of B- but does anyone have any experience with this school or more concrete info about the area around the school? It is not optimal but it is the best I have found yet that has housing that fits most of our criteria.

The area is a fairly-nice mixture of single family and townhomes. There are lots of older people who bought homes there in the 70's and 80's, had kids, then never left. When I lived and went to school there (back in the early-mid 90's) the schools were overcrowded, now it's so quiet they actually closed one of the elementary schools. Weber is decent, feeds into Moore Middle and Pomona High, both of which are also pretty good.

It's kind of on the dull side -- the highlight of nightlife is an Old Chicago -- but you do have a really awesome King Soopers and plenty of shopping within a 5 minute drive.

[Mike from back east]

Gertie, you are worrying over something trivial....if you were moving to Alaska you'd be okay to ask these questions, but not for the I-25 corridor aka Front Range area of Colorado where 3-4M people live.

There is wildlife here and once in a great while their will be an incident. Deer will eat your flowers here as they do anywhere; an occasional bear will wonder the streets in foothill areas sniffing trash cans or climbing in a tree; there are foxes and coyotes who sometimes will kill a loose house cat that's out at night.

If you go up into the wilderness areas in the high country, there are some concerns about wildlife, mostly bear habitat; still, millions go skiing up there every winter and most of the critters are hibernating or laying low.

Dave is very spot-on with the clothing list; the air is dry so we don't get that bone-chilling cold of coastal areas. You'll will LOVE the lack of humidity and bugs here (there is NO "love bug" season in May like in FL; termites are rare here; few mosquitos unless you're near water. No hurricanes; no spring breakers; no snow birds.

I wear shorts most of the year and jeans the rest. I have a heavy coat but rarely need it. My wife wears open birkies all year. A warm coat may be worn on some of the colder nights, but during the sunny daytime there's little need for the heavy stuff unless cloudy and windy and snowy - which isn't all that often here (though it is up in the high country).

[mic111]

They are moving from Florida. People from Florida will find it cold. People from Alaska or Montana will be running around in shorts and t-shirts. They will need ski type jackets, gloves and hats. The kids will need snow pants and boots as they will want to go sledding. No need to buy them in advance you can pick them up cheap here at Ross or Marshall's.

I love my waterproof snow boots because I want to walk every day. I love my stadium coat for the same reason and my scarf, super warm hat and gloves. I only need these items a handful of times a year but I do try to get outside every single day. If one just goes into the car and back then a lighter jacket plus some gloves are all you need although it is always good to carry some heavy duty stuff (proper boots, hat, jacket) in the car when you go out in a snow storm in case you get stuck.

Oops forgot to answer the wildlife question. On hiking trails you don't want to let the 6 yr old run ahead. The mountain lions love an unattended running screaming 6 yr old. You want to teach the kids not to stick their hand behind rocks so they don't find a rattle snake. You want to teach them to stay on the trail and near you, not climbing off trail and on the rocks for the same reason. You want to teach them what to do if they encounter wildlife. Backing away slowly appearing bigger, not running and screaming. You want to teach them to haze coyotes and not try to pet them, feed them or approach them. In the metro populated areas you should have no problems. In a more suburban/rural area the coyotes can be a bit bold.

[MountainK]

Denver received 78 inches of snow last winter, which is slightly more than typical. However, there really have not been "typical" winters lately as the weather has varied quite a lot in recent years. The snow often melts quickly, but yes to coats, gloves, hats, and boots. You may want to throw a scarf or some sort of face covering (a ski mask sort of thing) into the mix to keep the face warm.

The average December low temp is 16 and average high is 47 but averages are just that; it can be in the 70s in Dec for several days or -10 for several days. Frostbite can occur at temps below 32F; fingers and toes can be impacted if there is overexposure but don't panic about this, just wear reasonable clothing. You will see people wearing flip flops in the winter/in the snow but that doesn't mean it's a smart thing to do when it's 20 degrees outside.

Unless you are going to ski, you don't really need ski type clothing. You'll quickly figure out what the other six-year olds are wearing and should dress your child similarly (not necessarily in terms of style, but in terms of what type of boots, fleece vs. bigger coat, etc.)

I have light gloves, midweight gloves, and heavy gloves (which I only wear when shoveling snow.) Kids generally will misplace gloves/mittens unless you hook them to the kids/to their coats, so plan to buy several pair.

I have a long winter coat (rarely worn, but very useful when it's windy or particularly cold) and several short winter coats (worn almost daily Oct or Nov through March or April.) I own lots of fleece and several pair of boots too. For the kids, you may want snow pants - these will keep them dry if they are playing outside, but aren't necessary for daily use. Plan for layers. Daily temps can vary ~50 degrees from morning to night and it can be useful to add/remove layers of clothing as needed. There are days in the spring/fall when I use the heater in my car in the morning and a/c in the afternoon, so my best advice is to be prepared for drastic temp changes throughout the day and throughout the entire year.

[reed303]

Re coats and jackets, think about layering, instead of a separate item for different temperature ranges. You may need a waterproof, hooded jacket on a cold snowy morning, but by lunchtime you will be carrying it as too warm. Start out with a lightweight, hip-length jacket, and add a sweater or heavy shirt as needed.

Re boots, probably only the 6 y/o needs a basic pair right away. Wait til you are in Denver awhile to see what the "natives" wear.

All the rest are nice to have handy, but not needed Day One. (Unless you arrive on the one day of the annual blizzard :-)

[Mike from back east]

We've had this question come up before and the general consensus is that you should wait for when you get here to do any shopping. We've tons of retail here, no problem finding anything you need.

We've tons of Goodwill, Salvation Army, ARC and other thrift stores that have good kids stuff for cheap. Kids outgrow clothing quickly and much of this is in excellent condition. Every spring there are tons of yard sales with really good stuff for pennies on the dollar.

[bongo]

It also depends on where you are moving! When I lived in cold Alamosa & snowy Steamboat I dressed differently then when I lived in mild Ft Collins, La Veta or Manitou.

The best advise is lots of layers so as to be able to peel off or layer on. Great advise to wait until arrival. Until purchases, kids can get by for a while now with just a hoodie!

Good luck with your move!