Newcomers Unite! (Denver, Parker: apartment, crime, homes)

[rtloucks]

So.........

I realized how many people are on here with concerns about meeting other people, families, groups, friends etc.

Maybe we all just need to chat a little on this thread and plan an outing together. It seems like several of us are all moving to the Denver area and will be in similar areas. Why be total strangers?

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

plan an outing together

I am pretty sure that most people here who plan to come out are out.

[Mike from back east]

Some of the folks on here used to get together every so often and did the coordination on here, but the meetup.com site might already have such a group of newcomers.

[rtloucks]

MeetUp.com isn't all that reliable though and it a lot of singles looking to meet singles. Not to say there arent ANY families but the majority of it is singles and I'm not looking to start a social site. just putting another option out there for people and families who don't use sites like that who are having a hard time meeting people. Plus a lot of us already communicate on here. I just feel bad when I read forum posts from people in families who move to the area with hopes of meeting other families and building relationships and then get discouraged because its harder than they thought. It doesn't need to be hard.

[resipsa]

We are probably a year away from moving out there, but would certainly be interested in meeting up with other newly relocated families.

[rumline]

^ Ditto.

[rtloucks]

Well Id be happy to exchange personal info in private messages. But can elaborate on general info here. We too are moving there in less than 3 weeks. and we have moved around a bit and noticed one constant in all of our moves, it seems that people are either too busy with kids activities, too shy, or just work too much to take time to meet other good people. we try to put ourselves out there and are the type of family who would do anything to help anyone within our means. We very up beat and pleasant, not snooty type, we are not fancy people we are just middle class laid back Midwestern people at heart looking for other good people to sit around with and have a beer, or go bowling or catch movies with or BBQ etc. - good neighborly type.

[BabyBoomers2]

When we first moved here to Jacksonville, FL, in Jan '09, we met up with some folks that were on the Jacksonville, FL city-data. Met at a pizza place a couple of times, then the person who organized it, stopped using City-Data and the "get- together" thing stopped. It was nice, but not too many showed up......less that fifteen, from what I remember. A few married couples, like us, but also a few ladies whose husbands were either working or weren't into "partying".

When we lived in Parker, CO, I got involved with a Colorado fishing forum online that was pretty cool. That was in 2005. We had a "get-together" at Chatfield Reservoir on a Saturday and a nice BBQ the next day. We had our Bowrider boat and had camping stuff with us. Rented a slip for the night for the boat. This "get-together" only happened once, but it was a really cool thing for us to actually meet the guys and ladies that were on the forum website.

There are different reasons, including shyness to work hours to "I just don't like get-togethers/meeting new people". Some folks have a hard time meeting new folks due to the way crime is today. "Just who can I trust" goes thru some folks minds.

Since those couple of Jacksonville, FL City-Data "get-togethers" in 2009, we haven't been able to meet any couple that we'd truly like to get-together with. We are now in our mid 60's and have specific things that we would like or tolerate in another couple or couples.

One of the things we liked about living in Parker........they had their own parade/fair (Parker Days) and 4th of July Fireworks Display.......and still do today. It was really cool and the people were friendly.........well, most of the time.

One thing I've found out, "big cities" don't operate like small towns do.........get-together "barn dances", Ice Cream Socials, small town parade/fair. These things were happening when I grew up in a farming area in northeastern Indiana and they still happen in small/smaller towns in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and some other states.

[rtloucks]

Very fair points. And you are right, big cities do not operate like small towns. That's why we have to try harder to communicate with our neighbors and try to be more social and not be afraid to leave our homes. I complete agree with your points. We have found that most people are so skeptical of others now days. We can simply try to be neighborly and others will question our actions. I grew up in Rochester MN (about 80K people at the time plus the surrounding cities) I thought it was a fair size city but obviously not a "metro" But everyone still knew everyone and people helped others and hung out in the streets and socialized, etc. We started moving around 10 years ago to bigger cities like Dallas, and DC and also Charlotte NC and noticed that no one leaves their homes except to run their kids to sports and then right back indoors. What a sorry excuse for a lifestyle. We are not that way. We sit out on our front step/porch in the evenings and we welcome anyone who walks by into our conversations. We aren't big partiers, but we do love to socialize. We like the idea of joining softball or bowling leagues. we enjoy flea markets, concerts, sporting events, fishing, hiking, boating etc. Anything that involves a day out and other people really. We aren't big on spending overnights away since we have kids and pets, but our sons are old enough that they can be home and trusted.

It really is too bad that people feel the need to stay sheltered, but it is those same people that will wonder why they don't meet anyone or have any friends and then will likely move away again. How do I know, because that was us. We always complained because no one came running with open arms to welcome us. Well after a few years of moving around, we had to grow a pair and start making the first contact with everyone - so here we go again!

[BabyBoomers2]

We have a get-together ever so often in our apt. complex clubhouse, but the turnout is always pretty low. Just seems like most of the people in this complex just aren't interested in meeting other residents........and that's the way it's been since we moved here. Two years ago, management held a Halloween Party and the only people that showed up in costume was wife and myself. We did win the 1st Place prize!

We know a lady, in her mid 40's, that lives in our building and the only time she comes out of her apartment, that we've seen, is to walk her dog and go to work. Her garage door doesn't work, so we can see when her car is in it or gone. She has told me, "the main thing I get along with best in this world is my dog".

A family (mother, daughter, son and mother's mother) lives next to us. If we didn't talk to them, when they moved in, they'd probably would have never talked to us. They never attend any clubhouse functions.

As for me, I know some of the people that live here because they have dogs and I love dogs. I know the dogs name, and when I say the name, the dog comes running up to me with their owner behind them holding on to the leash.

We have tried meeting people at our local church, but our lifestyle is just too different.
So, we just think to ourselves, "this is the way society is today and there's nothing, or very little that can be done about it."