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Old 12-02-2015, 10:40 PM
 
779 posts, read 468,199 times
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My GF and I are considering a move out of MN (she's been in CA and IN, I have never lived out of MN). We are looking for warmer weather areas/states such as CA, NC and Austin TX. Denver is the one "cold" state that we'd both consider.

I can look at climate tables til I am blue in the face, but could someone who has lived in both places comment on the similarities/differences of the two cities and also, just opinions of Deverites on their winters.
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Old 12-02-2015, 11:01 PM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
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Spent the first 10 years of my life in West Central WI and have lived in Colorado for 20 of the last 32 years. Winter here is infinitely more tolerable than the Upper Midwest. For one the snow doesn't stick for months at a time like it does back there because the average daily high in December, January, and February is almost 20 degrees warmer than the Twin Cities. Winter here is also sunnier and less dreary.

Snow season lasts longer than winter. Snow typically flies from roughly mid-October 'til late April, but in between the snowstorms it's not uncommon to have days in the 50s & 60s with an occasional 70 degree day sprinkled in here and there. We've seen snow in late May and mid September before, but that's the exception and not the norm.

I've lived in Texas. Austin's beautiful, but there's nothing remotely "warm" about a Texas summer. It's ungodly hot there from roughly mid June through mid September. Daytime highs in the mid 90s-low 100s are common and they will beat you down completely. Sure, winters are mild there, but it's not worth the hassle of dealing with living in a kiln for the summer.
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Old 12-02-2015, 11:14 PM
 
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Southern Colorado - Maybe Trinidad has warmer winters. Denver is better than the northern midwest but still no fun in winter.

Austin is hot and muggy during the summer but Rockport Texas on the coast gets a cooling breeze-- still hot but nice nice winters.
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Old 12-03-2015, 02:34 AM
 
214 posts, read 258,831 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rhuff80 View Post
My GF and I are considering a move out of MN (she's been in CA and IN, I have never lived out of MN). We are looking for warmer weather areas/states such as CA, NC and Austin TX. Denver is the one "cold" state that we'd both consider.

I can look at climate tables til I am blue in the face, but could someone who has lived in both places comment on the similarities/differences of the two cities and also, just opinions of Deverites on their winters.
Winter in Denver is like March in Wisconsin. I hope that makes sense.
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Old 12-03-2015, 07:56 AM
 
Location: Littleton, CO
3,158 posts, read 6,101,625 times
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Let me put it this way,

Ice fishing in Mlps = given.

Ice fishing in Denver = prohibited in Denver parks because of thin ice, iffy most of the winter below about 7,000 feet in state parks.


Downtown Minneapolis = skywalk

Downtown Denver = What's a skywalk?
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Old 12-03-2015, 08:13 AM
 
Location: Sweet Home Chicago!
6,709 posts, read 6,424,995 times
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No comparison, but I'm using Chicago as a reference.

In Denver you get the occasional blizzard and below zero cold snap, but it typically will be short lived and back in the 50's a week later. Also lots of sun and low humidity in Denver making it feel warmer than it is. I remember days that were only in the 30's that felt more like 50 to me.

By comparison, Chicago (and I imagine Minneapolis) get cold and gloomy and stay that way until late spring.

Bottom line, Denver Winters are a piece of cake compared to Midwest Winters.
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Old 12-03-2015, 08:44 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
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^^Using Champaign, IL as a reference (130 mi. south of Chicago)

Champaign's winter, though short by northern midwestern standards is cold and usually plenty snowy. I cracked up last week when the weather forecasters were talking of "bitter cold" temps, e.g. lows in the upper teens. That is about par for the course in Champaign. Once we moved here, I didn't need the wool slacks I had acquired in my 7 years in Champaign, they made me too warm except on the coldest of cold days here. We couldn't use the flannel sheets we had for our bed either, too warm. Back there, we'd take 'em off the bed to wash and put 'em right back on, all winter long. Rare need here for super-heavy outerwear (in the Denver metro, not the mountains). No need to put most of your lighter-weight clothes away for winter; there's a chance you'll want to wear them some winter day. In Champaign, I wouldn't dream of going out, even socially, in sandals in the winter, always wore boots and changed once I got to my destination. Here I do it frequently. No ice skating on the lakes here in the metro; back there a local skating pond had a sign "Ice must be two feet thick to skate", and it got that way every winter. Ever fall on your rear on 2+ feet of ice? My tailbone hurt for years, literally. (Long after we came out here.)

Champaign is sunnier than Chicago, but a sunny day in winter was usually a cold day.

"Bottom line, Denver Winters are a piece of cake compared to Midwest Winters."-Agreed!
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Old 12-03-2015, 10:15 AM
 
1,822 posts, read 1,990,053 times
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Be careful not to focus strictly on weather for relocation. Even if you find the "perfect" spot weather-wise, if you don't look deeply at jobs and cost of living and can't make it work budget-wise, the particular location could become meaningless.
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Old 12-03-2015, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,398,027 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunderpig2 View Post
Be careful not to focus strictly on weather for relocation. Even if you find the "perfect" spot weather-wise, if you don't look deeply at jobs and cost of living and can't make it work budget-wise, the particular location could become meaningless.
Rentals in Minneapolis are comparable to the Denver metro. Taxes there are WAY higher. The job market is better here, with few exceptions.
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Old 12-03-2015, 10:53 AM
 
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The job market is worse in Denver than where I came from, and the cost of living is higher, so that's why I mentioned it. Only the OP can truly gauge where he and his GF fit with the Denver scene. The point was, weather can quickly become a low priority when faced with money shortages in a location that doesn't work.
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