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Old 05-13-2017, 01:34 PM
 
Location: Castle Rock, Co
1,613 posts, read 3,229,728 times
Reputation: 969

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Figured i'd throw together a quick post to tell others about some of my observations after being here from a month. We moved from Tampa, Fl to Denver (lone tree currently, castle rock by the end of the year).

The Culture: By culture, i'm grouping general things that I notice about here, maybe not what others consider culture. People are MUCH more active here than what I am used to. I suspect a lot of this is due to how great the weather is but its really nice. There are tons of "open spaces", trails, parks and walking paths all over the place. People don't generally seem as friendly where I currently live in Lone Tree, we haven't had any issues but I am more used to everyone waiving at their neighbors as they drive by, saying "hi" in passing, etc. and I notice many more people tend to just stare at the ground or look away. I am hopeful this is just where I live now vs. something more common.

Commute: For me, I am driving from Lone Tree to the Tech Center and the commute is not bad. I25 seems to back up a bit during the peak of rush hour but its not too bad in comparison to what I dealt with prior. We will be moving to Castle rock when our house is done and I have made the commute a few times from there for various reasons and its about 30 minutes, does not seem to take much to cause a nice traffic jam on I25 though so that is unfortunate. I really wish they would extend the rail down to castle rock, that would be fantastic for us commuters.

Weather: Its only been a month but it has been amazing. We have experienced everything from rain, sun, snow, hail and everything in between. Quite interesting and exciting to be honest. Im not overly looking forward to having to dodge hail storms with the car but thankfully the office and home both have garage parking

Mountains: We have taken several trips out into the mountains and even did a trip down I70 all the way to Utah. The mountains are great but I would not really recommend Denver if your just looking for the skiing/boarding lifestyle. Its quite a trip to get to any of the ski resorts and traffic can be a bit rough. With that said, it is still something doable and nice to have within ~2 hours of the house for taking long weekends and enjoying the snow. We have gone to several parks and trail areas and all have been great, seem to see snakes every time we go and have seen a good amount of other wild life as well. What is nice is that you dont have to go to the mountains to enjoy a nice little family hike or bike ride offroad. There are plenty of open spaces with terrain that can be enjoyable within very short drives from anywhere in the city.

Public transit: We dont use it much but have leveraged the train a few times to go downtown. The trip is quite long and unless traffic is really bad, its likely faster to drive. The benefit is not having to worry about parking or anything else associated with driving. The trains we have been on are decent in cleanliness, one was so smelly we got off on the next stop and waited for another train, otherwise no complaints. Its nice that they are continuing to expand the rail system, I hope they go even further south (castle rock) for my own benefit

School: My daughter is attending 1st grade down in castle rock and were loving the school, teacher and teaching style. She is pretty bright already but has learned a TON in the last 5 weeks. Its been pretty remarkable quite honestly. As a kid that deals with anxiety issues and was struggling a bit with the new school process, it has been amazing.

Legal Weed: As someone who has done it 1-2 times in my life, its clearly not important to me. With that said, I did have my concerns with raising my kids in one of the first areas to have it legal, I was worried it may be something that is constantly in their face and the crowds brought to the area due to it being legal would be a negative thing for the kids. I can say that I really don't see any difference here vs. in FL. The only real difference is that occasionally you will smell it but down where I am, its rare. Usually we encounter it the most when we go downtown or when we have stopped in some of the small towns out in the mountains. I cant speak to the difference of how denver was before/after, but I can tell that comparing to where I came from, its not really any different. Now I just happen to see stores with the green + on the sign (indicating its a dispensary) and thats about the extent of it.

Overall the family and I are very happy here. The weather is probably the number one thing for me, I really enjoy being able to go outside and not be drenched in sweat within 10 minutes due to humidity. My son and wife have bad allergies and both have been nearly 100% allergy free since moving here. We are really enjoying the bike rides along the nice wide sidewalks and many parks within riding distance of the house. The commute to/from work every day is not bad at all and only occasionally has issues that make it longer.

I would highly recommend taking a trip out to see if it is for you but if your anything like me, you will likely enjoy it. I'd say that if your not the type to go outside, it may not have quite as much to offer but at least you can potentially have some nice views from your window
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Old 05-13-2017, 01:54 PM
 
57 posts, read 100,160 times
Reputation: 23
Thank you so much for this!! We will be relocating soon, hopefully north of Lone Tree in the Centennial area. Coming from Las Vegas, before that Tucson and before that southwest Missouri. So like you, I am most looking forward to the weather and being outdoors more (especially in the summer). Thanks!
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Old 05-13-2017, 01:59 PM
 
Location: OH>IL>CO>CT
7,490 posts, read 13,540,408 times
Reputation: 11853
Yes, hail damage can be a real pain to avoid. I have, over the years squeezed 3 cars into a 2 car garage, shared a car wash bay with another driver, and hidden under bridges to avoid hail. But have replaced 2 roofs over 35 years.

Having known several people that came to Denver from either the Miami or Houston areas, the first thing they commented on was lack of humidity. The couple from Houston said "we thought everybody lived like that !"

Of course neither was happy about having to now pay a state income tax. ;-)
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Old 05-13-2017, 02:39 PM
 
Location: Denver
9,963 posts, read 18,463,432 times
Reputation: 6181
Excellent write up!

I just spent the last 2 weeks in Orlando for a work conference and I think I was the only one outside running in the morning. Even with the weather being sunny on the beach, people are just laying around doing nothing.

I think the heat there is oppressive and makes people lazy.

Anyways, welcome to CO!
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Old 05-13-2017, 03:09 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,692 posts, read 29,691,842 times
Reputation: 33265
I hope you bought your Subaru.
You don't want to experience the State Police coming to your door.
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Old 05-13-2017, 04:04 PM
Status: "Open for work" (set 9 days ago)
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,822 posts, read 34,355,412 times
Reputation: 8950
Castle Rock is not a part of the rtd, so no bus service or light rail in the future.
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Old 05-13-2017, 04:25 PM
 
Location: Castle Rock, Co
1,613 posts, read 3,229,728 times
Reputation: 969
Quote:
Originally Posted by davebarnes View Post
I hope you bought your Subaru.
You don't want to experience the State Police coming to your door.
Keep hearing that comment, is there a story behind it or something?

There are plenty of subarus but the only one I'd be interested in is an STI and my wife may not be too happy if I came home with one
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Old 05-13-2017, 05:08 PM
 
Location: Way up high
22,237 posts, read 29,269,623 times
Reputation: 31308
Welcome from a born and raised Miamian living here for 4 years now. Weather here is great and I'd definitely take the snow over the humidity any day. You'll love the change of seasons here. So beautiful.


As far as the Subaru comment, EVERYONE here drives one and if you don't you're an "outsider". I'm perfectly fine in my Lexus but I would buy an STI on the side...


Don't forget to stock up on North Face clothing for winter.......
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Old 05-13-2017, 05:13 PM
 
Location: Denver CO
24,204 posts, read 19,122,698 times
Reputation: 38266
Thanks for your write up and glad your adjustment is going so well. Just curious how your daughter is in school in Castle Rock when you are living in Lone Tree? But however you did that, seems like you found a great fit for her, and hopefully, that will be the school she can continue in after you move.

I am hosting a family event this weekend, and have visitors in from all over the country, and was so happy that Denver put on it's best face today - people are just amazed at the beautiful weather and big blue sky, although the coastal people (from both coasts) are still asking where there is a nice green and leafy park to go hang out in.

As for the Suburu, they are very popular here, so that's a joke that they are mandatory. Not quite, and even an SUV isn't mandatory, but sometimes, it seems like they are!
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Old 05-13-2017, 05:29 PM
 
Location: Castle Rock, Co
1,613 posts, read 3,229,728 times
Reputation: 969
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74 View Post
Thanks for your write up and glad your adjustment is going so well. Just curious how your daughter is in school in Castle Rock when you are living in Lone Tree? But however you did that, seems like you found a great fit for her, and hopefully, that will be the school she can continue in after you move.

I am hosting a family event this weekend, and have visitors in from all over the country, and was so happy that Denver put on it's best face today - people are just amazed at the beautiful weather and big blue sky, although the coastal people (from both coasts) are still asking where there is a nice green and leafy park to go hang out in.

As for the Suburu, they are very popular here, so that's a joke that they are mandatory. Not quite, and even an SUV isn't mandatory, but sometimes, it seems like they are!
We are building a house down in castle rock, the school allowed us to use the contract for our new home to get her into the school - we did it so she did not have to switch schools with ~2 months left in the school year then switch and start another new school next year. Wife has to drive 15 mins or so to drop her off every morning but its well worth it to keep some sort of stability.

I have noticed the large amount of north face clothing too. I wont lie though, we went to the outlet and there were some nice jackets that were pretty decently insulated and not 10 inches thick. We moved here with nothing but thin sweaters, were going to have to figure something out by next winter

As for cars, we have 2 FWD cars (optima and Pilot) and both have done fine in the snow we have gotten. We'll have snow tires for next winter but with us coming at the end of the snowy season, I couldn't justify the expense yet
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