Should we move to Denver/Boulder (Dust Mite Allergies?) (Evergreen: fit in, transplants)

[Robadi9may]

We currently live in a suburb near the Minneapolis. I have a decent job in tech industry, not that great but not that bad - wonderful work culture but very volatile restructuring. I have a dust mite allergy and from the research I can conclude that the humidity here and the lack of elevation makes this a heaven for dust mites. We are pondering whether it is worth moving to Denver as it is dry as well as at a high elevation. The tech industry is bigger in Denver but have no idea about the work culture. So move to Denver would mean a benefit in less exposure to dust mites and bigger tech industry but loosing out on the housing affordability and public school districts and great family suburbs like Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Edina, Prior Lake etc. The crime scene looks similar and the friendliness is also pretty much the same. Did anyone benefit with their move to Denver by lesser exposure to dust mites and any pointers for us to arrive at a practical decision ?

[NorthDenverGirl]

We lived in St Louis in 7 years before moving to Denver about 6 years ago. My allergies were rotten in St Louis and have been much better since moving here.

My husband works in the tech industry and has not had trouble getting jobs. Work culture is generally relaxed but I imagine this depends on where you work. People love to get outside here and taking time to do that is a part of many peoples lifestyle. My husband's company gives employees 4 Fridays off over the summer to "get outside". I would say it would totally depend on the company you work for.

The cost of living is higher here but our family has thrived since moving here in 2012.

[Quietude]

I developed the usual allergies that almost every (formerly non-allergic) adult gets from living in the California Central Valley, then had an allergy-free year in CT before the heavy pollen and such got me. Denver looked like a good place to escape all that, but I guess I have a dust allergy as well (since all other indicators are low or zero and I still sniffle). It is dry and dusty here (but not nearly as bad as Northern California for dust). I use hypoallergenic pillow and mattress covers, so mites are mostly a non-issue, but I pretty much have to use Nasacort daily to keep the snibbles down. Small price to pay for all the other advantages here, IMO.

Besides, allergies are pretty much going to kick in anywhere, at least some of the time. I wouldn't use it as a reason to choose or not choose a place to live, unless the allergens are really through the roof and/or it's a life-threatening allergy.

[Robadi9may]

Thank you @northdenvergirl for insights regarding the work culture and sharing your allergy experience.
Did you have dust mites allergy too or pollen/ tree related ? St Louis is a humid place , I guess. So do you think the dryness benefited you ?

@quietude I agree that allergy cannot be a sole reason for moving. But me and my wife are transplants in Minnesota and don't own a house. So have not invested in a social circle or real estate. We do not yet call it a home and are very open to moving specially for a better job and weather. When I was staying in Arizona, I never had any issues. I am fine with pollen. I have never had any trouble outdoors. The allergy symptoms currently are not life threatening but certainly result in loss of productivity almost daily. I don't have dust allergy but primarily dust mites allergy. Help me here if I am wrong , but I thought dust mites cannot survive above 2500 feet elevation and dry places. The dryness explains why I didn't have allergies in Arizona though it was dusty there but in Minnesota humidity is very high and clubbed with lack of elevation it has been a night mare. Also have to spend lot more indoors as the winters last almost half the year - from November to April.

[Quietude]

We are quite light on mosquitoes and ticks, so I imagine dust mites might have trouble as well. They are so persistent and micro-ecology, though, that the altitude and dryness may not affect them.

Pretty controllable problem if you keep at it with hypoallergenic pillow and mattress covers, launder the sheets regularly, etc.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Dust mites like humidity levels of 70-80% and cannot live in humidity levels below 50%. Considering that humidity levels in Colorado can sometimes be single digits, that is good news for the OP.

I found nothing about them being susceptible to elevation levels.

[OrsonHill]

I'm not sure if you know the Denver Foothills area but Evergreen is a higher elevation meaning our bug population (you mentioned you had some sensitivities) is very low. Our winter are pretty mild as well for as high as we are (about 7300' in most areas). You can jump on I70 and shoot down to Denver in 30-45 minutes depending on where you are going.
Another town to try is Conifer, Colorado. The homes are a little less expensive and if you are in the 285 corridor you can get on 285 and get "down the hill" very quickly as well.

[NorthDenverGirl]

Originally Posted by Robadi9may

Thank you @northdenvergirl for insights regarding the work culture and sharing your allergy experience.
Did you have dust mites allergy too or pollen/ tree related ? St Louis is a humid place , I guess. So do you think the dryness benefited you ?

I don't think I had dust mites allergy mine was mostly pollen related. The dryness has benefits and negatives. I think it has helped with my allergies and my hair but it does make your skin and nasal passaged dry. We have humidifiers going in the house most of the time and I try to drink more water to help.

[A1eutian]

Denver can be a tricky place for allergies for a few reasons. Being so close to the dense pine and juniper covering the foothills, there is a massive amount of tree pollen released in the spring. At times it looks like fine snow coming down as clumps of sticky pollen fall at night against street lights.

A fine yellow powder sticks like volcanic ash to windshields of cars parked near the foothills. The lack of frequent rainfall (other than freak rain events like Sept'13) to wash the streets clean means the pollen blows around for weeks.

After going through a late summer/fall without my usual rhinitis I thought my allergy problems were over. But, juniper is notorious for being a universal irritant - even if you weren't allergic to anything before, after a couple seasons exposure to a lot of people are bothered by it.

As bad as it is, I've had severe allergic reactions to ragweed, and juniper pollen is less by significant amount, but the season is longer, all spring and most of the summer.

[Robadi9may]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experience. We have come to the conclusion that Denver is not a magic place where allergies are going to be taken care of and there might be other unseen challenges. Currently we have decided to stay in Minneapolis till we have a job here. But we will be open to relocation if a better job comes our way so we can move out of Minnesota.