Moved from CA 5 months ago to Parker, CO. (Denver, Aurora: relocate, smog)

[CAMom]

I thought I would give some feedback for those interested in moving to CO, specifically Parker. We relocated from CA for obvious reasons to the Parker, CO area. We are a family of three, 2 adults and 1 three year old boy. We moved here to a brand new home (perfecty priced compared to back in CA), and have been living here for 5 months. We moved without jobs, oh wait, I stay at home so my job moved with me. My husband was a General Contractor back in CA and moved here without a job. He landed a city job with in 1 month of being here and we couldn't be happier. As of now we are enjoying the scenery and openness of all Parker has to offer. The town feel but commericalness of Parker is accomodating for us. We do however have a huge complaint about the excessive wind we've been getting the last 2 1/2 months. We hear that it's not normal but then from others we hear it's normal. We'll need to be here for several years to made our own assessment. We have come to grips with the fact that yes, CA has the best weather around but living better and less stressful will over power the weather any day. If you get cold in CA's 65 degrees you won't be happy here. Please keep that in mind. PS: I see why people have finised basements, consider that when you buy a home. The average cost through a contractor is around $50,000 (granite, and all) for 1600 sp feet.

Good Luck.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by CAMom

We do however have a huge complaint about the excessive wind we've been getting the last 2 1/2 months.

You sound like my wife. She gets burned out with four kids under nine in the house much of the time in winter. I love the weather, but I'm an adult, and I don't need to de-energize like kids do.

The wind was horrible today. We live about 30 minutes south of you near 83 & 105. I think it is colder here. We had snow flurries during the soccer games.

At least there were some good basketball games on today (and the Celtics lost).

[2bindenver]

I am north of both of you - we had flurries and intense sun.

Wind is normal. You get a lot of wind while a front is moving in and out.

Just wait for the June hailstorms

[Neditate]

Originally Posted by Charles

The wind was horrible today. We live about 30 minutes south of you near 83 & 105. I think it is colder here. We had snow flurries during the soccer games.
.

Oh, great. We live in the mountains and have been able to tolerate the wind for the past 10 years but this year was exceptionally bad. We've been considering the Parker area for a move in the next few years. We realize that anywhere along the front range is going to be windy but I was hoping...

[tfox]

Originally Posted by Neditate

Oh, great. We live in the mountains and have been able to tolerate the wind for the past 10 years but this year was exceptionally bad. We've been considering the Parker area for a move in the next few years. We realize that anywhere along the front range is going to be windy but I was hoping...

Parker would definitely be the wrong place to live if you're trying to avoid wind. The reason why there are those evergreen trees southeast of Denver is that the area is high on a ridge overlooking the Denver basin. Parts of far southeast Aurora are on the same ridge. That ridge experiences very high winds due to topography, and significantly more snow, and colder temperatures due to its high elevation.

Nowhere in the Denver area is immune to wind, but the lower elevation areas in the central part of the metro area certainly receive far less significant wind than either the areas near the foothills (Golden, Boulder), or the areas far to the east on the ridges (Parker, Franktown, etc).

[enigmakairos]

Originally Posted by CAMom

We moved here to a brand new home (perfecty priced compared to back in CA),

Which development did you buy a home in?

[Neditate]

Thanks for the information, tfox!

[CAMom]

We bought east of Parker Road and North of Hilltop.

[formercalifornian]

I agree with 2B: the wind is common. Some times of the year are windier than others, like right now. On the bright side, the breeze keeps the area smog-free and weather blows through fast.

[NickMan7]

I have lived in the Denver area for 26 years and this year has been exceptionally windy. Wind is common, but it's just been "one of those years"; not dissimilar to last winter season when we saw two major blizzards within 10 days of each other. It's not something to expect each year, but it does happen.

As another posted noted, wait until June when we start getting hailstorms. Many of these will strike the entire Denver area, while others will nail one area while another area bakes at 95º.

In my years, I've noticed the southern and [especially] southeastern Denver areas receive storms more frequently. I live north of Denver and we tend to miss much of the action.