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Old 06-29-2009, 09:00 AM
 
6 posts, read 18,507 times
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We are thinking about moving to Highlands Ranch from Santa Cruz, CA. We have 2 young kids and the quality of life seems like it would be so much better in Colorado. Is there anyone that has moved from the Santa Cruz area and has no regrets? I am sick of the fog, and would love to move somewhere that is sunny all the time! Everyone tells me I'd regret it, i've lived here all my life. It just seems so much more family oriented in Colorado. The cost of living is so expensive in California, I don't think it's worth it anymore. Any suggestions?
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Old 06-29-2009, 10:44 AM
 
Location: CO
103 posts, read 296,437 times
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Though, I live in the Boulder Area now, I lived a total of 10 years in southern CA (San Diego/OC).
We moved here (from the south) for alot of the same reasons you have: cost of living, family, etc. I wanted to move back to San Diego but realized it was WAY too expensive, more crowded, and you couldn't get a decent house for under $600k.
Not sure about the Denver Area, but I would assume it's similar to Boulder (Boulder itself is fairly expensive but if you go 10 minutes outside you can find nice houses for around $400k).
Yes, it's more expensive than the south/mid-west, but it's lower than CA.
The weather here isn't as bad as I thought (though we were told it never rains here - now we've had the 2nd wettest June EVER!) and when it snows it's gone in a day.
It's just a sunny as CA, and if you like seasons (like my wife) you get those as well.

I'd think you'd like it in CO. The main thing you'd have to get used to is the cold in the winter. My friends from CA seem to be wusses when it comes to temps under 60 degrees.
I grew up in MD so I've been exposed to the worst of both summer/winter (hot humid and freezing snow)
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Old 06-29-2009, 10:54 AM
 
Location: Nebraska
4,531 posts, read 8,815,467 times
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My Father lived in Santa Cruz the last ten years of his life. I tried to get out to see him at least once or twice a year. If it was in the Summer I would ride the motorcycle from Nebraska to Santa Cruz. One of the most miserable rides I ever had was on a foggy morning in July travelling down the Coastal Hwy from San Fran to Santa Cruz. I damn near froze to death and it was 50 degrees out. I had ridden in Nebraska when it was ten below zero and didn't feel as cold as I did on that trip.

GL2
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Old 06-29-2009, 02:38 PM
 
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I lived in Santa Cruz for two years, when I went to college there. I went to high school in Los Gatos (bonfires at Bonny Doon) and after college I lived in Sunnyvale and Mountain View. I have college friends in SC and visit a fair amount. My wife and I moved to Denver about 10 years ago.

You're a Santa Cruz native and you want to move from Santa Cruz to Highlands Ranch...wow...feeling the need to break out of your comfort zone, eh?



So you're right in that Highlands Ranch is more family friendly than SC. Every house in HR seems to have at least on kid and life in HR is all about the kids - there are parks, trails, rec centers, sports leagues, etc. And the public schools are much better than SC. People are *really* into their families and children.

The landscape is totally different and would be a shock for you. There's essentially no water. There are some nearby reservoirs that are pretty dirty and small, and a few small creeks, but nothing like the ocean or the rivers in SC. The growing season is short and harsh compared to SC here. You have access to some of the best produce in the world there, with a long growing season. Except for mid to late summer here, everything is shipped in. There are no native trees in HR, it's high plains desert - which means grass and a few cactus. There are forests in the mountains, but it's still arid, so nothing like the cool and damp redwood forests in SC. There is a lot more sunshine here, but sun here is intense and the air is dry - very different from the lazy sun and heavy wet air in SC. Winters would be an adjustment if you've never lived in snow country before, but isn't that bad (plus the kids love it).

There is a lot of open land and housing developers who want to sell their product, so the developments stretch on for miles and miles...nothing like the Bay Area, much less Santa Cruz (maybe Danville or Almaden Valley in San Jose). Also, most, if not all, homes in HR and covenant controlled, which means there's an HOA that enforces bylaws regarding your home. You have pre-selected paint colors, plant choices, % of green lawn, etc. that you have to abide by. The upside is that everyone's house looks nice and you don't have to worry about crazy neighbors leaving a junker in their driveway or painting their house hot pink.

The culture is totally different and would be a shock for you. The folks in HR are stereotypical American with mega churches, strip malls, big box retail, and completely auto dependent. You won't see too many dreadlocks or smell that much patchouli. SC is heavily influenced by UCSC, a lot of open minded academics and progressive/left leaning. HR is GOP country - Family, God, and guns.

Here's the congressman from that district:

Contact Mike Coffman for Congress 2008 (http://www.coffmanforcongress.com/contact.htm - broken link)

Before Coffman was Tom Tancredo:

Tom Tancredo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I do know people who moved from the Bay Area to HR and *love it*. They love the schools, the wide open spaces, the views of the Rocky Mountains, the sun, etc. Plus the cost of living is less: housing is less, taxes are less (CO is generally tax adverse - the state has a flat tax, sales tax is lower than SC, etc). They love that they can get a relatively large home with a yard without having to put down several hundred thousand dollars.

They miss the ocean, the open mindedness, the food, the scenery, and the general 'only in Santa Cruz' kind of weirdness.

Boulder is a bit more like SC than HR - university town, very scenic, growth controlled, kind of an old hippy vibe. They both used to be kind of independent enclaves but have become high end bedroom communities in their metro areas.

So most Santa Cruzians I know who left have gone to Portland because it's not that big of a change and is cheaper. Both near lots of water, have verdant landscapes, pretty left wing, lots of fog, etc. Like I said, I know a lot of Northern California folks in the Denver area, but really, most have moved to Denver proper. Washington Park, Park Hill, Highlands (not Highlands Ranch), Stapleton, etc. are filled with folks from Norcal. Denver is more centrist than HR and has nice city amenities.

My advice to you is to take a vacation out here. Gather up the family and stay a while in HR. People are extremely friendly and happy to talk with strangers, that'll be new for you too, so ask the residents and see what you think. Something like 1/3 or 1/4 of the people in the area are transplants, so everyone is eager to talk to new folks. So stay at a hotel in HR and get out with your kids - go swimming at the rec centers, hang out at the local parks, go to places like Monkey Bizness, hang out at Park Meadows...and strike up a conversation with people.

I would also suggest that you look at some other parts of the Denver area as well. Check out the close in areas of Denver that I mentioned as well as the areas between Boulder and Denver (Louisville, Thornton, Westminster). The areas between Boulder and Denver are kind of like HR, but you have easy access to the 'weird' hippy town and the 'big city'.

Here are some HR events:

About Highlands Ranch, Colorado - News & Events

BTW, I live in Denver, near the University of Denver, and love it out here. It's extremely family friendly and mellow, and has enough stuff to keep it interesting (plus you don't have to pay $800K for a fixer upper with crap schools on a six lane expressway). I met a dad at a local park over the weekend who was from the Bay Area and we comiserated about how easy it is to live here - cost of living is lower, it's mellow and not a hyper competitive area, there's lots of city and outdoor stuff to do, the schools are good, the weather's not too horrible, etc...
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Old 06-29-2009, 03:40 PM
 
Location: here
24,873 posts, read 36,015,649 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aroseon711 View Post
We are thinking about moving to Highlands Ranch from Santa Cruz, CA. We have 2 young kids and the quality of life seems like it would be so much better in Colorado. Is there anyone that has moved from the Santa Cruz area and has no regrets? I am sick of the fog, and would love to move somewhere that is sunny all the time! Everyone tells me I'd regret it, i've lived here all my life. It just seems so much more family oriented in Colorado. The cost of living is so expensive in California, I don't think it's worth it anymore. Any suggestions?
I moved to HR from Fresno. I'm with you on the coastal fog. I really don't care for it. HR is VERY family friendly - several pools and tons of parks to chose from, lots of other families with kids of every age. HR may seem very conservative to you, if you are used to Santa Cruz. I'm a dem, and it doesn't bother me much. We've been here for 2 years now. At first I loved everything about the weather here. There is lots of sun. We even had some 70 degree days in January! Now, I find some of the weather a little annoying, but it still beats the heck out of Fresno! What bugs me about the weather - it takes forever for spring to arrive. I don't mind the snow in the winter, but the heaviest snows are in the spring. By that time I'm over it and ready for some warm weather. I kind of like the afternoon thunderstorms in the summer, but it makes BBQing a little difficult. It never fails - as soon as we're ready to BBQ, it rains, so we have to eat inside. Overall, I love it here. I don't miss the heat of Fresno or the foggy winters at all!
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Old 06-29-2009, 09:55 PM
 
6 posts, read 18,507 times
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Thank you for your responses and good information.....we have a lot to think about!
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Old 06-29-2009, 10:29 PM
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,812 posts, read 34,265,174 times
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I worked at UC SC - go Banana Slugs in 1986 - come for a visit $89 fly it, you'll like it.
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