[lisalisa4444]

We have posted so many times on here by fingers hurt! We are simply torn. Part of us wants to move to Colorado and part of us want's to move to South Florida. We are in Sarasota now and our home is on the market and if it should sell we are outa here!
While we enjoy many things Florida has to offer we love Colorado too. We are torn ONLY due to climate changes. We want the best for our one year old son. We have done alot of reasearch on the schools in South Florida that have family friendly areas and have come up with Coral springs and Weston and maybe Cooper Creek. I myself would love something closer inland but may have to consider the schools not being so great there. Does anyone have ANY input on an area that is good there? Good schools, family friendly? Decently riced homes in the range of $400-500K ???
Thanks once again!

[Nirvana-Guy]

Originally Posted by lisalisa4444

We have posted so many times on here by fingers hurt! We are simply torn. Part of us wants to move to Colorado and part of us want's to move to South Florida. We are in Sarasota now and our home is on the market and if it should sell we are outa here!
While we enjoy many things Florida has to offer we love Colorado too. We are torn ONLY due to climate changes. We want the best for our one year old son. We have done alot of reasearch on the schools in South Florida that have family friendly areas and have come up with Coral springs and Weston and maybe Cooper Creek. I myself would love something closer inland but may have to consider the schools not being so great there. Does anyone have ANY input on an area that is good there? Good schools, family friendly? Decently riced homes in the range of $400-500K ???
Thanks once again!

Colorado is freakin' awesome. If I was not already planning to move outside Raleigh, NC, that is where I would go. The weather in CO rocks too... cold in the winter, but sunny, and the sun is a major buffer against the cold. Summer/Fall/Spring is gorgeous, the weather rules, everyone is outside enjoying it. Here in FL, it's hot and muggy 9 months out of the year. Starting Wednesday this week (April 9, 2007) , it will be 90 degrees everyday from here until December. It is awful, it's humid and you will sweat like crazy! No wonder people are indoors a lot in FL.

Sarasota is not that nice. Read some more posts and check out local news stations websites to see how the areas in South and Central Florida area going. A LOT of crime and a ton of problems with the unfethered growth and no infra-structure to back it up.

[bmurphy]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

Here in FL, it's hot and muggy 9 months out of the year. Starting Wednesday this week (April 9, 2007) , it will be 90 degrees everyday from here until December. It is awful, it's humid and you will sweat like crazy! No wonder people are indoors a lot in FL.

If that person is any kind of normal human being with average intelligence, THEY KNOW FLORIDA IS HOT...and humid....and sticky...most of the year. We know.

Um, you seem to think that "people indoors a lot" applies only to Florida. People in general are lazy. A lot of people stay indoors a lot in the winter up north too, or even on the worst days of summer.

[seeriously]

Colorado is brown. Everything is brown.

[Floridabound09]

People in Ohio live inside there 10 homes for 10 months a year, 9 months of winter and the hot, humid take your breathe away August.

Been to Colorado in the winter time and it is not fun, if you going to the higher elevations it will take you a while to get used to the air.
Colorado is beautiful, really beautiful, but the "right place" in Florida has much more for your 1 year old to offere then Colorado.

I will take Hot and humid over 10 degrees any day, I can always get cool, but have one heck of a time staying warm.

Colorado will get 20" of snow many times a year in parts, if you like Florida and I am assuming you do or you wouldnt be looking elshwere in Florida, Colorado wouldnt be a wise choice, at least not in the colder higher elevations.

Goodluck, you can always keep your home in Fla and spent some time in Colorado to test it out!

[jhlcomp]

As you mentioned, Coral Springs and Weston are good areas, family freindly, and given the price reduction of homes, you should be able to find something close to your price range.

I understand that you are so torn. Colorado and Florida are very different from one another. Since you already live in Sarasota you are already aware of the taxes and insurance issue. So what now remains?

Compare the schools between both states, cost of living, and simply do a cross comparison between the two states. What about jobs? Where are the jobs going to be the best for you? Consider salaries, benefits, lifestyles, etc.

What brought you to Sarasota? Do you enjoy living here and what is the impetus to move? Good luck to you and let me know if I can be of further help.

[doggiebus]

Lisa - Sorry so long. We live in Miami and are thinking of relocating ourselves. We actually may decide to get a ski condo soon and try it out in Colorado for a few months before actually doing the major move. We are lucky that I don't work, and the hubby has the leisure to take long time away from the office.

But this is a huge decision that only you and your husband can make. Everyone here can give you their opinions, but they are not your opinions. I might like the color blue and you may not like the color blue. This is a personal decision. I can give you our resons at looking at Colorado. We looked at Raleigh, NC, it was nice but it lacked in diversity, surprisingly we missed the hispanic culture. We looked at South California, they have the best year round weather, and beautiful scenery, but it was just out of our budget. So we started looking at Colorado after I took a ski trip with the girls in 2006. So we went back out in Nov to check out Denver metro area and Boulder and then went up in the mountains to ski. The second day we were in Denver, it was 90 degrees in November (not usual though) but it got into the 70's the next day perfect...They do get on average 65 inches of snow, but it melts fast, it doesn't sit around like the mid-west or north east locals say. They also don't have many tornadoes as they are so close to the mountains (the mountains protect them, they say). They do get hot in the summer but its dry, the day it was 90 we were able to have lunch outside at a little cafe, 90's in South Florida you could never do that. They were in the 60's today, nice...But as the other poster said, it is brown and not many trees (this bothers me for some reason) except the ones they have planted as it is praire land, but the beautiful Mountain views and the white snow, just may make up for it...It seems to be similar to pricing of south florida homes in some aspects...Lots of outdoor activities that we like...

Someone once said she (lived in Orlando) wrote down all the pros and cons of each place. She found out that Denver had a better fit for her family. Maybe try this..Remember this is your decision, your requirements and only you can say what you like or dislike. South Florida may have what one person wants, but may not have what the next person wants.

[lisalisa4444]

Doggiebus~ I think you were reading my mind! You have looked at the EXACT same places we have. This is erie!
I am born and raised in Sarasota and have lived in Cali and Boca. I loved them both. I had no family and friends in Cali so moved back to Sarasota. It is great for alot of reasons but we need a change in scenery and lifestyle. I have found Colorado to be great for many reasons. Many outdoor activites, great schools, diversity, close to a big city, good shopping, restaurants, cost of living slightly less, no natural disasters just to name a few.
Florida is well, Florida. Those of you who live here I need not explain. I guess why I am torn is that I am so used to Florida that I am afraid I will go through culture shock or something. We decided to start looking on the east coast because it would be a more "comfortable" move for us and thought the areas I had mentioned would be a good fit. I think we will travel over to that coast and get a feel for them. I really appreciate all your input! Doggiebus please let me know what you decide! We were looking at Highlands Ranch by the way. It is right outside Denver.

[Nirvana-Guy]

I lived in Colorado years ago, back in 1994. I have visited MANY times in the past few years, as I live to ski and CO snow rules.

Highland’s Ranch is VERY very nice. It is a more expensive area (well compared to Orlando, it’s cheaper, much cheaper). Littleton is another nice area. Centennial is nice too, granted you can afford it. These areas are clean, modern, and MUCH safer than Orlando. If you look, FL has a lot of cities in the "most dangerous in America list). Denver is not even there!

I, myself, like Castle Rock. I was in there in Jan ’07 and boy it has grown a lot!! It is gorgeous there though. Safe as heck, full of families... kids playing on the streets unafraid (In Orlando, I rarely see kids playing on the streets, even in nice neighborhoods).

In CO, the grass is kinda brown sometimes during the year and that sucks. I like green myself. BUT in CO, you have nice wonderful weather, strong sun (which creates a buffer even in 10 degree weather), and blue clear skies. In contrast, you have a ton of trees, mountains and waaaaaaay less pollen and allergens to make you have sinus problems then FL.

Plus in CO, you have a million activities to do. Unlike FL, where you will be home all the time, in CO you will be out a lot (no wonder CO is the fittest state in the USA). Biking, trailing, cayakying, skiing, etc. Even in the winter time, CO has a ton of stuff to do and granted the sun is out, you can even wear shorts in the dry cold. I have done so many times as a kid (I will post pics if you want). Oh and no shoveling snow either (2006 was a freak winter in CO – and all over the USA, for that matter). The snow melts in max 2 days after it falls because of the sunshine! They have 300 days of sunshine in CO compared to 200 in FL.

CO is great and south Denver (LoDo – Lower Downtown, the modern and beautiful downtown side where they have almost one of every one of the Fortune 500 companies) is filled with super high paying jobs. A fresh-out of law school lawyer makes like $40,000 in Orlando and in LoDo they start them between $92,000 - $112,000 a year!! A nurse in that area gets paid almost twice as much than in Orlando. Wage-wise, CO will beat Florida 3 to 1. Cost of housing (other than in mountain communities) is very low. A 2,000sq ft house in Castle Rock goes for $205,000. Nothing if you compare to Orlando (house in the Orlando ghetto starts at $260,000). Property taxes are like 1/2 of FL.

You need to go in CO threads and learn more. I am sorry I am writing about Colorado here, but it’s a nice state. Like I said, I’d go there if I had not had a job lined up in NC.

[lisalisa4444]

Nirvana Guy~ Thanks for your input. The way you put it makes me definetly want to move there. Just re-inforces what I thought about Colorado. Thanks!!!!