Recommendations for place to live in CO? Seeking moderate temps and sun...?

[ragerunner1]

Here is a quick look at summer weather (July - Hottest average month of the year).

Denver - July average high: 88 degrees
Louisville, KY - July average high: 87 degrees
Nashville, TN - July average high: 89 degrees
Richmond, VA - July average high: 88 degrees
Madison, WI - July average high: 84 degrees

More northern cities:

St. Louis - July average high: 91 degrees
Washington DC - July average high: 88 degrees
Cincinnati, OH - July average high: 87 degrees

So on average if you live in Madison, WI you would be 4 degrees cooler. But, by the time you factor in humidity it's probably no different. So Denver is warmer in the winter and about the same for most of these areas in the summer, with the bonus of very little humidity. Plus, you can escape to the mountains in the summer and cool down in about an hour's drive.

I have lived in the Midwest and the southeast coast and I personally think the Denver area weather beats them all. The low humidity makes a big difference, both in the winter and summer, the 300 days of sunshine are a huge perk and compared to most of these areas, the violent natural disaster level in much lower. Minimal earthquake risk, lower tornado outbreak, fewer ice storms, and no hurricanes.

It may not be the best weather place on earth, but its not so bad compared to most.

[CosmicWizard]

While the weather in Colorado, is undoubtedly more erratic and extreme than any place I've lived in the eastern US or Canada, it is also more comfortable and more pleasant over the course of the year than any place in the east.

[ragerunner1]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

That does not tell the full story, though. While the non-Colorado locales may have lower average high temperatures during the day in January, they also do not have the wide diurnal temperature variation that most Colorado locales do. Where I live in Colorado, it not impossible at all to have a high of 40° and then drop below zero at night. Probably the greatest variation I saw in one location in Colorado occured on a September day when the high was 95° and the low was 28° that night--only 67 degrees difference! Most of the non-Colorado locales listed also have "real" spring, something that really does not happen in Colorado. Here, we just lurch between winter and summer from March until mid-June. How many of those places outside of Colorado can get snow in June? That can happen most anywhere in Colorado--and in late August or September, too.

Also, variations from day-to-day can be breathtaking--70° one day, below zero the next. It happens. And, variations from locale to locale. As I have posted before, one time I flew from Denver to Gunnison--200 miles apart by road. When I left Denver, it was almost 70°; when I arrived in Gunnison an hour later, it -25°--yes, that's 25 below zero.

Then, of course, there are those things like the hail that occurs on the Front Range. How many non-Coloradans have seen baseball-size hail? That happens more frequently on the Front Range and Eastern Plains of Colorado and in southeastern Wyoming than in any other locale in the US.

Sure, I totally agree weather can go up and down here. Just posting what you average experience will be.

As far as volatile weather goes, I have lived in several parts of the Midwest and I can tell you the locals would say the same thing and more. One day the weather is this, then 2 hours later the cold front came through and its now this, the ice and snow, on top of the tornado outbreaks and the last sunny day was a week ago.

Then I lived in the southeast, the heat and humidity was oppressive at times. Add in the ice storms that occurred every winter in the mid-south, widespread severe storms and tornado outbreaks 9 months a years and then the risk of a Category 3-5 hurricane coming up the coast.

I have liked all the place I have lived, and can list why I have like them. Each area is unique and different with its own positives and negatives. I just personally feel that the Denver area weather situation is not so bad compared to some of the other places I have lived (and I think the data supports this). I will take a hail storm over a Category 4 hurricane or a big tornado outbreak any day. Throw in all the sunshine, low humidity and an average temp that is better or no worse than most and it’s not too bad.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

There is no place anywhere in the US that meets all of your above criteria. Eliminate either the "decent cost of living" or the ("not too hot") and I'd suggest:

Las Cruces, NM
Tucson, AZ
San Diego, CA
Claremont, CA
Santa Barbara, CA
San Luis Obispo, CA
Santa Cruz, CA
Davis, CA
Chico, CA

What the OP is looking for is next to impossible, even deep in the "sun belt." Nowhere in Arizona or New Mexico is guaranteed to never hit 30. (In the Phoenix area, dropping down into the 20s is fairly rare, but it happens. Tucson's lows are a few degrees cooler than Phoenix so it happens more often. In Las Cruces, it will reliably hit the 20s every year).

Even California does have occasional frosts and freezes. Not so often in the far south, such as San Diego, but it has happened before.

What the OP wants is essentially a tropical climate, and the only place that exists in the US is the very southern tip of Florida and of course Hawaii. San Diego probably would do despite being non-tropical. Other than that I think the OP is not being realistic.

[LFMartinez]

As a Denver native, who lived in Colorado for 35 of my 36 years in Colorado (I am now living in Orlando, Florida ), I can tell you I have experienced Christmases in Denver where it was 55-60 degrees and cloudless during the day, and then I have experienced blizzards like back in 82 and again in 2003, 2006 where there were six foot drifts in my Grandmother's backyard, just off of 6th avenue and Galapago Street. Once, in early May, my children and I went to see Toy Story 2 a the Pavilions mall on 16th street and we were wearing shorts and summer attire, because it was 80 degrees, but by the time I got out of the movie people were running from the mall to their cars because we were being pelted by frozen rain and the thermometer was headed toward 30 degrees. The climate is unpredicatable and governed by the mountains just west of us. And temperatures can dip to 10 to 15 below zero in January and February. But there is little humidity to speak of so at least it is somewhat more tolerable than a wet and cold climate living next to the great lakes. And snow doesn't stick around much either. Usually, in Denver, it will snow one day and be fairly melted and gone by the next two or three days.

Fort Collins is a lovely college town and was voted one of the best small cities in America to live on at least one occasion in the last few years. I lived there when I attended CSU. The university is excellent and the old part of town is very charming.

I lived 15 mins from Boulder in Northwest Broomfield and really enjoyed trail running in Chatauqua State Park and on the Mt. Sanitas trail. Boulder has a lot of good ethnic food eateries, but the town is a bit upscale and pricey to live. CU is one of the best state universities in the Union and has an excellent reputation in the sciences. As far as friendly atmosphere goes, I think both Fort Collins and Boulder are about the same. They are politically different from each other (Boulder being more liberal, Fort Collins being more conservative), and Denver is a mix-up, with most of its urban core being liberal, but certainly it's outlying burbs leaning in both directions depending on a number of factors.

If you want to live in Denver, try living in the city and avoid the suburban sprawl. The city has a lot of historic victorian homes in Capital Hill and there are lots of lofts and new condominiums going up in the lower downtown district named LoDo. There is a pretty lively night scene and it can be a lot of fun walking around downtown at night trying some of the new trendy bars.

Good luck! I miss Colorado, and I will be going back in the next few years. I have lived in a few citiies from Seattle, Wash. to Orlando, Fl. and Colorado still ranks number one in my book. That is why I keep up with the going's on in a forum like this, it helps with the homesickness.

[LFMartinez]

Oh yeah, the weather here in Orlando (in the Central Florida I-4 Corridor) the last few days has been low 20s at night and mid-50s during the day. We actually had a freeze warning the other day. I was wondering when I would be able to wear some of the winter garb I brought with me from Colorado, but already the days are getting warmer again and it is supposed to be 70s for the rest of the week. I do miss the winter and the snow. So, yeah, you would have to go pretty far south in Florida to get truly tropical weather. Probably the Keys, and then you have to deal with all of the hurricanes since they are just hanging out there in the Caribbean Sea.