The Official Colorado Front Range Weather Thread (Denver, Evergreen: living in, moving to)

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

I am the older guy (58) you read about that fell on snow/ice last December (Holiday Blizzard) and completely tore three tendons and had to have shoulder surgery. After hip replacement surgery in the Fall of 2005 and then the shoulder injury/surgery in Dec. 2006, enough was enough for us! Neitherof us want to end up totally disabled from falling here in the winter. We just don't heal as quickly as we did years ago. We love the summer weather here......as long as we get enough rain and the lawns don't burn up from heat/lack of water. Watering systems aren't cheap to keep running.

I'm sorry to hear that happen but hopefully you guys will be happier once you move. I can remember one time walking out onto the deck and starting to walk down the steps and slipped and landed on my back on the ground (5 steps down). Luckily I didn't get hurt, there was probably 6 inches of snow so that helped pad my landing but ice and snow definitly can be more dangerous than many might think.

One thing I am curious about though, since you are from Indiana where there isn't too much really nice natural scenery, once you live in Denver for awhile does the significance and "awe" of the mountains wear off after awhile? If I were to fly to Denver right now I'd be amazed at the rockies and how amazing they are to look at but if you live there for a long time do they wear off or are you still "amazed" everytime you see that mountain view?

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by BSL63087

once you live in Denver for awhile does the significance and "awe" of the mountains wear off after awhile? If I were to fly to Denver right now I'd be amazed at the rockies and how amazing they are to look at but if you live there for a long time do they wear off or are you still "amazed" everytime you see that mountain view?

My wife and I are natives and we still love to see our mountains. My wife's chief complaint about our current home is that we don't have much in terms of a mountain view.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

Cost is only one reason why people are escaping San Diego in droves. There is high crime, more traffic, really crummy schools, and I could go on.

I guess it is all in your personal definition of "the best weather". I lived in SD for 16 years, and unless you are wealthy enough to live near the coast where temperatures are moderated by the ocean, you are in for some sweltering summers (often 100+, the summer we left it got up to 115 one day) and cold winters (not cold by CO standards, but cold enough that you'd be scraping frost off your car windshield in the morning). SD is essentially in the desert, so that is not a surprise (at least not to me). We once went 6 months without a drop of rain. It is certainly not my definition of "the best weather", but to others it is ideal. To each his own. Just know what you are getting into before you move someplace.

For it's size, San Diego has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation. Little Rock and Denver probably have more homicides than San Diego and SD is 4x the size. Traffic is going to be a problem in any big metropolitan area. Don't know much about the schools.

You must have lived pretty far inland to have 100 degree summers and frosty winters. I live a mile from the beach (and I am not wealthy) and work close to Lemon Grove and I've never experienced that. It's true that it hardly rains here. But I personally hate rain. Though 6 months of straight in your face sunshine does get a little old.

Still....with year round temperatures of 60-70 degrees and abundant sunshine, you really can't get weather any better than San Diego. (Unless you like bad/extreme weather). It's like an eternal Spring here.

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

You must have lived pretty far inland to have 100 degree summers and frosty winters. I live a mile from the beach (and I am not wealthy) and work close to Lemon Grove and I've never experienced that. It's true that it hardly rains here. But I personally hate rain. Though 6 months of straight in your face sunshine does get a little old.

We lived in Santee, which is east county, because the housing closer to the coast was way too expensive for a young family living on a modest salary. I worked in Rancho Bernardo, which did not provide much of a break, compared to Santee. As I said before, some people think SD is heaven. Usually, it is those that can live nearer to the coast. I just happen to be one of many others that do not think so.

Anyways, we digress, this thread is about Denver weather...

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

We lived in Santee, which is east county, because the housing closer to the coast was way too expensive for a young family living on a modest salary. I worked in Rancho Bernardo, which did not provide much of a break, compared to Santee. As I said before, some people think SD is heaven. Usually, it is those that can live nearer to the coast. I just happen to one of many others that do not think so.

Well, duh. If you're living that far east it almost defeats the purpose of living in San Diego! Which is the great weather and the beaches! I definitely probably wouldn't care to live here if I couldn't be near the coast. Heck, the mild weather was the only reason I moved out here. But...like I said...much like if I eat pizza every day of the week I will get tired of pizza....70 degree sunny days every day starting to get a little tiring too....

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

Well, duh. If you're living that far east it almost defeats the purpose of living in San Diego! Which is the great weather and the beaches! I definitely probably wouldn't care to live here if I couldn't be near the coast. Heck, the mild weather was the only reason I moved out here. But...like I said...much like if I eat pizza every day of the week I will get tired of pizza....70 degree sunny days every day starting to get a little tiring too....

I have heard a lot of people saying San Diego's weather gets boring and eventhough it is 75 and sunny almost every day it gets old after awhile. Denver's variety in weather is probably pretty good really. But the thing is, while it does have a pretty good variety in weather, it is still basically cold from October-April. If it were more like warm a few days, cool a few days, cold a few days, back to warm, etc. I'd probably be ok with it but I just don't think that's the way it is there. I've heard people say it can get/feel warm in those months but it's cold much more often than it is warm. I think I'd rather it be warm most of the time and cold sometimes in those months than cold most of the time and warm sometimes.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by BSL63087

I have heard a lot of people saying San Diego's weather gets boring and eventhough it is 75 and sunny almost every day it gets old after awhile. Denver's variety in weather is probably pretty good really. But the thing is, while it does have a pretty good variety in weather, it is still basically cold from October-April. If it were more like warm a few days, cool a few days, cold a few days, back to warm, etc. I'd probably be ok with it but I just don't think that's the way it is there. I've heard people say it can get/feel warm in those months but it's cold much more often than it is warm. I think I'd rather it be warm most of the time and cold sometimes in those months than cold most of the time and warm sometimes.

Actually...I think it MIGHT be that way there, because of the sun and low humidity, but the problem is it is still going to always be very cold at night and in the mornings. And I, for one, hate waking up and not wanting to get out of bed because the covers are keeping me warm.

[BSL63087]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

Actually...I think it MIGHT be that way there, because of the sun and low humidity, but the problem is it is still going to always be very cold at night and in the mornings. And I, for one, hate waking up and not wanting to get out of bed because the covers are keeping me warm.

I'm the same way. I dred getting out of the shower in the winter time because it feels so cold even with the heat going in the house. I don't want to live somewhere that is cold at night and mornings most of the year which apprently Denver is. 40s and 50s for lows in May and June. Too cold for my liking. The highest average low in Denver is 59 in July. I could deal with the high's as it doesn't sound too bad with the sun and all but what happens when in the winter time it is dark at 5:30... Those 40 degree days feeling like it's 60 or whatever they say go away before you even get off work if you work a 9-5 type job.

It seems to me that if you want nice cooler days in the 70s and 80s you pay for it with cool/cold nights and mornings but if you want it to be warm all of the time you pay for it with days in the upper 80s and 90s and sometimes even low 100s. On the surface it would be obvious since you spend most of your time outside during daylight hours but I like giong to games and stuff and I don't particularly want to have to wear a jacket at a Rockies game in June... Or any month for that matter. We went to 4 Rangers games in April and I didn't even take my hoody out of my suitcase the whole time we were there I just took it just in case.

[BabyBoomers2]

We have been to Black Hawk (gambling town) in the Rockies a number of times. We have been to Estes Park and inside Rocky Mountain National Park a few times. And, we have been to Evergreen once. My wife can't drive in high elevation, so I have to. But, since I've had a hip replacement done and had that shoulder surgery done, we just don't go up into the Rockies like we did a couple of years ago. We still go to Black Hawk once in a while because we like playing the slots (and we do an ok job of winning). Neither of us are into hiking or biking anymore.....but then again, we are 58/59 years old and physically just can not do it. So, when we first moved here in 2002, for the next couple of years we did love going into the Rockies, but not anymore.
If you are young, in your 20's, 30's or even 40's, you will love hiking or whatever in those beautiful Rocky Mountains.

[Katarina Witt]

I am so happy with this thread. Look at all the responses in less than 24 hrs! The weather sure is a popular topic here in CO, perhaps more than in Illinois where the weather was generally crummy.

My two favorite weather websites are:

AccuWeather.com Weather: Local Weather Forecasts & International Weather (http://www.accuweather.com/index.asp?partner=accuweather - broken link) and

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