Should I move to Colorado or Florida (Denver, Parker: real estate, homes)

[80skeys]

For me it's a no-brainer: Colorado.

Maybe you can start a poll and get a general consensus?

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

For me it's a no-brainer: Colorado.

Maybe you can start a poll and get a general consensus?

Poll has been added. Polls can be started by anyone at the start of a new thread.
Moderators can add a poll to a thread at any time....hold the applause please.....

[Mach50]

I would never live in Florida again. I found it completely boring, sweaty, buggy, and full of classless weirdos.

That may sound strong, but I don't care, the place sucks!

[702216]

If friendliness is important to you, Colorado would be the wiser option.

[BabyBoomers2]

Both Denver and Florida have their pros and cons. For a young age bracket, Florida could be excellent, but Denver isn't bad. If you like heat and HUMIDITY, Florida is for you. If you don't mind snow and cold-to-freezing temps, then Denver could be your choice.

Plenty of people dislike Florida as well as there are those that dislike Denver.

[pikabike]

If you loved the weather in SC, FL would more closely match it, plus you get the beaches.

CO’s beaches, even the very best of them, are a joke compared with FL’s beaches. People who say otherwise are deluded or have not been to saltwater beaches.

The absolute best beaches in CO have to get beach sand trucked in from other states. And the beaches are tiny, often with even tinier swimming areas. I have heard the disbelief and dismay expressed by people visiting from other states, upon seeing the pathetic swim beaches crammed with people.

CO has great outdoor opps, but self-propelled watersports is NOT one of those big draws, unless you like the (short) whitewater kayaking season.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

Thanks! I did some Googling and it didn't look like the Tri-Lakes were used for swimming and water activities, mostly just fishing. Lake Pueblo does look nice, and I also saw Boulder Reservoir had water activities. It's further away but my brother and his wife are in the Denver area so we'll probably be up that way frequently. They also said Chatfield Lake is good for that kind of stuff.

I went to Chatfield literally hundreds of times all seasons. It is not a good swimming place due to an extremely crowded and small swim beach. You are allowed to swim ONLY at the designated swim beaches. Fishing has better opps.

Many reservoirs do not allow any body contact sports at all. Their primary purpose is for municipal drinking water.

Chatfield, Cherry Creek, and other res in summer are filled with powerboats and idiot jetskiiers circling over and over in tight rings, sometimes done to intimidate nonmotorized boaters and swimmers. These idiots KILLED a kid who was being towed in a floatie; they literally were jumping over the tow rope despite the tow boat’s spotter yelling and signalling for them to go away. Look it up—summer of 2002, Chatfield. The perpetrators lied and tried to bribe a ranger to avoid getting nailed, but witnesses testified as to what happened.

With Denver getting so inundated by in-migration, this kind of crowding cannot possibly have improved. Don’t forget frequent drought seasons and the mudpuddles that used to be reservoirs.

[Mike from back east]

The OP never replied to this thread and hasn't been on this site in over 3 years, but we can keep the thread going and add to it as we often get "FL to CO" questions popping up.

[BabyBoomers2]

Originally Posted by pikabike

I went to Chatfield literally hundreds of times all seasons. It is not a good swimming place due to an extremely crowded and small swim beach. You are allowed to swim ONLY at the designated swim beaches. Fishing has better opps.

Many reservoirs do not allow any body contact sports at all. Their primary purpose is for municipal drinking water.

Chatfield, Cherry Creek, and other res in summer are filled with powerboats and idiot jetskiiers circling over and over in tight rings, sometimes done to intimidate nonmotorized boaters and swimmers. These idiots KILLED a kid who was being towed in a floatie; they literally were jumping over the tow rope despite the tow boat’s spotter yelling and signalling for them to go away. Look it up—summer of 2002, Chatfield. The perpetrators lied and tried to bribe a ranger to avoid getting nailed, but witnesses testified as to what happened.

With Denver getting so inundated by in-migration, this kind of crowding cannot possibly have improved. Don’t forget frequent drought seasons and the mudpuddles that used to be reservoirs.

When we lived in Parker, we had a 16' I/O power boat and went to boat Chatfield and CC. That was from 2005 thru Oct 2007. Many weekends, both days, we either fish in the No Wake Area or beach the boat and relax on the sand on Chatfield. We'd just cruise around CC, never fishing or beaching the boat. We never had a problem getting to the ramp, because we were at either early in the AM...…….as in 8 to 9AM. When we were getting off at noon is when all of the jet ski's and/or wave runners would get on. Only time it was decently crowded on Chatfield, for us, when the balloon festival was there.

For us, smaller bodies of water, like Chatfield, CC, Horsetooth and Boyd is best. In the No Wake Area of Chatfield, definitely caught our share of Rainbow Trout in one morning.

We were just at Boyd Lake this past July and there was plenty of water in it, as well as in Carter Lake.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by pikabike

If you loved the weather in SC, FL would more closely match it, plus you get the beaches.

CO’s beaches, even the very best of them, are a joke compared with FL’s beaches. People who say otherwise are deluded or have not been to saltwater beaches.

The absolute best beaches in CO have to get beach sand trucked in from other states. And the beaches are tiny, often with even tinier swimming areas. I have heard the disbelief and dismay expressed by people visiting from other states, upon seeing the pathetic swim beaches crammed with people.

CO has great outdoor opps, but self-propelled watersports is NOT one of those big draws, unless you like the (short) whitewater kayaking season.

I couldn't believe anyone would dare compare CO beaches with FL. That would be like comparing mountains, severely lopsided. However, I will disagree that all CO lakes have to bring in sand to have a swim beach. There are any number of reservoirs along the I76 corridor that have plenty of natural sand around them. Same with John Martin in the south-east part of the state and Highline over west of Grand Junction

Of course, any swim beach within 30 minutes of I-25 WILL be crowded. That's were all the people are.