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We moved here from the East Coast back in July. I've mostly lived in Long Island, NY, suburb of Philly, Charleston, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Chapel Hill, NC. I just can't put my finger on it out here. I mean I kind of feel like Colorado *** for me *** seems a little overrated as such a desired locale. We live in Broomfield for now and are renting, but are thinking about either Boulder or Denver next year. We are making good money out here. I like the mountains, but everything seems very crowded in summer and fall to go hiking. Everyone flocks to it. Skiing is expensive and crowded too. It's tiring to head into the mountains after a long work week anyway and battle the crowds. I miss green lush rolling hills and big gorgeous trees. I miss a nice green yard filled with beautiful trees and plenty of space between the neighbors. I miss pretty neighborhoods with charming historic houses set back on their own wooded lush lot with windy charming streets. I kind of think it is too stark and open here for me with these massive treeless wide open spaces where you can see for miles. The houses are crammed together with no privacy. Also, I can't put my finger on this, but somehow it feels like resources are scarce out here and everyone is scrambling for them. It's like this vibe of this being this super cool place everyone flocks to, and so it's always this scramble. It seems like housing is generally overpriced. Sometimes, it seems like there is a hazy dirty film over everything here too because it doesn't rain much. The sun is unrelenting too, and it feels super exposed to blaring intense sun. I miss the shade of huge trees and windy shaded little roads.
I certainly don't mean to offend anyone who is endeared to Colorado. I think it has a lot to do with what you are used to maybe? This is a super negative post :-( I guess I'm just hoping to hear from anyone else who can relate to CO not feeling like the right fit for them. It's not that it's a bad place at all, but it's very different from the East and my paradigm of environment. I feel like it's just not the right fit for me in the long term. Anyone else get some of what I'm saying? Lived in Colorado but preferred other places over it? Anyone from other parts of the country who have a tough time getting used to the rougher terrain and climate?
You hit the nail on the HEAD! This is exactly how I felt when I was in Denver a few years ago. It was brown, dry, crowded, isolated, expensive and filled with too many "cool" people.
Wow I would like to thank everyone who gave me some good advice and helpful insight. The bottom line is that my husband landed a great job out here, and for now, I'm going to make the best of what CO has to offer. Thank you for all the tips on off the beaten track places! The rec centers out here are amazing, and there are some nice jogging trails all around town. I do have to say that Coloradans are for the most part very friendly, and there is a happy vibe here! Broomfield is kind of a bedroom type suburb with no real town center...mostly strip malls, a big outdoor mall, and a handful of restaurants in those strip malls. I think we are going to move to a town with a bit more sense of community this summer like Boulder or Louisville as long as the hubby can deal with the slightly longer commute.
My hubby back in the early '90's lived in Nederland, drove a Toyota truck with Yakima roof racks, sported tons of Patagonia, lived in Breckenridge in the winter, and ran a paddle shop in Boulder...you get the picture! Mr. Cool guy! He had all of these memories of constant skiing, climbing, paddling etc which IS all right in our backyard and of course is an amazing draw for many people out here. All of that is what a lot of people think seek they move out here which IS incredible.
These days though we are parents and our weekends revolve around sports practices, school projects, grocery shopping, cooking for the week ahead, laundry, and shuttling two teens all over the place! So I see those big amazing mountains in the distance and am like...hmmmm....THOSE look great but this flat brown area down here with my house right on top of the neighbor is kind of like desert Blandville. We're too tired on most weekends to run up into the mountains for any kind of physical or mental challenges these days beyond work and trying to raise sane normal kids. We do like hiking though...one foot in front of the other with no thought 👍 Just need to find places to do it with ample parking.
Wow I would like to thank everyone who gave me some good advice and helpful insight. . . We do like hiking though...one foot in front of the other with no thought �� Just need to find places to do it with ample parking.
Where in Broomfield are you? There's plenty of open space and trails to explore, right out your door - not the mountains, but the plains.
Chloe333, I can relate to your post almost word for word. I was born and raised in Colorado and moved to the northeast as a very young adult. What you dislike about CO is precisely what I don't miss; and what you miss about the east is exactly what I love! I don't think most would take offense at what you've written - there really is something for everybody in this country. (At least I'd like to think so). You never would have known it wasn't for you if you didn't give it a go, so that's a plus in my book. I will say, when I do come to CO (frequently), I find myself appreciating more &*more the unique beauty that is CO. But for me, that uniqueness is found on the Western slope and in the southwestern portion of the state - and I wouldn't have made the income to enjoy the area. And every time I get back to my home out east, I realize it's where I belong.
Before you head back or move anywhere else (if you move at all)...promise yourself to explore the lesser traveled portions of the state. Sometimes you have to stand back to see how good you've got it - or had it - before you can really decide if "IT" is right for you.
I'm the other way. I grew up on the coast of New England. I moved out west first to northern WY where I lived for several years. I immediately loved the wide open wild spaces, the huge skies and the dry climate. I moved to Grand Junction, CO over a dozen years ago and I like it here. I like the high desert, canyon country landscape with the sage and pinyon/juniper forests. I love the Colorado Plateau and southern Utah. I don't care too much about the mountains. Here in CO they are too crowded and it rains too much.
I could not live east of here now, not even Denver.
I like to visit friends and family in New England but it's too crowded and humid and there are too many trees. I can't see the sky.
We moved here from the East Coast back in July. I've mostly lived in Long Island, NY, suburb of Philly, Charleston, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Chapel Hill, NC. I just can't put my finger on it out here. I mean I kind of feel like Colorado *** for me *** seems a little overrated as such a desired locale. We live in Broomfield for now and are renting, but are thinking about either Boulder or Denver next year. We are making good money out here. I like the mountains, but everything seems very crowded in summer and fall to go hiking. Everyone flocks to it. Skiing is expensive and crowded too. It's tiring to head into the mountains after a long work week anyway and battle the crowds. I miss green lush rolling hills and big gorgeous trees. I miss a nice green yard filled with beautiful trees and plenty of space between the neighbors. I miss pretty neighborhoods with charming historic houses set back on their own wooded lush lot with windy charming streets. I kind of think it is too stark and open here for me with these massive treeless wide open spaces where you can see for miles. The houses are crammed together with no privacy. Also, I can't put my finger on this, but somehow it feels like resources are scarce out here and everyone is scrambling for them. It's like this vibe of this being this super cool place everyone flocks to, and so it's always this scramble. It seems like housing is generally overpriced. Sometimes, it seems like there is a hazy dirty film over everything here too because it doesn't rain much. The sun is unrelenting too, and it feels super exposed to blaring intense sun. I miss the shade of huge trees and windy shaded little roads.
I certainly don't mean to offend anyone who is endeared to Colorado. I think it has a lot to do with what you are used to maybe? This is a super negative post :-( I guess I'm just hoping to hear from anyone else who can relate to CO not feeling like the right fit for them. It's not that it's a bad place at all, but it's very different from the East and my paradigm of environment. I feel like it's just not the right fit for me in the long term. Anyone else get some of what I'm saying? Lived in Colorado but preferred other places over it? Anyone from other parts of the country who have a tough time getting used to the rougher terrain and climate?
I've been here 15 months and it's overrated to me. I miss seeing big pretty trees and green grass. I like the low humidity and the mountains are nice, I suppose, but the it's all to bland, barren and dry for my taste. Heading back to TX or OK in the very near future. Both have better economies, affordable housing and cost-of-living.
I've been here 15 months and it's overrated to me. I miss seeing big pretty trees and green grass. I like the low humidity and the mountains are nice, I suppose, but the it's all to bland, barren and dry for my taste. Heading back to TX or OK in the very near future. Both have better economies, affordable housing and cost-of-living.
You're calling Colorado bland and you want to move to Texas or Oklahoma? Have fun with that.
Last edited by bluescreen73; 03-08-2015 at 02:17 PM..
You're calling Colorado bland and you want to move to Texas or Oklahoma? Have fun with that.
Well, I haved lived in all three so I am not speaking from ignorance but from experience. It's all about personal preference. I like Colorado to visit but not to live.
Well, I haved lived in all three so I am not speaking from ignorance but from experience. It's all about personal preference. I like Colorado to visit but not to live.
I haven't lived in Oklahoma, but I have lived in Texas. The cost of living is lower, but quite frankly you get what you pay for. I spent 12 years in Dallas and I wouldn't go back if you doubled my current salary. Too hot, too humid, and way too flat.
Last edited by bluescreen73; 03-08-2015 at 02:39 PM..
I'm the other way. I grew up on the coast of New England. I moved out west first to northern WY where I lived for several years. I immediately loved the wide open wild spaces, the huge skies and the dry climate. I moved to Grand Junction, CO over a dozen years ago and I like it here. I like the high desert, canyon country landscape with the sage and pinyon/juniper forests. I love the Colorado Plateau and southern Utah. I don't care too much about the mountains. Here in CO they are too crowded and it rains too much.
I could not live east of here now, not even Denver.
I like to visit friends and family in New England but it's too crowded and humid and there are too many trees. I can't see the sky.
I remember when I first moved to NY, I was working at JFK & living in the Hudson Valley. Can't tell you how many people would say, "Why on Earth would you leave Colorado to come HERE??"... I guess sometimes it's just the difference of what you didn't grow up with. I do hear your complaint a lot tho about not seeing the sky...I'm in the hills a lot for work now & have plenty of opportunity to see beautiful valley views with plenty of sky. But that humidity!!! I've been here a long time now - even further upstate into the Adirondack region, the humidity is something I have finally just started to tolerate. I love the eastern seaboard so much, especially the LI Sound of CT all the way down to the coast of NC, that I don't think I could live in a landlocked state again; so I put up with the humidity. It's a tradeoff I guess. However, where you are is really (imo) the best part of CO and I probably never would have left if I had found work there first. At least it makes for a nice vacation!
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