Survival (Denver, Greeley, Woodland Park: selling a home, living, moving to)

[Terri722]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

OP had me convinced Livermore was where she was headed, having started multiple threads about it last year.

What happened?

AND IF my daughters' friends will stop having so many babies and trying to convince her that we need to be here so they can all go to school together...her best friend is expecting so she *just* informed me that she is wondering about the move...oh well...maybe it's land and a travel trailer for the ol' folks...haha

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by Terri722

we made our journey to Livermore in August of '09 to check it all out...absolutely loved it...... it's Livermore all the way when I get everything ironed out...

Livermore?
<snicker, snicker>

[Shuffler]

Originally Posted by Terri722

AND IF my daughters' friends will stop having so many babies and trying to convince her that we need to be here so they can all go to school together...her best friend is expecting so she *just* informed me that she is wondering about the move...oh well...maybe it's land and a travel trailer for the ol' folks...haha

Be sure you check every land use restriction/code....some tracts of land have restrictions against travel trailers and/or RVs on land, even if it's privately owned by you.

[Terri722]

Originally Posted by treedonkey

Livermore?
<snicker, snicker>

Haha...yes, Livermore...I know there is nothing there but land...that's what we loved... :P

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by j96g

Terri, at least you have family going with you. My wife and I are doing it alone, but family is already excited to visit this summer and winter to a place they would otherwise have not gone to. They way I see it, it always takes at least one person to branch out. I have cousins in Houston only because my Uncle and Aunt moved there about 15 years ago. My mother is there now only because she met my stepfather there because she was visiting my Uncle and Aunt. If i go farther back I've got heritage going back to Mexico/Italy.

We did not have any family here when we moved here in 1980. The closest family was in Omaha (DH's fam.) 16 years later, my brother's ex-wife, her new husband, and one of her kids moved here. A few years later, her other kid moved here. Both of these "kids" got married, one moved away and got divorced, but left an ex and daughter here. So now we have one crazy, blended family. You never know what will happen.

[Terri722]

Originally Posted by Shuffler

Be sure you check every land use restriction/code....some tracts of land have restrictions against travel trailers and/or RVs on land, even if it's privately owned by you.

Okay thanks...I will...

[Terri722]

Originally Posted by Katiana

We did not have any family here when we moved here in 1980. The closest family was in Omaha (DH's fam.) 16 years later, my brother's ex-wife, her new husband, and one of her kids moved here. A few years later, her other kid moved here. Both of these "kids" got married, one moved away and got divorced, but left an ex and daughter here. So now we have one crazy, blended family. You never know what will happen.

Sounds like that will be us....Me and my husband and then the rest will follow... haha...if we are living the mountain life...they won't be able to stand being in Texas...haha

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

The last decade or so of "easy times," relatively speaking, allowed a lot of people who would have othewise "washed out" to make it in Colorado, but those easy days are ending, in my opinion.

That is the truth of the place, not some swarmy Chamber of Commerce crap.

Hmmm . . . interesting, because my frame of reference is someone who has recently seen severe economic problems in Arizona, Nevada, and southern California . . .

1. Colorado has very low unemployment, and unemployment is going down in some areas including Boulder. Most areas of the state have remained stable in terms of unemployment since the Stock Market Crash of 9-15-08.
2. Colorado is not a right to work state.
3. Colorado has a relatively low cost of living compared to other western states.
4. There are relatively few foreclosures and virtually no housing bubble to speak of in Colorado, including Denver.
5. Colorado sales taxes are relatively low compared to other Western states.
6. Colorado Chambers of Commerces in Colorado in my experience are very customer service oriented. In my experience, this is very true in Boulder, Durango, and Alamosa.

Bottom line: it looks like the best place to relocate to right now, however, these postings are telling a different story. Hmmm....

Originally Posted by formercalifornian

Unlike the Bay Area, it's possible here to live in a reasonably-priced house in an excellent school district within a short drive (or even walk) of many potential technology employers. A person can work a full day and still be home in time to eat dinner with family and take a child to Scouts. For some of us, it's even possible to live on one income! Imagine that.

I loved California, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done to leave, but, all in all, Colorado has a lot more to offer a young to middle-aged, educated family than other major employment centers, and that was what I was trying to get across in my post. It's possible to build a well-rounded life here.

Quality of life is better, unless one does not like snow or wind. And not only that, but the Coastal and Desert towns of AZ/NV/CA/OR/WA are all in severe economic decline, where unemployment has been escalating every month since the Stock Market Crash on 9-15-08, and no end in sight. Colorado unemployment has remained relatively stable in most areas since the crash, and is even going down in some areas such as Boulder.

Phoenix, Tucson, Vegas, Santa Cruz, Palm Springs, and Reno-Tahoe are full of gangs, drugs, and unemployment, and escalating homeless populations. People are living out of their cars parked in the woods or on the beach. I've seen all these towns in the last 6 months and it's very sad. If I had children, I'd raise them in Colorado.

[flyfishfool]

I will be retiring (not having to work) in Spring of 2011 making an income not an issue.... I am considering a MH within an hour from my odest son and grandsons in Denver (Loveland/Bethoud). I will also purchase a small RV. I do have about 8yrs living in Denver and make 2 fishing trips a year. If I find the winters intollerable, I will winterize the MH and head southwest....until it gets warm enough..... My plan is take advantage of all the attributes of Colorado I enjoy and minimize those that I don't. This will make it hard to become part of a community but if I set up shop in 55+ MH park there may be many who go south between Nov and April. It is a wonderful place and has already been said, adjustments are a part of it.

[CosmicWizard]

I'm one of those people with a the-grass-is-always-greener-somewhere-else complex, so I have moved around and lived in many different places during my 60 years on the planet. Sometimes, I wish I was a so-called normal person who was content to put down roots and become an upstanding member of my community, but those feelings pass rather quickly. Most of the time I'm totally at peace with being a wanderer. I've been in Colorado for 3 and half years now and I will probably be here for quite a few more.

Almost from day one in Colorado, my mind has been wondering...where to next, not becasue I perceive anything wrong with Colorado, but rather because I think that way habitually. My mind is programmed that way. I can remember being somewhere around age 8 and thinking, I'm not going to live in Pennsylvania. I'm moving out west, when I had no concept ( OK maybe I was influenced by watching Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry movies! ), of where the west even was, or what the west was like. The longest I lived in the same place was 16 years in Virginia Beach. I wonder how I did it, becasue I never really enjoyed living there. I've experienced more genuine satisfaction during my 3.5 year in Grand Junction than I did during the 16 years in Virginia Beach. But there's still a longing in my heart to live in a place that I like even better. If this depression ever ends and the real estate market ever comes back to life, I may take advantage of it and move to a place that I perceive as having greener pastures. Currently, I have no idea where that might be.