okay, so what's winter really like? >> Denver area (stats, areas)

[amanda200]

" Let me tell you about the wind", said the character played by Ralph Feinnes in the movie "The English Patient". I just remembered this line when I saw "read about the rain shadow here" in the thread okay, so what's winter really like? >> Denver are. The reason I was triggered to remember that was that the first time I read about the rain shadow on wikipedia, I clicked on adiabatically cooled (in the description section) and reached the page about "Adiabatic heating and cooling" along with if I clicked on " adiabatic compression" I get even better explanation but I'll post what seems to be the simplest version of what all that means:

A transformation of a thermodynamic system can be considered adiabatic when it is quick enough that no significant heat is transferred between the system and the outside. At the opposite extreme, a transformation of a thermodynamic system can be considered isothermal if it is slow enough so that the system's temperature remains constant by heat exchange with the outside.

Why this obessession? I have to admit that given the Chemistry major background, I think in terms of "temperature" and "pressure" when I think about how the type pf rhinitis I have affects my body not to be able to adjust to the change in temperature in my surrounding/environment (consider myself as a system, though not a thermodynamic system) as in other people (as I move into an environment with significant difference in temperature).
(thermodynamic system is explained at Thermodynamic system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

This post may seem totally meaningless and purposeless but I just wanted to paraphrase "Let me tell you about the wind" Am I goofy enough yet? Well I woke up and couldn't sleep I am very intrigued by the science behind the rain shadow though.

[amanda200]

[quote=kapetrich;20124804][quote=amanda200;20122122]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Not as consistently hot, more rain/T-storms, cooler nights.

You may do better in the PNW climate. Have you given this area any thought?

Yup, I thought about Seattle recently (Seattle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) before I learned that Denver is a dry climate. (I wasn't aware of the existence of DTC until then + Seattle is expensive).

I thought about Portland a while back but I didn't think I would find any work there. I just read Portland, Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and still feel the same. And "Diversity and racism" didn't make me feel better since I am a naturalized US citizen.

""In the eyes of a skinhead, Portland, Oregon, looks like the city of the future."[133] Portland's skinheads remained in the news throughout 2010, when the anti-racist group Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice argued that neo-nazi skinheads shot an anti-racist skinhead.[134]

[dmiller91]

Originally Posted by Willy702

Denver has a bad "brown cloud" so I would judge the air that clean. In the winter it can get rather nasty. I don't know how it compares with Sac's stagnant pollution though. A dry, pollution less place without h

What is this saying? I would"n't" judge the air that clean? I didn't know this.

Which place is without the h"eat"? Denver?

Just how dry is Denver... like no humidity at all? Darn it, I have curly hair and a sensitivity for dry skin!

[gmm_24]

Ok I will tell you about the wind..... I hate it! It can blow all day and all night, sometimes two days straight......dust all over, neighbor's patio furniture here, mine over there.
The wind gives me a headache and if it is bad enough and I stay outside too long I have sandy dust in my scalp along with really knotted hair

In the burbs it took my patio table and threw it into a pine tree and broke it. Could and would blow over the heavy gas grill.

Here it took our trampoline for a nice ride 1/4 to half a mile away, over two sets of fences, totally broken. The new one has heavy sand bags on the bottom.
Took my brand new shed with wooden support things screwed to the bottom and started sending it across the field. My daughter and I stopped it about 300 feet down but it kept pushing us with it, till my neighbor and son came. It looked like a crumpled $10 shed once the wind got done with it.
It has blown off the roof of my buck's house, torn off shingles to the barn. Makes wild fires spread worse, causes a few inches of snow to turn into 5 foot drifts in places, breaks off tree limbs and etc etc etc.

Did I mention I hate the wind??


We have gangs as well, is Seattle is all that much worse then here? I have no clue. Denver jail is overcrowded with them. No place it immune to drugs, gangs or violence.

How dry is dry? Well when people here go on about how humid it is when it is sitting at 25% humidity I laugh. To me that is still dry as heck. But it does make it seem like the sun is really burning you being a mile closer, lack of clouds and humdity, at times it feels microwavy- yes it is a word I just made up lol. Sunscreen and lotion are your friends.
My daughter is a native and has less dry skin issues then the rest of us born out East who still use lotion.

[dmiller91]

LOL I like anecdotal information so much more than dry stats like you find on a google search

[kapetrich]

[quote=amanda200;20125771][quote=kapetrich;20124804]

Originally Posted by amanda200

Yup, I thought about Seattle recently (Seattle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) before I learned that Denver is a dry climate. (I wasn't aware of the existence of DTC until then + Seattle is expensive).

I thought about Portland a while back but I didn't think I would find any work there. I just read Portland, Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and still feel the same. And "Diversity and racism" didn't make me feel better since I am a naturalized US citizen.

""In the eyes of a skinhead, Portland, Oregon, looks like the city of the future."[133] Portland's skinheads remained in the news throughout 2010, when the anti-racist group Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice argued that neo-nazi skinheads shot an anti-racist skinhead.[134]

Everywhere you go you'll find ignorant people - will Portland be less ignorant than Denver...who knows, but I wouldn't base your decision on this idea. I doubt Denver and Portland are very different when it comes to ignorance and racism.

Wikipedia Page: Portland is an overwhelmingly white city, indeed, but to say that because a skinhead would enjoy this less diversity found in such a city makes it a heaven with many skinheads/racists per capita is just disingenuous. There is no correlation there. Does Portland have skinheads and racists, yes. Does Denver, yes.

You are right about jobs in the PNW, though. It's a tough road for many.

Good luck with your search!

[Count David]

[quote=amanda200;20125771][quote=kapetrich;20124804]

Originally Posted by amanda200

Yup, I thought about Seattle recently (Seattle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) before I learned that Denver is a dry climate. (I wasn't aware of the existence of DTC until then + Seattle is expensive).

I thought about Portland a while back but I didn't think I would find any work there. I just read Portland, Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and still feel the same. And "Diversity and racism" didn't make me feel better since I am a naturalized US citizen.

""In the eyes of a skinhead, Portland, Oregon, looks like the city of the future."[133] Portland's skinheads remained in the news throughout 2010, when the anti-racist group Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice argued that neo-nazi skinheads shot an anti-racist skinhead.[134]

I think you quoted something I said with something somebody else said, but IMO Seattle and Portland have far fewer racial/ethnic problems than Denver (I'm a semi-Seattle area native, am half-Latino, and have sisters that grew up in Portland -- I was just in both cities in June).

Climate wise, if I could fuse Seattle and Denver's climates I'd be in heaven. In Seattle or Portland, you have to like overcast, cool temperatures (almost never cold), and drizzle. Otherwise, you'll hate it. It is very consistent though.

Both cities have very high COL and unemployment problems currently. Seattle's traffic sucks.

Originally Posted by dmiller91

What is this saying? I would"n't" judge the air that clean? I didn't know this.

Which place is without the h"eat"? Denver?

Just how dry is Denver... like no humidity at all? Darn it, I have curly hair and a sensitivity for dry skin!

Denver can get (and has been this summer) hot in the summer, don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Humidity wise, dewpoints are usually around the upper 50's during summer, and that's about as humid as it gets (sometimes we get lower 60's dewpoints). Nonetheless, I have to coat my hands in lotion all year long.

[dmiller91]

Let me ask another question, with respect to the altitude... kind of weather related? Once you get used to the altitude, it doesn't bother you? I think of the altitude headaches I get when I'm there, if I forget to stay hydrated...

[dnvrsoul]

Originally Posted by dmiller91

Let me ask another question, with respect to the altitude... kind of weather related? Once you get used to the altitude, it doesn't bother you? I think of the altitude headaches I get when I'm there, if I forget to stay hydrated...

I've never gotten an altitude headache-you just need to stay more hydrated, plus once you live in CO. your body gets used to it. If you tend to have dry skin-you use thicker lotion and if you have curly hair you use products for dry climates...

[1mikey1]

Originally Posted by dmiller91

Thanks that is very helpful. I am in Wisconsin, so I'm used to long grey cold and windy days. The stretch that is winter seems interminable.

For my job I can live anywhere near a major airport, and with my daughter through school, we are now thinking about moving somewhere with a milder winter. That isn't our only consideration of course, but for me it's huge. I'm 50 and I figure I have what 25 years left? I don't want to spend them freezing from November until June.

Denver area appeals to my daughter and husband, they love outdoor activities, as do I (in the summer ), and as a community, there seem to be areas like where we are = Madison, WI.

BUT for me.... it's the snow and the cold I want to be sure about. I noticed the dryness too when I've been there before. My fingers/skin don't like the cold and I noticed it immediately.

Thanks for the help.

Yes, Denver has Winters about six months long, and that is being conservative. The air is very dry, and I have very dry skin in the Winter. I have been here for 45 years, and I am a little older than you, and I don't want to put up with this climate for much longer. That is my two cents worth.