Michigan Natives Living in Colorado (Denver, Boulder: safe, moving to, beaches)

[PracticingCatholic]

Hey guys,

My wife and I are Michigananders stranded in Texas. We're in the DFW area and, to put it bluntly, we hate living here. It's unbelievably ugly and anything worth doing is hours (if not days) away. The thing my wife misses most about MI is the lush greenery, the beautiful trees, and the miles and miles of awesome beaches. Myself, I miss winding country roads surrounded by amazing scenery. I live for the road and anytime I get on it here in TX, I just get depressed. In the DFW, we don't have beaches, we have highways. Lots and lots of highways.

We've done lots of research and it doesn't look like she'll be able to get her lush green and trees and beaches back, but they'll be replaced by mountains and rivers. For myself, I'm on Google Maps all the time and it looks like I'll be in windy country road heaven.

At any rate, I'm looking for some input from fellow Michigan natives on what it's like living in Colorado. From my experience, anyone I know from Michigan who moves there quickly falls in love. So, from a Michigander's perspective, is Colorado as good as it seems in my head? Or, is TX just so depressing that anything else looks immaculate in comparison?

[davidv]

Originally Posted by PracticingCatholic

So, from a Michigander's perspective, is Colorado as good as it seems in my head? Or, is TX just so depressing that anything else looks immaculate in comparison?

I am not a Michigander, but here is my take:

Is Colorado as good as it seems in your head? Probably not. Is Texas so depressing that anything else looks immaculate in comparison. YES.

In Colorado you won't find any sort of greenery or forests except in the mountains. The problem is that 80% of the population does NOT live in the mountains. Denver and the rest of the Front Range is on the plains where it as flat and brown as Texas.

[mic111]

The thing with Colorado is you can take some stunning pictures. With the right framing and color settings things look really pretty. But in reality even in the mountains it isn't that green compared to areas like Michigan. Colorado is all kind of dead, brown and sparse, even in the green areas. If you come to Colorado and fall in love with it, it will be for other reasons, not the scenery. Not to say the scenery can't be fallen in love with but if your comparing it to a lush area like Michigan it will always be pretty in a novelty way, not in a just-like-home way.

[Willy702]

In this state of 5 million at times it seems like there are 7 million former Michiganders. You wont be alone. Most common refrain is the winter, while cold, is many times better and summers without humidity are a wonderful thing. What people definitely miss is the water, most of what you see are either reservoirs or very quiet rivers outside of melting season.

[md21722]

Colorado is an arid to semi-arid state and the cities where you are likely to live and work will be brown much of the year. It doesn't rain very often and it can be quite windy. In the Eastern U.S. hardwood forests are common whereas in Colorado common trees will be Aspen or some sort of evergreen. The water is often too cold for swimming, but people do like rafting and kayaking. Colorado scenery is breathtaking, but very different from what you would see in the Eastern U.S. The mountain peaks are usually above the tree line so they are "rocky" whereas Eastern mountains are often completely green. My co-worker from New Jersey wishes it was greener here but overall he prefers Colorado. If you are unhappy in Texas, Colorado will almost certainly be an improvement. However, whether or not it is the right place for you only you and your wife can decide. The Southeastern U.S. may be a better fit for the mountains, rivers, beaches, lush greenery, and windy roads. I suppose it depends on why you left Michigan in the first place.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by PracticingCatholic

...are Michigananders stranded in Texas....she'll be able to get her lush green and trees and beaches...I'll be in windy country road heaven.

As someone who moved here from Massachusetts (and, loves living here and would never move away), I can say that you will not get:
green
trees
beaches
winding roads

[SouthXSW]

There are thousands of acres of green forests in the mountains on the western edge of Denver. The city is full of trees, on par or more than Dallas which has lots of trees. The mountains are also full of winding roads with breathtaking views. No nice beaches however.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by SouthXSW

There are thousands of acres of green forests in the mountains on the western edge of Denver. The city is full of trees, on par or more than Dallas which has lots of trees. The mountains are also full of winding roads with breathtaking views. No nice beaches however.

Usually when people from the east are talking about missing forests and greenery, they're talking about broadleaf forests. Colorado is pretty much all pine trees (and dying ones, too) except for some aspen groves on the west slope.

This picture is pretty typical of what the Colorado mountains are all about:



OP-- why don't you consider moving to the Pacific Northwest? Then you'll get plenty of trees and water. Or, in the eastern US, anywhere along the Appalachian mountains.

[east2westagain]

I noticed that it was pretty green in the summer (attached pics are from August near Boulder). Is it safe to say that it's like that from June - September?

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by east2westagain

I noticed that it was pretty green in the summer (attached pics are from August near Boulder). Is it safe to say that it's like that from June - September?

2011. Wettest year in recent memory. Brown is the normal August color.

160 days of precip in Ann Arbor for 37.6 inches per year
87 days of precip in Denver for 15.6 inches per year
101 days of precip in Boulder for 20.7 inches per year
http://www.currentresults.com/Weathe...cipitation.php