What's Colorado really like? (Denver, Lakewood: rentals, home, neighborhood)

[Aussiegemma]

I've heard and read great things about Colorado and are seriously considering moving there. We are Australian and have won a Green Card in the Diversity Lotto. I started a thread I the General US section and received some great advice. I've spent countless hours on this forum as well as other sites but it's still hard to base a decision on living somewhere you have never been. So here's my take on Colorado, please tell me if I'm on the right track.

Positives

Lifestyle
Weather - over 300 days of sunshine, snow
Beautiful mountains
Easy commute to Denver ie taking the Light Rail from Golden
Great skiing
Good outdoor activities
Less populated than other States
Location, easy to fly to East or West Coast

Negatives

Semi arid - brown and lacks trees (have only seen nice colourful photos)
Quality of air (pollution?)
Dry air, nosebleeds and other health problems
Elevation - having to acclimatise, not sure it's a negative
School system not great (have found some great schools in areas we are considering living)
Water restrictions and cannot collect rainwater
Jobs not abundant, I work in a Corporate job
Cost of housing is higher than some other States

I hope no-one takes offence to the above. It's a big move to relocate to another Country and I would like to get it right the first time. We can always move somewhere else if we need to. Also, we plan to travel around in the next few years but still need a base. Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Mach50]

I think your list is accurate, the jobs part totally depends on the field though.

I lived in Sydney for 6 months along with the Gold Coast. I would say Denver feels like the Western Sydney suburbs. Lakewood is like Penrith for example, except not as a green.

I believe anyone from Australia would really like Denver, it is clean, has great outdoors and very friendly people.

Just don't say "heaps" here nobody will understand what you saying

Penrith, Australia:


Lakewood, Co, US:

[Ookami]

Your list is spot on.

Worth mentioning, rent is currently high ($1100+/month) in the Denver metro area.

Also, be prepared to deal with traffic when traveling into the mountains in the summer/winter during the weekends (Saturday/Sunday)

[Katarina Witt]

Colorado's schools in general are good.
Report Card on American Education - State Education Rankings
You may be confusing school expenditures with school quality.

[mic111]

I live in the Adams 12 5 star school district. We have very high ranking schools as our assigned schools. Parents who move to our neighborhood from California and the east coast have all commented favorably regarding the change for their children. In fact at neighborhood parties they say their friends from back home are all jealous when they hear about the schools. There are a few negative posters who love to rant on Colorado and I think most of the regular posters just ignore them. However, I can see how someone reading from afar would take their posts seriously because we don't bother to deal with each and every erroneous negative post.

It is hard to tell from your post what you are looking for and maybe you are being influenced the the current trendiness of moving to CO. It is a great place to live but I don't think the trend followers are going to love it as much as the people who move here for good jobs and a good place to raise children.

Your list is good at a superficial level but I will give my take on the points. Everyone has a different take so this is just one person's perspective.

Originally Posted by Aussiegemma

Weather - over 300 days of sunshine, snow
Both good and bad from the weather. I personally think we get too much sun and it is too strong. You will want to bring all your Aussie sun protective gear as covering up from it every day is a necessity. Being higher the colors are weaker because of the less atmosphere so things are not as colorful. Weather is very variable. You will get used to and it makes it interesting. You can go outside almost every day and get your exercise. This is the most wonderful thing about our weather.
Beautiful mountains
Yes, the views from the front range are fabulous. You will want to get an RV or become a camper. The national forests can be camped in for free or at many national forest service campgrounds. Colorado also is the perfect center point to take in the National Parks. Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Mt Rushmore, Mesa Verde, many archeological sites, caves etc (way too many to list) are all reachable with driving vacations. Much to explore if you are into nature.
Easy commute to Denver ie taking the Light Rail from Golden
Tis true.
Great skiing
Skiing here as a resident is not easy. It is very expensive, hard to get to on the weekend and frankly in my opinion was not worth it for me. I gave it up after moving here. It is better to come as a tourist to ski when you don't have to fight the weekend crowds from Denver. Only you will know your tolerance for this after you have tried it.
Good outdoor activities
Spot on for hiking, mountain biking etc...
Less populated than other States
Fairly crowded in the Denver area. Only one real city in CO which is Denver and it is only a mid-range city. Nothing like a Sydney or any other major city. No other big cities in driving distance. Have to fly for city related things. Good thing is that Denver is pretty self contained and has all the amenities of a city as it is a regional attraction for all the rural surrounding areas and states.
Location, easy to fly to East or West Coast
True.
Negatives

Semi arid - brown and lacks trees (have only seen nice colourful photos)
Yes, they do know how to crop those photos don't they?
Quality of air (pollution?)
Yes, we have inversion in the winter and wildfire smoke in the summer from as far away as WA.
Dry air, nosebleeds and other health problems
Lotion, chapstick and a good humidifier in the winter are your friends.
Elevation - having to acclimatise, not sure it's a negative
Elevation is a *****.
School system not great (have found some great schools in areas we are considering living)
Totally untrue. Kids in our neighborhood plan for Ivy league schools and high paying careers.
Water restrictions and cannot collect rainwater
You will learn to honor, fear and love water but hate paying for it.
Jobs not abundant, I work in a Corporate job
Don't know what your career is but I think were booming for a reason and one is that people find jobs really easily.
Cost of housing is higher than some other States
We are alot higher than most middle of the country areas but not yet as high as the coasts.

I hope no-one takes offence to the above.
What is to take offense at? Seems like you are really doing your homework.

If you decide to come, welcome to Colorado.

Edit: Forgot to add a negative. The food. You won't find the variety and freshness of fruits and veggies that you get on the coast. We are a long truck ride so things get picked early and aren't as good. High altitude cooking is different and high altitude can affect how you taste the food also. Good side is that people aren't as overweight here as most of the USA.

[Colorado^]

Where about in Oz do you live? I grew up on the Gold Coast, lived in Brizzy and Sydney, then moved to the USA in 98. We lived on Manhattan for three years then moved to Colorado. We've lived in Denver and various locations in the mountains (currently at 10,000ft)

Your take on CO seems pretty accurate, but the 300 days of sunshine is a pretty big stretch.

Basically, spring is a all over the place. Some warm days, some snow, often strong winds. Summer is ugly in Denver with grass going dormant due to the heat... and then there's the smog & wildfires. Mornings in the mountains are really nice/sunny, but chilly. At 11:00am the clouds start rolling in and you need to be below tree line by 2:00pm. Thunderstorms are a daily occurrence all summer long, known as the 'monsoon' season. Things clear up after the storms, but the temps often drop down to 50 or so in the mountains. Overnight lows in the mountains are 30-50 in summer.

Autumn is very nice. You get beautiful blue skys and warm days (Indian Summer). Winter is pretty grey and bleak down in Denver, but often nice and sunny up in the mountains (but obviously colder). Snow is a major PITA. The resorts are also a PITA if coming from Denver due to traffic on the I-70.

Honestly the weather is very unpredictable, which makes it hard to plan around if you like the great outdoors. You just have to be prepared to deal with it... or in other words, spend lots of money at REI on outdoor clothing.

The other great thing about Colorado is the western slope. I don't think I'd want to live there (too hot in summer) but Fruita and Moab (UT) are great places to enjoy the outdoors when you need a change of scene.

Hope that didn't scare you off. Colorado has **amazing** outdoor recreation. That's why we live here. Just don't expect QLD's "beautiful one day, perfect the next" weather.

Real-estate is also pretty expensive (but not Oz expensive). Right now it's a sellers/landlord's market.

[Aussiegemma]

Thanks for all your replies. We live about 50 miles SE of Melbourne in a small town of 1,400 people in the bush. We have lots of wildlife and watched an echidna walk by this afternoon from the kitchen window. Here are some pictures.....

View from front of house



Wally the wallaby we feed



Resident koala just near the house



King Parrot

[Aussiegemma]

Originally Posted by Mach50

I think your list is accurate, the jobs part totally depends on the field though.

I lived in Sydney for 6 months along with the Gold Coast. I would say Denver feels like the Western Sydney suburbs. Lakewood is like Penrith for example, except not as a green.

I believe anyone from Australia would really like Denver, it is clean, has great outdoors and very friendly people.

Just don't say "heaps" here nobody will understand what you saying

Thanks for the reply and for the photos, I can definitely see similarities. Haven't heard that about saying 'heaps' before, will keep it in mind.

[Aussiegemma]

Originally Posted by Ookami

Your list is spot on.

Worth mentioning, rent is currently high ($1100+/month) in the Denver metro area.

Also, be prepared to deal with traffic when traveling into the mountains in the summer/winter during the weekends (Saturday/Sunday)

Thanks Ookami, I have been following rentals on Craigslist for about 6 months and spend too much time on Realtor.com. I've been focussed on Golden, Evergreen or Morrison but getting to Denver from Evergreen or Morrison would be interesting. I'll do some more research on the traffic, thanks!

[Aussiegemma]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Colorado's schools in general are good.
Report Card on American Education - State Education Rankings
You may be confusing school expenditures with school quality.

Thanks, yes I must have been confusing school expenditures with school quality. I've actually researched every Elementary school in every town we are considering as it will play a major role in our decision on where to live. I know we must live in the District to attend Public school, does this apply to Charter and Private schools?