Give me 10 reasons NOT to move to Denver (Aurora, Boulder: foreclosure, insurance)

[Katarina Witt]

blacksmith76, I actually agree with a lot of what you said, even though I'm here for the long haul. I actually love the weather now, but it took a long time to get used to it. And I do like snow. What I agree about is the summers. . . way too hot for my taste. Also agree with the browness, and the difficulty of just taking a walk in the woods.

[JTJ1977]

Thanks Blacksmith and Katiana. You guys pretty much summarized InterMountain West living (especially Blacksmith). Considering that I have MAJOR sinus issues, perhaps the Rocky Mountain region is not for me (it seems pretty dry). I remember attending the Job Corps facility in 1995 in Utah, and having a nosebleed from the altitude (it occured just once). But God, what beautiful country!! Despite my irritation with the conservative culture of Utah ( I consider my politics left-of-center), it was cool being an Iowa kid and waking up to the Wasatch Mountains everywhere I looked.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by blacksmith76

With the altitude, you are a lot closer to the sun, and it is intense. It's great in the winter. I just walked around my half snowy backyard in shorts, flip flops, and a tank top and it's February. Can't do that in Minneapolis. The downside is that when it's 107 in July, you really understand what the term "urban heat island" means. The Denver area has lots of pavement, very few trees, and hardly any water. It's dry heat, but I would take 90 and humid in NC over some of the southwestern desert heat we get here.

Let's not exaggerate here either. Just as Denver winter's are nothing compared to Buffalo or Minneapolis, Denver's summers are nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, compared to the desert southwest. Denver is not even part of the desert southwest. The hottest temperature it's ever been in Denver is 105 degrees, in July 2005. It seems like the last few years the summers have been getting hotter, frequently hitting the upper 90s, breaking 100 degrees once in a while. It's still an absolute cakewalk compared to Phoenix. In fact, what you're describing, with no trees, urban heat island effect, etc, sounds more like Phoenix than Denver. Any built-up part of Denver and its suburbs over 15 years old has a lot of trees. It can definitely be hot during the middle of the day in July or August, but by the evening the weather is perfect-- whereas in Phoenix it will still be sweating hot even at 10:00pm. The frequent summer thunderstorms can be a little scary, but they dramatically cool things off too. Summer nights in Denver are paradise. I can't wait to move back to Denver from Phoenix and enjoy the summers again!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Let's not exaggerate here either. Just as Denver winter's are nothing compared to Buffalo or Minneapolis, Denver's summers are nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, compared to the desert southwest. Denver is not even part of the desert southwest. The hottest temperature it's ever been in Denver is 105 degrees, in July 2005. It seems like the last few years the summers have been getting hotter, frequently hitting the upper 90s, breaking 100 degrees once in a while. It's still an absolute cakewalk compared to Phoenix. In fact, what you're describing, with no trees, urban heat island effect, etc, sounds more like Phoenix than Denver. Any built-up part of Denver and its suburbs over 15 years old has a lot of trees. It can definitely be hot during the middle of the day in July or August, but by the evening the weather is perfect-- whereas in Phoenix it will still be sweating hot even at 10:00pm. The frequent summer thunderstorms can be a little scary, but they dramatically cool things off too. Summer nights in Denver are paradise. I can't wait to move back to Denver from Phoenix and enjoy the summers again!

Exactly. I live near Monument at 7300 feet (I know, its 2000 feet higher than Denver and adiabatic temperature differences are about 3.5F to 5.5F per 1000 feet) and the hottest temp I have recorded here is 89F. I don't have and don't need A/C. When it is hot in July August there is always a comfortable dry breeze so it feels six or seven degrees cooler. Plus on the hottest days there are often really awesome thunderstorms that literally cause the temp to drop from like 85 to 60 in a half an hour.

[blacksmith76]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Let's not exaggerate here either. Just as Denver winter's are nothing compared to Buffalo or Minneapolis, Denver's summers are nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, compared to the desert southwest. Denver is not even part of the desert southwest. The hottest temperature it's ever been in Denver is 105 degrees, in July 2005. It seems like the last few years the summers have been getting hotter, frequently hitting the upper 90s, breaking 100 degrees once in a while. It's still an absolute cakewalk compared to Phoenix. In fact, what you're describing, with no trees, urban heat island effect, etc, sounds more like Phoenix than Denver. Any built-up part of Denver and its suburbs over 15 years old has a lot of trees. It can definitely be hot during the middle of the day in July or August, but by the evening the weather is perfect-- whereas in Phoenix it will still be sweating hot even at 10:00pm. The frequent summer thunderstorms can be a little scary, but they dramatically cool things off too. Summer nights in Denver are paradise. I can't wait to move back to Denver from Phoenix and enjoy the summers again!

Yeah, for sure, but 105 still sucks and not much here is air conditioned for some reason. That's the highest recorded, but on places like Federal Blvd., you see the bank signs showing the temp being even higher. There are lots of days in the upper 90's here, which isn't very common in NC. But, of course, I have been to Phoenix in the summer and it's unreal. The thread starter asked for negatives, so that's what I gave.

The plus side is you can just get a whole house fan and with the dry air, you don't need A/C. So, it's can be cheaper to cool your house than in the south.

[blacksmith76]

Originally Posted by JTJ1977

Thanks Blacksmith and Katiana. You guys pretty much summarized InterMountain West living (especially Blacksmith). Considering that I have MAJOR sinus issues, perhaps the Rocky Mountain region is not for me (it seems pretty dry). I remember attending the Job Corps facility in 1995 in Utah, and having a nosebleed from the altitude (it occured just once). But God, what beautiful country!! Despite my irritation with the conservative culture of Utah ( I consider my politics left-of-center), it was cool being an Iowa kid and waking up to the Wasatch Mountains everywhere I looked.

You get totally used to the altitude and pretty used to the dry air after living here a while. Just drink a lot of water.

[thedfly]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Also agree with the browness, and the difficulty of just taking a walk in the woods.

I found that very hard living in AZ, not having the green and trees overhead that we had while walking along a riverbank or forest preserve in the Midwest. Hiking during the summer while the sun is beating down just isn't any fun. But I think there are some small areas that will get me through it...we visited Boulder during the summer and hiked around the river, making sure to bring LOTS of water and take rest spots in any shade that we found along the way.

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Let's not exaggerate here either. Just as Denver winter's are nothing compared to Buffalo or Minneapolis, Denver's summers are nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, compared to the desert southwest. Denver is not even part of the desert southwest. The hottest temperature it's ever been in Denver is 105 degrees, in July 2005. It seems like the last few years the summers have been getting hotter, frequently hitting the upper 90s, breaking 100 degrees once in a while. It's still an absolute cakewalk compared to Phoenix. In fact, what you're describing, with no trees, urban heat island effect, etc, sounds more like Phoenix than Denver. Any built-up part of Denver and its suburbs over 15 years old has a lot of trees. It can definitely be hot during the middle of the day in July or August, but by the evening the weather is perfect-- whereas in Phoenix it will still be sweating hot even at 10:00pm. The frequent summer thunderstorms can be a little scary, but they dramatically cool things off too. Summer nights in Denver are paradise. I can't wait to move back to Denver from Phoenix and enjoy the summers again!

I visited Loveland during one of the heatwaves and after living in Phoenix for many years, I can tell you that the heat in CO was worse! I think there was a bit more humidity and the sun was so much more intense. I pleaded to find airconditioning and skipped the sculpture park that we were at. BUT that being said, in Phoenix you have 4 months of heat instead of just a few days of record highs in Denver.

[DenverAztec]

I would take Denver heat over Phoenix heat any day as it actually will cool down at night here and we only a few days in the 100 range during the summer. Phoneix can get over 100 in April and not cool below that, day or night, until October. Their record is 122 and if you have ever pondered what your destiny will be for all your sins, this is the closest to it. In 2006, they were in the range of 180 days with absolutley no precipitation. Last summer during one of my business trips on a day that was 113, I woke at 1:30 am thinking the temps had cooled because the palm trees outside my hotel were moving with the wind. I opened the balcony door, big mistake, only to feel like a huge blow dry was attacking me. It was a balmy 106. Before I could turn and run inside, my eye were filled with sand as I was in the midst of what is call an haboo. It is the Arabian term for a dust/sand storm. When I was able to feel my way to the door and get inside, I had to shower the sand out my hair and take all the sheets off the bed for the too were covered with sand. I went through 3 of these haboos in the matter of a week and a half. They come from hundreds of miles out and are so strong that they can rip down tress and cause the large orange construction signs to go rolling. We can get very strong wind here and microbursts, but they don't carry with them tons of sand mixed with roaches and scorpions from the desert.

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by JTJ1977

Considering that I have MAJOR sinus issues, perhaps the Rocky Mountain region is not for me (it seems pretty dry).

Buy a cold-air humidifier and run it in your bedroom while you sleep. It will work wonders.

[JTJ1977]

I hadn't thought about the humidifier. Thanks a bunch.

I am looking for entry level work in nonprofits as well. I would like to deal with family and homelessness issues; however, my degree's in political science, and some agencies seem to frown upon that. However, from my vantage point, I feel that a political science degree allows me to raise public policy issues in the workplace, in contrast to possessing a sociology, or other human services degree.

Also, I lack extensive experience in the field, though I helped spread the message about the United Way as part of a public service class at my alma mater. I enjoyed being on the frontlines conveying the information to potential clients. I am not really concerned about salary, so long as I can maintain the basics (food/shelter/car insurance/basic clothing).

What do you guys think the prospects are for a graduate without much experience, and minus an internship, in the Denver area? ( To be honest, the answer is probably, "Low prospects"...lol)