I hate the Northeast winters. Am I crazy for considering Denver? (HOA, houses)

[maciesmom]

Originally Posted by mrbrightside03

Thanks for the honest feedback guys. I've been reading too many posts where people say "the winters are very mild, you'll love it!" and the data that I'm seeing just doesn't match up. These must be people who have only lived there for 2 years and haven't seen any "bad" winters yet I'm guessing lol.

22+ years here. It is mild compared to Midwest and NE winters. Of course it is not comparable with Coastal California.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by maciesmom

22+ years here. It is mild compared to Midwest and NE winters. Of course it is not comparable with Coastal California.

I am from Coastal California and I like the weather here BUT nothing compares to San Diego's weather IMHO.

[hiapr]

I wouldn't classify the winters on the front range as harsh or mild, they are somewhere in between. You will have stretches of rigorous weather and you will have stretches of mild weather. As long as you don't expect truly mild winters like you would see in much of the West/Southwest, it sounds like it may meet your needs.

Here is a pretty good explanation of Denver's snowfall patterns:

https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...n-averages.php

[maciesmom]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

I am from Coastal California and I like the weather here BUT nothing compares to San Diego's weather IMHO.

Depends on what you like.

I grew up in San Diego. Weather is lovely. Yawn.

I like having more of a change than the very subtle changes that define San Diego weather. I still consider this mild compared to the 15 years I spent living in the Midwest. Also preferable (to me) to the grey (if more "temperate" Mid Atlantic winters .

Also agree with Dave on the big benefit of minimal bugs and critters that dig humid climates.

[SkyDog77]

I have said many times that mild probably isn't the right word. Variable is more like it.

[maciesmom]

Variable is accurate. Consistently variable!

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by maciesmom

Depends on what you like.

I grew up in San Diego. Weather is lovely. Yawn.

I like having more of a change than the very subtle changes that define San Diego weather. I still consider this mild compared to the 15 years I spent living in the Midwest. Also preferable (to me) to the grey (if more "temperate" Mid Atlantic winters .

Also agree with Dave on the big benefit of minimal bugs and critters that dig humid climates.

I grew up there too and the first 10 years here I thought the same thing when it comes to the weather in San Diego. Now I truly miss it but I don't hate the weather here. That being said I know I would hate the winters in places like Minnesota or Wisconsin.

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I have said many times that mild probably isn't the right word. Variable is more like it.

Variable is the perfect word for it.

[rushhournewb]

I've lived in Colorado for the past 30 years (except for a few years in San Diego which, believe it or not, I found boring weather-wise). Variable is the best term I've read on this thread. I remember some years with weeks of below zero temps even during the day, and yes there are those weeks when it's in the 50s all week. But "mild" is not how I'd describe winters here. That's a loaded term that let's the terminally optimistic imagine no snow ever and 50s all winter. Not the case.

How many of you pulled a muscle or two shoveling the blizzards we had earlier this year? Was that mild? But I like shoveling snow so I had a blast.

[caverunner17]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig2

You've got to remember that the opinions will vary depending on where one is from. A lot of transplants come to this area, and where one is from is often not included in the comments (to put them in the proper context). So, one's opinion of CO weather will vary significantly if they are from the west coast, PNW, midwest, south, north (such as IL, WI, and MN), east coast, and northeast.

Those describing winters in CO as "mild" are likely from the north, northeast, or are native / long-time Coloradans. Those from the rest of the country are less likely to use that word.

This.

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs. December - March are pretty damn miserable. Snow sticks on the ground forever, partially melts then freezes over again. Lots of days are mostly cloudy and windy and bitter cold. There isn't a lot to do outdoors in the winter. It doesn't usually snow enough to go XC skiing or snow showing and the handful of "ski" areas are in Wisconsin and are overpriced for what they are. And the few trails we do have become inaccessible to hiking and biking due to the snow-thaw-freeze cycle that turns them into an icy mess.

The Front Range isn't anything like that. This will be my first full winter out here, but I've been out twice for a week + in January/Feb. 4-6" of snow, followed by some 40-50 deg days that melt it off. It even hit 60 once. The big thing was that even with the snow, it was still sunny. I have a friend who lives in the Springs who says he runs probably in pants maybe 20 times per year. The rest of the time, he's out running in shorts. You just can't do that in a lot of the mid west and north east. Are there blizzards and other crazy weather conditions in Denver? Sure. But I'd take that over 4 months of cold, grey ice.

[Katarina Witt]

36 winters here; came here from Champaign, IL and grew up near Pittsburgh, all about 40 degrees north latitude. Winter here somewhat longer than either of the others, but MUCH, MUCH milder. More snow most years, but way more snow-free sunny days. Pittsburgh temps more up and down like here ( though it doesn't get quite as warm in Pgh); Champaign usually gets cold and stays cold for January and February.