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My wife and I have wanted to move to Washington for years, but career and life has always pulled us elsewhere. We're planning on moving up there in a few years and wanted to find out from people who've lived specifically in Colorado how you like it.
We spent about 15 years in Boulder. Loved it at first and ended up hating it. We live in New Orleans now because I'm in medical school. We have two young daughters and my wife teaches.
Our plan is to visit more over the next few years and then I'll eventually apply for my residency program there. We love a great number of areas there - Orcas Island, Bainbridge Island, Whidbey, Poulsbo, Bellingham, Anacortes, La Conner, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Sequim and Seattle. We're totally undecided where to live yet, but we know we'll work that out. I'm going to be practicing as a family physician so we believe we'll be able to settle in a wide range of areas.
We're specifically interested in hearing from people that have lived in Colorado for a good amount of time and now live in Washington.
Oddly enough our other choice (distant second) would be to move to New York state. We love the great history of NY and all around New England and although it's beautiful there as well, we don't think it can compete with Washington.
We grew up in Colorado, lived other places, moved to Seattle in the early 90s. Some work options came up that required us to move back to Denver. We thought it would be great. It was...okay. The cost of living is less, it's browner. It's a purple state. The weather is dramatic - hail, rain, lightning, thunder, snow, then it turns sunny again. The sun is strong being mile high and I burned easily. It has a cowboy flavor - I had forgotten that. We bought a very nice house in a very nice development for much less than Seattle - Highlands Ranch. It had everything, no complaints there, including a recreation center with an indoor pool, organized sports, etc. Schools within the development, even churches within the development if you're into that and Denver is a bit more religious than Seattle. But I missed the water. We made another move to New England and it was beautiful but again the weather was very dramatic, with Nor'easters and thundersnow(!). When the opportunity came, we returned to Seattle. I get why people like Denver and there's nothing wrong with it. Maybe because I grew up there, it was just too familiar and I think of Seattle as the place I chose.
Washington isn't as unfriendly as Colorado, but it's hard to get to know people. One really has to make the effort. Seattle, I think, differs from Denver in many ways. We have less religious wackos here overall (Springs in particular being a hotbed of "you have to change because of my god's rules"), but we have other annoying wackos who pick up the slack.
There is something about Colorado that just doesn't quite feel right IMO.
Probably just the fact that I'm in it.
I loved it for the first two or so years, but it has worn thin. Colorado is like the hot girl that you ended up married to, but sadly you ultimately find out she has a negligible amount of personality. It's just kinda "blah".
OP, if you think you'll like WA, fly out for a visit. Many people who like CO don't like WA and vice versa. They are polar opposites, contrary to what the uninformed might say.
David I would totally agree with you. Here was a place where I should have been really happy, considering the style of living you can have for the cost (so for a guy, it would be a "bargain" hot girl? ) If you are used to seeing the water every day and it becomes part of the fabric of your life, not seeing it is soul sucking. It made me a sad person in a pretty house. We didn't even stay two years but that was at the height of the housing bubble so it was not a problem. Maybe coastal people can't change.
But for the person that wants a nice city with a lower cost of living, nice neighborhoods, access to skiing, lots of sunny days, good and abundant Mexican food , less traffic and likes things like country music, Denver would be a good fit.
OP, you should know that if you have not been to Denver, it is relatively flat. The mountains loom large but are west of the city. And sun is a big factor. If you like sunny days, Denver is for you. Seattle is very cloudy and that's a fact.
David I would totally agree with you. Here was a place where I should have been really happy, considering the style of living you can have for the cost (so for a guy, it would be a "bargain" hot girl? ) If you are used to seeing the water every day and it becomes part of the fabric of your life, not seeing it is soul sucking. It made me a sad person in a pretty house. We didn't even stay two years but that was at the height of the housing bubble so it was not a problem. Maybe coastal people can't change.
But for the person that wants a nice city with a lower cost of living, nice neighborhoods, access to skiing, lots of sunny days, good and abundant Mexican food , less traffic and likes things like country music, Denver would be a good fit.
OP, you should know that if you have not been to Denver, it is relatively flat. The mountains loom large but are west of the city. And sun is a big factor. If you like sunny days, Denver is for you. Seattle is very cloudy and that's a fact.
Out of rep Seacove, sorry!
When I graduated high school, I began researching where I would go when I left my hometown in Southern CA. Six years later, I ultimately settled on Denver, as it appeared perfect on paper regarding the things I wanted (in a nutshell):
-big city
-pro sports
-snow
-Del Taco
I should be in paradise, right?
Well, after a five-month work sabbatical to Spokane in 2009, I don't need that big a city anymore.
I don't mind driving several hours to see pro sports anymore.
It snows lots of places.
Del Taco has been giving me food poisoning lately.
So I'm left with a big, career-oriented city, with more traffic than I would like, with pro sports teams I'm not really a fan of, while missing out on things I could have had if I had just stayed in CA or WA (either in Everett near my family, or in Spokane, which I fell in love with). There is no Denver or Colorado in me, I'm a gosh darn impostor!!!
I'm pretty sure OP has been to Denver, as they lived in Boulder for 15 years. I would love to live in Boulder: if my house was free, and if I could keep the socializing with the "happy people" there to a minimum.
I never appreciated WA's water. As a kid, I went to the Boys & Girls Club right on Possession Sound in Mukilteo. I took it for granted, until I saw it again this past June. It'd be pretty nice to drive 15 minutes or less and see that every day. Where most of the people live in CO, there is only one worthwhile view: West. Otherwise, the eastern half of Colorado is Kansas.
Forgot the point about Boulder, so of course they know the landscape.
Day trips from Mulkilteo to Whidbey on the ferry are one of those treats that you take for granted until it's gone. Once that hit me, I was practically hyperventilating.
Sorry about Del Taco, that sucks. I will say, guacamole in Denver is pretty great, just not enough to compensate.
I grew up in the Denver metro area and went to school in Boulder, then moved to Seattle after I graduated. There are two detractors that Seattle has to offer:
1: Many Coloradoans complain about the weather
2: The cost of living is significantly higher here than Denver, and real estate anywhere remotely near Seattle can be more expensive than Boulder
In regards to number 1 above: the long, gray winters start to get to a lot of people. I've never needed a daily relentless beating from the sun so I don't miss it all that much. The days for about 8 winter months are very short (sunrise about 6:30am, totally dark around 5pm) and most of those days are gray. It doesn't really "rain" all that much here, maybe a couple days a week. The reality is everything is just gray and wet somehow all the time during these months. A lot of precipitation happens from that annoying misty rain, so when you take your dog for a walk you're wet by the time you get back but have no idea how it happened. Realistically though, the sun does peak through the clouds here and there during the winter, usually a couple hours every other day or so. It's also really funny when we get the threat of snow. It doesn't snow every winter, but most winters we may get a dusting here or there. People here are so afraid of driving in the snow that they get into car accidents 3 days before it starts falling. Seattle is the second hilliest city in the US (behind San Francisco I think) so that doesn't help when it snows. One year we got 2 inches and only about 50 people (out of 700) showed up at the office. It was really cold and the roads were slick so even the mayor came on TV telling everyone to stay home and board up their doors and windows so the 2 inches of snow couldn't get them
Summer comes late, but to me PNW summers are the most amazing weather phenomenon in the entire country!! Temperatures rarely hit anywhere near 90 and it dries out enough that it isn't muggy. It's bright and sunny just about every single day and the sun isn't "harsh" here like it is in Denver/Boulder. There's always a cool breeze coming from the sound so most houses don't have or need air conditioners. There's tons of fun stuff to get you out of the house during summer. Everything from outdoor recreation to fun events and farmer's markets. There's even an outdoor minigolf league that serves beer ON the course (21+ only)! Simply put, there is nothing that can beat the PNW summer!!!! I have not missed Denver's hot, arid summers one bit since I moved. Thanks to those long, gray winters, EVERYTHING here is green green green! I'd forgotten how brown and dead Denver was until I went back to visit. Plants are lush and thrive here, certainly something that many people don't mention. At the same time, though, bugs aren't really an issue. One cool thing I noticed when I moved out here is the crazy spider webs that pop up in late summer. These spiders (that don't like to come indoors) build some seriously mind-boggling webs that are rather spectacular even to me, and I'm arachnophobic. However, it does start to get annoying in early fall if you're out and about in the early morning since you'll walk through a million spider webs.
In regards to #2 above, there's not much you can do about it. Real estate near the city is still obscenely expensive. Seattle wasn't hit as hard by the housing collapse because of all the well-paying tech and aerospace companies here. Housing prices get a little better if you venture farther away from Seattle, but it's still pricey. Groceries are expensive and sales taxes are high because of a lack of state income tax.
As a city, Seattle is MUCH different than Denver. I instantly fell in love with it. It's very dense and all the surrounding neighborhoods have their own mini-downtown/main street-type areas, something that you rarely see in Denver. Sprawl is kept in check here due to size limits imposed by the land; Seattle is squeezed in between the Puget Sound and Lake Washington. There is a wide diversity wen it comes to culture in the city. There's a large Asian population here that brings a lot of diversity, as well as a large Indian and even European population. There are far less Hispanics here than in Colorado though.
Unfortunately I really haven't been here long enough to thoroughly explore the other areas you're considering. If you head to central/eastern Washington the climate and populace is actually surprisingly similar to Denver.
Sorry this was such a long post, I just wanted to sing the praises of Seattle! I came here to start my career out of college and never looked back. Most people love it here because they don't find issue with the weather or cost of living. If you're thinking of coming here, I'd encourage you to spend a few weeks checking out each of the places you're looking at. If you want to get a taste of the climate, spend a few days here in August and a few days in February. Good Luck!!!
Thanks for the replies thus far. To clear up one point, we have been to Wa a number of times and love it. Our main interest is simply from how Coloradoans like living there.
And to David, I'd rather not get into the reasons we grew to dislike Boulder so much.
Interesting topic! I am in CO now 4 years and it's grown on me. There are many benefits to living here, I like the wide open spaces. However, I do miss the coast terribly and am fascinated with WA lately as it seems like there is still a lot of rural areas near the coast.
Last year, when I considered moving back to the east coast, I got a vacation rental thru vrbo for a few months and went in the off season to save money and to see what year round life might really be like there. If this is an option, it's definitely a good way to get to know an area w/o making a full on commitment, esp. if you have kids - easier to "visit" for 2 mos and then decide yea or nay before you move and then decide you aren't loving it and have to move again....JMHO
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) If you are used to seeing the water every day and it becomes part of the fabric of your life, not seeing it is soul sucking. It made me a sad person in a pretty house. We didn't even stay two years but that was at the height of the housing bubble so it was not a problem. Maybe coastal people can't change. 
, less traffic and likes things like country music, Denver would be a good fit.
It'd be pretty nice to drive 15 minutes or less and see that every day. Where most of the people live in CO, there is only one worthwhile view: West. Otherwise, the eastern half of Colorado is Kansas.
