I have lived in Colorado for about 10 years, originally from southern New Jersey. (near Philadelphia) I believe that most of what AllAmericangirl has to say (that is negative) is true, BUT I must qualify. I love the dryness because I'm allergic to mold and there is virtually no mold. Your hair will look better anyway because there is no humidity - it will stay where you put it in the morning. I love not having silverfish, roaches, Japanese beetles, termites, carpenter ants etc. I LOVE the summer nights because you are outside enjoying them instead of driven inside by the humidity and/or the bugs. In the winder, the snow melts fast in the bright sun, and you never get months of grey days on end like you do back east. Spring days are inserted nicely right into the middle of winter, it's wonderful. And a BIG plus for me is the crime rate. Yes, there IS crime, but nothing like I saw in New Jersey or Philadelphia, or New York. In NJ, I would be so worried because of the ^ car jackings, home invasions, gun crimes, etc. We had to have an alarm system on our home in a pretty good neighborhood because there were robberies all the time - with guns. Here, I feel very safe. (I live near Castle Rock). Rarely robberies, and the ones that occur are usually because someone forgot to close their garage door at night and teens stole the bikes. The "bad" neighborhoods in Denver are like Disneyworld if you've ever lived in NJ!!! I was in a "bad" neighborhood and didn't even know it. These people don't KNOW what a "bad" neighborhood is! They've never prayed to God to just escape from a wrong turn alive, with a pack of drinking teenagers sizing you up as they close in on you. (Camden, NJ) And I disagree about Denver being dirty. I love this city. It is clean and safe and there is so much to do with your family. The museums are not overrun by thousands of creepy, truant skanks, cursing loudly and behaving like pigs in front of your children. ("Mommy, what's a motherf_er?") That is what I see in Philadelphia or New York when I visit there. The Denver "brown cloud" is sometimes there, but more often it is NOT there, and you see BIG BLUE sky, not grey, overcast miserable weather. The schools in my county are also very good, compared to most areas in Florida that I researched. We almost moved to Florida until I realized that I'd have to put 2 kids through private school for them to get an equivalent education as here. And the homes in Florida are just as expensive as the Colorado homes now. We were priced out of the market in Florida. Why don't you take an apartment or a travel nurse position and just try it to see if it's you? Best of luck.
