I saw some other posts about relocating to Co. I have a SIL in Highlands Ranch. I have never been to CO but it's calling me! Can you tell me about the weather? Is it true it is very sunny but cool? It sounds ideal to me! I'm originally from Michigan where it's always grey and right now I live in Tampa. I like it here but the summers are unbearable. I'd love to find a place with cooler weather but with sun!!!
You have made some wonderful points for Colorado that are very true. It is really all about how it effects you, personally and what your background is.
I must admit that I was very spoiled having lived in the Missouri Ozarks for 20 years.
This is big, bad New Jersey to me. so imagine how wonderful the area where I lived and raised my children was. JGS is also most fortunate to be in Castle Rock. It is enough of a community in itself that it has a personality other than the close-in-burbs like Littleton. By the way $169,000 to $200,000 will buy a very nice home in Ft. Myers, FL area. $200,000 will get you nothing but a condo or very small fix-up in Littleton, Englewood, Centennial, Denver, etc., and you must watch the quality of your neighborhoods at these prices in Aurora.
Another factor that potential movers to Colorado need to consider is: If you are in healthcare, you probably will get a job, but if you are married and bringing a spouse that must work too, the economy here is in bad shape, and jobs are scarce. It is improving but is much behind the rest of the US.
I also want to add that, I have several sharp, attractive, professional female friends who are single and have relocated here from elsewhere. These gals have been here for three to five years and all of them lament that it is very difficult to meet guys to date here, and it has also been difficult for them to make female friends. They all live in the immediate metro area. I think they would have more luck in that department if they lived in Castle Rock or Parker.
I also have a really gorgeous step-daughter, 26 yrs old, who grew up here, graduated cum laud from DU, and except for her girlfriends from HS, she has a hard time meeting new friends and guys to date. People are cold and stand-offish here. They don't seem to want to, or be interested in making friendships. It could be a lonely place without emotinal support of family or friends.
I hate to sound so negative. My daughter did meet her husband here, but she is extremely outgoing, and never meets a stranger.
I hate to sound so negative about the rest of it too. It really all depends on were you are coming from and what you are looking for. Try it before you buy it, if you can.
JGS makes excellent points and observations that are true. Life could be good here it Colorado's negatives are not important to you. :)
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.
allamericangirl
195 Posts
You have made some wonderful points for Colorado that are very true. It is really all about how it effects you, personally and what your background is.
I must admit that I was very spoiled having lived in the Missouri Ozarks for 20 years.
This is big, bad New Jersey to me. so imagine how wonderful the area where I lived and raised my children was. JGS is also most fortunate to be in Castle Rock. It is enough of a community in itself that it has a personality other than the close-in-burbs like Littleton. By the way $169,000 to $200,000 will buy a very nice home in Ft. Myers, FL area. $200,000 will get you nothing but a condo or very small fix-up in Littleton, Englewood, Centennial, Denver, etc., and you must watch the quality of your neighborhoods at these prices in Aurora.
Another factor that potential movers to Colorado need to consider is: If you are in healthcare, you probably will get a job, but if you are married and bringing a spouse that must work too, the economy here is in bad shape, and jobs are scarce. It is improving but is much behind the rest of the US.
I also want to add that, I have several sharp, attractive, professional female friends who are single and have relocated here from elsewhere. These gals have been here for three to five years and all of them lament that it is very difficult to meet guys to date here, and it has also been difficult for them to make female friends. They all live in the immediate metro area. I think they would have more luck in that department if they lived in Castle Rock or Parker.
I also have a really gorgeous step-daughter, 26 yrs old, who grew up here, graduated cum laud from DU, and except for her girlfriends from HS, she has a hard time meeting new friends and guys to date. People are cold and stand-offish here. They don't seem to want to, or be interested in making friendships. It could be a lonely place without emotinal support of family or friends.
I hate to sound so negative. My daughter did meet her husband here, but she is extremely outgoing, and never meets a stranger.
I hate to sound so negative about the rest of it too. It really all depends on were you are coming from and what you are looking for. Try it before you buy it, if you can.
JGS makes excellent points and observations that are true. Life could be good here it Colorado's negatives are not important to you. :)