Anyone live in Colorado? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

JAAY · 02-26-2007, 05:07 PM

I am going to go down to denver in a few weeks I think. My girlie and I were thinking about maybe moving around there. Maybe Fort Collins or Boulder. Just want anyones take on the area and whatever info you could share. I live on Long Island right now. NY :ah:

donv · 02-26-2007, 06:32 PM

Don't live there but travel there periodically, my co. has a campus in Broomfield/Louisville. Folks in my group that live there seem to like both the Denver and Boulder areas. Friendly folks all around, lots of new development in the area so most of it feels new and clean, lots of younger folks. Wide and flat/rolling slight hills, with big mountains near by.

blue2000s · 02-26-2007, 07:18 PM

It sucks here. No one should move here. Tell your friends.

SigmaPi · 02-26-2007, 09:38 PM

I live in the Springs, it's nice, close to everything, no traffic (compared to Denver), lots of good tech jobs. Boulder is a tad bit granola, enviro elitist. Don't believe me, type "Boulder elitism" into google and hit enter. Colorado Springs has Christians and military folks. It can't hurt to drive down, it's only 45 miles south of Denver and it's scenic the whole way.

denverpete · 02-27-2007, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue2000s

It sucks here. No one should move here. Tell your friends.

Ditto. Snows all the time, cold, and windy. Many here call it "Menver" because of the lack of women. Bars generally close at 5:00. Those great mountain roads are typically closed nearly year round due to wind blown snow or wild-fires. Pot holes are quite plentifull. Numerous random riots in Ft. Collins and Boulder. Most people that move or visit here never come back. It's awful. I hate it here. You would too. Pass the word.

On a side note: I hear California is nice - many, many Coloradan's have very "special" feelings about California.

blue2000s · 02-27-2007, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by denverpete

Ditto. Snows all the time, cold, and windy. Many here call it "Menver" because of the lack of women. Bars generally close at 5:00. Those great mountain roads are typically closed nearly year round due to wind blown snow or wild-fires. Pot holes are quite plentifull. Numerous random riots in Ft. Collins and Boulder. Most people that move or visit here never come back. It's awful. I hate it here. You would too. Pass the word.

On a side note: I hear California is nice - many, many Coloradan's have very "special" feelings about California.

Yeah, California. That's a great place. More people should move or stay there.

Also, the earthquakes, fires, tornados, hurricanes, flooding, and random animal attacks here in Colorado are getting a little out of control. Not to mention all the snow all year around.

Plus, there's the altitude. Anyone not born here is expected to have a 20 year shorter life due to the thin air. That and the sexual disfunction.

denverpete · 02-27-2007, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue2000s

Also, the earthquakes, fires, tornados, hurricanes, flooding, and random animal attacks here in Colorado are getting a little out of control. Not to mention all the snow all year around.

Very true - hell we just had a person mauled and killed by a jaguar the other day! I've personally lost 3 friends due to mountain lions - and that was in downtown Denver! Probably due to all the cattle and horses...

aren040 · 02-27-2007, 06:50 AM

Not from there but got stuck there for a little bit. I, personally, did not like it too much.

Also for everyone saying California...? Why? Housing is a nightmare in most Metropolitan areas. For instance within the Los Angeles areas a 500,000 house is about where you want to start out and even then you are either going to be in a 2 or maybe 3 bedroom house in the, shall we say, "not so good" neighborhoods. If you want somewhat of a decent house in a decent place then you are looking at the 750,000+ ballpark.

I say if you are coming to So. California then wait a bit longer and let the banks foreclose on all the people that got houses about 4 or 5 years ago on interest only loans with balloon payments. Then it should really be a buyers market, or so I hope.

Ronzi · 02-27-2007, 08:01 AM

DenverPete got it right.
Pay no attention to my avatar picture, taken from my driveway, but it could be anybody's driveway that lives in CO.
Two-and-a-half months since the December blizzard, and I still have two ft. of snow in my front yard.
Pitiful, pitiful.

rdancd816 · 02-27-2007, 08:21 AM

You guys are riot!! Also...Rockies suck, Avalanche won't make the playoffs, Nuggets are 10 1/2 out, Broncos missed playoffs. Must be better places to live!

denverpete · 02-27-2007, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aren040

Not from there but got stuck there for a little bit. I, personally, did not like it too much.

You heard it from an Actual Californian! Tell everyone you know!

rdancd816 · 02-27-2007, 08:54 AM

There are also VERY strange things going on at the airport! Orange County and LAX are much preferable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHKrEFiDn6E

Ronzi · 02-27-2007, 09:00 AM

After re-reading the response to JAAY's question, it strikes me that maybe we Denverites have had a lot of fun with the question, without any info being supplied.
I came here in '64 with the Army, and never left, in spite of having opportunities to do so. That says something about how much I like CO.
If you are going to be here for a visit you can judge for yourself. I will say that if it's before May you won't be seeing the Denver area at it's best, since the trees are bare and all the vegetation is brown. A bit monotonal, if you know what I mean.
Denver itself has nice areas, and not-so-nice areas, just like any city, but you won't really find any slums, like you would in my old hometown of Chicago, for example. Most people that come here from other larger cities, find Denver to be a "clean" city.
If you like the mountains, there are communities west of Denver in the foothills, within commuting distance. Boulder and Ft. Collins are nearby (30-50 miles) college towns, and there are the usual bedroom suburbs ringing Denver.
Commuting is generally pretty easy. You can get from just about anywhere in the metro area to any other place in the metro area in about 40 minutes max. Most metro commutes, from the edges to the core city are about 30-35 minutes.
If you don't have a car, you're screwed. Public transit is mostly buses, with a couple of light rail lines. More of those are planned, but it's going to be a while.
Sorry for being long-winded, and have a nice visit.

rdancd816 · 02-27-2007, 09:10 AM

I too came to Colorado from the Chicago area in 1986. Two years after I got here my company asked me to relocate. I quit in order to stay here. 300+ days of sunshine, skiing, hiking, and the great rides available in the mountains. Cost of living not too bad and the city has all the amenities of any major urban area. Most of us who live here came from somewhere else and are very protective of the lifestyle Colorado offers. Good luck to you and your potential relocation. Colorado is a great chioce. IMHO

denverpete · 02-27-2007, 10:03 AM

Ahh, Ronzi. I hate it when you're right. On to the advice.

Denver, Boulder, and Ft. Collins are about as different communities as you could think of (not to mention being quite far apart). Both Boulder (or as we like to call it - The Free Republic of Boulder) and Ft. Collins are college towns with all that comes with that. Housing in Boulder is pretty expensive while some of the outlying areas around it are fairly reasonable.

While all of the communities along the front range (in view of the mountains) are made up of fairly outdoor oriented people - those in Boulder and Ft. Collins (along the foot hills – what most call mountains) would likely be widely considered even more so. Learn to love fleece. Mountain Biking actually involves real mountains and road biking in Boulder can bring you in touch with some of the world's premier riders. Boulder and Colorado Springs have easy access to some premier climbing sites literally within biking distance. Those in the high country (mountains) are even more outdoor oriented and usually even more laid back. Believe it or not, not everyone skis or snowboards – but nearly everyone has at least one outdoor activity they pursue.

The lifestyle here is quite different than what those from the East or West coast are typically used to. For some, the focus on the outdoors, casual dress, and general “slow it down” nature just isn’t for them; those people either stay and ******************** or leave. For those who were born here or move and choose to stay, Colorado becomes a passion. We joke about not wanting people to move here (okay, not really joke – we honestly don’t want people to move here) because we like it the way it is – not the way some transplant thinks it should be. Plus all you people are clogging up I-70 on the weekends!

I've only spent 2 years of my life not living in Colorado - and I choked up on seeing the mountains again when I moved back. I've travelled to every state in the Union - and I can't think of a single place I'd rather live....

02-27-2007, 10:47 AM

I love Colorado! I have been there many times the past 15 years. I am mainly in Glenwood Springs. I have also been to Boulder on business.

I am planning a trip to western Colorado in early June with the Boxster!

rdancd816 · 02-27-2007, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmussatti

I love Colorado! I have been there many times the past 15 years. I am mainly in Glenwood Springs. I have also been to Boulder on business.

I am planning a trip to western Colorado in early June with the Boxster!

You gonna drive all the way from Chicago? Is so you'll be coming through Denver most likely. Maybe we could pool some of the local Boxster group and hook up for a bit. If you need any suggestions on the West Slope I'm happy to provide. Did the West, CO run last fall. (Telluride, Ouray, Four Corners, Mesa Verde, Spectacular!)

JAAY · 02-27-2007, 11:35 AM

Well I just got the chance to read everyones oppinion. DAMN. I can't tell if you just do not want out siders in or something else. If it is as bad as you are all saying i urge you to live in NYC for a week.. LOL Just kidding. Every area has it's terrible things and places. My big hang up here is that I don't owe that much on my house and could sell here, make money on the house, buy a house somewhere else and have no payment and lots o money in the bank and relocate my business. I live in one of the most expensive and populated areas in the world and it is starting to get annoying with prices, traffic and just the pure fact that I like change. Colorado is just one of the places we are going to check out. I have been all over Cali. and housing is rediculous. For all the people who hate where they live. MOVE.

Thanks for everybodys' input. If anyone lives somewhere that they like let me know about that too. Pa.??
J

blue2000s · 02-27-2007, 11:48 AM

I joke a bit, but I really don't like to see Colorado grow. I'd be happy if they outlawed home construction.

I've been here 25 years and seen the area of Denver increase by what seems like double. The traffic hear has increased considerably in that time and not just road traffic but people traffic and crowds too. All the housing also takes away from the natural beauty that brought me here.

The scenario that you describe of being able to buy more house for less than where you live is precisely the reason why there are so many Californians here. We call the houses they buy McMansions because they are huge and so fast to build up.

I guess I don't like to see a good thing go bad and that's what's happening.

When I move to Wyoming, nobody better follow me!

aren040 · 02-27-2007, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by denverpete

You heard it from an Actual Californian! Tell everyone you know!

I actually do. The majority of people going out of California and going to Oregon or Colorado, or Nevada is due to the housing situation.

What I find funny is all the people that say things like this. Hey when the movie industry decided to move to California from New York that is when California started getting heavily populated. All these people here in California came from somewhere right.

Technically if you really want to look at it California is not sending people over, they are just returning the number of people that came from other states.

I personally don't mind living here. Hell, I got the Boxster on Jan. 21 and have only had 3 occasions where I have had to drive with the top up.

Personally though, I would not be bothered to move out. Hell I spent quite a couple of years in Germany living in a small town and loved it there too.

To the OP, I don't know exactly what you are looking for but essentially Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona are fairly cheap and upcoming communities as well.

Also since there is a lot of CO people here. Last month or so I read an interesting article that claimed that CO is not the new Meth capital of the US. Supposedly there are more Meth Labs and more Meth produced in CO than in any other state. I found that to be confusing.