What Kind Of Life Does Colorado Lead?

As a front range resident I can say one thing for sure, if you don’t frequently go to the mountains then it’s like living in any other big city with all the big city problems. If I add to the positives we have the “solar snow shovel” and we don’t have to deal with snow and ice all winter long. If I add to the negatives it doesn’t rain enough, and when it rarely does rain people mope around like it’s the end of the world. Seriously, people here have instant sunshine withdrawal symptoms.

I’m a multi generation Coloradoan and any US citizen can move here and I’m ok with that. Yes you can have a true wilderness experience here if you don’t follow the crowd. One of the best things here is almost no bugs or mosquitoes. I live in a small mountain town and yes we do have festivals almost every spring,summer and fall weekends. You know it’s expensive here when the Walmart in the next town is paying $23/hr night shift. I’ve lived in other parts of the country but I will never leave again (I hope). Come for a visit! Stay if you wish.

Briggs seriously understated the wildfire problem and its attendant air quality problems in this article. Our local wildfire season in Boulder County started on 12/30/21 with the Marshall Fire (1084 homes burned). It wasn’t even in the mountains and forest like west coast fires. It started during a 110 mile per hour windstorm. We have had 2 additional fires in Boulder County since then with a brief gap when we finally got our “winter” (note the global warming here and the 26 year drought) with snow on 12/31/21 which extended to about 3/23/22. Because of the1/2 of Louisville which was destroyed the population has actually decreased which is unheard of for a Colorado City. Before the fire, Louisville was listed as one of the best cities to live in the United States. Then there’s the fire season where Colorado gets the smoke from west coast fires where it’s unhealthy to breathe when you’re outside which can run from May-November. Since the Marshall and other Boulder fires, my wife and I have spent everyday thinking about evacuation plans. I may try to move a lot of important stuff to a storage unit to the east that doesn’t have trees around it. If I get one too far to the east on the plains, it gets into tornado territory. Colorado has mass shootings like many other states. Forbes magazine rated Boulder the Happiest City in the United States in 2017 which is probably true if you’re a blind millionaire and can’t see the 1,000 or so unfortunate homeless people in the city. There were 10 people murdered in the shooting in King Soopers on 3/20/21.

After running an insurance business for 38 years in Fort Collins Colorado I have left there. I had lived in the state for over 65 years. I had had enough and decided a little over a year and a 1/2 ago to go up and live just outside of thermoplus Wyoming. Couldn’t be happier now never wanna come back.

As someone who has been a coloradan for a while I love this state but it breaks my heart that the fires, smoke and water rights are concerning enough to leave. For the last few summers it’s been so bad you can’t go outside for almost the entire summer and with this year’s light snow fall I only imagine this pattern will continue and get worse

You hit the nail on the head with this article!! So happy i got to experience Colorado before it got overpopulated, overpriced, polluted air, crazy drivers, bumper to bumper driving to the once pristine Rocky Mountains of 1970’s, 80’s, 90’s! I will stay here till I die, pay the greedy piper, but it will never be the way it was! Sadly

I was born and raised in Colorado and yes it used to be amazing! Not so much anymore unfortunately too many people moving there and changing everything for the worst. I just moved out of Colorado for the first time in my life and I am happy to have grown up there and lived there while it was at it’s best! I don’t miss the traffic and extremely high prices, I used to be able to hike and camp anywhere, now everything comes at a high cost and is private property that used to be enjoyed by the public. Litter and violence hasn’t been as bad as it is now.

When I was in junior highschool way, back in the day, I spent two summers and one winter break in Denver visiting my Dad. I absolutely loved Denver! Beautiful scenery. So much natural beauty. I went to see Othello at The Red Rocks theater. I saw the minor league baseball team The Denver Bears at the old Mile High Stadium. I went for a drive to mountains. And went sailboating on a lake. The only downside, was me, being from San Diego, trying to acclamate to the high altitude. I’d have altitude sickness for several days.

I was born and raised in the Northwest corner of Colorado. Skiing was part of our gym class, rodeos and tailgate parties were great. Visiting Denver and Colorado to see extended family while going to Casa Bonita and chilling at Waterworld then shopping at Cherry Creek Mall back in the 80’s and early 90’s. The air seemed cleaner and better. Now I visit my Parents who moved to Grand Junction ( another place we would visit for weekend shopping) and this town has become overrun, over populated and over priced for the area. The mountain formations are beautiful though. The traffic is almost just as bad as Denver and the cost of living is astronomical!!!. I have long moved away from there but people who have transplanted there have made it a much ruder, over populated and dirtier state then it once was. People in Colorado used to be genuine and great. Now the state has changed. I’m saddened by this.

Good article. You put some good notes here. The ‘people moving here thing’ is legit, though, and its overcrowding our cities, which eventually leads to politicians wanting to turn them into big, ugly cities like Detroit (exaggeration), but its true, and it’s also changing the politics to even more blue. Another thing is that (I don’t know if it’s just my experience, or if it’s true) all the new people coming in with there own driving styles brings some really bad drivers (mostly from California…), so overall the way people drive has gotten so much worse in the recent years, and sometimes people are just plain stupid.

I’m one of those Colorado commenters. 68 yr native of Colorado and this state has been “Ruined”. Over crowded and wayyyy to expensive. Note: if you move here and get auto ins….be prepared to pay for Everyone else’s car accident. Insurance here is a soaring rip off business here. Your rates will Never remain the same. This is my home state and I’m Discusted how it’s developed. It’s just too overcrowded.

Ah, what the heck… I’ve been saying that newcomers aren’t welcome in Colorado since July 2010. And of course, we moved here in June 2010! Ignore them. Please come. EDIT: Regarding the wildfires that pump smoke into the already polluted air along the Front Range… Also keep in mind that Denver is at 5,000+ feet above sea level and Colorado Springs is at 6,000+ feet. That just makes all the smoke, pollution, and dust (don’t forget the dust that gets kicked up with the fairly consistent high winds!) all that much more irritating. Some people can’t breathe when the air quality is good simply due to the altitude!

LOL – just lie about being a native – it’s the same here in Florida. Every state isn’t what it used to be, and I get that Colorado folks want to protect what little is left. Of course, if there state was crap, no one would want to move there unless they had no choice – just ask Mississippi. The pandemic has allowed some folks to relocate to areas they prefer to live in instead of being chained to a specific metro area – this is the evaluation process I’m going through right now. I’m only in Orlando because of Disney but since I no longer work for them – I’m free to move anywhere else – and I really like skiing. Apparently, I’m not the only one.

Western Colorado is very under rated and grand junction keeps growing every year and as a native to Colorado I recommend GJ. Like if you like outdoors fresh air and want to live in a city but don’t the craziness of denver then I think GJ is worth a shot like we have good shopping food and activities we also aren’t to far from the mountains and it’s kinda like a mini Utah out here.

Last May I moved to Westminster, CO, from 35 yrs in PA (the Dutch backbone there kept me at arms length). I used your insights to help make my decision. From perusal this today, I wanted to say that I find the people I’ve met here, both bornNbred & newbies, to be extremely open, happy & friendly. I think it has a LOT to do w/ all the time people here get to spend outside. There’s actual research that Mr. Stanley (of the famed Stanley Hotel in Estes Park) had done in the late 1800’s here, when he was surprisingly cured of TB, died instead in his 80’s, when once given a TB death sentence… He had spent a lot of time outside, so used his vast resources to get to understand his new health. Note: there are rude people anywhere you hv humans, but I feel people in CO are way more welcoming than those of PA ever were.

I tend to try and leave right after work from the Colorado Springs area, and my parents have a condo up in Winter Park (off I70 and Berthoud pass), it’s a little better than the drive to Summit county resorts (breck, keystone, etc…), but you still hit Denver rush hour traffic on I25, slows with truckers up I70, and sketchy switchbacks. If you leave at 5:30 you might not get up there till 9:30 or 10:00. And it’s usually a 2hr and 15 min drive. And don’t get me started on holiday weekends, all the Texans come up for a long weekend or spring break of pizza and French fries skiing, and the roads are such a mess. People w/ out snow chains or tires who think they can go 90 in eh road conditions, people who don’t know how to drive in a blizzard, and so many people who drove their oversized SUV into a ditch. It becomes living hell on the freeways/interstates.

I visited Colorado in the past but more recently decided I’ll make the move to the state by 2023. Illinois is a complete mess and I love the vibe Colorado offers (a mix of outdoorsy adventure and offerings from the cities/suburbs). When I was last in Colorado (Westminster), I had a chance to speak with some natives while at one of the local dog parks and they were very welcoming. One of the guys spent 20 or so minutes just talking about the different environmental initiatives the state should be undertaking to reduce power costs and address the wildfire issue. Several folks asked where I was visiting from and when I said Illinois they just said “glad you’re not from California”. Either way, I felt welcomed enough and I don’t plan on voting for legislation that would make the state worse (or anything like California lol). Hope with new developments the housing market might go down a bit.

LOL I vehemently disagree on the food scene….yeah, the drink scene is robust with all the beer, but the food is garbage. The Mexican food and BBQ….garbage. Everything is over salted or bland. And the DMV fees/taxes are very expensive, especially if you have purchased a new car. The people are a little stand-offish in the larger cities, too But I will attest it’s a great place to kick off your career and make good money; the weather and change of seasons are lovely, and property taxes are low. Of course the scenery is unparalled as well. It’s a nice state but I found it boring if you don’t like to be in nature all the time, and the people and food were equally terrible (MY experience). I moved out of state but still own and rent out my house there so I still have a foot in the door if I ever wanted to return lol.

As far as another con (conflicting with a pro about “low” fees/taxes), Colorado has insane registration fees for a new car thanks to former governor Hickenlooper. I’ve heard our new car registration is the worst in the country. My STI was close to $1,500 the first year, nearly $1,000 the second year, and around $750 the third year – before finally dropping below $500 after 5 years of highway robbery by the state government. Lookout new car buyers (in Colorado)! Add another $1,500 (at least) to your sticker price if you’re buying a $40,000+ vehicle. That was in 2016/2017, too; it’s probably worse now.

I LOVE your articles and listen daily to catch up but you kind of lost me when you said CO has good barbecue and Mexican food. My husband is from CO and I’m from TX. Everywhere he took me for barbecue I almost spit the food out. I’m not even a huge fan of KC barbecue but I would gladly take it over anything on CO.

fastest, craziest drivers i have ever seen around denver. even in bad weather they haul ass. but if you get stranded somewhere, someone will always help you. downtown area is a bit sketchy but people in denver area are cool. also i dont think he mentioned the gnarly hail storms they get or the amount of big ass rattlesnakes you see in the spring and summer. it’s a beautiful state with tons of wild animals running around.

Idk man. Y’all are tripping lmao. Prices of rent are high. But this state is amazing. I can do what I want, when I want, how I want, where I want, and be high doing it if I wanted to. Don’t smoke in the “open spaces” or national parks and you’re good. I’ve literally dabbed in parks…smoke joints in front of cops….y’all are trippin about everything other than the sun is hot as diarrhea shit here lmao Winter is fine. Every season. Plenty of parks. Mountains, water, lakes. What could you not love about it here. Even some of the homeless are funny haha Festivals everywhere, groups everywhere, over 200 skateparks. Word class winter sports. Come on now haha

Just a few things that irk me about your article. First of all it’s Colo-RA-do… NOT Colo-RO-do. Say it right. Also – you talk about great weather, you must not live in Colorado. The weather is very unpredictable. The whole 300 days of sunshine is a myth. We’re talking about hail storms in the “spring”, hazy summers because of the crazy wildfires (which make the air quality go to shit), hot and dry summers, and don’t get me started on the winters. Also fall and spring don’t really exist in this state. (So not all 4 seasons). It starts to get cold (and snow) as soon as October and it will continue to be cold until May. We get random wind storms, blizzards, and sub zero weather sometimes. Also you talk about the food & drink – I will say there’s a lot of great breweries in Colorado, but then you talk about Colorado having the best BBQ and Mexican food or Tacos, I couldn’t help but laugh. You must have not tried BBQ and Tacos in a place called “Texas” 😅😂.

Oh yeah! 100 plus outside the metro areas. Stay in the Right lane and be aware! This year,we’ve had a snowy winter. This turned the Drought around. I’m a native! I’ve Retired here. I wish the influx of people moving to the state would slow down. Growth means progress,progress means economic health. 2nd best economy in the US! Our Govenor wants to delete,state taxes. Bravo! Go Colorado!

I lived in the springs during college but moved as soon as a graduated. While it’s true the average pay is higher in general- it’s not high enough to offset how much more it costs there and pay can still be closer to the national average depending on the industry. I moved to the Midwest and pay was the same as an equivalent position in the springs, but my rent was almost 40% lower and my car insurance cost was cut in half immediately (Colorado has high car and home insurance due to frequent hail). Groceries are also cheaper.

Skin cancer is high. Wear a hat. Drought conditions can be high. Forest fires can be a problem. Traffic in the larger cities is awful. Public transit is poor. Can be hard to access trail heads and events due to high usage and no parking. Denver has a migrant crisis. Property taxes have skyrocketed. There are not enough services for the amount of people who have moved in so can be hard to get medical appointments etc. Its been 15or 20 years since Colorado was a great place to live.

Which can be frustrating depending upon n your circumstances but if you don’t come from wealth and you live in Colorado it’s hard asf to make ends me while white people here don’t understand working these small time jobs you can’t survive so you often face the the fact you gotta live with other people which is cool I get it but it’s make it even more difficult for since Covid to rent and even meet these standards but clueless people who haven’t struggled yet or even know what it is so message of my rant is make sure you come from wealth or you just gonna be like me and end up living in the hood which is okay wit me but some of y’all won’t last

I just moved here, I’m from Gulfport Mississippi, so here’s my experience so far lol it randomly rains and hails out of no where. It’s extremely hot and dry, the water is really hard, it’s super expensive, the people aren’t friendly, not much to do unless you go to Denver, I haven’t experienced the winter yet. BUT the mountains are beautiful lol. We are military and trust me we don’t wanna stay here 😅

I’d say that the positive points here are kinda meh. I feel you can find good food just about anywhere, but for Colorado, the best food is in the major, expensive cities. 4 seasons is irrelevant, to me. I’ve lived here all my life, and sure, it’s true, but I don’t feel that it’s really that important. I’d say the same for the weather. I’ve lived in Grand Junction most of my life, and I can say that it gets relatively hot in the summer, above 100 F sometimes, and somewhat cold in the winter, rarely below 0 F. Booming economy, I’m not sure about. That was what was said before the pandemic, I’m not sure about it right now. I can definitely say that it isn’t a bad economy, but I would not say it’s “Booming”. I’ve only been to a few of the festivals. There are a lot, ya. I think that this is the best point here. I’d say that the negatives heavily outweigh the positives.

Bad reason Numbers 1 and 3 caused Number 2 and it’s very true (also bringing in unwelcome politics). For a decent house in the suburban areas of Denver it can cost north of 500,000 to 600,000 dollars. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I’ll be moving to Seattle this fall for school, which I know is even worse, but it’s still ridiculous in Denver, too. So while I’d like to be welcoming of outsiders, I can’t help but be cold toward transplants from places like California and Texas because people like them are somewhat gentrifying the state (Typical Cali stuff I guess).

Colorado is my favorite state, but Ill tell ya what sucks about it… I got offered a job in Basalt making 120k/year and had to turn it down because I wouldn’t have been able afford to live anywhere within a 1.5 hour radius… 1 BR apartments are $3500+ a month, cheapest house on zillow was over an hour away and $900k.. clearly all they want in that area are seasonal trust fund skiers and California millionaire transplants.

I currently stay in Colorado and I was born and raised for 21 young yrs and my review of this state since I’m a person of color there’s so many white people obviously lol so you often are the token black kid unless you live in the hood which I have the experience in my childhood so it was cultural shock once I moved to cherry creek district which a lil bit out of the area for aurora district and you can clearly see that divide in these two communities

I worked at Vail Resort Spa at Keystone Resorts, I worked only Fri-Sun. I lived in Denver and would drive up every day for work, if you hit that traffic at the wrong time it’s insane. A 75mi 1hr 15min drive if I hit that 8am traffic it’d take me 3+hrs to get to Keystone. My 1st weekend working there I spent 10hrs driving in car due to traffic, by changing nny schedule by 1hr later I’d missed traffic all together

Great article and 110% accurate. We moved to the Pikes Peak area in 2014 when then average house price was in the mid 200s. We started to save with the plan of buying a house in 5ish years. Finally saved enough for a downpayment/closing/rainy day fund last year only for house prices to be in the 450-500K range. Now we’re looking to buy in Vermont/New Hampshire. It’s a shame because we really love this beautiful state and wish we weren’t price out. PS: We’re full Texas, don’t come here at least until I leave lol. JK JK

Ive been a bit worried about moving back. I moved to California when I was in Kindergarten so that my mom could take care of my grandma. Since my grandmas passing, my family has been thinking of moving back. Myself, personally, was thinking of moving back and getting a head start. The thing that hurts me most is taking a pay cut, I have a job lined up but I’d be making $8 less making my new wage $20. Id imagine $20 goes a lot further in a Colorado, but im still worried about the mentioned cost of housing and not to mention my California plates. With all this being said my family has ranches and plenty of farm land in the southern part of Colorado so I wouldn’t be going out there alone. Anyways thank you for the article I shall continue to do more research.

My wife and I have been living on on small farm in the Lower Blanco Valley on the Blanco River on the western Slope since 2012. We have 16 or so acres, and a grow dome and an irrigation system and we raise hay. She sells produce at the farmer’s market in the summer and I play guitar in the local bars and restaurants. It’s Paradise! Paradise.

My husband and I visited Colorado a few years ago and absolutely fell in love. We are originally from NJ and NY and live in North Carolina now. We are planning our move to Colorado Springs in September. This article really inspires us. We also have a greyhound so we loved the pet section. Please wish us luck! Thank you for sharing the love of your home with us viewers.

I’m actually from Romania. Married my husband from California in 2017, and we’ve been living here since. I never really liked California, maybe because growing up we had all 4 seasons, not just one 😂. For a little while now, Colorado’s been on my mind… This coming December, i want to visit Georgetown, CO… I heard it’s very christmasy….side note: I LOVE CHRISTMAS ❤ If you know of a great Christmasy town, please let me know 😊. Thank you for the article 😁

I miss living in Colorado so much. I currently live in Louisiana, I grew up out here and originally moved to Colorado permanently before marijuana became legal and the big boom of transplants. I had to move back to Louisiana after living in Colorado for 4 years in order to help my parents. I had planned to move back in 2020 but Covid happened and unfortunately drained my savings. Now I am more than ready to move back. I lived in Colorado Springs but am debating on going back to the Springs ir elsewhere. I just need really good schools for my daughter.

Looking into Colorado, haven’t made a choice yet, I’m from South Carolina and my boyfriend is from Colorado. I’ve been trying to get him to move to SC because it’s cheaper, little snow, low homeless people on every corner (looking at Denver and Aurora) and I’ve already have a home, he still lives with family. However because I love him, I’m on here giving it a lot of thought. Pros I do like that weed is legal there though, low humidity, minimum mosquitos (at least when I visited), better roads and I personally thought tap water tasted better there. It’s a hard choice for us.

As someone who has lived here my entire 28 years of living, I love the state. Especially downtown Denver, it has a lot to offer and Blackhawk in the mountains. However I will say that traffic is a major problem and rent prices are out of control. If you choose to move to this beautiful state, do your research lol cheers!

Colorado is a great state. Politics are pretty neutral, it’s blue but not far left (maybe Boulder a little). Crime is average unless you’re around the shady areas of Denver. Yeah cost of living is going up but so is the rest of the country no escaping that. Winters do get cold but unlike the Midwest it’s tolerable.

I just recently moved here in Colo Springs. Unfortunately, I’ve been very sick since moving here (1 month ago). I’ve never had a worse head cold/ sinusitis and nose bleeds since being here. This has become a great challenge, and I pray this condition leaves once fall arrives. I never thought I’d have such a challenge of adjusting. Still, it’s gorgeous here, I do love the fact that it’s not humid here, however, those dry desert hot winds are actually adding to the problem. Dry, sore throat,bleeding dry sinuses,and dehydration are no laughing matter. The extremes of cool desert nights, and hot winds are forcing me to stay indoors. I was told that due to the unusually high amount of rainfall this year, the pollens of this area are sending scores of people to the doctor with allergies and sinusitis. I’ll see what the next 3 seasons will bring. The changes my body is experiencing are very real and not for the faint of heart.

Originally from Long Island NY, 30 min from NYC, lived in Queens and Brooklyn for a while and I’m so used to a busy chaotic and hectic way of life – very excited to live in a city that matches more what I like and my vibe! The only good part is that living right next to NYC all my life means that no prices, tax rates or rent prices seem all that high to me LOL. The only thing I’m worried about is that it may seem boring compared to what I’m used to, but I love the outdoors and peace and quiet and hate living in a busy city. Moving in the next few months – nervous but excited 🙂