Are there any Jellies living in Colorado?

Deni does.

Everyone I know who lives or has lived there loved it except one of my very close friends.

I did for 20 years, but left about 10 years ago for a different job.

The main question for you is – where in Colorado would you live? If it is Denver/Boulder, it’s just another mega-city with a couple million people living there. Sprawling suburbs,no charm, etc.

If you’re thinking of some of the smaller towns – Fort Collins, Pueblo, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, etc. – then I’d be all for it.

Probably a smaller/quieter area. I like booming metropolis, but the hubs is a country-ish boy at heart. Also most likely looking for a lower altitude area (I’m aware it’s all pretty high) and cleaner air, as my husband is asthmatic.

I have a friend who lives in Fort Collins, has a PhD in Environmental Studies and works for the local branch of The Nature Conservancy. She raised one child there and has a male SO. They love it.

Nearby and nice are Livermore and Estes Park (gateway to the entrance to the Rocky Mt. National Park). The area is for outdoorsy types. The Rockies dominate.

Colorado Springs (only 60 miles from Denver)is a small city and home to Colorado College, which makes it a nice college town.

Golden is the home to Coors brewery and also abuts the foothills of the Rockies. (It is hard to avoid them unless you choose to live in eastern CO., and if you do that, you might as well stay in Kansas.)

Just saw your note about asthma. I can’t help with that. LIvermore, for example is at 5900 feet above sea level and Fort Collins, 5000’. Colorado Springs, 6000’.

@gailcalled Thanks!

Honestly, it can’t be worse than Florida – the air here is 80% humidity and 20% dust and diesel fumes. From what I hear, the air is pretty dry there, which will help him considerably. It’ll be nice to live in a state with proper dirt under our feet.

^^^> Hope you like snow.

I’d choose any of the small towns near the Rockies over FL in a heart-beat. There’s a very different demographic also.

I remember the last time I was in Boulder. All the members (both male and female) of the fall sports teams at U. Colorado used to jog up and down the foothills that abut the campus as if they were stadium steps.

My boyfriend and I agreed, after our visit to the States last year, Colorado was our favourite state and we could quite easily live there We loved Boulder in particular.

I visited the Ridgway / Montrose area this year. It was pretty awesome. People were friendly. I know someone who works near there with sexually abused kids. She’s very busy with work, if you catch my drift.

Ralph Lauren lives there. Westerns including the original True Grit were filmed there.

The local hot springs are awesome.

Wow! Big change. I love Colorado. There are tons of mountains, beautiful hiking and lots of outdoor adventures. The aspens and the evergreens are really lovely.

There are no beaches and a lot of winter weather.

The weather in Colorado can be very changeable: the effects of the winds and mountains. It can be 20 degrees one day and snowing and 70 degrees and sunny the next.

The people in the West are more open and accepting, but less polite and caring.

If you want small, also consider Salida. It’s damn charming.

@serenade Wow. Smaller, not Donner-Party small. ^_^

Talk about REMOTE!

My wife and I live in Central FL and are also pretty tired of and disenchanted with the heat an humidity.

For the month of May, we took a driving tour, visiting many places in the U.S., with thoughts toward where we might want to move. Colorado is pretty close to the top. We stayed for three days in the Colorado Springs area, and were very impressed with the people and general ‘feel’ of the area pretty much everywhere we went.

Added bonus: It seems that there is less of the cowboy / yee-haw / rodeo / spurs-that-jingle-jangle-jingle mentality in Colorado than in some other western states…
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Yeah, I get my fill of that garbage here in Tampa. 9 million cowboys who have never been within spitting distance of a cow. Idiots.

I stayed in Grand Junction one week for work several years ago. It was a nice place and the people were friendly. Also, I had the best pizza I’ve ever eaten at Pablo’s. Don’t know if pizza is a selling point for you, but it was very good.

I think that really good pizza should be a strong selling point for EVERYBODY but, you know….that’s just me….

I’m from New York City originally. Pizza is definitely a selling point.

Yeah, SK, we grew up and into adulthood lived in the NYC area (Long Island) for many years. Up there, if a place doesn’t make pretty good pizza, they will be out of business in about 15 minutes…

Had a friend who lived in Manitou Springs in the mountains and commuted down to Colorado Springs every day. He loved it there. Winters were a challenge and sometimes it was impossible to get into CS but WTF.
I lost track of him several years ago. Wonder if he is still there?

We walked around Manitou Springs and had lunch there on two different days. A very cool, kind of artsy little town, right at the foot of the Rockies. From there, you can take that “cog train” up to Pikes Peak (which we did).

I thought, “Yeah, I could easily see us living here”, and wondered just how cold the winters might be. The answer is probably…...pretty freakin’ cold…..
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Hello! Colorado is the best state. Good job looking this way.

@elbanditoroso Are you insane? Saying Boulder/Denver has no charm and are boring, sprawling suburbs is wildly incorrect, at least currently. I have lived in Boulder for 4 years, which has been all of my time here in Colorado. I haven’t lived in Denver but have many friends who love it for it’s better array of culture and urban life as opposed to Boulder, which is pretty white and not too diverse. That is a downside, but every place has it’s downside, and Boulder has sooo many upsides that I am willing to look past a few things I don’t like to get to live in a town that is conscious, clean, safe, and extremely happy and not to mention BEAUTIFUL! Also, @elbanditoroso is incorrect, Boulder has less than 100,000 people, so it is by no means a mega city. It isn’t even a city. It is a medium-large sized town, at best. And when the student population isn’t here it is even less.

Here are some other insights: the weather is incredible almost always. I moved here from Pennsylvania and assumed it would be colder and snowier than there. Wrong. The winter is a bit longer, but pretty mild usually. This April we got one big snow storm a week. At least a foot of snow for 3–4 Monday’s in a row, and the one Monday it was closer to 3 feet. But it always is sunny and warms up, so the snow doesn’t stick around long, except in unusual cases. Like you always hear though, the weather is very bipolar, but never lasts long. It can be 70 and sunny one day, 3 feet of snow the next, rain and 50 the next day, back up to 70 the day after, and then another 3 feet of snow. You never know, but it is very sunny and that’s a big one for me.

The people here are friendlier than almost anywhere in the USA that I have been. I don’t even think that’s a question, and I am not going to elaborate.

Downsides? It’s expensive. And there is no good pizza.

I would not live in Colorado Springs….it is extremely suburban and religious. I find it extremely unattractive and avoid it at all costs. My bf is from there though so I am forced to endure it more than I’d like. Pueblo is gross too, don’t consider that.

Any questions please let me know, PM me if you want, I love this state.

I second Grand Junction. My Aunt and Uncle live there and it is a wonderful place to raise children. Be prepared for lots and lots of cold weather.

I loved Salida and Buena Vista. I had the best experience of my life whitewater rafting the Arkansas a few years ago. I would move to the area, but my love for the river and the Denver Broncos does not trump my fear of rattlesnakes. lame, I know

I sent this Q to linguaphile. She moved to Colorado recently and she loves it. I can’t wait to hear from her.

What @deni said.

To add to that, I live closer to Fort Collins—each town has its ‘personality…’ Fort Collins is way more cowboy-ish than Boulder. Greeley’s a great college town, but you have to deal with the frequent aroma of the stockyards to the east. Bouder’s granola, dog-friendly, bike-friendly, vegan-friendly and full of well-to-do college kids. My son hates Boulder—he says it’s too snooty and expensive, but I love it.

The Denver/Boulder/Golden area has the best public transit I’ve seen anywhere—has both a great bus and light rail system that’s easy to follow.

East of I-25 is cheaper than west of I-25. I’m taking $20,000 to $40,000 cheaper for the same house/floor plan. Weld County (SAD!!!) is the worst place for fracking, so I’d definitely avoid Erie—the air quality in Erie and therabouts has become so bad from fracking that I’d say stay, stay away!!

If your husband has asthma, he will encounter problems in the summer with the smoke from forest fires. My friend has been flat on his back all week due to the Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs, and he is in Denver.

My favorite things—seeing hot air balloons every day through the summer. McDevitt’s Taco Stand on Pearl St. The plentitude of local eateries and breweries. SO many kid-friendly activities. Friendly people. The weather. The diversity of types of people—there’s not so much diversity in race, but in religion and lifestyles, yes. Cheap flights because Denver’s a hub. The outdoors and access to skiing, hot springs, hiking, rafting, kayaking, many 5K’s, concerts, etc.

Oh man here’s another good one: Red Rocks without a doubt one of the coolest musical venues in the world! Also as far as music goes I feel like a lot of great musicians are constantly coming through Denver/Boulder/Ft. Collins/CO Springs.

Every one who has ever visited me out here from the east coast has commented on how friendly every one is. It makes such a difference, I think it’s wonderful.

@jonsblond God isn’t it just amazing. I remember we talked about rafting last year when I had gone for the first time on the Arkansas…..just did it again last week but almost bit the dust for real when our whole boat capsized after a man-made dam. Pretty intense stuff, but I’m pretty sure those 2 trips down the Arkansas both produced the biggest rush of adrenaline my body has ever experienced!

@linguaphile I LOVE THE HOT AIR BALLOONS! I see them every day on my way to work and I crane my neck while driving and just smile really big cause they look so neat. Especially early in the morn, it’s a great way to start the day lol

@deni You are so lucky! I follow the rafting company we used on fb and they are reporting excellent conditions right now. I wish I could be there.

@jonsblond heaven is for sure on a raft going down the river if you ask me

Now I want to move to Colorado. Take me with you?

@augustlan Come on over!

@deni Groupon often offers half off Hot Air Balloon rides. I bought two tickets last year and went in September. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had!! I think in the next 2 weeks, Longmont will have their Hot Air Festival and 30–50 balloons will launch around the same time.

@linguaphile Gotta check that out!!! One was landing right beside my work as I walked in this morning, I was so happy haha

Well… Lost my job.

Officially no ties to Florida left. If I had more than $60 to my name, I’d be hopping a plane.

Sorry, SK. I sincerely hope that this ends up in that “best thing that ever happened” category.

And always remember…..when one door closes, another…..

Aww, never mind…
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@Seek_Kolinahr Oh, no. Please keep us posted on your outcome.

@Seek_Kolinahr Oh no! I’m so sorry, girlie. {hugs}