How Awesome Is Colorado?

Personally, I think racism is what you make of it. I am of Latin descent and I don't even think twice about my skin color or outer appearances that may make me different. I have a very good Asian friend that is the same way. I have heard my MIL tell her friends we are Italians and I just announce right back that we are Spanish. She even told her friends our last name was Italian and put an Italian twist on it and spelled it that way when she mailed my daughter a card. I am aware it may be a problem for her, but I have no problems with it. It just makes me giggle a bit, but I don't worry about it.

I can think of one incident where my client seemed to make a fuss about me touching her. Normally I don't touch people in my line of work and was trained not to, but we were out of time and I was trying to make the Bride happy by working a few minutes over for free and had to move quick. The Mother brushed her jacket where I touched her (Hahaha), however I was oblivious still. Later I met up with the coordinators who were two black girls and they mentioned the family had issues and then I put 2 & 2 together. I really don't think much of it and except that I met up with the girls later, I would have just thought she didn't want anyone to touch her, nothing to do with my race.

I am native to LV and when I married my husband we moved to Arizona for new beginnings and a career opportunity for both of us. It was so exciting when we got there and less exciting every time we tried to walk in a place without an appointment and were turned away, every time we wanted something to eat after 9:00 p.m. and had to go to a drive thru and be there by 10:00 p.m., and when we went in a bar at 11:00 for a drink & lounge, we were told last call was in 30 minutes. We never gave thought to these things, but they were beginning to annoy us. Then we realized, we missed our mountains, as strange as it is. There were mountains there, but I was used to being in a city surrounded by mountains and the mountains there were a bit more sporadic. If you are near a beach, that may be a problem for you. We came back to Vegas for a visit and my husband went back to work and I went back to Arizona to quit for us both. (It was a different economy back then.) I have things I love about Arizona, but just don't think I would have made it living there.

It is very hard to move if you have been in an environment for too long.

I am a big fan of Colorado having lived here most of my life! There are a few things I would pay attention to though. First is the allergy issue, LA has a lot of smog which will add to allergy problems but Colorado is VERY dry which will also add to allergy problems. So you might not avoid that. Also, Colorado is very brown most of the year. It is called Colorful Colorado because of the beautiful mountains and has a lot of green and wonderful wild flowers in the spring and summer time but outside of that you will experience a lot of bare trees and brown brush most of the year.

Here are the good things I see about Colorado:
- The weather is nothing like people think, we have a few days a year where it is freezing and a snow storm here and there but it is very temperate typically. Today it is going to be 55 degrees, not bad. The mountains is where you will see bitter cold winters and lots of snow
- We are considered one of the healthiest states of the union
- Lots of space and nature
- Not a ton of racism unless you are in certain parts of the metro area and that is not geared towards Asian that I know of
- The sun shines more days out of the year than anywhere else on earth (way cool)

In short, I love living in Colorado but I haven't lived anywhere else. I hope you and your family can get here since you want it so badly. Enjoy!

When I was a teenager my family moved from LA to Denver. There were some very distinct differences. For one thing we all really missed the ocean. The mountains are wonderful but I was a real water baby and I had a hard time making that transition from surfer to skier. Also, it is quite a change to go from big city living (like in LA) to a smaller city like Denver. Although Denver has come a long way since my folks moved us there 20 years ago, it still has a small town sort of feel to it and can seem a little less sophisticated than LA. If you are planning to move to an even smaller community, really investigate it. I have seen the isolation really take its toll on former city folks when they move to the mountains. An other thing to keep in mind is the weather. The winters are cold! and snow storms can keep you trapped inside for days at a time. I know this really bothers my mom (who has lived in Co. for over 20 years). The winters can be very barren and gray. Snow that is beautiful the day after a storm is very depressing when it is filthy on the side of the road weeks later. Trees have no leaves (except the pines) and there are no flowers for months. This lack of color for months on end can be very disheartening to the Southern Californian who is used to green and blooming flowers all year round.

The air quality, while better than LA, is not great. There is a lot of carbon monoxide trapped by the mountains in Denver. But the skies are clear and, as an earlier poster mentioned, impressively beautiful. Allergy problems are at a minimum due to cold winters and a dry climate (bring your lotion). By and large, it is a very healthy, active, get out in the great outdoors kind of state. People are generally very friendly and there is a lot to do.

As far as racism is concerned, I don't think you have much to worry about. The Denver metro area (Boulder and Colorado Springs too) are ethnically diverse and have not experienced much trouble in that area. I live in Texas now and the race issues are much more pronounced in the south than in the western states. I don't remember there being much of a problem.

While I don't live there anymore, my parents still do and I visit Denver about 3 times a year. All in all, I really like it there but it was definitely a challenging transition from LA to Denver. If you need more information, feel free to send me a message with more specific questions and I'll see what I can do for you.

My SS & her hubby felt the same way about Arizona. She is an aesthetician and he is a massage therapist so it seemed like the perfect move...they're back in San Fransisco.
Any move is what you make it. Research schools, employment, housing, etc.......

I used to live in Colorado and it was pretty awesome! I miss it a lot. I especially miss skiing and hiking and all of the other outdoor activities. I'm in Florida now and for about 6 months out of the year it is just miserably hot and humid here. I wish I could move back but my hubby wouldn't go for that - he hates cold weather - and we also don't have any family there.

I think Colorado is very awesome! We came out here because my husband was stationed here in 1970, and we just stayed!

It is NOT a perfect state. You won't find one in this world. But the temperatures are nice, especially in the summertime because even then most of the nights are cool. The sun shines more than 300 days per year. There is the opportunity for a healthy lifestyle, but it's up to you to pursue it. There are plenty of outdoor activities. The air is healthier than in L.A., that's for sure.

The people are - well, just as they are anywhere else. You'll find the sort of people you're looking for, as the old poem says. Yes, there's some racism, as there is everywhere else. I know many Asian or Asian-combined families who like it here, though. You'll want to find out thoroughly about it once you decide where you'd like to settle - a large city (there is some pollution but not like you're used to), a small town, a rural area. If you could possibly take a good long vacation this summer and rent a house in the place where you think you might want to live, you'll learn a whole lot more than you will by listening to - well, to people like me.

There are allergies here! You don't mention what sort of allergies your son has, but you might talk with your doctor about whether a Colorado environment might alleviate those or not.

Nowhere is perfect, but I really like Colorado Springs.
Colorado has the most beautiful, brooding skies I've ever seen.
Colorado was my grandmother's very favorite place in the country.
I don't know that there's racism there. We saw people from all walks of life.

I would contact the Colorado visitor center, some chambers of commerce. Maybe plan a trip to do some scouting around and get a feel for it.
I do have to say that I had trouble with the altitude. It makes me woozy and takes a couple of days to get used to it.
It really is beautiful there though.

Best wishes!

Ive lived in Colorado my entire life. I've lived in small towns and I'm about 30 minutes from Denver right now. Eastern Co sucks its flat and looks a lot like Kansas. The small mountain towns are my favorite places because a lot of them are close to lakes and camping (although you can do all of that here, the lakes are pretty crowded) In Denver you do have everything within driving distance, camping, fishing, and then the city life which is probably quite a bit different than LA. Durango is one of my favorite towns, that is where i grew up its awesome but job possibilities are quite slim. I couldnt imagine living anywhere else. It does get dry in the winter which my daughters allergies start to act up in the winter. Some people are allergic to pine trees so it all depends on what the allergies are. Its a very diverse community (well denver, boulder etc) Im pretty sure the smaller towns would be not as diverse but we are nothing like the south. I love Colorado!!! Just when you come here change your plates right away because we do complain about California drivers :)

I grew up in CO and have recently moved back for my hubby's job and sadly we will be transferring again sometime next fall. But we love it here. It is very sunny, though not always warm. In town you will need a 4WD/AWD car seven days out of the year, the roads get cleared of snow pretty quick. We grew up in a small mountain community with very little diversity and honestly saw no racism, and now we are in town and my daughter's class is pretty diverse. Denver has a great balance of small town feel with big city sophistication and honkey-tonk hick-ville. But the traffic is insanely better than LA, our gas right now (by my house) is $2.89, houses cost less and people here are friendly and don't drive like they're in Grand Theft Auto. I agree, you should take a week or two and come out to test it. Check a vacation rental by owner type website and get a house/condo in Denver and drive drive drive. Any place will be as nice as you make it. You could be miserable, or you could make it work. But check us out! :)

No state is perfect, but we love Colorado. I've lived in Texas, Oklahoma and California. Colorado is, and always will be, our favorite place.
I wouldn't worry about racism. I haven't seen it at all in my kids school. The school is mostly white, but there are definitely some Asians (we have two asian families on our street alone.) My kids are color-blind when it comes to race - I think for the most part the younger generations are.
Denver has smog. Not as bad as CA, but it definitely does have some. Denver reminds me of Irvine, CA...with less traffic, homes are 1/2 the cost, and the schools are better in Denver. When we lived in CA, many people chose private school. That's not necessary in Colorado. The public schools are great. It does get windy in Colorado. The winters do drag on (it can snow as late as June). It is sunny a lot here. I can't remember the last time we had a day in which I didn't see the sun at least for a little bit.

I live in Colorado and I love it!! I cannot imagine living anywhere else! Colorado is one of the healthiest states in the country, and I think part of the reason is there are so many outdoor activities! There are downsides, traffic can be bad, though I don't know that it would be any worse than LA! I don't really sense a lot of racism here, though, that may not be true in all parts of the state. I live in a town called Parker which is mostly white but also has quite a few asian and Indian people. This is southeast of denver. I don't know how bad racism is in Denver, though it seems there are a ton of different races in Denver, much more so than the suberbs. But like the others I would reccomend taking a trip out first to see how you like it! Really try and tour the state, there are definitely some undesirable places to live! What may seem perfect to me, may be aweful for you! Good luck to you!

Everything I've heard from friends and family is that it is a fantastic place. I think Colorado is a liberal state. As far as racism that sucks that you've dealt with that. Unfortunately, people are stupid and ignorant no matter where you go. Before you move out there I would check out where to live and the school system and look to see if there is diversity.

I am going to suggest that you take a weeks vacation there and really check it out. Friends of mine who thought exactly like you do up and moved there and hated it so bad that they were back here within a year.