Colorado wisdom?

[MtnT4R]

Haha.. I actually tried to sell that as a backup plan and almost got slapped.

I looked these up as a joke about a year ago, but I found a few new that were surprisingly nice on the inside- like hardwood floors, granite countertops, and new appliances. I thought, "man these places are actually pretty nice!" Its like a refined little log cabin on wheels. Not sure where I'd put it, but I want one. Maybe thats my inner redneck talking.

Anyways, have you come up with any other questions?

 

[bofa]

I looked these up as a joke about a year ago, but I found a few new that were surprisingly nice on the inside- like hardwood floors, granite countertops, and new appliances. I thought, "man these places are actually pretty nice!" Its like a refined little log cabin on wheels. Not sure where I'd put it, but I want one. Maybe thats my inner redneck talking.

Anyways, have you come up with any other questions?

I can tell you that part of our packing process has been decluttering and tossing/selling/donating stuff we don't want to have to move, and its been quite liberating. I almost wonder how well I would do with a minimalistic house. Plus it would force me to get out more.

No questions for now... Just trying to get a rental locked in. I found a great place last night but now it's a rat race to get it locked in.

 

[bofa]

We might have a rental... should know more today or tomorrow. We're just waiting on the application process.


So, lets talk snow blowers!

 

[bofa]

Actually lets talk grounds maintenance in general...

How's the grass in CO? Here it grows like weeds, have to cut it almost weekly and it's thick. I have an awesome cheap lawn guy now... hoping to find the same there so I don't have to deal with it.

Pressure washing is big here too... have to get it done at least twice a year if you don't want mold growing and to avoid any well water staining.

I see a lot of rocks which seems like a good thing IMO.

Is there any other special exterior maintenance I should plan on?

 

[MtnT4R]

The grass really depends on how new the sod is, and irrigation. If you don't water regularly, the sun and dry air will destroy your lawn. But other than that, we mow once a week, end of May thru the end of September. Your season will be a bit longer on the front range, but once we get a good frost, it pretty much kills the growth for the season.

We don't really have an exterior mold problem, again because of the dry air, but pressure washing is never a bad idea. Summertime maintenance is fairly minimal, watering, weeding, etc. If you are meticulous about the condition of exterior wood trim and decks, they need to be sealed at least once a year, twice if you are really on top of it.

Wintertime can be interesting. Definitely need a good quality snow shovel- aluminum, not plastic. If you have a north-ish facing driveway/front door, invest in a bucket of snowmelt pellets. Snow will melt during the day and freeze at night, leaving some pretty awesome ice slicks, usually right where there is a lot of foot traffic. That can make for a fun lawsuit. And snow blowers....you can never have enough torque or hp. We have three of them in various sizes, but there's always at least one storm each season where the biggest one still just isn't big enough. We get snow more frequently up here, but when storms hit the front range, they get hammered. Like 2 feet at a time.

 

[farmerjon]

This is quite the interesting thread! I find some of your questions very interesting, because having lived out here most of my life, I take a lot of this for granted... So your questions remind me how awesome it is to have lived here...

I live in a similar area, but MUCH less crowded that Colorado... I live near Yellowstone, in Wyoming, on the WY/MT border... A lot of what you've mentioned about concerns are valid here as well, so I know the answer to 99% of your questions...

Seems like you're getting a lot of good advice!

I read most of the first few pages, so I may have missed it, but when are you guys actually moving out here? May is an awesome time to come out, since you can get used to Colorado and then it gives you some time to brace yourself for the winter.

Oh, I should mention that I've been to Florida. Not my cup of tea, at all!

 

[bofa]

The grass really depends on how new the sod is, and irrigation. If you don't water regularly, the sun and dry air will destroy your lawn. But other than that, we mow once a week, end of May thru the end of September. Your season will be a bit longer on the front range, but once we get a good frost, it pretty much kills the growth for the season.

We don't really have an exterior mold problem, again because of the dry air, but pressure washing is never a bad idea. Summertime maintenance is fairly minimal, watering, weeding, etc. If you are meticulous about the condition of exterior wood trim and decks, they need to be sealed at least once a year, twice if you are really on top of it.

Wintertime can be interesting. Definitely need a good quality snow shovel- aluminum, not plastic. If you have a north-ish facing driveway/front door, invest in a bucket of snowmelt pellets. Snow will melt during the day and freeze at night, leaving some pretty awesome ice slicks, usually right where there is a lot of foot traffic. That can make for a fun lawsuit. And snow blowers....you can never have enough torque or hp. We have three of them in various sizes, but there's always at least one storm each season where the biggest one still just isn't big enough. We get snow more frequently up here, but when storms hit the front range, they get hammered. Like 2 feet at a time.

Thanks - sounds manageable. Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to land a cheap lawn guy. From what I can tell, the rental house is facing the West. I've already started shopping blowers and have my eye on one from Northern Tool.

This is quite the interesting thread! I find some of your questions very interesting, because having lived out here most of my life, I take a lot of this for granted... So your questions remind me how awesome it is to have lived here...

I live in a similar area, but MUCH less crowded that Colorado... I live near Yellowstone, in Wyoming, on the WY/MT border... A lot of what you've mentioned about concerns are valid here as well, so I know the answer to 99% of your questions...

Seems like you're getting a lot of good advice!

I read most of the first few pages, so I may have missed it, but when are you guys actually moving out here? May is an awesome time to come out, since you can get used to Colorado and then it gives you some time to brace yourself for the winter.

Oh, I should mention that I've been to Florida. Not my cup of tea, at all!

Thanks for chiming in. Yeah, we're ready to go... Florida has been home for a long time but we're both over it. We will be arriving in CO on June 16th.

It's always interesting when you realize how different things are depending on region. I've been fortunate to do a bit of travel, which is what brought me to Colorado in the first place.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

The other plus is your vehicles your vechiles won't rust away here.

 

[bofa]

The other plus is your vehicles your vechiles won't rust away here.

Believe it or not, I haven't had any issues with rust on any of my vehicles, but I'm pretty good about maintaining them. But we live about 10 miles from the beaches so it's not as harsh either.

 

[bofa]

arty: We got the rental! arty:

The lease should be finalized in the next day or two and we are good to go. Now we just have to wait... and drive 1800mi. :biggrin1:

 

[MtnT4R]

Congrats! Thats some pretty quick work. Pays to be proactive eh? You better take every opportunity on that drive to check out every random small town landmark on the way here.

 

[bofa]

Congrats! Thats some pretty quick work. Pays to be proactive eh? You better take every opportunity on that drive to check out every random small town landmark on the way here.

I was a lot more aggressive with this place because, well, we are planners. We like to know what we are doing ahead of time, plus it's a lot less stressful knowing we have something locked down. I actually wired the property manager an earnest deposit last Thursday to get him to stop showing it... that was an interesting story in itself.

We were talking about those landmarks/attractions last night. When I drove from CO here in that ice storm everything was close so I missed out. I plan to fit a few in on the way, but probably not too many since we will be anxious to get there and get settled in. At least the weather should be a little better this time around.

 

[bofa]

Alright, it's time to schedule utilities etc and I could use some more input.

I assume electric, power, gas are pretty much dictated by the area, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Who are the go-to companies for home phone and internet? Do any of them bundle with AT&T wireless?

Who are the good local alarm monitoring companies?

 

[WaySlowWhitey]

I missed the post but looks like you're moving to Castle Rock. Having live in Jax and now in CR, you'll enjoy it. No beach but definitely a very cool little town.

Gas will come from Black Hills Energy and electric from IREA. Xfinity (Comcast) provides cable and Century Link (formerly Qwest) provides DSL. Our preference is Xfinity but that's simply a matter of being the lesser of the two evils.

Not sure about alarm services as our Red Heeler has that job covered.

 

[bofa]

I missed the post but looks like you're moving to Castle Rock. Having live in Jax and now in CR, you'll enjoy it. No beach but definitely a very cool little town.

Gas will come from Black Hills Energy and electric from IREA. Xfinity (Comcast) provides cable and Century Link (formerly Qwest) provides DSL. Our preference is Xfinity but that's simply a matter of being the lesser of the two evils.

Not sure about alarm services as our Red Heeler has that job covered.

Wow, small world! I'll check out Comcast and Century Link. Is fiber optic expanding out there yet?

 

[BrianSD_42]

Always! Got computer skills?

What type of computer skills?

We have offices in CO as well so I know there are plenty of tech firms but I'm curious what you do ...

 

[EatonKyleH]

I've seen your posts in the firearm section. Glad to have you in CO we need all the shooters we can get! Welcome.

 

[bofa]

What type of computer skills?

We have offices in CO as well so I know there are plenty of tech firms but I'm curious what you do ...

Right now I do software analysis, config, & testing... mostly proprietary stuff these days. Most of my experience is with benefits administration and it just gradually got more technical over the past 6 years. It makes it sound smarter than I probably am though.

 

[bofa]

Pardon my enthusiasm.... but... 4 weeks! :frog:

 

[bofa]

Registration Fees

Quick question about registration fees... I know they are based on the MSRP and decrease over time, but what happens when you trade in a vehicle for another vehicle? Do you pay registration based on the full MSRP again or do you get credit for the current registration?