We made it!!!
- Thread starter bofa
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Quatre Coureur
New member
Glad to hear u made it there safely. :car:
bofa
New member
Thanks! We are still up to our ears in boxes but making headway. It will be nice to get everything put away, get settled, and be able to enjoy the area. We've already done some more exploring, esp in Castle Rock and Parker.
Day 1 FL -> TN
Southern Georgia construction and traffic was a nightmare. It delayed us about 3 hours, enough to put us in downtown Atlanta in rush hour. The 9 hour day ended up being a 16 hour day. Tennessee was a very cool drive though, but the Penske truck struggled on the mountains and curves.
Day 2 TN -> MO
This day started out perfect. We ended up on some back roads in Kentucky that were a lot of fun and very scenic. I rerouted our trip a bit to spend as little time in IL as possible and the small city we did end up cutting through (Cairo?) was a shithole. The last couple of hours in MO got a little hairy. It was seriously windy/rainy and I could have sworn a tornado was trying to form right off the highway.
Day 3 MO -> CO
This drive is sooo boring, but it was a nice day and we were happy to make it finally. Once we got to Colorado, some heavy storms rolled through making the Penske truck feel like a giant yellow sail boat. Oh and my GPS ended up putting us on some 2 lane country road instead of sticking to the main highways. That was... interesting, especially in the storms. I'd love to go back in the 4Runner on a nice day though.
The truck was a beast to drive but we made it unscathed and I only curbed it once... okay twice. Not bad for 1800 miles. Gas mileage was awful but the 4Runner drafting seemed to help its mileage. I still need to run the final numbers. Our older dog absolutely loved riding on the bench seat with me and really likes hotels for some reason. I also had it out with Chase a few times because they kept slapping fraud alerts on my card due to charges in different states and trying to fill up 2 vehicles at a time.
Having the walkie talkies was excellent, especially for merging and dealing with heavy traffic areas. I'm glad we didn't decide to tow the 4R. Oh and the car bra, as hideous as it may be, was very effective. Now I have to find time to take it off and clean it up again.
The rental is in a decent area but definitely not in the condition expected. I'll save the rants on that for now. Let's just say I'm ready to get our own place already.
Day 1 FL -> TN
Southern Georgia construction and traffic was a nightmare. It delayed us about 3 hours, enough to put us in downtown Atlanta in rush hour. The 9 hour day ended up being a 16 hour day. Tennessee was a very cool drive though, but the Penske truck struggled on the mountains and curves.
Day 2 TN -> MO
This day started out perfect. We ended up on some back roads in Kentucky that were a lot of fun and very scenic. I rerouted our trip a bit to spend as little time in IL as possible and the small city we did end up cutting through (Cairo?) was a shithole. The last couple of hours in MO got a little hairy. It was seriously windy/rainy and I could have sworn a tornado was trying to form right off the highway.
Day 3 MO -> CO
This drive is sooo boring, but it was a nice day and we were happy to make it finally. Once we got to Colorado, some heavy storms rolled through making the Penske truck feel like a giant yellow sail boat. Oh and my GPS ended up putting us on some 2 lane country road instead of sticking to the main highways. That was... interesting, especially in the storms. I'd love to go back in the 4Runner on a nice day though.
The truck was a beast to drive but we made it unscathed and I only curbed it once... okay twice. Not bad for 1800 miles. Gas mileage was awful but the 4Runner drafting seemed to help its mileage. I still need to run the final numbers. Our older dog absolutely loved riding on the bench seat with me and really likes hotels for some reason. I also had it out with Chase a few times because they kept slapping fraud alerts on my card due to charges in different states and trying to fill up 2 vehicles at a time.
Having the walkie talkies was excellent, especially for merging and dealing with heavy traffic areas. I'm glad we didn't decide to tow the 4R. Oh and the car bra, as hideous as it may be, was very effective. Now I have to find time to take it off and clean it up again.
The rental is in a decent area but definitely not in the condition expected. I'll save the rants on that for now. Let's just say I'm ready to get our own place already.
Welcome to Colorado! What brings you here, work/school? Where about did you move? When you're ready to do some wheeling and exploring in the mountains let me know. [MENTION=75090]Footofgod[/MENTION] and I try to spend s much time as we can in the mountains when we have time.
How are you liking the smoke filled skies?
How are you liking the smoke filled skies?
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zonianbrat
New member
Welcome to Colorado. Let me know if you make it up towards the Craig/Steamboat area!
SV your avatar is still my fav.
SV your avatar is still my fav.
Desert Fox
New member
Welcome
bofa
New member
Thanks! This thread has some of the back story, but in short, we moved here by choice. We are in Castle Rock for now and are looking to buy/build either here or Parker, unless something else changes our mind in the next few months. I really wanted to be on the other side of 25 and out of the dense areas, but my wife's new school is in Parker and she's really excited about it, so I may have to cater to that a bit since I don't commute.
Thanks for the invite! I may hit you up once we get settled in. Hopefully I'll make it to the next Colorado meet up as well.
I know the smoke has been bad, especially the first few days we were here. We got a nice room full of it the other night when we opened our windows (upstairs master bedroom facing the west is a bad idea apparently). We've been through some fires in Florida too over the years so we are familiar with it. I hope the people affected are doing okay though.
We will eventually, I'm sure. I keep trying to drag my better half out of the house but we still have a lot to unpack and more cleaning than we expected, unfortunately.
Thanks!
bofa
New member
This may make me sound like a wuss... but I wonder how well the stock 5th would fare. If I go messing up the family SUV, my better half might drop me off in a canyon. :lol:
Speaking of Canyons.. we ventured out to Castlewood Canyon state park over the weekend and it was great! I bought the parks pass too, so only 488 more miles of exploring to do.
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wadle5
New member
I'll be in Steamboat last week of July into August? Good places around that area for wheeling??
zonianbrat
New member
Yeah there are some good trails off of yellow jacket pass which is closer to meeker than Craig but I hear their are some good ones up around Steamboat too. Shoot me a pm when your around there and we will have to wheel one or at least meet up.
bofa
New member
On a whole? Keep in mind that I'm still in the honeymoon phase and that I was not fond of where we came from... I'll give it a 9/10.
The people here are so freakin' nice.
There is so much to do and explore.
The weather, even the hot stuff, is much more tolerable than FL weather. I actually enjoy getting out and walking here.
The food has been good with plenty of selection. More local dives than big chains, which is cool with us.
The cost of living really isn't hitting us yet. Housing is higher for desirable areas but groceries, gas, utilities, insurance, etc is the same or less. State taxes will be a small hit though. Teacher pay in Douglas county is a little screwy but we'll see how it pans out.
The bad so far are somewhat minor in comparison. The fires are of some concern but not really affecting us locally. It seems that you do have to venture out a bit to hit a store or get food. In the south, stores and restaurants are literally right outside the neighborhoods (which imo is a bad thing.. just takes some adjusting). The housing prices have crept up 20-30k since our visit in December. Oh and my 4Runner is a bit slower than on flat surfaces at sea level.
Overall we are extremely pleased with our decision. Oh and there's a llama farm nearby. :llama:
The people here are so freakin' nice.
There is so much to do and explore.
The weather, even the hot stuff, is much more tolerable than FL weather. I actually enjoy getting out and walking here.
The food has been good with plenty of selection. More local dives than big chains, which is cool with us.
The cost of living really isn't hitting us yet. Housing is higher for desirable areas but groceries, gas, utilities, insurance, etc is the same or less. State taxes will be a small hit though. Teacher pay in Douglas county is a little screwy but we'll see how it pans out.
The bad so far are somewhat minor in comparison. The fires are of some concern but not really affecting us locally. It seems that you do have to venture out a bit to hit a store or get food. In the south, stores and restaurants are literally right outside the neighborhoods (which imo is a bad thing.. just takes some adjusting). The housing prices have crept up 20-30k since our visit in December. Oh and my 4Runner is a bit slower than on flat surfaces at sea level.
Overall we are extremely pleased with our decision. Oh and there's a llama farm nearby. :llama:
bofa
New member
Okay, so I have to ask simply because I'm intrigued... what do all these people do for a living around here? There is an abundance of houses in the $500-700k range. Is income just that much higher here? Is this California money rolling in? Or am I missing another factor altogether.
HOJeepster
New member
Welcome. I just moved here 4 months ago...there are TONS of great places to explore assuming you like the outdoors.
MtnT4R
New member
I was going to reply to this a loooong time ago but got seriously sidetracked. Its the location- the Denver area hosts the headquarters, major research centers and distributions branches of quite a few major corporations, and the reason is because Denver is essentially the landlocked equivalent of a port city. Being nearly equidistant to most of the major economic powerhouses around the country, it makes sense to locate business centrally in Denver, or at least to route goods and transportation through here. Between that and the vacation destination aspect, we have a more robust RE market and higher cost of living than the national average.
Still a good time to buy though- we are about as close to the bottom of the market as we are going to get, assuming of course we dont drop into a double dip recession. I'd guess those prices you see are roughly 30% below the top of the market in 06/07.
How is the settling in process coming along?
bofa
New member
I guess that makes sense. I was talking to a buddy of mine here that does basically the same job I do and he makes a little over 20% more than I do, so I think the income here is just different. Of course, there's no pay bump for my choice of location.
But maybe if I take a promotion or jump ship that will change. Either way, we aren't exactly struggling. Settling is coming along nicely. We've been all over Castle Rock, Parker, Aurora and Lone Tree and have ventured out to downtown Denver, Georgetown, and Boulder. We are getting more familiar with the area and are looking forward to the cooler weather, although this heat still isn't as bad as FL. Most people here are still very friendly for the most part. We still hate the rental, but are planning to sign a contract to build off of 83 as soon as the next lots become available, which should time nicely with our lease. My wife really loves her school and I think she will be very happy there. We've had a few passing moments of home sickness but are still pleased with our decision to move.
farmerjon
Senior Member
Very cool, and welcome to CO, finally! I did see your original thread, regarding thoughts of living in CO and such. Seems like you're finally here and figuring things out all right! Be sure and venture out to the surrounding states at some point, even though it will take some serious driving to explore.
bofa
New member
I'm all for some road trips... getting my better half to go is a bit more of a challenge. I thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown on the way to Georgetown. :madgrin: I've already started plugging some trips to Utah and Montana. We'll see.