We left TSCC 2 years ago and are looking for a new start somewhere. We used to like where we live because we were close to family, but they have been shunning us for the past two years. Were also really tired of seeing people from church all the time and dealing with all the aftermath of leaving. We currently live in WA state. Colorado has always appealed to us from what we have read and know about it, but we have never been there. Would love hear as much information as anyone is willing to share. Are there a lot of Mormons there? How about exmormon support groups? Great areas to live or avoid? The 300 days of sun is really appealing because where I live now is dark & cloudy most of the year except for a few months. Thanks in advance for any comments.

I forgot to add that we do have young, school-age kids, so we are looking for areas with good schools, low-crime.

I can answer many of your questions off the board if you'd like! I moved out of Colorado Springs; I love Colorado like few other places. Happy to assist. You can write me at abuhoul (atsign) hotmail d0t komm.

just curious, how come off the board?

It's OK, I guess, but not as nice as the state just below it.

I live in NM and I have to disagree (with the exception of Santa Fe.) Most of Colorado is spectacular. OP, when I get to work, I'll give you info about CO. I was born and raised in a cute little mountain town right next to Colorado Springs.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2013 10:32AM by Itzpapalotl.

I lived in Boulder for eight years and up in the mountains (Beaver Creek area) for one winter. I loved my time there. The weather is great as long as you like snow. There is a LOT of snow there. It can snow eleven months of the year (every month except for August.) However the temperature zings back and forth so it might snow one day and you might be walking past snow mounds in shirt sleeves the next day. The summers are heavenly -- warm in the day and cool at night. The lack of humidity keeps you (mostly) from feeling the extremes of hot or cold.

People there tend to be fit and healthy. They love outdoor sports -- skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, hiking, climbing, bicycling, etc. They sunbathe and enjoy the Technicolor sunsets. They go out to brunch, and to concerts, and pursue various hobbies. It's a wonderful lifestyle.

The only real downside is that you are far away from large bodies of water. So if you are used to being around the ocean, bays, sounds, etc. you might really miss that. Colorado has lakes and the mountains, which compensate to some degree, but I did miss being around the water.

Boulder is a great town but very liberal (also very pricey.) Colorado Springs is also well liked, very pretty, and much more conservative. Many people like Fort Collins, but that is where the new temple is going up. Denver has some nice suburbs. Some friends lived in Glenwood Springs and enjoyed their time there. I would avoid Greely. If I returned there I would likely go back to Boulder. Mormonism is only a very small presence there.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2013 10:44PM by summer.

I lived in Boulder for awhile. Its very nice but as said, it can snow 9 or more months of the year. It usually melts from the streets rather quickly but you still have to deal with it for at least a couple days after each snowfall (shoveling, driving in it). Boulder and environs are very nice, but pricey to live due to a lot of building restrictions, and, well, its nice so a lot of people want to live there. There is a very liberal political mindset,very few Mormons. Fort Collins might give you similar benefits with a lower cost. Colorado Springs seems nice, it has historically more Dept of Defense related industry, etc, and partially due to that has a more conservative political mindset.

I live in the southern plains now, due to my job, where it is warmer, just as sunny, somewhat windier. Cost of living is much lower than Boulder, which reduces stress and allows for much more savings for retirement. We love the Pacific NW to visit in the summer (particularly Oregon), but not sure we'd be happy living there 365 days per year.

what's wrong with washington state ?
I'd love to live there again.

We also lived in Boulder. Loved it there, but it definitely is pricey, as is most of CO. It is truly beautiful and weather is fantastic. Though I love where I live now, sometimes I regret moving because we were a perfect day's drive away from the family in UT. And I think it would be much more enjoyable there now as an exmo :)

I live in Denver (Wheat Ridge actually but it's not the nice part of town so I wouldn't recommend it). If you are looking for a more suburban area Littleton is good or Highlands Ranch (although those areas are slightly more Mormony). Hipper areas of town where you can find children include near the University of Denver or Washington Park. Westminster and Broomfield are more suburban and are probably less Mormony than Littleton (the temple is near Littleton). If you don't mind a slightly more commute there's Castle Rock or Golden.

Our ExMo group isn't crazy active but we meet twice a year and get out all the frustration we need to :) I moved to Colorado myself to start over and I've managed to find plenty of nonreligious friends who have helped me to live a happy post-Mormon life.

I lived in Colorado Springs and Highlands Ranch. Highlands Ranch might be more "Mormony", but it's nothing like Utah. We only had a couple mormon families in our fairly large neighborhood. I loved both cities, but the winter weather is definitely worse than Utah...the mountains aren't as pretty or accessible from there either. I'd still move back. I'd probably look at Castle Rock.

I just wrote this on another post.......(insert Twilight Zone theme here)...
If you love the mountains/scenery part of Utah, come join us in gorgeous Colorado. We have the beauty without the cult. And you are still close enough to go see relatives on I-70 or I -80 for a 7 - 10 hour road trip. Or fly to SLC from Denver in just over an hour. Colorado has the same seasons/weather (same powder snow), etc. but not the cult. I love it here. Few Mormons and the ones that are here are NOT in your face.
I used to hear that Mormons out of the Morridor act different from the ones in the Morridor and it is true. When they are not the dominant culture, they are more or less ignored. These is a ward on the city I live in, but compared to Utah's every few blocks, this one ward is not such s big deal and I only know one person from the ward and that was because of a business thing not church.
I live in Boulder. In summer's post, the snow she is referring to is in Beaver Creek not Boulder, right Summer? Yes Beaver Creek has tons of snow. But it is near Vail and is higher up eleavationally speaking and right in the mountains.
Boulder doens't have any more snow than SLC does.
As an aside - one of the prettiest road trips is on I - 70 from Denver through the lower half of Utah.........something for everyone...high mountains (peak after peak), beautiful canyonlands/deserts, Moab, Ray's Tavern in Green River for burgers or chops.......(TO DIE FOR!!) Just saying.....
P.S. The schools in Boulder are FABULOUS...award winning even. We pay (myself and my hubby) $500 per year in property taxes JUST TO THE SCHOOLS and we have no kids in the schools. But I want good schools in my community. So different form Utah schools.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2013 04:06AM by enoughenoch19.

In Beaver Creek it pretty much dumps snow every day! lol I think that comparing the snow in Boulder to that of SLC is probably fair. It seems like a lot of snow from my current residence/POV which is Maryland. Winters are very mild here.

The one thing I liked about the weather in Boulder is that you never had a chance to get tired of it. It's very changeable. So it might snow in the spring and then you would have some 70 degree days right after that.

Denver gets far more blizzards than Utah. I'd say it's worse than the east side of the SL valley that gets lake-effect snow...which is far worse than the west side and Utah County. I think I'm stuck in Utah for now...thinking about moving to Heber or Park City.

We lived in suburban Arvada for several years and really liked it. The no large body of water was a bit of a negative since we'd migrated to CO via Florida and SoCal, but we adjusted because of the mountain streams/rivers and the Boulder Reservoir (a favorite of mine - you could swim out to the floating dock, turn around, and see snow-capped mountains). There are creeks up in the mountains that are warm all year (hot springs!) which is awedome, great white water rafting, and of course winter sports are the best.

The only other negative I can think of is the distance from other "metropolitan" areas. Oh and that whole big part of the state east of the front range.....

Yep, I live in CO. I've actually lived all over the world since Dad was USAF. BUT, I have always considered CO home. I ended up in UT with my dad in the 1990s, and spent the next 19 years trying to figure out just HOW to get back here...Long story short, I stayed awake for 3 days when I got back here...too much wow there IS a real world outside of UT mode". I love it here. So glad to be home. I am not aware of any ex mo support groups in Colorado Springs though. We have 5 military installations here...Ft.Carson, Norad, Shreiver, Peterson AFB, US Air Force Academy. So there is a large military presence here, and a lot of retired military. There are some Mormons here, however they are few and far between. They are NOT like UT mo's...They don't have pics of temples and the so called prophets plastered all over their walls. Our pools are open on Sundays, our public libraries are open on Sundays, Liquor stores (if one wants a drink) are open as well on Sunday, and are NOT run by the state. Gambling here IS legal...Most of it now is Lotto tickets, and the dog and horse wagering is at a few 'places' called 'Off track betting' I do believe there is also a horse track in Denver as well. Colorado Springs is like a tourist mecca in the summer, so there is always something to do that IS free. No smog here in Colorado Springs, and you can see the front range for miles and miles. We don't get 'inversions' here like in SLC. All businesses are open on Sunday, well all but Hobby Lobby. Those are all closed nationwide on a Sunday...that's just how the CEO is. We have many many dog parks that are very well maintained, and they are cared for. Lots of hiking, Horseback riding thru Garden of the Gods which is beyond stunning. Pikes Peak Cog RR is awesome to. It is a cog RR car(s) that will take you to the summit of Pikes Peak ele. 14,110 ft. It is now like 30 bucks a person though. There is also a really cool amusement park for young kids called 'The North Pole'. It is on the way up to Woodland Park. Lots of fishing, camping, and everything else in between. Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City are just right outside Colorado Springs, and nested in the base of the mountains...They are a MUST SEE AND DO in the summer. Lots of cool shops to go and see. I go there all the time in the summer just to go to lunch and sightsee. There is also a place called 'Patsys' that makes salt water taffy in all flavors. Nothing like it. They have a store in Manitou, and one on the west side. Guaranteed you have never had anything like that. You can also Google 'Pikes Peak Convention and Visitors Bureau' and that can get you started. I am so happy to be home. :) Oh, it is a very dry climate here, but we do get rain showers in the afternoon in the summer, but they usually don't last for more that 20 minutes at best.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2013 08:00AM by utahmonomore.

I do know also that Academy District 20 schools are pretty good, and that as far as crime, we have just as much as anyone else does as we are a city with 500,000 persons. If you do decide to move here, my advice to you is to stay on the north end of town. There are also several new subdivisions being built as we speak.

COLDorado?

I have a friend who lives there and that's what I call it, based on his tales of winter weather there.

Colorado is really nice. Back around 1990 when I was a kid you could still drive from Colorado Springs to Denver and not see much -- now it's all built up. If you like the outdoors you'll be in heaven. Denver is more liberal, the Colorado Springs area is a lot more conservative now with a strong evangelical Christian conservative presence. I've seen it snow up in the mountains on the 4th of July. 80-100 MPH winds in the winter aren't uncommon. Lots of great skiing. The eastern part is a lot like New Mexico.

fort Collins/Loveland area is nice. Really good schools. I moved from there to Utah and it's as if my kid was put back two grades. Even for public schools, CO did a WAY better job.

Colorado Springs is where Lt. Joe Kenda (Homicide Hunters reality show) is from and his show is all about the 300+ murders he solved over his police career.

I never knew CS was so big until I started watching this show.

Over 400,000 population.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2013 12:39PM by notamormon.

yeah, I'm from CO. Lived all over the state, the most beautiful place I lived was in Colo. Springs. Winters can be tough. For better education and lower crime, I would choose to live in a smaller town in Northern CO. If you want the opposite, move to Southern CO. Myself, I wouldn't want to live too far from civiliziation. If you can't somewhere in 20 - 30 minutes - on foot- then you live in the Freakin Boonies! That's my opinion.

In the Denver Metro area here. Came from No Cal in the mid-90's. LOVE IT!!! Every once in a while, you'll run into a Mormon, but it's rare. They have ward houses and a temple in the area, but there is NO catering to the Morg here. Denver Metro is pretty diverse politically. Boulder is pretty liberal and is NW of the us, and higher (ie more snow). Colo Springs is conservative and south of us (I believe the same amount of snow). I love the weather here, snowy and sunny winters, sunny and hot summers, great falls, and I think spring even happened on a Saturday last year. <grin> The people are much more friendly than the Bay Area. The racial divide is much narrower than in Ca. The schools are OK, from what I've seen. Mine were out when we moved here. It is VERY dry (at least for me), so stock up on Virgin Coconut Oil for up your nose and on exposed skin. I've never lived in Utah (thank the gods!), so I don't know how it compares to Utah. But, I'll tell ya, you couldn't pay me enough to leave here and go back to the Bay Area. The Sierra's or extremely Northern Ca, or if I had a lot of money, maybe Santa Barbara, maybe, but the heavily populated areas? No way!

I remember a lot of those cases from Homicide Hunter. Truth is, we have just as much crime here as any other city. I will never leave Colorado Springs again. Took me waaay too long to get back here. :)

utahmonomore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember a lot of those cases from Homicide
> Hunter. Truth is, we have just as much crime here
> as any other city. I will never leave Colorado
> Springs again. Took me waaay too long to get back
> here. :)


Considering the population I don't think the crime there is out of line. Looks like a beautiful place to live.

Uncle has lived there since he returned from service in Vietnam. Has lived in Jeffco and Teller CO and Park CO in various places; Arvada, Evergreen, Aspen Park; Woodland Park and Florissant; Bailey. He and second wife live in Summit Co now, in Silverthorne, but he is still working for the neighboring county. She's semi retired.

He lived on ranches and ranchettes, mostly, before working for the counties. Nice guy. Smart. Handsome. Rational/reasonable kind of guy. Funny. Cares about the environment and animals a lot. He's my favorite uncle.

He's from out of state originally. East coast. Went to school in Co Springs for a bit. He LOVES Colorado. All of it. Even the parts he dislikes, he likes. Never stops talking about it to my mom, his sister.

He likes the culture though apparently finds some of it (both too liberal and too conservative camps) too whacky for him; likes the views, the sporting/outdoorsy opportunities. Likes to ski, ride horses, snowshoe, camp, hike, etc.

His wife loves parties, museums, pottery/art. She says she gets everything she wants out of the various places they've lived, too. Some of it they have to drive a bit to get to now, but that's probably fine with her.

She would never leave CO to live again, I don't think. CO is for her. Him too, not just at first but now after all these years.

I think they liked Florissant or Bailey best. Isolated a bit there, but that was okay/perfect for them. They weren't as conservative or religious as most of their neighbors seemed to be, or as into politics, but needed the space for how they and their family lived at the time.

I am from Colorado as well. Denver to be exact. Love, love, love it here! Am in Denver. I like that I am close to most of the state. Mountains are 10 minutes away. It IS cold, at times. But, the sun shines most days!

Don't know about ex-mormon support groups, but with all the posters here from Colorado, guess we could start one lol

Just like anywhere else. It also depends on what area you want to move too- Are looking for mountains, desert, plains? A combo of two or more? North, south, east, west? Central
First, the bad stuff

1. CO is expensive to live in except for places like Fountain and Pueblo, affectionately referred to as the armpit of Colorado.

2.Meth, like the rest of the west, has infected Colorado. Gangs are a problem. If you move to the Springs, avoid Districts 11 and 2, especially.

3. Depending on where you move, you have a risk of wild/forest fires, flash flooding, and tornados.CO has been in a drought since the early aughts. If you drive through any of the forests, it looks like one spark will set up the state in flames again. May/June is fire season, until the monsoon season hits. Colorado also has a lot of water issues. If you move to a place like Castle Rock, just be aware there's really not enough water to support these towns' growth.

4. If you move to the Springs, the drivers have a peculiar idiosyncrasy- Instead of merging into traffic on the free/highways, they tend to dead stop, then merge. It's annoying as hell and dangerous.

5. It's very dry. Not only does this affect the landscape, if you have sinus issues, it may exacerbate them. you may also get altitude sickeness if you move to a higher elevation.

6. Urban Sprawl. This also contributes to the water issues.

The good:
1. If you're into live music, CO has great venues in Denver. One of the best outdoor amphitheaters is in Golden, Red Rocks. Plenty of great music acts go through CO every year. There's also a decent independent music scene for every taste.

2. The scenery has something for everyone. If you live in Central Eastern CO, like the I-25 Corridor, you have access to mountains, lakes, plains, rec areas...

3. The little mountain towns are the best. Some get more snow than others, and some are more isolated than the others. I grew up in Manitou and we got snow in October and April. Very little in December/January. People still talk about the great blizzard of 1997, lol. The mountain towns have quirky, interesting folks, and they get more interesting the further west you go.

4.Fresh, clean, mountain air. The higher on the water table you live, the better your water tastes.

5.Outdoor recreational paradise- Hiking, camping, biking, boating, river rafting, fishing, hunting.....

So, hope this helps. I've lived in Durango, which is more of the 4 corners community, but that place is just fantastic, too.

Longmont. Don't hear about Longmont that often. I lived there with him for a year. I really liked it there. There was only one (that I saw) LDS stake center in the city. It doesn't seem to stay as cold there as in Utah and, yes, the snow usually melts quickly. I was staying there alone with his dog for a few months (he came back on weekends)--and we had 2 snowstorms that dumped over 18 inches both times. It melted within a few days. Oh--and they moved there from Northern California for the quality of the schools.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2013 12:54PM by cl2.

I was born and raised in Colorado and have lived all over the state. I'm in beautiful Glenwood Springs right now, where I lived for 10 years, and I highly recommend it, except it's expensive. Grand Junction's not too bad and is lots cheaper and you have access to both Colorado mtns and Utah redrock country. If I had kids, I'd prefer Glenwood or Rifle, another town down the road that's not as expensive.

Go to city-data dot com and you can read tons of threads about what diff. towns in CO are like.

I'm in Denver metro, west side. I love the seasons and activities available.

As far as schools, Cherry Creek Schools and Littleton School districts are wonderful. They offer special classes if you have an accelerated student. That makes being a nerd not a bad thing. But I have not had any experience with the schools since the 1990s. Still in the 1990s there was forced bussing for the Denver schools. If you settle in Denver proper you might want to ask about it. Things may have changed since then.

The cost of live, although high, is not as high as Seattle. Smaller towns have lower costs of living but some towns do not have the schools that the larger towns do. I don't know about colo springs, never lived there.

I guess you can search real estate companies and do a comparison of prices.

I did live in aurora about 3 years ago and it was scary. I am sure not all of aurora is scary but where I was had lots of crime.

Also the museums have great family deals for a year. My kids loved going to the museums and street fairs.

I've lived in seven states, and would move back to Colorado in a heartbeat if I found a decent job.

I lived in the North Denver suburbs Westminster area. Schools were good, housing was affordable. In Winter the storms blow through and then it's sunny and mildly cold. Does not get ungodly hot in the summer. I love to ski, mountain bike and kayak, plenty to do in CO. Loved the Indian Peaks Wilderness area, skiing at Mary Jane, Copper Mountain, YMCA of the rockies.

Negatives - air pollution in Denver - the brown cloud in winter gave me asthma.

Traffic - Major traffic on I-25, major traffic going and coming from the ski areas on I-70.

Random violent crime in some Denver areas.

Gun nuts, confederate tea baggers - State govt is a bit disfunctional now.

Boulder - nice place to live if you can afford it, but I would suggest checking out the nearby subburbs.

If you can live someplace like Durango or Telluride, that would be my idea of heaven.

Some of the suburbs are mormon hell. Littleton etc.

I have lived in Colorado my whole life. Grew up in a small mountain community that is now unrecognizable. Quite a few Mormons for such a small area. Everyone knows everyone else's business.
I now live in the Western suburbs. The schools are excellent and our Open Space trails are some of the best in the country. I have been a member my whole life and it seems to me that most Mormons in this community seem to stick with each other. They only seem to socialize/do business with each other. I have never socialized with members outside of church time so find it very easy to lay low.
Real estate is pricey but with so many fore closures and short sales in recent years it is an excellent time to find a great buy. When you do find something you like make sure to visit the home during different times of the day. You want a home with as smuch Southern exposure as possible. Winter days are short so you want to take advantage of the sunlight when possible.
The communities here are very family and child friendly . Lots of great things for kids to do.
Good luck in your search and I hope you are happy wherever you end up.

I am from Fort Collins. I lived there for over 30 years, and most of it was as an ex mormon. You can live incognito there if you don't tell anyone you're an ex. There weren't a lot of mormons per capita while I was there. When I quit the church, the bishopric seemed a lot more tolerent of people who quit believing.

Schools in Fort Collins are great. My husband, me, and my kids are all products of Poudre school district, and have a combined 18 years of college, and all of us graduated.

I found it difficult to get a job there, but have found it a lot easier in the mountain towns because there is less competition.

I live in one of the small mountain towns now and I just love it. No one knows I'm an ex mormon. I love the summers and don't mind the winters. We camp, fish, hunt, snowmobile, ski, hike, and generally enjoy the outdoors.

Love it here!