Colorado people...

First off, thank you ALL for the replies!

Also, you are killing me with all the gorgeous pictures!!

Snow and cold don't bother me, I live in Minnesota.
Ice doesn't bother me, I lived in Pennsylvania
One thing I NEVER expected about Minnesota was for it to be so.****.hot. in the summer. Like seriously, you walk outside and just start sweating from the humidity and heat. It's terrible. I hate summer in every state I've ever lived in, so I guess I can't let that bother me either.

And I will so take you up on that spare room to see the cities if you are serious. I think next spring-ish we will also be planning a camping trip to bring the monster with.
Ryan and I's first conversation about Colorado actually included "and then we can meet Mu!" courtesy of Ryan, lol.

Is there a VW dealership in Colorado Springs? One of the main reasons we are looking more at Denver/burbs is because Ryan works as an automotive technition, which generally means the more cars come in, the more he gets paid. So we are trying to focus on bigger cities for that reason.

I don't *think* lack of trees would bother me, but I've never really lived without lush greeness. Though Minnesota has nothing on Pennsylvania for woods, after all the state is called Penns Woods

When Ryan and I started talking about moving my votes went to Colorado, Washington, Oregon, or Maine. I have always always ALWAYS wanted to live in either Maine or Alaska. Always. Mainly because I love the idea of colder climates and the sea.
Like this type of setting is just idyllic to me:

Rocky, cold coastlines to walk on the beach. Perfection!
Also the state parks and the green mossyness that I see in pictures of Oregon makes me want to go there. Like this:

Gah!
I'm just not sure how much of that is really what is out there and reasonable to visit on a regular basis, or if that's the best there is and only makes up 2% of the state.
Also the whole big cities type thing.

I'm not worried about wind. lol
Ternaders are really what scare me!

I swear I live in tornado freaking central! It is the WORST part about this state, and I've come to have a serious issue with panicking whenever the alarms go off.

I believe the cost of living between Minneapolis (where we are now) and Denver are pretty similar. I'm more worried about finding somewhere to live with Frodo.

I know the city is very dog friendly, but how about finding places to live with a 30# dog?

Small dogs are pretty easy to rent with, regardless of where.

Lots of VW dealerships; there's one just down the street from my dealership that does pretty well.

Almost every apartment building I've looked at allows 2-3 dogs, and there are a lot of options in the rental home department- it just depends on the budget. I have found a few places in the 700-900 range that have fenced yards... but having even $700 for me is... iffy. LOL!

Im pretty sure Denver used to win "friendliest dog city" alternating with Portland before the breed ban, its supposedly a great place for dogs if they don't resemble a pit bull.

I figured that wouldn't bug you based on what I know of Minnesota lol.

So one of the best/worst things about CO? Super low humidity. It's awesome in the summer but rather sucks in the winter when it's ridiculously dry. Buying stock in a lotion/chapstick company is probably something to look into. Also, not dealing with humidity ever will make you completely intolerant of it when you go on vacation. I spend the first two days of every trip going "IT'S SO MUGGY, I FEEL DAMP AND THAT'S WEIRD." And then the rest of it rejoicing that I don't have to put lotion on.

Super serious! It would be awesome if you guys came here. Mu would be delighted to either ignore you or thoroughly clean your ears for you. If you bring Frodo (EEEEEEEEE!) it's really easy to separate dogs in our house. Tri level house + backyard + crates + bully sticks ftw.

It appears there are two VW dealerships here - one on the south side and one up north. There are five in Denver though so that might be a better option.

We pay in that range right now for our 1 bedroom apartment.
We also don't want to live right smack dab in Denver. Right now we live about half an hour south of Minneapolis, and it's a perfect setup for us.

Ugh, the winters here are also bone dry. Like, take a bath in lotion multiple times per day kind of dry. The first winter I was here it was terrible! Pennsylvania never got this kind of dry. I was in so much pain! Anywhere that clothes touched my skin was just torturous. I love the winter here, except for that.

The expense is one thing keeping me back. Oklahoma is super cheap.

The tornado thing is making me seriously LOL though. Tornados would never have crossed my mind (then again... Oklahoma.)

I dealt with more warnings and saw more funnels the first summer I was here than I did in the last 10 years I lived in Kansas, LOL. But nothing ever came of them besides some awesome clouds.

Stay out of downtown and any dog is fine. Rent will be cheaper in parts of Centennial, Englewood, Littleton, Aurora and then up northish; Arvada, Broomfield, Wheat Ridge, Thornton. It just takes some looking. Depending on how much of a commute you're ok with, Castle Rock is a good place to look as well.

It is super dry here; drink 18x the amount of water you're used to drinking, lol. I acclimated pretty quickly, which surprised me, though I do appreciate humidity when I head back east.

Definitely agree with the dry comments. I personally love that- I HATE humidity- but be warned- it will suck you dry and you will only gradually get used to it. I think some of the best lotion is Nutrogena Swiss Formula or Udder Cream... but the Nutrogena is like nuclear weaponry for dry skin so I use it when it is particularly dry in the winter. Chap stick is a must. LOL!

You should check out Colorado Springs, they have cheaper living than the Denver Metro area. If you want to stay closer to Denver, Castle Rock is a nice place to live. Aurora is really cheap, but some parts are pretty sketchy.

We looked very seriously at moving to CO. I had been wanting to since I graduated college. I went to visit and decided that it wasn't for me. I LOVED the mountains as well and the dog friendly and we stayed in Fort Collins and loved the city. BUT, I also grew up in MI, 15 minutes from Lake Michigan in fact and the complete lack of water to take my dogs swimming (without a long drive) changed my mind. I thrive on mountains AND water (and trees). So, we moved to TN and so far are LOVING IT.

We looked at TN, NC, and WV before we moved here to CO. The biggest draw to CO was we had friends that moved here 5 years ago. CO, is just... weird. Great place to visit. Not the place for us to live. I could see us in Wyoming or Montana though. I've considered moving to TN or NC eventually still. I love it down south. However, I also love Michigan. I just don't like the snow. Haha.

I'm reviving this thread because I thought of it when I took these pictures.

IMG_8288 by taqroy, on Flickr

IMG_8248 by taqroy, on Flickr

These (and the others) were worth every moment of soreness I've had from being on a 4 wheeler all day yesterday. Lol.

Ahhhh, it's so pretty! I can has?

Omg I want that scenery.

Come visit me, you know you want to!!

My Dad will offer you cow pies.

IMG_8253 by taqroy, on Flickr

IT'S A GOOD DEAL.