Moving to Colorado

You've seen enough. You're moving to Colorado. You're making the dream happen. Congratulations!

But moving can be stressful, whether it's across the street, or across the country. I mean, has anyone ever taken a nice long relaxing move?

So here are a few tips that could make your move a little easier, and get you settled into your new state faster.

THE INTERNET IS YOUR FRIEND

The great news is that you can do almost all of your searching for housing online, whether you plan on buying a home, or just to rent. This is a huge asset if you're moving to Colorado from across the country.

Many real estate sites will allow you to do MLS searches, and you can take online virtual tours of homes inside and out, often with panoramic pictures. The days of driving around town for weeks are over. Get online!

Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) is a valuable online tool. A lot of the great deals for apartments, houses, and condos are only listed on this site due to its cost to the person listing, which is zero.

You can also place an "apartment wanted" ahead of time and let people know what you're looking for.

You can also use this website to find pretty much anything else imaginable, much like a total classified ads. If you've never used craigslist, get on board. You'll love it.

ALTITUDE

Don't forget, we're really up here: 6035 feet in Colorado Springs. It's hard enough to breathe when you're just visiting, let alone moving to Colorado. So if you can afford it, hire some help to assist with unpacking.

And if you can't, take your time, and drink a lot of water. You'll get used to this routine until your hemoglobin catches up with you.

Altitude sickness is a factor for some people, and if you add the stress of moving, it could be an issue to take seriously. Just be good to yourself, and don't push it.

Also, be mindful of your pets, as they may respond to the change in altitude as well. Make sure they have plenty of water, just like you.

Altitude will also make your water boil slower. Really. And you many need to bake things a little longer. I'm not kidding.

PETS

Pets tend to feel very chaotic during moves, and the first day or two of living in a new residence is when most pets run away.

Please protect your pets and keep them inside, as this state is full of wildlife that can harm your animal.

Our neighborhood has a fox running around in it, and sad to say, its had a few cats for lunch. Depending on where you live, there are also bear, mountain lions, and birds of prey.

So be mindful of your pets in that first week especially.

That being said, Colorado Springs was recently rated the #1 Pet Friendly City in the USA. There are plenty of parks and trails for pet exercise, and lots of vets in the area.

YOU'RE NOT ALONE

One of the first things we noticed after moving to Colorado was how many people are not originally from here. A lot of people have lived here a long time, but more often than not, they migrated here.

It makes for good conversation. "So where are you really from?" This is such a prevalent condition, that people who were born and raised here are very proud of their status--some even implement bumper stickers that say "NATIVE" to express their home-state pride.

There is a joke that in your first year of living in Colorado you will acquire a dog, a bike, and a Subaru. People love their dogs and Subies. And bikes are omnipresent. I'm not sure what the punchline is. It's just true.

CONSIDER AN EXTRA ROOM

Let's face it, Colorado is a vacation destination. The weather is fantastic (300 sunny days per year) and the views are amazing. When your friends and family realize that you actually live here, they will want to come and visit.

So if you can make it happen, try to get that extra bedroom, or at the very least, a comfortable sofa-sleeper. (Wait, isn't that an oxymoron?)

Anyway, you get the idea. Try to make room for company if you can. You never know, your family might be moving to Colorado too.



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