Colorado is one of the most elevated states in the country, attracting trekkers and mountaineers worldwide like bees to honey. Colorado is perfect for those seeking an active lifestyle in one of the most desirable places in the country. When you move to Colorado, you will have a wide variety of cities and towns to choose from. Want a beautiful, quiet, and country setting? You have Breckenridge and Creed. Want a fast-paced hi-fi lifestyle? Denver and Colorado Springs welcome you! Then there's Boulder, a famous college town, and Aspen, where the rich and renowned dwell.
Below are a few of the pros of living in Colorado:
1. Cost of living
People who live in Colorado can expect to pay reasonable prices. The overall cost of living index is 31% higher than the national average one. However, the leading role in this difference is played by the prices for homes – they are almost twice more elevated than the national average ones. In addition, groceries and transportation are a bit more expensive, while utilities and healthcare are even cheaper.
Rental prices are also quite affordable. For example, you need about $1,000 to rent a 1-bedroom apartment.
2. Climate and weather
Colorado's geography greatly influences its climate. Most of the state area is covered with mountains, foothills, and high plains. In contrast, there is a great deal of sunlight and clear nights in the most significant part of the country, which experiences low humidity and little precipitation. However, there are also different microclimates depending on the altitude, such as subtropical to subarctic. It means that every person can find a climate that suits him most of all within one state. Denver, for example, enjoys 300 days of sunshine each year, and even the winters there are relatively mild.
Not everything is so good in Colorado, and you may face the following cons about living in the state:
1. Home prices
Zillow reports that the median sale price of homes in Colorado in 2018 was $359,700. During the past year, this price has increased by 4.5%. Annual home price growth averages 7-9%.
For example, prices for homes in Denver are one of the highest in Colorado, but experts predict that in 2019 they will continue to grow at least 6.8%. Mortgage rates will increase too.
2. Higher crime rate
Unfortunately, the crime rate in Colorado is not as low as it could be. The rate of violent crimes is lower than the national average - 3.68% versus 4%. But when it comes to property crime, it is 3% higher than the national average. Even the number of crimes per square mile is 15% higher than on average around the country. In contrast, property crime is 3% higher than the national average.
Bonus: Check out these fun facts about Colorado:
- The United States federal government owns more than 1/3 of the land in Colorado.
- Colorado contains 75% of the land area of the U.S. with an altitude over 10,000 feet.
- Colorado has 222 state wildlife areas.
- Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous street in America.
- The 13th step of the state capital building in Denver is exactly 1 mile high above sea level.
- The Dwight Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel between Clear Creek & Summit counties is the highest auto tunnel in the world. Bored at an elevation of 11,000 feet under the Continental Divide it is 8,960 feet long and the average daily traffic exceeds 26,000 vehicles.
- Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States at 10,430 feet elevation. Because there was lots of “silver” named towns at the time, the founding fathers suggested Leadville.
- Katherine Lee Bates wrote ï¿?merica the Beautifulï¿?after being inspired by the view from Pikes Peak.
- Hundreds of thousands of valentines are re-mailed each year from Loveland.
- Fountain, has the distinction of being the United States’ millennium city because it best symbolizes the overall composition of America. Fountain is the most accurate representation of the American “melting pot.” Fountain was chosen after a Queens College sociologist crunched Census Bureau statistics in an effort to find the one city in the country that best represented the population make-up of the United States
Have you traveled to Colorado? Let us know how your vacation was by commenting below!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado
https://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/state/colorado
https://www.zillow.com/co/home-values/
https://www.denverpost.com/2021/03/11/colorado-crime-homicides-2020/
https://www.50states.com/facts/colorado.htm