Gettin Out While Gettin is good
Colorado
I am a 4th Generation Colorado Native and my kids are 6th on their mom's side. I am getting the f out. The reasons are numerous which include the people, wolves, bobcats again, (anyone remember loosing spring bear hunt and trapping), people, nambla loving governor, people, and the main reason is one of the WORST Departments of Wildlife Commissions in the country completely ruining hunting in Colorado. Already working on house in Nebraska and now a Texas safe zone.
You guys will be California in 4 years. 9 to 10 million people. Enjoy. Sorry, but the only cure for Colorado is like most of the country and that is Civil War. “Some people need to go away, forever.”
Lol Texas? If Colorado is california in 4 years, Texas is california in 8. Go check out Austin if you don’t believe me.
I’m on my way out too, it’s been a long time coming. Finish my bachelors degree in March which should help in the job search. Interviewed for a company this week in Arizona, hope to hear back after the holidays. Would love to end up in Idaho, Montana, or South Dakota, but after this election I am open to just about anywhere.
Can't blame you. I grew up loving living here.
Colorado has lost all semblance of what it used to be. I will be trading in my pioneer plates soon.
This sounds like the same stuff I hear from the Hollywood lunatics who threaten to leave the country every election. Please check in 12 months from now and let us know how the move goes, I mean, if the wolves haven't eaten the rest of us by then...
It is easier said than done. Kids, work, family connections, friends can be a big factor. I'm here for a while but once the kids are raised and some career things are finished, we are looking to relocate. Luckily my wife has zero issue with places that have long, cold winters. The list of hunting buddies that have moved is growing.
Anybody going to Canada? 8>)
It’s nothing like threatening to leave the country based on who is elected to office.
It’s much more like the mass exodus California is experiencing from companies and individuals escaping an oppressive tax environment.
For me, it’s about policy, not people. For years CO had been transitioning to blue on a people stand point, but CO voters have been fairly fiscally conservative when it comes to tax policy issues. This cycle was much more mixed, and I can see the writing on the wall. Property taxes (dollar amounts paid) are going to increase and more socialist taxes such as the state funded family leave that was just voted in will be coming.
Many people moving from Cali to Idaho and Montana. I read somewhere that the majority of people moving from Cali were going to Idaho. The numbers were scary. I do like the Salmon area, but Idaho has a pretty shitty tax burden. That's what kept us out.
To that point also, just working on the wife. She is warming to the idea of Nebraska. I love it out there, in fact I spend more time Hunting there than here now. I will miss the foothills living, but its nothing near what it was when I came here in 98! I'll pay the non res fee for the elk, and still be way ahead! I truly love being in the mts in September chasing elk, but Nebraska ain't that far.
I am also looking to get out newly retired and my daughter is in her last semester at UNC graduating in May there's no reason for me to stay here. Drive north or south on I-25 all the housing developments in the cornfields I used to goose hunt.Or I70 housing development where I could deer hunt or west places we would chase lions full of. Summer house .Fill contact elk hunting. Or just the political nonsense so I'm looking at selling my house and my two hundred sixty Acres I own in eastern Colorado
Brandon, Congrats on the retirement! I'm in it 3 years now and haven't looked back.
I wish I could move but family ties are keeping me here - for a while at least.
Sad thing is, we really do have a very active archery community. Very respected writers, accomplished archers, successful archery industry folks.....some darn good people!! Tournaments all summer, good shops.....all that and the bad is starting to outweigh the good.
I left over a year ago and looking at Colorado from the outside you really get perspective on how bad it is... Living there was one thing. Having been gone and listening to all the crap my friends and family are dealing with is a whole other story.
I can not say how much a blessing it was to get out when we did. There is absolutely nothing we miss about Colorado. Nothing... everything about living in our new state is better...
I left over a year ago and looking at Colorado from the outside you really get perspective on how bad it is... Living there was one thing. Having been gone and listening to all the crap my friends and family are dealing with is a whole other story.
I can not say how much a blessing it was to get out when we did. There is absolutely nothing we miss about Colorado. Nothing... everything about living in our new state is better...
The final straw(and I think it will happen within 5 yrs) will be tabor going down. Then look out, it'll get ugly quickly!!! All the feel good, save everyone and everything spending policies will go through!
"Only cure is a civil war".....
what about a pandemic? too soon?
In all seriousness, everyone's got their own flavor of life they want, and it's relative to be honest. Sure if you've lived hear for 50 years the changes are drastic. I mean pretty sure Denver still had some dirt roads back then!
It's no different than a mountain man who was first here in 1860 being upset seeing his first stop sign in the "town" of denver. And being like "nope, time to go"
The world is getting smaller, there are more people. Millennials and gen zers love the outdoors and Colorado happens to have a lot of great opportunities for that.(baby boomer/gen x fault)
Hunting in colorado(anywhere) suffers both from policy changes and habitat loss... primarily the latter.
Good luck on your move, but pretty soon the northern reaches of canada and alaska will be the only refugee... and the people there will be pissed about it all the same. It's relative.
Ha HA nambla loving governor I am going use that!
Good luck on your move. Been here 35 years. The front range and the cities is dog crap, but it’s nice living in the mtns.
Been hearing that for 33 years when I moved out. County Line road was the end of civilization on the south end then.
We spend a lot of time in Colorado and own a cabin there, but I always tell my wife: its a great place to visit, but.....
It isn't the people of Colorado that I meet that are a problem, I have scores of great friends there and I am sure there are millions more! Its the tax policies and where the state is heading.
I fear that Texas is someday going down that path, but for the present, any who say it is like California haven't lived here. Austin may be the capital, but 95% of the rest of Texas isn't like that.
I live in a dark red county
I live in a dark red county
Colorado's map looks similar the problem is the population centers are where the blue is at.
I had a great 35 year run in CO. Bowhunting was great in my estimation. Did get really tired of the traffic along the I-70 corridor and having to plan your travel around it...and working in the mountains where you had to deal with it during the holidays.
We don't miss the front range, just the friends and would move to BC again in a heart beat, even though the deer hunting and elk bow seasons suck due to a 3 month OTC rifle season.
Yeah, I want out when I retire, minimum of 4 more years, been here 14 now and have seen a lot of changes in that relatively short amount of time! None good either!
Austin Texas is a Joke but most of the state is Very Conservative. If it wasn't for their weather I'd live there already.
Don't worry there are 4.7 million people waiting to take your spot!!
Where does anyone seriously think they can go and be safe from the spread of cancerous liberalism?
Census data: 67,000 moved to Colorado in 2019
An example is released-this-week 2018 data that reveals where residents of each state were born. And the information about our fair state is fascinating even as it confirms plenty of suspicions about which American places are churning out the most transplants to Colorado.
The figures show that fewer than half of the folks currently living in Colorado have original roots. Of the total population, 5,695,564 (an increase of 88,410 from 2017), only 2,388,284 million started out here.
A far lower number, 635,176, hail from foreign countries (the assorted nations aren't specified — and the total includes those "born at sea"). There are just shy of 15,000 from Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories. So the remainder came here from one of the other 49 states or Washington, D.C.
Which ones? We've broken them into seven brackets: fewer than 10,000, between 10,001 and 20,000, between 20,001 and 30,000, between 30,001 and 40,000, between 40,001 and 50,000, between 50,001 and 100,000, and more than 100,000. The ones in the last category are unlikely to surprise you, but try to resist getting pissed. Here in Colorado, we're all about love!
FEWER THAN 10,000 TRANSPLANTS
Delaware (4,213) Maine (9,320) New Hampshire (7,413) Rhode Island (4,737) Vermont (5,787) West Virginia (8,724)
As you can see, four of these six entries are New England states of modest size, and one the small, nearby state of Delaware, which
As you can see, four of these six entries are New England states of modest size, and one the small, nearby state of Delaware, which likely explains the comparatively low numbers. The exception is West Virginia, which is regularly listed among the handful of the country's poorest states. We're guessing that more West Virginians would get here if they possibly could.
BETWEEN 10,001 AND 20,000 TRANSPLANTS
Alabama (17,673) Alaska (13,500) Arkansas (16,907) Hawaii (16,118) Idaho (18,438) Kentucky (16,959) Mississippi (13,071) Nevada (17,712) South Carolina (12,707) Washington, D.C. (14,064)
Like West Virginia, five of these nine states (plus Washington, D.C.) are in the South. But also grouped here are Alaska and Hawaii, plus two states in the western section of the continental U.S., Idaho and Nevada, that share some geographical similarities with Colorado
The most interesting entries here are Utah and Wyoming, a pair of neighboring states with smallish populations — yet more than 40,000 people from each wound up here.
BETWEEN 50,001 AND 100,000 TRANSPLANTS
Arizona (57,999) Florida (65,910) Iowa (78,211) Michigan (93,910) Minnesota (72,835) Missouri (70,746) Nebraska (88,400) New Jersey (58,004) New Mexico (79,706) Ohio (88,122) Oklahoma (57,575) Pennsylvania (80,406) Wisconsin (60,908)
The huge numbers of transplants from these thirteen states speak volumes about the wide appeal of Colorado.
The huge numbers of transplants from these thirteen states speak volumes about the wide appeal of Colorado. There are more neighboring states (Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma), where lotsa folks realize that the grass is greener on our side of the fence. Add in Arizonans and Floridians sick of their particular brand of heat and lots of ex-Midwesterners who've had more than enough of the humidity, and the result is an even longer line to get into Colorado.
MORE THAN 100,000 TRANSPLANTS
California (365,982) Kansas (101,329) Illinois (155,086) New York (135,248) Texas (200,481)
More than 135,000 New Yorkers. Over 155,000 Illinois natives who reached their limit. A whopping 200K from Texas. And so many Californians that if they all lived in one place, it would instantly become the fourth-largest city in the state. If that doesn't put Colorado's incredible growth into perspective, nothing will.
Wow, those are some unbelievable stats! Thanks
Nothing surprising there. When you live in one of the most beautiful places in North America, and it has a comparably agreeable climate year 'round with just about every outdoor activity sans an ocean, (you have to go to California to get that too), why wouldn't you expect others to also want to live there?
I moved to Vail from Connecticut in 1971 to ski (my season pass cost $100). I started rifle hunting in 1974 and killed a 5X6 bull on the third day of my very first big game hunt. They had a Sportsmen license back then that included all the major species. We switched to archery in 1983, partly because rifle seasons were already too crowded by then. While I don't like the changes anymore than most, we are not likely to move. The choices would just be our second, third, fourth... choices. And all of them are also getting more crowded. We've been to all of the other states, and the negatives outweigh the positives. If your main goal is to get to better hunting opportunities, would you really move to, say Nebraska or Wyoming, for 3 or 4 months of what you're looking for, and then plan to leave for some hunts? Have you been to those places in the summer or winter?
If it were not for the long residency requirement, I might join Kurt in BC. Kinda late in the game for that, though.
Bottom line is, everyplace I'd want to live is getting more crowded, and that's the real problem - a planet infested with people. Might as well make the best of it.
Yeah, I always tell people here, I'm the 2 things Coloradans hate the most, I'm a Texan and I moved here from California! But I was there in the military so I didn't bring a lot of money with me to run up the prices of homes. Seemed like a great place the times I visited my sister here and it was at first, but I see the writing on the wall now!
I'll take 10 Texans over 1 Californian. Unless those 10 Texans are from Austin.
“Austin Texas is a Joke but most of the state is Very Conservative. If it wasn't for their weather I'd live there already.”
You must not be a public land hunter. Texas sucks for ready access to hunting public land. Just about place I would live and I was born and raised there for the most part. But living in a public land state is a primary criteria for me. I’d rather walk out the door to public land than commute hundreds of miles to it. If I leave Colo it will be for a western state.
2,827,000 The current metro area population of Denver in 2020 is 2,827,000, a 1.33% increase from 2019. The metro area population of Denver in 2019 was 2,790,000, a 1.34% increase from 2018.
THis is over half of Colorado's population that live in the Denver metro.
Characteristics of Colorado In-Migrants and Out-Migrants
The largest source of change in Colorado’s population is migration. Each year between 2011 and 2016 between 235,000 and 250,000 people moved into Colorado, and between 160,000 and 196,000 people moved out of Colorado. The defining characteristic of both in-migrants and out-migrants is their age, Colorado in-migrants and out-migrants are most likely to be between 20 and 29 years old. Other differences in household income and educational attainment follow from this central age difference. The full report here documents characteristics of in-migrants and out-migrants by comparing in-migrants to out-migrants, in-migrants to Colorado residents and return migrants (i.e., people born in Colorado returning after living elsewhere) to migrants born elsewhere.
Recent commentary about changes in Colorado’s population has focused on in-migration and out-migration separately and raised conflicting concerns. Focusing on in-migration leads to concerns that Colorado is growing too fast; leading to concerns that the state is unprepared for significant increases in its population caused by in-migration. On the other hand, focusing on out-migration leads to speculation that too many people are leaving Colorado, whether due to the cost of housing, a lack of well-paying jobs, or other reasons. However, one should not consider these types of migration in isolation. The State Demography Office analysis of recent migration patterns considers both in- and out-migration. The larger analysis concludes that while there are differences between in-migrants and out-migrants, as there are between in-migrants and Colorado residents, and return migrants and other in-migrants, the overall impacts of recent migration do not signal major changes in Colorado’s population.
Ziek, yes I would move to Nebraska. Hunt anywhere in the state, any deer, for 4 months and no draw. Turkey, pheasant, waterfowl , Pronghorn and other small game. I love to hunt, crazy hooked. Just ask my wife. I love to elk hunt, but I love to hunt and quite honestly colorado hunting is getting more and more frustrating. And not nearly as good as it was just 10 years ago! A lot of that is mis-management by our game dept. Its mostly about the revenue now. Nowhere is perfect, but there are a lot of states out there with much longer seasons. I WONT give up elk hunting, ill pay a non-res. fee and Still be ahead with all the out of state hunting I do now because the opportunities don't exist here any more! Throw in the direction this state HAS been heading and yes it's worth it to me!
Glad I left the Front Range 30 years ago. The Best Slope is still great.
I left Colofornia for Florida 18 years ago. Great move! No there aren't any over crowded elk units here or Boulderites ( Thank god), but over here on the west coast, the snook, tarpon, and red fishing is great and you don't need 50 pts to draw...hehehe! No state income tax , best cycling in the entire country. I can fly back to Colorfornia for cheap and still hunt for less than a grand. Granted, we did all stay inside today because of the arctic freeze we're experiencing this week. Low of 32 for 10 minutes. That being said, I'd move to Sheridan Wy or Whimpfish Montana in a heartbeat . Mainly due to 14 orthopedic surgeries and now the ripe age of 70 , I've had to switch from the bow to the telephoto lens.
What about all of the snowbirds and spring breakers?
Peco, The Snowbirds are mostly unnoticed and the spring breakers are only around the popular beaches. Daytona , Clearwater, Panama City. Neither are much of a factor on the west coast.
I have cousins in Northport, nice area.
Interesting numbers Paul provided.
If you add every Colorado and California native living in Colorado you have 2,754,266
That means more than half the states population or 2,941,298 aren't from CO or CA. So who's really ruining Colorado?
I blame boulder for everything.
Hey Fella's,
I'm out of here. Leaving the end of May to go home to Oklahoma City. My sister's live there (yep, they're gonna drive me crazy) and my Parents are buried in OKC.
I've been in Denver for the last 15 years. I don't agree at all with the politics of the State and certainly don't care for the nmbla loving governor currently holding court over the State, and believe things will get worse in Colorado politically long before they get better. Politics is certainly not the reason to move. It's just the right time to go. I alway thought I would stay and fight the good fight.
Funny, I also love blue bastion of Boston. I think that's because of the history of the area. The last time I was in Boston was for a Redsox/Yankees series at Fenway. That was a bucket list trip. I guess the point is, I love blue stuff although I'm a yellow dog conservative.
I've met some great people in the Denver area and will miss my friends, but I am excited to be going home.
I'm looking forward to killing Whitetails in OK until the day I fall out of a ladder stand dead.
Later,
always, Waptitidung
While I understand the frustration and completely agree ... I'm taking more of a line in the sand approach and plan to stand my ground. Otherwise we will continue to be pushed into smaller and smaller strongholds and further isolated. My .02
Actually numbers are skewed. The original native population with Colorado roots were mostly exterminated, by the new transplants
How do you think they feel about they population change starting in the 1800's?
You can't say the native population started in the mid -late 1800's. There was a true 'native' population before that.
Add those numbers into your stats. It didn't start when your ancestors were transplanted here.
99% of so-called natives, are transplants. I am sure the true natives of Colorado (prior to 1850) have expressed the same complaints that the transplants are expressing on this thread.
I am not saying that those who have roots to Colorado are not pioneers, because that is essentially what they are. Pioneers infer someone exploring into a new territory. It has no definition that there was actually a population already here. They came, displaced the current natives, set up their own lifestyle, and governments, both of which were entirely different than the true native lifestyle. But they were no different than the new transplants, who are essentially doing the same thing. No difference, just 150 years later.
Consider this. You state that out-of-staters are moving into Colorado and changing the political climate. That's calm and peaceful compared to the way the "settlers" did it. At least the out-of-staters come peacefully without sending in armies to kill or move the original population onto reservations.
Deep thoughts Stix, but where did THOSE natives come from, because they likely displaced other tribes as well. And did you know they utilized every piece of every bison they killed too? At least that's how some people like to tell the story...
No " deep thoughts", it's the truth. And it's the type of truth most don't like to hear.
As is: Compared to the animals killed by settlers and especially market hunters, who decimated bison and elk, they took very little.
The market hunters drove elk and bison to near extinction, requiring transplanting, but this time to achieve a huntable population which is honorable, but in many cases self motivated to be able to score antlers. That's not a concept the true natives were concerned about.
The facts remain, the culture change is not only happening with the influx of out- of- staters because you are disgusted with it. It started along time ago and "disgusted" is a far cry from what the true natives felt.
"That's not a concept the true natives were concerned about."
How far back to do you go to determine the "true natives"?
With that definition of "native", we all have somewhere on the planet that was "home" and was likely invaded, conquered, ruined, and completely transformed. Sometimes many, many times over.
I wasn't there when my ancestral home was invaded and I didn't invade my current home. I don't complain about the former and have zero guilt about the latter.
Somehow, I feel like I'm gonna be forced onto some type of reservation, too
Gosh dang glunt, you mean to tell me we are not all oppressors or oppressed?
I'm a descendant of the first people to reach N. America and as such I identify as a Solutrean. So-called First Nations peoples are very late comers. We were here thousands of years prior via the N. Atlantic. So if all ya'all would just push off we'd appreciate it.
^ I too self-identify as a Solutrean. Mic drop, Azelkhntr!
Many have the mistaken belief that before English, Dutch and Spanish settlers pushed north and west. That all Native tribes lived harmoniously in Utopia. That they did not raid and kill other tribes, take their land, take the people as slaves. Humans are humans all over the planet. And there isn’t one race or geographic area that at one point hasn’t conquered lands displaced people and enslaved people. Native people living in Colorado that were displaced by Europeans, at some point settled it and displaced either animals or other tribes of people. Read up on the history of the Comanche
Altitude Sickness, that is a great point and one I have never considered. I do remember enough from my school days many years ago is that native tribes fought with each other, incessantly at times. Your point that Utopia has never existed (on this continent or any other) is well taken and is one that seems forgotten or ignored. Many people (myself included) believe Utopia ended when the serpent got Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.
The Comanche became the fiercest tribe after they learned about and adapted horses. They actually lay claim to their first horses after the Spanish abandoned their settlements and a herd of horses in New Mexico. They were one of the only tribes to fight while riding a horse. Lots of tribes rode horses, but almost all got off to fight in battle. Not the Comanche.
My brother is under contract on a place in western Arkansas. I'll be checking into that also.
Historically, from the perspective of tribal violence, these are the "Good Old Days" for this continent. Worse before, and possibly worse coming.....
When I was a kid, I dreamed of living the "good old days" that my parents/grandparents talked about when they were kids. I thought that would've been a great way of life. Now, in my mid 50's, I long for the good old days I experienced as a kid, or even as a young adult (20-40). It seems things are changing faster and more extreme with each passing year (or less). And lots of the change is not for the better- at least in my opinion.
I was teenager sitting in a bar in Baggs WY in the 80's the first time I heard someone say "Good old days? THESE ARE the good old days!!!". He was a 40 something cowboy, pretty drunk, rough around the edges and apparently a helluva prophet. One of those little memories that for some reason sticks with you.
Not to derail, but if I recall correctly, Wyoming had a drinking age of 19 (for any alcohol) in the 80's. I had a girlfriend in Albuquerque in the early 80's and they would serve us (17 at the time) IF we were with a parent.. Things have changed a bit since then.
Wyoming was 19 and CO was 18 for 3.2 beer and wine. I see it all through a parents eyes now but can't say I regret the fun we had.
You do not know how good you have it in CO. Calif. is a homeless cesspool. About one encampment fire a week during my commute. Real Estate has become way too expensive. And the taxes ?? are outrageous. Plus it must feel like be being a refugee to move out to one of the mountain states as a Californian. From reading this post it sounds like the standard of living is deteriorating everywhere.Probably just the reality of increase in population. Or maybe I am just becoming an old fart. It is only going to get worse with the left wing WOKE liberal agenda.
Also 4th generation and can't wait to leave...
