A few Colorado Questions; Update

[mamc2003]

Hey everybody,

My best friend of 16 years is moving to Colorado in a few weeks. They will only be there for 3-4 months, I believe, before moving to Texas for good. Since we live in the Deep South(where the heat index is still 105*) I was wondering if y'all could answer a few questions.
Oh, yeah, she'll be moving to Grand Junction, CO, which is 22 hours away from where we are.

1- What's the weather like right now? Is it still pretty hot there, or has it started to cool off? When does the weather start turning cold?

2- Will it snow in the part of CO that she is in? The schools here let out if it starts to snow and we've never gotten more than an inch or so.LOL

3- How is the cost of living? Gas here costs $2.48/gallon for regular, rent is $400-600 for a 3-4 bedroom, our electricity is about $200/month(that includes trash and sewer). Is CO a lot higher than that or about the same?

4- Do y'all know anything about Grand Junction? Anything there to do or is it a small town?

Thanks if you can help answer any of my questions. My friend has never lived outside of Louisiana, so I don't think she knows what to expect. If there's anything else you'd like to add, feel free.

[jenn]

Hi Mandy, Sorry I didn't catch this post sooner.
Better late then never huh? ;o)

Ok lemme' see if I can help:

#1. The weather is awesome!! G.J. is a bit north of me, which means cooler temps. I'm assuming it to be around 80-85 for a high temp. (where down here we've been around 100)
It is now starting to cool down... but we have many indian summer days.

#2. It will snow where she is going, but only in the winter months. Colorado gets a bad wrap from movies for being this one huge mountainous snowball. :op not true. The mountains are line one big strip down the middle of the state. And our schools normally have a delayed start or a snowday if the snow is out of hand.

#3. cost of living isn't that much different from there to here... but the groceries are the real killer. Local markets are 3x higher than walmart for the same darn thing. So I normally hit Walmart.

#4. Lemme' get back to this one.... I hear it constantly mentioned... but I'm not sure what there is exactly to do. So DO get back with me on this if you don't hear from me.

Any other questions..... feel free to ask away. I'll be totally honest and clear as I can be. I moved to Colorado from Chicago 10 yrs ago.... BIG SHOCKER. So I totally understand her move :o)

Best wishes to your friend, Jenn

[alimarie]

Mandy,
I recently moved to CO from the Memphis area so I can understand the change your friend will be in for! It has been an awesome transition though. I am about three hours north from where she is headed. I think she will really enjoy her new area. I can't offer any answers to your questions because I am so far away..plus, I am still learning about my new state. Where in MS are you?

can't wait to hear how she likes it!

[mamc2003]

Thanks Jenn and AliMarie. Since this is an entirely different region, we really didn't know what it would be like. I was reading the weather section and it said Denver was already seeing lows in the 40's. Last night here at 2 am it was still 87. I'll definitely let her know about Walmart. That's outrageous that the prices are so much different. So, it will probably be jeans and t-shirt weather when she arrives in September, huh?

We took an Amtrack vacation when we were 15 and got derailed in Grand Junction, so we know there is an Amtrack station there. I plan on seeing what the Fall prices are and maybe trying to visit her at least once. We probably haven't gone a week or two in the past 16 years with out seeing each other. She now lives across the street from me and we see each other every morning. So I think this will be a big change for both of us, KWIM.

AliMarie, I need to change MS to LA as that's where I live now, but I say I'm from Natchez, MS, since no one knows where Vidalia, LA is.

Thanks y'all for the help. I'll let you know how she likes it. Although, I think she's going to love it. I would love to move somewhere completely different and would think of it as an adventure.

[alimarie]

She will enjoy a new area and you will enjoy visiting her! It will be a hard transition since you are so used to seeing each other but now you will have a beautiful place to visit!

[mamc2003]

I just wanted to update and let you know that my friend and her husband and 2 year old boy packed their truck yesterday and are now on the way to Colorado. About 2 hours after they left, both of them got hit with the stomach bug, so they didn't make it very far. They only made it about 4 hours out of a 30 hour drive. We've been text messaging all day and last I heard from them, they had made it to OK City. The town they are actually going to be living in is called Parachute and they'll be in a hotel for about a week, til they can find a furnished apt.

Anyway, just thought y'all might like to know that she'll be up there soon. I'll let you know more about how she likes it when she gets there. She really appreciated all of the advice, and said to tell you thanks.

[alimarie]

oh man....that does not sound fun.....i hope the rest of the trip goes better for them!

thanks for the update

[tafkap]

How awful!!! It's so hard to travel and being sick doesn't help. Please e-mail me directly when they get here, okay? Thanks Mandy!
jess.smith@comcast.net

[mamc2003]

Well, she made it!!! She called me today and said they made it to their destination last night. They are staying at a hotel. Her DH goes back to work later this week, so I don't know if they'll wait until he gets off after 7 days to look for an apt or if they'll try to find one tomorrow. She said everyone loves her Southern accent. Since they have a LA license plate and had the truck packed up everyone has asked if they were running from the hurricane. She said even though they would never take it, people were even offering them money! She said it's colder there at night already than it is here in the middle of winter, and that the mountains are beautiful. She's also already gotten lost.

Anyway, there's the update for now.