[quote=FlyerInHi]Bearish, you should visit the French countryside. It’s interesting and fun.
The US country such as Colorado and Wyoming is beautiful nature wise but boring and soulless. Not some place you want to retire and be by your lonesome self. . . [/quote]
LOL, FlyerinHI, my passport has long been expired! Perhaps someday I will visit Europe but it is not on my radar at this moment.
I disagree with you about CO and WY being “boring and soulless.” Of course, the plains can be hot and boring but many parts of the rockies are extraordinarily beautiful, even spectacular! The folks who reside there, for the most part, are very welcoming and ever-vigilant in preserving their environments. There are TONS of things to do there, including:
-world-class skiing and snowboarding (downhill, off-piste, cross-country)
-whitewater-rafting and tubing
-hot-air ballooning
-hang-glidering and skydiving
-running and hiking (lots of technical hiking, incl rappelling)
-sightseeing: gorges, high suspension bridges, geysers, cog train, Garden of the Gods, old mines, caves, etc
-off-roading (tons of trails open part of the year and maintained – along with UT, it is the best in the country)
-photography (often requires off-roading or hiking)
-indoor Olympic swimming pools, indoor/outdoor tennis and basketball, ice skating
-fall foilage tours (best in the country) and wildflower tours (lots of variety, incl tundra)
-ice-climbing festival
-world-class camping
-concerts and plays
-touring historic mining towns with well-preserved Victorian architecture
You might be shocked to notice that the fittest people in the world live up there or visit frequently! And many of them are NOT young!
Even in populated towns, such as Aspen, Vail and Jackson Hole, its ecosystem including its native plants and animals has been well-preserved. Restaurants take care to use as little disposable material as possible and from what I could tell, campers, hikers and offroaders NEVER left trash.
You are correct that the rockies are “God’s country.” The people who live there and visit there are at the mercy of the mtns on any given day. Thunderstorms typically roll over in the late afternoon and snow could turn into a blizzard in a few short minutes. The wind can turn your face into leather in 45 mins and there is no ozone layer so sunburns are epidemic. About 5-6 months per year, the temperature could easily vary more than 60 degrees on any given day. One has to dress in layers and should carry extra clothing, battery backup, drinking water and supplies in their vehicle at all times. Living up there by yourself year-round in a single-family home would definitely be a challenge for anyone, especially in a home on the many unpaved and gravel county roads (where wildlife freely roam your unfenced property).
IMHO, this is the absolute best item of clothing to wear there in the warmer months:
I love it up there but would not retire there alone as I don’t like apts/condos. I want to retire in a single family home.
However appealing, towns and areas in the rockies which are more than 30 miles from a hospital are not wise to retire in for those who have chronic health conditions as roads can be closed intermittently and then you will be at the mercy of the skills of a volunteer search and rescue team or local physician if one exists and is reachable when you need one.
Several towns in the rockies have hyperbaric chambers available to treat severe altitude sickness (which has happened to me in the past and is no fun). Do NOT go off road in the rockies until you have resided in an altitude of at least 7500 feet for 24 hrs. Do NOT go up the cog train until you have resided in an altitude of at least 5000 feet for 24 hrs. Do not have more than two drinks the night before you are set to go off-roading, especially if your home is at or near sea-level.
Colorado, and to a lesser extent, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico, are world-class playgrounds and national treasures.
