Weird Things I Learned Moving To Colorado

This blog post is all about what I learned moving to Colorado

Three years ago I moved across the country to Colorado, a place I had never been. At the time, I had barely traveled outside of my home state Indiana. So moving across the country seemed like a crazy idea and almost impossible. But somehow I ended up here.

And it was a bit of a culture shock. My now roommate tried to explain to me what living here would be like. But as someone who grew up in the same place their whole lives, it didn’t make sense. I want to say now that it has been three years it is all making sense, but there is so much I am still learning about this place.

Here are some of the weird things I learned moving to Colorado

Taking care of the environment isn’t imaginary 

Indiana is known for their farm fields. But as the years go on, there are less of them. Each place is getting built up with homes and stores that aren’t really needed. But that is true everywhere. This is all happening while everyone says we need to take care of the environment and to leave some nature.

My simplest story about taking care of the environment is recycling. Growing up we didn’t recycle and this might sound crazy for some. But you have to pay a lot for recycling in Indiana and the rules are so strict there is more stress to recycle than not. Schools might have a single recycling bin, maybe a store might have one too. It just wasn’t a thing there.

So of course I was shocked when I walked onto my college campus in Colorado and there were recycling bins everywhere. Here they’re next to every trash can and most come with pictures to tell you how to recycle. It took me a while to get used to recycling.

Here, recycling isn’t even a question. People will call you out on it. They ask where recycling bins are and make comments if you don’t have one. It has honestly taken me a minute to adjust and make it part of my daily routine.

But recycling isn’t the only thing. There is so much respect for the space we are in here. People stay on trails, leave wildlife alone, and clean up after themselves. I love being in a place where so many people care about it.

Snow is good 

I grew up on the Indiana/ Michigan boarder, right next to Lake Michigan. This meant we had lots of snow in the winter. Then when I moved to the Indianapolis area after high school, that snow turned to ice storms. Winter there was not fun. It was full of dark days, cold wet air, and gross brown snow from all the slush. Roads were horrible and you were still expected to go to work.

The idea of moving to a state known for snow was not at the top of my list. It was something I went back and forth on. I moved here during the summer and was terrified of the coming winter. Especially having to drive through it all every day as a commuter student.

My first winter here was not what I expected. When it snows, it dumps almost a foot. But roads are taken care of and you aren’t forced to go to work if you don’t feel safe.

Winter here is important. It is needed for the ski economy and to keep summer fires from happening. After living in Indiana where we all complained when it was about to snow, it is weird to live somewhere that people are happy for the snow.

The weirdest part is that it gets warm and sunny after the snowstorm. I struggle with seasonal depression and was worried about a much longer winter season. But here it is only grey for a few days of the year. And you still spend time outside in the winter doing things.

Most people want to help you 

While I love Indiana, the people there can be… something. Growing up, I thought it was normal to have to figure out everything for yourself. To get anything done, you needed to know how it worked. Because if you asked anyone, even if it was their job, they would get mad.

On top of that, Indiana has minimal support services. There is very little to help you when you do ask for help.

Now that I am in Colorado, I am getting used to asking for help. People want to help you and know they are the experts in their fields. Very few things are seen as impossible to solve. Plus, it doesn’t take months for anything to happen.

It has taken so much stress off my life, but it still feels weird. I am always waiting for the pushback and getting yelled at because I had a problem.

‘Normal’ isn’t cool 

Honestly, I still have problems trying to process this.

Indiana was full of trends. It was easy to know what to do because you do what everyone else is. Of course, this came with lots of mental health problems. It was like following people on social media and having to be like them.

Here everyone is their own person. If you try to find a trend, there isn’t really one. Sure there are stereotypes, but each person has their own version of it.

Since moving here I have struggled to find my place. It has made me realize I don’t truly have an identity for myself. There has been much self-reflection and change. It is still a process for me, but I have learned more about myself. I also feel more relaxed and less like someone will judge me for not following the norm.

You can get almost anywhere without a car

Indiana does not have public transportation everywhere. And growing up, that made sense to me. Northern Indiana had public buses, but they were not safe to use. So I assumed that was true everywhere.

I quickly learned it was not.

Lots of people use public transportation to get around. There are so many bus systems and light rails for the public to get around. And they are always adding more options.

The idea of not having a car makes me anxious. It feels like I am trapped in my home and will never be able to go out. But with public transportation, I can get almost anywhere.

I am still in the process of learning how to use public buses or light rails. I will be honest, it can get confusing with the different transportation systems. It also takes an adjustment to get used to the longer travel times. But I remind myself that I can always use the time to read on my Kindle or get homework done.

Everyone is outside

My favorite evening routine was going on nightly walks and watching the midwest sunset. The best part, almost no one else was out. It was so easy to put on my headphones and zone out.

Sure there were nice days when lots of people would be walking around. But even when it was busy, I saw maybe 5 people while walking through my neighborhood.

But here every one is outside. And it doesn’t matter how bad the weather is, someone will be outside in it.

It has taken me a while to get used to the amount of people I see on my walks. I can’t zone out like I used to because there are so many other people on the trails. But the views here make it easy to understand why so many people are out.

Moving to Colorado has been a great experience

There are still so many things I am learning about this new place. Even three years in, there are still so many new things to explore.