There is a lot to love about living in Colorado, but to be honest, it took me a while to realize that. When we first moved here from New York City, I couldn’t help but compare Denver to Manhattan, and it just wasn’t the same. In our first few months in Colorado I missed the hustle and bustle of the city. I missed living three blocks from Central Park and walking down 3rd Ave. to my magazine job every morning. I missed the museums and the culture, the electricity and the craziness. And although I grew to like Denver as time went on, it wasn’t really until we moved to Arvada — and especially when we had Lotte, and then Grace — that my love of this place really flourished.
Making a move that’s as far as New York to Colorado, and leaving behind so many friends and family, is bound to be hard, but to be honest, there is so much you can do here to keep yourself busy, it’s hard to get stuck in those feelings. Having the girls has brought on a whole new level of wonderment when it comes to exploring our surroundings, and there is so much we want to show them and do with them. It’s hard to settle on just a few, but if I had to, the following are three big reasons why we love living in Colorado with out littles.
Our proximity to National Parks
Over the past few years, Chris and I have been lucky enough to be able to visit a bunch of National Parks, both on our own (Arches, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone), with Lotte before Grace was born (Sequoia and Yosemite) and with both girls (Great Sand Dunes and Rocky Mountain). We’re so lucky that we live in a state where so many of these amazing wonders are within driving distance, and we plan to visit quite a few more of them in the near future, as well.
The ability to share the hobbies we love
Although they are both young, Chris and I can’t wait to get both Lotte and Grace up on skis. Although we both snowboard, skiing is probably the easier sport for them to start with, and we can’t wait to see if they enjoy it as much as we do. For now, both girls love visiting the mountains and playing in the snow, so it seems like we’re off to a good start! Besides winter sports, we love being able to take the girls on hikes, as well, and we’re hoping both of these activities — mountain visits and year-round hikes — will be some of their favorite memories from growing up here.
The non-stop, never-ending list of kid-friendly places you can visit
If you are in the Denver area with kids, you will have no end to the number of places you can take them. Besides the Children’s Museum, the Science Museum, the Mordecai Children’s Garden and tons of parks and playgrounds, the breweries are pretty much all kid-friendly, as well. Colorado is as much a playground for kids as it is for adults, which makes it so much fun to have kids here.
So to sum up, friends — Colorado is a pretty amazing place to live, but if you’re looking for a place to visit with kids, this state should be high on your list, as well.
Bis bald, friends!