MORRISON, Colorado – Whether they’re visitors just in town for a few days of vacation or someone moving to Colorado for the first time, our state is not short of love.
But do we love it to death?
“Historically, people have always loved places of death,” said climate expert Dr. Lauren Gifford
“I-70, in my opinion, it’s a nightmare,” said outdoor rec expert Lincoln Davie.
“Quality of life is tough,” said social work expert Lisa Reyes Mason. “For a lot of people, that’s hard to achieve right now.”
Colorado’s economy is still a role model for many states, but is the quality of life suffering?
We chose to cover the topic 360 by speaking to experts who say it’s still a wonderful travel destination but also warn of climate change, others who say inequalities are a constant threat to the quality of life represent, and those who moved here and moved away because of what it has become.
“We’ve been here for 40 years,” said Rich Gerber. “Quality of life, the school systems for the children. (Sandy) spent 35 years with the city of Aurora.”
“Oh, I enjoy the outdoors,” said Rich’s wife, Sandy. “It was great back then”
But like many of their friends, they recently left Colorado for the Phoenix area for warmer winters and a lower cost of living.
“We sold the house in 13 days,” said Rich Gerber. “Yes, the market. It was time for a change.”
Then there are the likes of Patti de Rozario.
“People are nice, especially those who have been here forever,” de Rozario said.
She and her military husband traveled the world for years before settling here in Colorado about five years ago.
“Oh my god! Our house has gone up in value by 50% I think,” she said. “There’s something for everyone. The only thing we’re missing is a beach. I don’t think we’ll ever move.” “
“Well, I live in Houston, it’s such a great city life,” said Patti’s friend Genene. “Denver not having 120 degrees outside is great. Can we eat outside, can we play outside, can we have coffee outside?”
Gifford agrees – there are so many things that make Colorado attractive.
“There are a lot of smart people out there,” Gifford said. “There are many smart women. There’s a lot of good food, things to do – we can be outside all the time.”
But Gifford, a climate policy expert, says climate change and a growing population are threatening the quality of life in Colorado.
“So, like what we saw here in Louisville, where we had a metropolitan wildfire that destroyed a thousand homes,” she said. “It’s amazing, it’s traumatic. There is incredible ongoing trauma here.”
“Do you think we’re facing a looming implosion from climate change?” asked Denver7’s Russell Haythorn.
“I would say 1,000 houses burned down is already the implosion,” Gifford said.
She says there is no way to solve climate change, but one glaring missed opportunity is a lack of funding for public transport.
“There are ways to adapt to climate change,” Gifford said. “There are ways to be resilient to climate change, but we’re not solving it at this point. We really need to fund local transport. You can’t take that train that was supposed to go from Boulder to Denver because it doesn’t exist. We really need investments in infrastructure that are not focused on cars. “
On the recreation and tourism side of things:
“Overtourism is certainly a huge area for us to consider,” said Lincoln Davie, outdoor rec and tourism expert at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Davie says it’s no wonder Colorado attracts so many, and he uses himself as an example.
“I moved here in 2018 and moved here from Montana,” Davie said. “And, oh boy, it’s a pretty busy state for my outdoor pursuits.”
But he also sees Colorado as the North American capital for recreation and business with VF Corporation, Altera, Vail Resorts and others.
“We have so much of the industry that’s thriving in this space,” Davie said. “It’s a no-brainer to come to a place like Colorado to really delve into the industry.”
Davie sees farming and ranching as the standard-bearers in Colorado to preserve what we have.
“How do we engage in our landscapes in Colorado? If we look at a history lesson, if we look at best practices – I think it’s really useful to look at our farmers and ranchers. Sure, we have a problem with overtourism, but that’s a good problem if we’re going to embrace change. There’s a big system at play, whether it’s food and drink or our housing. We have to think about sustainability at all levels – and about social commitment at all levels.”
Of course, it doesn’t come cheap to live and work in places where tourism is thriving, like mountain towns. This has contributed to another quality of life crisis.
“I know from my experience with ski patrols in my late 20s and early 30s that it’s expensive,” Davie said. “And wages have not kept pace with costs in local communities and it has only gotten worse. What made this area special can be so commercialized that it is no longer relevant. This is a huge area where we have to be very careful as we move forward.”
“These injustices, these crises are really happening in so many parts of the country,” said Lisa Reyes Mason, a social work expert at the University of Denver.
Reyes Mason is Philippeana-American and has lived around the world. She says quality of life is never experienced by two people in the same way.
“The affordability crisis is really tough here,” she said. “In terms of housing, in terms of inflation. As a relative newbie – the beauty is amazing, but who has access to this beauty? There is a racial gap.”
And history contributes to these questions.
“Denver has a 100-year history of red-lining,” said Reyes Mason. “Who has access to better quality housing in greener neighborhoods? It affects physical and mental health.”
“We miss that a lot here,” said Gerber.
He and his wife left the state partly for affordability reasons, as did some of their friends.
“Sure,” Gerber said. “We have friends who moved to Kentucky. It’s a tough market.”
But the Tanners can also envision retiring as Colorado addresses these quality of life issues. “One day,” Gerber said. “If the market changes, we’ll be back.”
Editor’s Note: Whether it’s access to hiking trails due to overtourism, the state’s seemingly unattainable housing market, or the way climate change is transforming our lives and recreation, we want your opinion. How has your quality of life changed since you moved? To comment, email us at [email protected] or use this form. see more 360 | Full stories here.
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