Why we decided to move

First, the move updates:

We got all the disclosure paperwork submitted last night.  

As of this afternoon, our Bry has been working like crazy.  He has the drains replaced in the bathroom, the cover on the breaker box, a path shoveled to the garage, and the plates on the trailer.  After his Dr. Pepper break, he's going to work on the wiring on the little trailer (because on the last dump trip, the cord came undone and we lost the connector, so that needs fixed), then he's going to clean up the truck after working on the trailer brakes, and he thinks that will be a full day

I of course have worked in the supporting role, just being here and working on homework and the blog.  Today is a good day for some background info in what this move is all about, so here goes:

I get questions all the time.  Why on Earth do you want to move away from Colorado, and why to Wisconsin, or all places?  But it's turning out to be a WAY longer post than I anticipated.  So, to break it up a little, I will just cover some reasons why we are leaving Colorado.  

Because of my heart issues and Bryan's ongoing lung issues since he was a kid, the elevation that we live at is the most deciding factor.  We live at roughly 7400 feet, which if you live in Colorado, isn't horrible.  But it was high enough to cause me to need a 3-liter setting on my oxygen concentrator all the time, where I had been at 1%, and only at night, at sea level.  But that's not the kicker!  I worked at 8800 feet in Silverthorne, and Bryan works at roughly 9000 feet in Dillon.  And we move back and forth from 7400 to 9000 back to 7400, 5 times per week.  The doctors say that's pretty rough on our respiratory system, even if we were healthy.  

As a funny aside:  I went to a cardiologist while I was in Maine, and I discussed with him the concerns I had for working at elevation.  His eyes got big when I told him I worked at around 9000 feet.  He said, "What are you doing at 9000 feet?"  I could see in his eyes, that he thought I was a lumberjack, or that I was hanging off a ski lift tower someplace.  But he seemed relieved that I was just an office manager.  He could not imagine that there were offices to be managed at 9000 feet.  It was funny.  

So, anyway.  Elevation is a key factor.  So then the question becomes, "Why don't you just move down to the Front Range and live near Gina and all the other relatives, go back to Fort Collins where you came from?"  Well....the real estate prices have shot up so high all over Colorado.  We can no longer afford Fort Collins....well, we could if we wanted a broom closet or a broken down dump of a house.  But we can't rehab anymore.  So there was no help there.  (Because the real estate prices went up so high, when our house sale goes through, we will have enough to pay off our house, plus enough to either buy a place straight across, or put a giant down payment on a place in Wisconsin.  Are you seeing our logic now? hahaha)  

Then there's the job situation.  Bryan has had his issues with the grocery store.  It's a giant corporation, and giant corporations these days tend to treat their workers badly.  It is especially so for store managers.  They are put into impossible situations, and are ridiculed and brow-beaten when they can't produce a good outcome.  The stress was killing our poor Bryan.  He has to get out and do something less stressful.  That means a reduction in hours and a reduction in pay.  We have to move to a place where Bryan can get a less stressful job, where the financial obligation of a giant house payment is reduced.  

And because Bryan works in a grocery store, he has seen the issues with food, i.e. food delivery and logistics, recalls, shortages, general hygiene of the store and the workers, etc.  We determined that we want to grow our own food, and raise our own livestock, to avoid those issues. We have determined that NOTHING grows in Kremmling.  And, although Kremmling allows a few chickens (no roosters!)(Doesn't that just tell you a few things about Kremmling!?!), we are not allowed to have livestock, such as goats, pigs, or beef cattle.  We don't have room for those anyway.  So we wanted someplace where we could afford a few acres to do those things.  

Another issue with Kremmling is the roads.  I am finding that the roads here are a blog post in and amongst itself.  So, see a future blog about how much we hate the roads.  

Our next big reason to move is the tourists.  OMG!  True, the tourist industry is a large contributor to our lifestyle and a big chunk of our paycheck.  But they could be a whole lot nicer, and there could be a whole lot less of them.  Bryan has to deal directly with them at the grocery store.  There are some nice ones, but for the most part, they are rude.  And there's too many.  They are on the roads.  They clog up the parking lots.  You can't get near the hiking trails.  Hunting season is an insanity, mostly on the roads.  Forget ever skiing again.  They block traffic.  You can't get a table at a restaurant.  They hold up the bus schedule with their personal issues (I kid you not! That's another blog post!).  And nothing is EVER good enough for them.  And they are especially nasty to the locals. (Another blog post about the Walden Rodeo parade clashing with a stupid bike race!)

It's not just the ski areas.  All our old snowmobile haunts are jam packed with people.  You can't go camping because there's no room at the campgrounds.  Fishing is shoulder to shoulder along the lakeshores and rivers.  Back country skiers are everywhere.  Hunters leave their campfires unattended and cause forest fires (see stories about the Troublesome Creek Fire that nearly wiped out Grand Lake).  You can't run errands, or do anything fun, or just go from point A to point B without hoards of people everywhere.  We need a place where we get some space away from people!         

Because our ski areas are a world destination, Summit County was one of the first areas of the country to get Covid.  Somehow, Bryan picked up Tuberculosis at the store.  He also picked up RSV.  Who knows what other nasty viruses are prolific here!  "We gotta get out of this place!" to quote The Animals song from 1965!  

Well, that's just a few reasons why we are leaving here.  I hope that explains a few things, because we know that "inquiring minds want to know!"  Look for more blog posts in the future about why we are leaving and why we picked Wisconsin.  And have a great day!