Possibily moving to Colorado from California...HELP!

[jessejean]

Hi Rocky Mountain divers,

I am flying out to Boulder this weekend for a job interview and I'm going to be touring the town and surroundings to see if living there is for me. It all sounds wonderful, except for the fact that I would have to leave the ocean here in California. This is a major major decision, and any input from all of you that make me feel better about the transition would be helpful. I'm a rescue diver and have a passion for wrecks, and I'm involved in some the wreck divers clubs here, and I've been diving since I was 15 (now 31). Diving is the only thing in life that I will never give up. Ever. So everyone here is looking at me sideways saying..."Colorado? What?" The job there would be a great opportunity for me, and I also love snowboarding, backpacking, etc. I just don't know how bad my separation anxiety will get. I need help with this decision. Please tell me a little about diving in Colorado, and how much you guys get out to the ocean on trips, etc.

Thank you soooo much!

Jessejean :)

[RonFrank]

There is no great, maybe not even good diving that I have found in CO.

Coz is a direct flight just 3.5 hours away as are a lot of destinations like FL, the great lakes, and CA.

If you love to dive on a regular basis CO is not a good place to do so.

I generally go down to the Blue Hole NM for dives about 4 times a year. I do one or two dive trips a year tropical.

[rookers]

Its an effort here, but on average, I get 4-6 dives/month by driving to NM or Utah, driving/flying to FL or flying to a destination. Boulder is stunningly beautiful and I would never move back to CA after 20 years here. Too many people.

[jessejean]

Well that sounds a little more promising...are you part of a dive club in Boulder where I coudl get info? Good dive shop I could stop by?

[robint]

Aggghhh!!! YOu are moving from Ventura to Colorado??!!?? :confused:
Sorry, I had to gasp. I love diving out in Calif, in fact it is one of my favorite dive destinations ever. You aren't going to find something even close to it in CO. Just prepare yourself for lots of trips to the airport on your way elsewhere or back home!
sorry!

robint

[Divedoggie]

Here are some positives!:

If you make enough money and have enough time off with this possible new job, you can fly and dive anywhere you want!!

Boulder is a beautiful, healthy, and fun place.

The snowboarding in Colorado is obviously great!

The Rocky Mountain Oysters have evolved into an unofficial dive club.

We are constantly exploring and looking for some good dive sites in Colorado, maybe you can help pioneer one with us!

Road trips to established dive sites like Blue Hole in NM, and the Crater in Utah, have turned into fun events.

[The Chad]

Want to trade houses for a few months and see for yourself? after 34 yrs here I'm looking to do just the oppisite

[Bonuss]

You'll love Colorado.. except for the whole ocean missing thing.

What kind of work do you do? Boulder is great, but expensive to live, allot of people live outside Boulder who work there. (I live and work in Fort Collins)

When California slips off into the sea the beach will be all that much closer to Colorado! : )

Bob in CO

[HowardE]

I didn't like Boulder that much when I lived there for a year, but it's not bad....

I've lived in Breckenridge for 15 years. About 2 years ago, we started a business in Fort Lauderdale too, so we could dive more. It usually costs about $180-200 per flight, and Ted flys direct :eyebrow:

I haven't dived in Colorado ever (except in a pool in Breckenridge when I got certified)

I love Colorado though, and would never leave.

[Divedoggie]

We are going to dive together one of these days Howard!

I know that you don't like the cold water, so maybe we'll spend the day on the mountain in Breck or on my turf in CB, and then I'll hit one of those cheap flights to Lauderdale and you can show me some of your favorite dives!

Let me know if you get a drysuit. That could change everything!

[HowardE]

We are going to dive together one of these days Howard!

I know that you don't like the cold water, so maybe we'll spend the day on the mountain in Breck or on my turf in CB, and then I'll hit one of those cheap flights to Lauderdale and you can show me some of your favorite dives!

Let me know if you get a drysuit. That could change everything!

Oh... we have dry suits. I use mine here (I'm in Fort Lauderdale right now - sorry :D)in the winter :D

We went diving with Dr Bill on Catalina too, and did some of San Diego's wrecks - that was 54 degree water. :frosty:

[O2BBubbleFree]

I grew up in Colorado, and loved it. Still do, but...

I moved to, well, just about everywhere, and finally ended up in Sacramento, where I finally got certified. After some awesome diving I moved to Colorado Springs, where I got back into camping and mountaineering. But I sure missed the diving.

6 years in CO, and the only time I went diving was on a trip to San Diego.

I sure did miss the diving.

However, most of the time I was in CO I was a full-time student, and all of the time I was too broke to travel.

If the job allows you / enables you to travel, fantastic. If it doesn’t, don’t expect much of CO diving. Not that it doesn’t exist, I guess, but it sure ain’t CA.

Best of luck.

[rugbydiver]

I spend a lot of time in CA recruiting for rugby. One of my sets of dive gear always accompanies me (sky or scuba).

IMHO, you have to ask yourself a single question (I asked it 16 years ago when I left Kansas City): am I a beach guy or a mountain guy?

You'll never see mountains as awesome as Colorado's (been throughout the rest of the country & the world. CO rocks.)

You'll probably never have as good a beach + work life as you do in Cali unless you go somewhere like Australia.

So. Are you a beach guy or a mountain man?

There's your answer.

If you do make it to Boulder, let us know. I'm sure you'll get used to 50degree water and no viz (or quick plane trips to good dive sites) just like the rest of us.

[ddavies]

I don't envy your decision. I grew up in SoCal but learned to dive after moving to CO. :confused: I love diving so much I put up with the cold water, poor viz, muddy bottoms just to be in the water. I dive SoCal everytime I visit family there. And after diving with the scubaboard folks in SoCal, that get to dive most any time they want, I have to admit I get jealous. But the thought of moving back to the smog, congestion, etc. and giving up where I live, stops me in a nano-second.:thumbs_up:

[Divedoggie]

Oh... we have dry suits. I use mine here (I'm in Fort Lauderdale right now - sorry :D)in the winter :D

We went diving with Dr Bill on Catalina too, and did some of San Diego's wrecks - that was 54 degree water. :frosty:

I'd be in FL now if I could! As you know, Its been buttass cold this winter, and while there's tons of snow lying around the front range, the ski areas are in dire need of more snow.

I knew that you dressed warm for diving, so I figured cold water diving was out of the question. But the 54 degree water that you enjoyed at Catalina and the San Diego wrecks is as cold or colder than most of the local diving here.
Blue Hole is around 62 degrees. Its not worth dragging your gear up from FL. But its unique, and fun socially.

If you get back to Breck this winter, PM me, I'll come up and we'll ride and ski a bit.

[HowardE]

I'd be in FL now if I could! As you know, Its been buttass cold this winter, and while there's tons of snow lying around the front range, the ski areas are in dire need of more snow.

I knew that you dressed warm for diving, so I figured cold water diving was out of the question. But the 54 degree water that you enjoyed at Catalina and the San Diego wrecks is as cold or colder than most of the local diving here.
Blue Hole is around 62 degrees. Its not worth dragging your gear up from FL. But its unique, and fun socially.

If you get back to Breck this winter, PM me, I'll come up and we'll ride and ski a bit.
we were just there for the coldest week of the winter. We go back and forth about every 2 weeks. Mountain looks pretty bare as far as snow goes :(

[jessejean]

The Chad - that actually sounds a little interesting, because I own a condo here and don't quite know what I'm going to do with it...of course I have even gotten the job out there yet, so eveything is up in the air. But you have to remember, the cost of living here is WAY higher...the mortgage for my 1 bderoom, 1 bath condo mortgage is $2,400 a month. :)

[jessejean]

Thanks all for your input...of course I was already well aware that diving there is not in any way like diving here. I just wanted to make contact with some poeple on scubaboard out there so I could see what the real scene is. I obviosly know it would be a lot of traveling to dive...and fresh, cold water, but if I do get this job, it will be a very good move for my career. If there are divers there that love the sport as much as I do...then at least I won't feel totally stranded in the middle of the country. I have heard there are really good wrecks in Milwaukee...not that its too close to you guys, but leaset closer to you than to me out here. Thanks again...and I'm going to try to stop by a dive shop in Boulder on Sunday or Tuesday next week to maybe talk some diving. Wish me luck! :)

[The Chad]

Yeah it is at least an interesting thought... Your paying more than we are 3bed/2 1/2 ba after all is said an done close to 2k/ month. Only thing is the wife and I would not have the job opportunity out there so the likelyhood of it working is probally bad.

On the bright side we venture to blue hole and rock lake once a month so if you did the same you'd have something to look foward to. But I'm sure where your at now and going whenever you want tops that.

All I've dove here is Horsetooth, Carter, Chatfield, Cherry Creek, and they all plainly stink and go in that order. But having a boat I guess helps. Flaming Gorge is better, way deeper and cold as well not to mention the drive. Not sure what kind of diving you do, but the hole and rock are good for training. Check out Flatirons scuba I've heard some good things.

Whatever you do, best of luck to you and look into a drysuit if you don't hae one already

[robint]

Here's my "Ode to Blue Hole"
http://www.rnrscuba.net/Blue_Hole_Photos.html
sad, but I actually miss diving there, I need to get over there this month!!!:D

robint
Bonaire in June!

[rookers]

I dive with both Scuba Joe (super nice people, good recreational dive shop) and Flatirons scuba (technical diving, really competent staff). I would heartily recommend both.

[amascuba]

I dive with both Scuba Joe (super nice people, good recreational dive shop) and Flatirons scuba (technical diving, really competent staff). I would hertily recommend both.

Good to know. I've applied for Rob's GUE Fundmentals class in March.

[Haines777]

Colorado is chock full of outdoor lovers and we always rank in the top three of states in per capita of divers!I'm further south in Colorado (Colorado Springs), so to get my diving fix in I go down to Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM or I dive in the Denver Downtown Aquarium (formerly called Oceans Journey) as a volunteer diver. I feed the sharks and fish and clean the glass. We have volunteers that drive down from Boulder, about the same distance I have to drive. The aquarium has over a million gallons of water, and the fish are not shy of us divers at all. I love interacting underwater with the sharks!You can fly to Cozumel in the morning and be diving that afternoon! Also, the Sea of Cortez is about a twenty hour drive, which is full of seals, nudibranches and other invertebrates!The Rocky Mountains are spectacular and there is tons of cool stuff to do outdoors!

[Ocean One]

JesseJean,
I think enough has been said about the difference between the two states and diving.
If you move here come see us at Alpine Scuba in Fort Collins, CO. We are a small shop but have a good time. Planning trips to Bonne Terre Mine in early Spring and Great Lakes Wreck dives later this year.

[jessejean]

Thanks guys! I just got back to Cali...not the waiting game to see if i got the job out there. it was cold out there, but the company took me on a tour of Boudler and I loved it. Very active, very positive, very healthy.

Haines777 - I would love to dive the aquarium!!!!! what are the qualifications?

Ocean one - I would love to dive the great lakes...I'll come see youg uys if i end up out there. ;)