Moving to Colorado- Between Denver and the Springs possibly-Short term rentals?

[atrippet]

Hello! My husband and I are looking to make a move from Central Texas to Colorado. We want to be close enough to National Jewish in Denver for CF care. However, we are mainly moving because my allergies and asthma is so bad here in central Texas. Austin is one of the worst places to live with allergies. My Dr. thinks I actually might improve if I was in a different climate. Most of my cf exacerbations begin with allergies and asthma. I'm on Xolair shots but this year they aren't touching it. Fall allergy season has already begun early here due to the fact that we didn't have a freeze this year. Austin does not get too cold. Which I'm thankful for...but apparently colder climates are better for allergy sufferers. ??? Another reason we want to move is because healthcare costs are so high in our region. I start Medicare in Sept..I'm on SSDI and there is only ONE supplemental plan I'm eligible for. It is $367 (that's on top of my medicare that is $109 and I have to pick a prescription plan too which will be extra). In Colorado there are multiple plans and they are half the cost. If you live in CO or go to Denver any input would be appreciated. I know the clinic is good, I've seen people blog about that everywhere! I also talked to my Dr. here about them. We want to live somewhere affordable and safe. Who doesn't? LOL. I haven't read good things about living in the actual city of CO Springs...but Denver seems expensive.
-Can anyone give me good areas to look at? We also have a 2 year old.
-How is the elevation on your lungs? We visited Durango CO this past summer and didn't have issues.
-is it REALLY UNBEARABLY COLD? Is that hard on your lungs? I guess the same could be said for our 100 degree heat.
-We live in a small town now outside of Austin and I really like the country/small town feel. Then again I don't want to be stuck in the snow and can't get to Denver to the hospital or appts! Right now we are close to the highway so we can get to clinic in 30 min.
-Any healthcare programs you know about it? I am planning on calling the social worker at National Jewish.

Last but not least...we own our home here and don't want to sell it. We may rent it but are not sure. We want to lease somewhere short term for 3 months to see how we like it..or how it is on health. Find child care etc. Airbnb is too expensive for long term rentals it seems. Most house leases are 6 months or more. It looks like we will have to rent an apartment for a 3 month lease. Not ideal bc we have a dog (husky mutt short haired). Taking him in and out of the cold to use the bathroom might be challenging and getting him leased trained again. Then again, it's not impossible and I'm prob whining too much . Do you know anyone who can help us with this type of request? Finding a short term rental. We are planning on coming up to visit for a week to look at housing and everything. Really wishing we knew more people that lived there for a place to stay while we're house hunting. We do have a call into a friend's God parents but I feel weird asking when I don't know them. It's a huge request to ask of someone. So anyways..maybe we'll bnb it for the visit at least. Prob cheaper than a hotel.

 

[triples15]

Hey Miss!!

We looked at Colorado too, before we moved back to Nebraska. I think it's an awesome place. I've always heard amazing things about National Jewish. I saw Dr. Nick once when I went there to try to get into a Vertex trial. I got a good vibe from the clinic.

So I only have a couple minutes and don't have a ton of advice but mostly wanted to say that I would avoid Colorado Springs. There's a decent chance you guys might have problems with altitude sickness there. The altitude in the actually city itself is "only" around 6,000 ft, but you only have to go a few miles and all of a sudden you're in areas with 8,000 ft elevation. Toward 8,000 is where a lot of folks start struggling. I'd get closer to Denver where it's closer to 5,000 ft. It's always seemed to me that most can agree you'll have far less problems there.

As far as short-term rentals, ugh. That's what we did in Nebraska while we were selling our TX house. We had to wait for that sale to close before we could buy one here. Finding a short term rental that was not an apartment never happened, despite days of searching the internet and making phone calls. We did eventually find an apartment that allowed a 3 month lease AND our two cats. BUT we paid out the butt for it. :/ The apartment we rented was $890 a month for a one year lease. We paid $1400 a month for the 3 month lease. Most that say they allow short-term leases don't advertise how much extra it will cost you monthly so you'll have to make phone calls. Maybe you could find a town house in an apartment complex that would allow a 3 or 6 month lease? I will say that my biggest concern about apartment living was having Maya there after being used to our big house in TX . Well, it turned out she loved it and made friends with all the neighbors and their dogs. Ha! When we bought our house she actually didn't want to leave the apartment! Ha

Anyway, I'll talk to you again soon but good luck!!

Autumn

 

[triples15]

Me again!

I think you'll do better there in terms of allergies. The air will also be drier and that may help too.

Also, even though Moogie is short-haired he may LOVE the cold and snow. I'd love to see him in it for the first time. Your little guy will prob love it too. Maya absolutely loves it and even when it's freezing I have to force her to come in!

Lastly (for now) you might check craigslist (yuck) for anyone looking to subtlet. That way if their lease was going be up in a few months you could live there short-term without having to pay the jacked up price!

Okay, I'm off again!

Autumn

 

[LittleLab4CF]

Given the opportunity to live in Denver or central Texas, my choice has been Denver since the early '70's. We're retired and to that end have a modest brick home in Denver City limits, that's paid for. (Please accept my apologies, it was my idiot generation that destroyed the housing market, for money, of all things.) To explain how ridiculous this is, we paid ~$80K for the house in 1980. It's nearly 40 years older and valued at something like $350K now. No oil well in the back yard or such to justify the value.

You are going to be looking at $1000-$2000/month for rent. That $1000 might find an ideal place but you are looking at $1500/month for that safety and all. At the same time, pay is almost matching the crazy rental market. As for going away from Denver proper, it depends on how much you like cities. Within Denver, more rental property, lower rents and NJH is right at the beginning of downtown. Then you get into school districts. Cherry Creek Schools are ranked high. In fact, I believe that most schools in the area are going to be a pleasant surprise.

Denver's balmy weather is one of its best kept secrets. I'm serious. The best thing that ever happens to Colorado is when the Broncos play at home in a serious snow storm. That blizzard will be over the next day and skiers will be flocking to Colorado for the next couple weeks. It's a good bet because when Denver gets a foot of snow, the mountains could have ten times as much snow. The mountains, like the gulf are features so large, they make the weather for the region. There's more than a mile rise in elevation an hour's drive from the State Capitol building, the epicenter of Denver with a surveyor's bench mark on one of the Capitol's steps marking the Mile High point in Denver.

Texas can be rushing from air conditioning to air conditioning. Colorado is the same way except for the fact that you feel like rushing from a warm house to car a whole lot less. The time spent in bitter cold is minimal. Except by choice. I've had too much experience with sea level visitors. Sadly most were smokers so they were compromised. Sea level to five thousand feet was fine as close as I could tell. Some guests knew of the world's highest paved road at 14,260 feet, just a 90 minute drive from the city. I have lung damage from repeated infections but no CF lungs. I'm like someone at sea level adjusted for a mile high and I get a little light headed about 13,000 feet. My guests were asleep. Don't fear, the roads hug the bottom of the mountains, keeping you below the 10,000 foot elevation planes pressurize the cabin at. Again if you want to go up the mountains, it's mostly by choice. Once you get acclimated, in a couple weeks, going to the mountains will be easy.

Allergies are something that I suggest you research. A call to NJH could help you obtain allergy lists and other stuff to make sure we don't have an abundance of your worst allergens. You don't have the bugs and vermin like Texas. It's not impossible to get cockroaches in Denver and surrounding area but it is really rare. The fact that we do have a hard freeze sometime around Halloween insures die off of a lot of pests that fail to get somewhere they will survive the winter.

This may sound different from your plans but you might find a bargain in one of the long stay business suites. I can't remember the name of any at the moment but a few years back a friend, drug her daughter and pets to an Embassy Suites (or something like that) and lived comfortably for almost a year before her home was repaired and could move back. There's some quietly listed by owner, rentals in my neighborhood and one across the street from me. The house is a little bigger than ours and was renting for ~$1400/month. A scouting trip is going to be helpful.

Getting away from metro Denver, the elevation climbs most directions from Denver. We live in a hole called the Denver-Julesburg Basin or the DJ Basin. It's lowlands East of the mountains that form a triangle that goes from Denver to ~Ft. Collins and up to the NE corner of Colorado near Julesburg. If you want the rural life and be less than an hour drive from Denver proper, look at the towns along I-70 East and I-76 heading towards the NE.

A nice planned community, complete with a golf course somewhere south of Denver has been done, and done and done again. After you win the lottery, consider one. Go South is going to be asking for problems until you get the chance to watch the area for a few years. You're not going to feel lost during tornado season. Right thru the funnel, a break in the mountains SW of Denver is Tornado Alley. It's not as bad as Texas and the water drains away, but golf ball hail and so many tornadoes and weird weather is one reason why NOAA is headquartered here. Remember the name "Monument". It's a hill, a town and just about half way between the south end of Denver and the North limit of the Springs. It's beautiful and perfect. Just so you know that weather is one reason for being wary of looking for a house.

Going anywhere along the "Front Range" the areas East of the mountains that form on either side of I-25, is going to be similar. Great places to live and work are in abundance. So are the people who are interested in moving here. I suggest you research the areas and if you have any questions, send me a pm and I will be happy to help. In my 20's I worked as a surveyor and watched 100,000+/- houses built in that boom.

NJH is growing its adult CF service and have a good number of dedicated beds in partnership with another hospital. NJH has been known since the scourge of TB and is set up with Children's Hospital. People say anything about where they live or won't live. I've discovered that if you like where you are, you will love it here.

Good Luck, don't be shy,

LL

 

[jaimers]

i visited a friend in CO Springs a couple of years ago (her hubby was stationed there for the army) and had some difficulty with the altitude. I wasn't terribly sick or anything but we went for some walks and I couldn't keep my normal walking pace--i had to walk much slower just to breath. I had to catch a little puddle jumper plane from denver to CO Springs airport and almost missed my connection because it was so hard to walk through the airport. I'm sure you would adjust because people with CF and other lung diseases obviously live there, but i suspect it will feel difficult at first!

 

[atrippet]

LL,
Thank you so much for all of your info! I read it a while back and then I tried to reply but I was in the hospital back to back..Sept and Oct..it's been a rough fall. The hospital I go to in Austin is so old school the Wi-Fi was incredibly sporty so I just read and slept. I also couldn't find my original post very easily...didn't see the notifications. I guess I'm not used to this site. It's prob easier on a computer than phone. Autumn above messaged me so I got a chance to see this.

We are now in Larkspur staying at a BNB on 10 acres. It's so beautiful! We've been here almost a week. We are 10 miles north of Monument I believe and 15 south of Castle Rock. Boy Monument is gorgeous! I wish we could afford to live there. We haven't been to Denver yet. I'm waiting on NJH to make my appt. It's been an ordeal...I called 2 months ago! Financial dept lady was not too fun to talk to today.

I am experiencing altitude sickness. I had to stay in and rest today. It is getting better but I am running low grade fevers off and on and coughed up some blood last night. I'm not sure if it's related or my regular cf acting up. I deal with hemoptysis a lot. If the altitude thing doesn't get better I'm not sure if we will make the move. Then again I know Denver is supposed to be better. It just seems way too expensive. $1400 for rent seems decent...i haven't seen that much. I'm sure they already rented it by now. We found this little gem for $1600. It is a one bedroom apartment...but at least there is a lot of space outside and chickens for our little boy to feed. Room for the dog to run around. Just staying until Thanksgiving. I wish we could stay longer but really can't afford to. Will need to rent our house out if we decide to move.

The weather has been nice. On the cold days it didn't feel as cold as I thought it would. Lots of sunny days. So much to do! Hoping altitude sickness eases up and I get to explore more. Our son has loved it here!

Thank you again,
Amanda

 

[atrippet]

Jaimers...oh yeah the shortness of breath has kicked into high gear!

 

[LittleLab4CF]

Atrippet,

I'm glad you are feeling better. Thanks for letting me know that you read my post. We CFers can go from hot to NOT, in no time, your absence was felt. It's a lesson for me to let people know why I drop off the radar. In fact I began to post this the day after you last posted and I have been smacked by a flare.

Larkspur is where I exit off of I-25 and go East about 15 miles to stargaze. I'm going to suggest that you have met our other nice weather feature, low humidity and altitude. People from coastal areas, especially the Asian rim, get introduced to dry boogers. Sorry for the crude term. A combination of dry mucus and freshly dried mucosa results in a lot of bloody noses and a little misery. We started giving our coastal guests a care package which included some nasal cream. Ayr makes a moisturizer for the nostrils. I'm a fan of Arm and Hammer brand of saline spray.

I'm going out on a limb and since hemoptysis is one of my symptoms, gets worse about the time the weather changes to winter and the furnace is running. Your mucus all over is suddenly thicker and more viscous. This is good and bad. My mucus can shrink to nothing. If it picks up an infection, the mucus is going to need extra hydration through nebulizing and such compared to the humidity you have in central Texas. And, despite the fact that dry weather can cut infections substantially, it's extra work to hydrate lung mucus before we can kick it out. We need much more liquid hydration here. We don't often consider what the weather forecaster means by Relative Humidity, not just humidity. Relative, being a weather science term here, in short the temperature and elevation determines how much water can be dissolved in air. 65% humidity at sea level is a serious amount of water. A mile up and the amount of water is far less at the same temperature. Most people have less respiratory infection in low humidity. At altitude, we all have to become hydration zealots. If an aversion to drinking water or anything is a CF trait, I have it. I'm not compliant with my own hydration protocol at the moment and I have added a sinus infection to my flare, something I have avoided for several years. Odds are high that it's dehydration that contributed to my sinus infection.

I'm sorry to hear that you are not having the smoothest entry at NJH. This is somewhat counter to my experience but I was fortunate to have excellent insurance until a couple years ago when I retired and on Medicare.

These days I am doing good to take care of my own Medical Services but if you need anything l am checking my PM's. You might have better luck if you start by contacting the Adult CF Clinic's direct clinic line. One thing that I have been impressed by NJH, is their knowledge and practice of helping patients obtain financial aid for services. Somebody in the CF department should be able to help you, even advocate for you. If the main switchboard can't get you to a number, PM me. A couple of people who are the real shakers of the Adult CF Clinic at NJH have given me direct lines. I also have the number and name of the patient advocate and between us, maybe we can accommodate the financial person. Changes in hospital policies are going on all over. I'm not overly happy with the change. The first time I was at NJH, maybe 1960, National Jewish Hospital had a sign over the door welcoming all in need. Adding that the treatment was available, especially if you can't pay. I can't remember the exact words but it was moving, and they lived by it. The new hospital management is more concerned about their performance incentives and whole departments have defected as a matter of fact. This was two years ago and though everything wasn't corrected, losing many of the top doctors made a statement. The adult CF Clinic seems to have been spared and then some, judging by the increased services I mentioned. You probably know this by now, but NJH, the main hospital, really isn't a hospital. They keep it quiet but the rumor is there's a small ward of super resistant TB, the bug that has stuffed more of humanity in the ground than any other disease in history, is somewhere in the building. With you down in Larkspur, you may be going to the main hospital at Colorado Blvd and Colfax. I still go there even though I am closer to the new facility at Sky Ridge. Assuming that you do find Colorado to your liking, if you end up South of Denver, the staff works at both facilities.

I'm hoping that this note finds you well, in relative terms, and Welcome to Colorado,

LL