Since a large part of Colorado is on more than 4,000 feet you will feel effects of high altitude living some of which I have already described. To be honest though, there are a few more things that make living particularly in Colorado Springs special.
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1. Buy your lotion in bulk as you’ll feel your skin is dryer here and needs lots o’lotion. Get an extra stash of lip balm, too.
2. Feel static electricity! Since the air is so dry, chances are you’ll get shocked particularly after walking on carpet, but also getting in the car, kissing your loved ones.
3. Your hair might do funny things. With such low humidity, your hair might not do what you want it to do. It might just ‘fly’ straight up in the air. On the positive side, some ladies notice that certain hair styles work better for them here.
4. Watch out! You will get sunburned wherever you are. Always use a sunscreen, even on cloudy days. If you have visitors please point this out too (most likely they won’t believe you).
5. You’ll still find plenty of bugs here, but nothing compared to some other states.
6. At high altitude, the air density is lower than at sea level. This means your water in Colorado Springs will boil at a lower temperature than your water pot in Seattle.
7. No tornadoes! We don’t have hurricane and we experience very few tornadoes. Tornadoes are mainly on the east side of Colorado Springs where the plains start. We do have strong winds, especially in the spring and the fall whenever we have great swings in temperatures. That means tie down your trashcans.
8. If you don’t like the weather wait 15 minutes. Fortunately, the weather changes quickly here. We have 300 days of sun and anything that deviates from beautiful weather will come and then go! Weather systems generally don’t sit over our area for very long. They come in, they do their thing, and move out. Done.
9. Your visitors won’t believe you when you tell them to apply sunscreen, drink more water and rest. “Certainly, it can’t be that bad” (oh, yes it can!)
10. The dryness in Colorado is hard on wood, and especially wood that was not grown in this elevation. Be prepared for furniture to possibly split and wooden floors take a hit unless you have a humidifier in your home and take good care of your wood pieces.
11. At high altitude, the ultraviolet rays from the sun are more intense and therefore more damaging. To prevent sun injury to the eyes, wear sunglasses. Once you’ve lived through a Colorado (Springs) summer – chances are you will see other folks with “racoon eyes” (tan lines around your eyes) or might even sport some yourself.
