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Have you ever lived anywhere else?

Missouri, Utah, Oregon, California....

I lived in Colorado more years than I care to remember and thought it was an awful place to live.

To each his/her own. I think it is one of the best places in the US to live. But I wish more people thought like you. The traffic is starting to get nasty here.

The climate is horrible

I think it's one of the best climates in the US. The summers aren't too god awful like they are in the south (it is actually cool at night, and there is no humidity, so it doesn't feel like you're breathing through a sweater), and the winters are fairly mild compared to most of the midwest and east (it snows, but the snow actually melts after a day or two). It does get a tad windy here. To be honest, I don't think there's a worse climate in the US than the south in the summer, although their winters are decent.

and the total lack of manners prevalent there was something I was completely unable to adapt to.

Such as?

If you practiced southern hospitality people suspected ulterior motives.

I like the south, but not everyone there is perfectly polite.

Maybe its just one of those things..."you can take the girl out of the south but you can't take the south out of the girl." I am thankful to be back where barbecue is pork, tea is sweet and people talk right and are actually civil to strangers. Most folks go to church and filthy language is NOT the norm.

Now the difference is I didn't degrade the south in any way (except for maybe the crack on the Waffle House cooks, but that can apply anywhere...heck, the only Waffle House I've ever been to was in Illinois). I like it down there. I think the people are decent, for the most part, and the food is good, but I don't think it is some type of paradise. In fact, the only time I've been to Houston (that is the south, right?), the people there were far from polite, and I hate that city to this very day, but not the whole region. And most people I know do go to church and fithly language certainly isn't the norm, unless they're pissed off.

"The traffic is starting to get nasty here."

Starting? I could hardly bear to leave the house if I had to drive to the city, which I often did.

"The summers aren't too god awful ...and there is no humidity"

All 5 weeks of it. We had a saying, there are 2 seasons in Colorado, winter and July. And the lack of humidity had me wheezing all the time. I felt like the environment was sucking all the moisture out of my body. It was a ghastly feeling.

While I agree that some parts of the south can be almost unbearable in summer, most parts of the south have 4 distinct seasons and when one is over it doesn't return until the following year. I have lived in 4 southern states and personally I think the climate in Arkansas is as close to perfect as anywhere I could imagine.

"Such as?"

For example; I worked with people who went out of their way to be rude and offensive, sometimes even cruel to others. Not only was their behavior tolerated, it was applauded by some in management. I could hardly make it through a day of work without tears (and in case you are wondering, it was not always directed at me...although any challenge to their behavior put you immediately in the line of fire). I have seen some of the most deplorable manners in the country in Colorado. I work for the same company here and its like a different world. Some of what had been tolerated there would be cause for immediate termination here. And like I said, that is just one example.

"not everyone there is perfectly polite."

No argument there.

"the only time I've been to Houston (that is the south, right?), the people there were far from polite, and I hate that city to this very day"

Well, you might get some argument as to what parts of Texas qualify as the south proper and I don't blame you about Houston. Anyplace with that many people is not a pleasant place to be in my opinion. In fact, I consider a town with much over 2000 people bordering on too big. And big cities everywhere have been pretty much bastardized to the lowest common denominator.

"I didn't degrade the south in any way"

I didn't mean it as degrading although I may come across that way. My daughter and grandson still live there, although I'd sure like to get them out. I just don't think it's a healthy environment, at least it certainly wasn't for me. Colorado is beautiful, and I'll admit that there are a few things I miss. The whitewater rafting was great and there are some fantastic camping spots....although there are here as well. The Museum of Natural History there is unequalled in my experience. And while I didn't like the state as a whole, I did like the town I lived in.