Colorado "Native"

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Were you born in Colorado?

Born in Colorado and have spent the majority of my life in CO
51
23%
Born in Colorado but have not spent the majority of my life in CO
4
2%
Not born in Colorado but have spent the majority of my life in CO
46
20%
Not born in Colorado and have not spent the majority of my life in CO (yet?)
124
55%
 
Total votes: 225
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bdloftin77
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by bdloftin77 »

I was born in Colorado and have lived here all my life (30 years this Saturday). Though it's not an accomplishment, I'm happy to be living here.

Side note: This website shows where people have come from, and where they're going. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 ... -born.html

Here's a screenshot of Colorado. 42 percent of residents were born here, 6 percent were born in CA, and 3 percent born in TX. (if you hover over each ribbon in the website, you can see percentages).

EDIT: That data's from 2012. This website has a bit newer data, but only for CO - https://www.cpr.org/2019/01/17/being-a- ... -actually/
Residents in CO: Where they are from
Residents in CO: Where they are from
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Been_Jammin
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by Been_Jammin »

I'm jealous of "Natives" because they have the coolest bumper stickers.
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by mtree »

climbingcue wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:56 pm I look at it this way, just because you are born here does not mean you like the mountains.
Very true. Around half of my "native" friends have never skied and have zero interest in the mountains. On the flip side...
climbingcue wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:56 pm It is almost guaranteed that if you moved to Colorado you came here for the mountains.
Probably not. You probably came here for work, school, or on the coattails of someone else. And similar to the above, may have no interest in the mountains.

I've never given the whole native thing much thought. I just figured most folks I meet were born somewhere else. That's just how Colorado has evolved.
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by AndrewLyonsGeibel »

He was born in the summer of his 27th year.

Moved here when I was 27 but had spent at least a week here every year since I was ... maybe 3?
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by zerosignal28 »

Carl_Healy wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:28 pm I was born here in Colorado but one thing that I've always been curious about is how so many of my friends make such a big deal about being "native."

Why take such pride in something you have no control over? Take pride in Colorado sure, obviously I'm preaching to the choir here in saying it's a great place, but why take pride simply in the place where your parents happened to be at the time of your birth?
Why be angry at others simply moving here to enjoy the great things that you enjoy?
(although I'm guessing this could devolve into a "tragedy of the commons" debate before too long).

Anyway what proportion of people here are "Native," have been here long enough to be de facto "Natives," have moved here recently, or maybe don't fit in any of these categories?

And for those who have moved here from out of state, have "natives" been welcoming? Or not?
For me it's not about taking pride in being a native, nor is there anger against those who have moved here to enjoy it. What I am frustrated with is the people who move here and abuse this state, or bring their own beliefs from another state and think that everyone already living here should conform to their way of life. If you're going to move to Colorado, you should respect our community and adapt. The east coast attitude and the west coast entitlement is not welcome. Have your opinions, but stop trying to change us. If where you moved from is so great and you can't stop talking about it, why are you here? Colorado is not what it once was and watching it turn into Eastern California is depressing.

Let's not even get into the issues with the overcrowding and cost of living. Yeah, yeah, it's still not nearly as big of a city and traffic isn't bad like it is with many others around the country, but Denver was not built for this kind of rapid expansion. Frankly I just miss the days of Denver being a hidden gem and life moved at a more casual pace.
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by cedica »

Those pesky transplants, can't jump or climb, move around at the glacial pace. They've already ruined Denver and are on the way to ruin the rest of the state.
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by LetsGoMets »

The Boomer is strong in this thread.
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by Ptglhs »

zerosignal28 wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:56 am For me it's not about taking pride in being a native, nor is there anger against those who have moved here to enjoy it. What I am frustrated with is the people who move here and abuse this state, or bring their own beliefs from another state and think that everyone already living here should conform to their way of life. If you're going to move to Colorado, you should respect our community and adapt. The east coast attitude and the west coast entitlement is not welcome. Have your opinions, but stop trying to change us. If where you moved from is so great and you can't stop talking about it, why are you here? Colorado is not what it once was and watching it turn into Eastern California is depressing.

Let's not even get into the issues with the overcrowding and cost of living. Yeah, yeah, it's still not nearly as big of a city and traffic isn't bad like it is with many others around the country, but Denver was not built for this kind of rapid expansion. Frankly I just miss the days of Denver being a hidden gem and life moved at a more casual pace.
Wonder how members of the Ute, Shoshone, Apache, and Comanche nations would feel about your post.

Groups of people interact and people change each other. You have made small changes in how others in your circle act and feel. We all have. You're saying other people should adapt and conform, while lamenting that others are trying to do that to you.

I've said it before: unless your family has continually lived in the great rift valley in eastern Africa for 100k years you're not native, to anywhere.
Last edited by Ptglhs on Mon Jun 14, 2021 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by rijaca »

zerosignal28 wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:56 amFrankly I just miss the days of Denver being a hidden gem and life moved at a more casual pace.
Oh yes, the good ol' days before Highlands Ranch became Mission Viejo East. When I-25 was referred to as the Valley Highway. When the Boulder Turnpike (US 36) was an actual toll road.
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Matt
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by Matt »

zerosignal28 wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:56 am For me it's not about taking pride in being a native, nor is there anger against those who have moved here to enjoy it. What I am frustrated with is the people who move here and abuse this state, or bring their own beliefs from another state and think that everyone already living here should conform to their way of life.
I spent five years in Texas before Colorado.
Natives of both states share this odd fixation on "Native" bumper stickers. At least they share that with the white people who came to displace Indians.
Been_Jammin wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:53 am I'm jealous of "Natives" because they have the coolest bumper stickers.
This one makes me laugh every time.
Screen Shot 2021-06-14 at 11.09.33 AM.png
Screen Shot 2021-06-14 at 11.09.33 AM.png (177.61 KiB) Viewed 1861 times
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by Matt »

Dave B wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:25 amNaive.jpg
Dave, those are generic Percocet tabs. Most people will find a way to swallow them, one way or another.
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Re: Colorado "Native"

Post by madbuck »

Carl_Healy wrote: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:50 pm I've always had the theory that generally people moving to CO are moving here specifically to take advantage of things like CO's mountains, something plenty of "natives" don't take advantage of. I know plenty of "native" friends and family who I can say are likely never to attempt to summit any CO 14er or 13er.
I've had this observation as well. After moving here, most of the folks I ended up biking, running, hiking with similarly came from out of state.

My favourite anecdote is a native coworker of mine. She went to Cherry Creek HS and CU Boulder, her family was decently well-to-do. When we'd catch up on Mondays after the weekend, and I told her what I did, she'd pretty much always say "Where's that?' "Oh I've never been there!" "I've never spent time there!" This would be towns like Silverton, Westcliffe, Paonia, Creede, Fruita, and Leadville(!) or various trails that were still within a 2-hour drive of the Front Range, but were not Horsetooth or Chautauqua. She grew up pretty much only going to Estes Park, Colorado Springs, and Breckenridge.

****

Lastly, my daughter is 3.5 and a "native..."
My son is twice her age but lived his first few weeks in Wisconsin, so not a native.
My wife and I have lived here longer than both of them combined and are also not natives.

So only my daughter gets to earn the bumper sticker, despite having paid significantly less Colorado taxes than me.
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