I moved to Evergreen, CO from Frisco, Texas in April of 2012 with my wife and two children not fully knowing what to expect and knowing very few people. My wife and I had talked about moving from Texas and going on an adventure but had not made the move yet. We were done with the Texas heat and there was nothing to do there but eat out and shop. Ever day seemed the same to me and my quality of life was lacking to say the least. We were ready for a serious change. We had a young family and I wanted my kids to truly experience nature and to create exciting family memories that my kids would never forget.
We were ready for a serious change.
One day in the Spring of 2012 we decided, let’s put our house on the market and see if it sells. This was our opportunity to embark on the crazy, and brave journey called life. On our list to move was Southern California, Colorado, and South Carolina. We wanted to live somewhere with nature and exciting new places and things to explore all the time. We were fortunate enough to get a buyer for our house and my wife and I had to do a serious gut check. Were we really going to take this leap of faith and leave the place that has been home for over 40 years? Were we really going to leave family, friends and our church that we loved? Were we going to truly pack up all our worldly possessions and move to a new city where we have no idea what to expect and only know a few people and start our lives all over? The resounding answer was, YES!!!!
Were we going to truly pack up all our worldly possessions and move to a new city where we have no idea what to expect and only know a few people and start our lives all over? The resounding answer was, YES!!!!
We had some friends that lived in Aurora, Colorado and they were gracious enough to allow my wife and I to stay with them for a week while we scouted out the Denver area. We rented a car and scouted out all the areas between Boulder, Denver, all the way down to Colorado Springs, but none of those areas truly resembled the vision I had in my head when I thought of Colorado. We only had one day left and honestly we were a little disappointed we had not yet found what we were looking for. On the last day we ventured into Evergreen and as soon as we reached Evergreen Lake my wife and I both looked at each other and agreed, this is what we think of when we think of Colorado. Mountains, alpine lakes, pine trees and nature everywhere. It was absolutely beautiful with the lake in the middle of town surrounded by mountains and a charming lake house at one end.
We made the decision to move to Evergreen and by April we were moved in and embarking our our new journey. Fast forward one year. Our first year here was a big adjustment. No family or life long friends near by to do life with. We had to find new schools and a new church. We had to find new places to shop and eat out and buy lots of new clothes to accommodate the colder climate in the Winter. It was a completely new life and I’ll be honest, one of the biggest challenges was not viewing Evergreen through the lens of Dallas. Evergreen is not Dallas, and partly that is why we moved, but Dallas was all we ever knew. The food is not as good, and we didn’t have all the conveniences of Dallas. We had to drive much further to get anywhere. People are a little different here, not in a bad way but just different from what we were used to. Some of the best advice I could give anyone who is moving to a completely new place is to give it two years. One year to get used to all the differences and let life settle down from a big move. A second year, to get into your groove and make relationships with the people in your new community and get plugged in.
Our first year was exciting in many respects. We met a lot of new people and got to go on a lot of many exciting adventures. The weather was AMAZING in the Spring and Summer and we went hiking, canoeing, to gold mines, four wheeling, camping, fishing and climbed 14’ers, etc.
We went on more exciting adventures in that first Summer than we had done literally in the past 20 years of our life.
We got to see all kinds of wildlife from elk, deer, trout, ducks, marmot, billy goats, buffalo, fox, bears, to chipmunks and more. The experience was exhilarating to say the least. We were also fortunate to connect with another family from Texas who had moved here at the exact same time we did, so we bonded and did life together.
To add to all this excitement, my wife and I were expecting our third child. This created some other challenges because we did not have family close by for support and help during this time. When our lease was up we had to make a decision if we were going to stay in Evergreen or try somewhere else. My job allows me to work from anywhere there is cell phone coverage and Internet so this was hard. We found a different house to lease but that fell through at the last minute and we opted to put all our furniture in storage and head back to Texas to have the baby and be with family. Once the baby had arrived we were still faced with the decision of where to live next. We knew we did not want to live in Texas. Evergreen was an amazing experience but we were not sure that it was “the place” until we tried one more place on our bucket list. We also had our sites on living near the ocean in California. We deliberated over this decision over and over and then finally came to the conclusion that if we don’t go, then we will always wonder what if.
We deliberated over this decision over and over and then finally came to the conclusion that
if we don’t go, then we will always wonder what if.
We set our sites on San Luis Obispo, CA on the central coast of California. It too, was a small city (much bigger than Evergreen) within 10 miles of the ocean. A very quaint town with beautiful weather that had nature as well as many of the modern conveniences we were used to. We rented a house there and moved all of our belongings one more time. Our kids attended SLOCA, an amazing home school co-op program where they attend school for two days a week and then are taught at home the rest of the week. Again we met new families and made new friends and went on exciting adventures. We got to drive the infamous Big Sur along the coast line several times and camp in red wood forests, hike and play on the beaches. We got to see whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions and star fish all in their natural habitat. We were living in a place most people would give their right arm to be able to live in but something was just not right.
After living in San Luis Obispo for about nine months my family went on a camping vacation to Kings Canyon National Park up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It looked just like Evergreen, but it was in California just with bigger trees. It was great to get immersed back in nature and how life giving it was rather than living in the city. We all kept thinking and talking about Evergreen. In our minds we were comparing San Luis Obispo to Evergreen. We missed the Elk and visiting Evergreen Lake. We missed all the wildlife and all the open parks and how green everything was. The cost of living in Evergreen was much more affordable with way more benefits.
After ten months we decided that California was a beautiful place but it was not going to be our home. We missed Evergreen and could not wait to move back and buy a house to call our own. Once again we loaded up all our belongings and we moved back to Evergreen. Upon arriving, we were embraced by old friends and we made some new ones as well. We lived in the Bauer Spruce Island Chalets for 5 months while we house hunted. Homes were in high demand and it was a little challenging finding the right home to fit our needs but we eventually found a great house. We are back to going on more adventures and excited about making this our new home for the long haul.
My wife and I wanted to live in a unique place where we could raise our children and create memories through many amazing experiences that Colorado has to offer. We wanted our kids to grow up saying they had a great childhood and that we got to spend quality time together hiking, mountain biking, camping, road trips, climbing, skiing and learning together.
This mountain community has welcomed us with open arms and we are excited to call Evergreen, CO our home.
Shad Philips – Certified Mountain Area Specialist 303-218-6926
Have Questions? – Text Me @ 214-682-2113 – No Really, I Don’t Mind!
To learn more about any Evergreen Colorado homes for sale or to receive email notifications when homes are listed for sale in Evergreen Colorado, call 303-218-6926 or contact an Evergreen Colorado REALTOR®.
The Evergreen Experience is a website dedicated to living a life of adventure in the Rocky Mountains. Our focus is to help you design a life you don’t need a vacation from.
