Your parents tell you that vacation time is near, and your grandparents have been waiting for the return of your family to their log cabin along the mountains of Denver. You look forward to the trip, tired of the stress and hassle your house in the city and looking forward to bringing back the summer memories of your grandparents’ house.
One of the reasons for your fondness of the place was the idea of being surrounded by mountains and the peaceful, natural environment. You can do activities such as hiking and skiing. You can also enjoy the fresh mountain air that the city cannot offer. Instead of going back home feeling empty, you decide to live in the mountains when the time is right.
Choose Higher Ground
Upon doing research, you get inspired to pursue your dream of living in the mountains. According to the Journal of Epidemiology and the Altitude Medicine Clinic, higher altitudes mean lower oxygen levels, which changes the way the heart functions and creates new pathways for blood flow into the heart. The Altitude Research Center also states that staying in higher altitudes makes it easier to lose weight, with a 2013 study supplementing this by pointing out mountain states such as Utah and Colorado possess some of the countray’s lowest rates of obesity. Your previous assumptions of decreased stress and long life are also valid, with the mountain air and less exposure to pollution leading to reduced feelings of anxiety, hostility, and depression.
You’ll need more than just the best home foundation solutions in Denver when buying a house on an uneven field. You have to adjust to the climate and living conditions.
Case Study: Summit County, Colorado
You remember interacting with a couple well beyond their retirement age and learning more about their active lifestyle in Summit County, one of the well-known places in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. You soon realize how different it is staying there as a tourist compared to hearing how life is like as a resident. The couple you spoke to engaged in numerous strenuous (but fun)activities such as skiing, shoveling snow, and hiking to regulate their internal body heat and body temperatures. People who have been living there have adapted and developed a different kind of exercise.
Apart from the physical living conditions, the standard of living is also quite high, being one of the most expensive places to stay in the state of Colorado. Apart from that, a family of three might need to make around $60,000 to live in Summit County versus the state average of $51,000. This doesn’t mean that residents are living off on the easy street, they’re working two or three jobs to make ends meet, further segregating the relaxed lifestyle of an occasional tourist and the physically active residents in Summit County.
Even though it’s not Summit County, you’ve decided that living near your grandparents in Denver was still worth it. You feel that you can adjust to the climate and living conditions, physically and financially. Today, you’ll start working hard and pursue a life beyond the mountains. Mountain life is not for everyone, evidenced by its strenuous nature and high standards of living, but it can be a viable option for people willing to rough it out and retire high, figuratively and literally.