The Fun Side of Colorado You Might Not Know
Think you really know Colorado? It's a state with mountain peaks that could puncture the stratosphere, craft beer density that you'll have to taste-test yourself, and ski town trust-funders that are aggressively wearing Patagonia vests. Let's run through the facts, stats, and altitude sickness that showcase what makes Colorado's Rocky Mountain mystique undeniable.
Heidi, Our Local Expert Guiding Your Move
Heidi is a Colorado native through and through, and has picked up the kind of local awareness you only get from seeing the state change in real time, decade by decade. She has moved seven times around the state, including a rough downsizing season that involved a toddler, her parents house, and way too many trips to a storage unit. She understands the quiet differences between neighborhoods, the unspoken rules locals follow, and how fast the state keeps growing. She fuels herself with street tacos, Red Rocks views, and an emotional support water bottle that rarely leaves her side. At Snappy Scout, Heidi helps translate Colorado life into guidance newcomers can actually trust.
Read moreWritten with local insight from Snappy Scout relocation experts
What Makes Colorado Colorado?
The weird, useful, and surprisingly relevant facts that shape everyday life here.
Common nicknames for Colorado
The Centennial State; Colorful Colorado
Local Reality Check
All mountains? Denver's a mile-high prairie city, which surprises people every single winter.
You're most likely transplanting from
California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois.
Strangely large concentration of
Subarus, craft breweries, outdoor gear shops, and dog-friendly patios.
Music scene
Red Rocks, bluegrass festivals in the hills, jam bands that never really left, Denver's indie rock backbone, and a very real status as Bass Capital for EDM. Folk in the afternoon, lasers at night — Colorado doesn’t pick a lane..
You'll have to see it to believe it
Maroon Bells glowing at sunrise or Garden of the Gods' red spires punching out of the plains..
Unique Geography
58 fourteeners (or 53, depending on who you ask), high desert, alpine tundra, Great Plains, mesas, canyons. Yes, Colorado has desert. No, it’s not just mountains.
Colorado is home to
NORAD buried inside a mountain, thousand-year-old Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, Pikes Peak, Great Sand Dunes.
Well known for its
Skiing, legal weed, microbrews, Rocky Mountains, and altitude sickness hitting newcomers like a surprise pop quiz..
Fun history fact
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park inspired The Shining after Stephen King stayed there during a nearly empty off-season night in the 1970s. Colorado mountain vibes, but make it haunted.
Celebrity sightings
Peyton Manning at Broncos games, a film star quietly passing through Telluride, or a musician blending in at a mountain town coffee shop.
Noteworthy Census stat
Among top 5 fastest-growing states; 80% live along Front Range corridor (Colorado’s main urban corridor along the eastern Rockies).
Most interesting sub-culture within Colorado
Dog people. The kind who pick apartments, patios, and even social plans based on their dog’s needs.
Population
21st by population, 8th by land size
Colorado is roughly the same geographic size as
New Zealand
Locals Know Best
Pronounce Louisville as “Lewis-ville,” with a clear S. Say “Loo-ee-ville” and everyone will immediately know you’re new here.
— Heidi Lim
Colorado Local Expert
Ready to See If Colorado Fits You?
Compare cities, check the routes, or head back to the full Colorado guide for the bigger picture.