Moving from south Florida to Laramie, Wy.

[Wyoming ou d]

Our daughter’s family lives in Laramie with 5 grandkids. ( age 15 to 9). We are retired in southwest Florida for 17 years. We would like to spend time with them before we hit the nursing home. Any advice or wisdom on living in Laramie, (medical is a big deal) would be appreciated. We have visited short term several times in summers and once in December. We find the people extremely friendly and love the small town feeling.

[DAXhound]

Laramie is nice...driving long distance for medical specialists is not. Are you going to drive to your own funeral? Perhaps consider ft Collins and you will be within range...although Laramie might seem like a bargain compared to FC. CO real estate is about as much of a ripoff as South Florida.

[sunsprit]

Short term visits are a world apart from the realities of living at a high elevation (over 7,000') in a very dry climate full time for an older person with possible medical issues. Folk with breathing and cardio limitations would be well advised to not locate in this altitude. Some people may acclimate to this situation, but many do not. A lot of aging folk living in the area discover after decades of living here that they need to move to a lower elevation to minimize their medical complications from living at the altitude.

Bear in mind that winter here is a 6-month event with frequent severe inclement weather/snowstorms/and possibly limited access to recreation. Strong/gusty winds can be persistent throughout the winter months, which can make being outdoors a very unpleasant experience in one of the highest average wind energy density corridors in the continental USA. Winds that you'd consider to be a hurricane in SW FL can frequently present in the Laramie area during the winter.

Laramie has all the amenities that you'd likely need, but is pretty limited in your choices. Major shopping, entertainment, restaurants, and (especially) medical providers are better sourced in Fort Collins. It's not too far away, but there will be numerous times during the winter months when that access is a less-than-pleasant journey, if the roads aren't closed. Even with the roads "open", that commute may present extremely challenging travel conditions which are best avoided ... as in "no unnecessary travel" warnings.

As noted above, the Ft Collins area may be a better choice for residency with the ability to access Laramie for your family visits. FWIW, Laramie isn't especially less expensive for housing than Ft Collins and the I-25 corridor North of town.

[Wyoming ou d]

Appreciate your succinct reply. Definitely food for thought.

[StealthRabbit]

Altitude could become a show stopper as you age. My mom had to relocate from 6000ft, to 4000' due to respiratory issues.

Depending on current health and mobility, Might be best to consider a LT location within same time zone, and an easy flight. And have a Casita / separate living space at both homes (your kids, and your home). That way you can each go back and forth without much luggage or hassle, as you're established at each location. Tucson / Oro Valley or Prescott seems to work well for many Colorado and WY retirees.

Ft Collins / Loveland is a good choice if altitude is ok with your health requirements.(Weather is milder, plenty of medical options, established retirement services.)

Laramie is fine while you're healthy, but will be significantly different than FL, and not a whole lot to do without significant driving (which is often hazardous). Year-round living as a retiree will be a challenge, and possibly quite lonely couped up inside.

If your grandkids are busy in school, maybe you can find a Laramie college housing option that's available during summers. Or... Bring an RV and enjoy the region during summers with grandkids. (Or a cabin at Woods Landing / Encampment / Saratoga).

If you end up south / warmer climate, the kids can fly to visit you during breaks. Our kids flew to Lake Havasu to spend winter breaks on a houseboat with grandparents. They also golfed and swam and did desert exploring when visiting grandparents, so it was special to be able to do things not possible during our winters.

While time together with grands was shorter than desired, they nurtured and remained in a very close relationship, now 30 yrs later -still in touch with grandparents every week. (Much more often communicating and meeting up with grandparents than we are, or with us.). That's fine, glad they grew close, in spite of not being physically close.

I was very grateful and close to my grandparents, tho they were 12 hrs away.

Make the effort, take the time, it offers lasting and meaningful benefits. And very important to grandkids.

[misawa97]

The hazards if living at high altitude have been bandied about in the public information sphere for years. Please do your own research:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4113517/

The concluding remarks in the article seem to indicate that folks with COPD would indeed benefit by moving to a lower altitude. For all others, there are many indications that living at a higher altitude is a healthy option.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by misawa97

The hazards if living at high altitude have been bandied about in the public information sphere for years. Please do your own research:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4113517/

The concluding remarks in the article seem to indicate that folks with COPD would indeed benefit by moving to a lower altitude. For all others, there are many indications that living at a higher altitude is a healthy option.

In the decades that I've lived in the Cheyenne area ... which is 1,000' lower elevation than Laramie ... I've known 8 people who have had to leave for lower altitudes due to respiratory or cardio issues, some of them within the last year. Their symptoms weren't trivial as their various medical conditions progressed. All of them had been long term residents in the area, but aging health issues presented as early as in their 40's. The proof for them of the problem was readily apparent in getting almost immediate relief when they traveled to lower elevations.

What many folk don't realize is that there's a 3%/thousand feet decrease in air density. At 7,000' elevation, that's a substantial loss of oxygen uptake. For many people, it can result in less than 90% blood oxygen levels, effectively limiting many other aspects of their performance and health at altitude.

key take-away from the article (emphasis mine): "The available data indicate that residency at higher altitudes are associated with lower mortality from cardiovascular diseases, stroke and certain types of cancer. In contrast mortality from COPD and probably also from lower respiratory tract infections is rather elevated. It may be argued that moderate altitudes are more protective than high or even very high altitudes. Whereas living at higher elevations may frequently protect from development of diseases, it could adversely affect mortality when diseases progress. Corroborating and expanding these findings would be helpful for optimization of medical care and disease management in the aging residents of higher altitudes.