Our House, in the middle of our street.

I have been very lucky lately to spy around a few houses in Colorado. Obviously we had our home search, I got to spy on houses within a normal kind of bracket over here (<$460k) which is around £350k.

For that you get probably around 2,000- 2,500 square feet in a good neighborhood and maybe a property that needs some attention but not major work. Pretty good huh? Compared to UK standards or at least Southern UK standards that is pretty good.

Our house is lovely, or in my humble opinion it is. More than big enough for the three of us plus the dogs and has some character about it.

The interesting thing in Colorado, is that more money generally just buys you more space. In the UK you pay more for location which varies hugely, more for victorian or historic style property and so forth. Now don't get me wrong, location costs more here too but not in such a big way. You can live in a great location for not much more money than in a lesser area. But here the houses get huge. Four or five thousand square feet isn't uncommon for our friends and acquaintances out here. For a two/ three or four member family that is just immense. I mean lose yourself, rattle around in type size. Now don't get me wrong, the homes are beautiful and special and I appreciate what they are. But, there is definitely a slight emptiness to some of them  (not all may I hasten to add). I am trying to figure out if there is a jealous aspect from myself here and for once I don't think there is. Yes we would like an extra bedroom and maybe some updating or a 'view' from the back garden but more space? More Cleaning? More furniture? No Thank you very much, I have more than enough to deal with here!

Here are some stats for you all, just in case you care!
The median sales price for homes in Highlands Ranch for Jun 15 to Sep 14 was $430,000 based on 530 home sales. Price Per Square Ft.
Average price per square foot for Highlands Ranch was $221, an increase of 6% compared to the same period last year.

Berkshire, with an overall average price of £390,654, was similar in terms of sold prices to nearby Oxfordshire (£383,746) and Buckinghamshire (£377,594), but was more expensive than Hampshire (£294,045). Average price per square foot is around £325.

Average Price Highlands Ranch House

Average Price Berkshire (Reading) House

Highlands Ranch Backcountry

As one of the benefits of living in Highlands Ranch, we get private access to the Highlands Ranch Backcountry. It is 8700 acres of Wilderness area and less than ten minutes away from home. It's quite there and a great hike with the dogs.

I headed up there this morning, there was a slight chill this morning and I actually had to wear long sleeves for the first half hour or so of the hike. I took Boo and Detour along and got there early. I love to hike with friends and family but there is something special about just being alone with my guys. Boo is coping well with the hikes still, he is a clever old boy and keeps an eye on me while we are out hiking as he seems to realise he can't hear me properly anymore. He always was a sensible dog which makes my life easier and allows him some freedom. We hiked for about an hour and a half and saw tons of gorgeous birds and views. It was one of those special mornings and I so love making time for my dogs and me.

Of Course, when I got home I did some more work on the back garden/ patio area. This week I have moved a few tones of flagstone, laid new turf/ sod, planted, dug, flattened and a lot more. It has been a full time job for me at the moment but it edges closer to being done every day. This weekend Nic will have his work cut out with a huge amount of tiling work and hopefully finishing touches during next week!

I also see that parts of the UK were ht by huge storms last night- so this is to wish all my friends and family well out there. Stay safe guys xoxo

Too Long- a long post!

Its been way too long since I have blogged. We have had people over to visit from the UK and have had a big project we are working on.

Firstly, I haven't really known what to blog. The longer I live in the US the less I notice the differences, the odd things become normal and the British get odder and odder!

Over a year here and I can honestly say it is feeling like home. We have some great friendships, a beautiful home and the most amazing climate. To have sunshine day after day, really does lift you. Living in the UK you don't realise how wearing the rain can get at times (although I hear the UK did eventually get some sunshine). I haven't worn trousers really since I got back from my 'summer' UK holiday and to wake up every morning to sunshine streaming through the window is quite special.

The dogs are all great, they love life here. Hiking in the mountains, free run of the house and garden and lots of attention from all of us. Boo still manages some great mountain hikes on the cooler days and with fall approaching, as does the best hiking season in Colorado. Autumn is beautiful here, the Aspens turn gold and the weather is a little less scorching. I cant wait to get out with the camera for some fall hikes.

Having our friends Katie and Tom to stay was just incredible. They are the nicest couple and happily came along to lots of crazy ideas. We went on a tough and long hike at Gennesse Park, Western Riding in the Mountains,  Golf in Evergreen, White Water Rafting at Browns Canyon in freezing water, Off Road Driving in Rainbow Falls, Burger Meals, Steak Meals and so on. We had a great time, we hiked, ate, fell, laughed, ached like hell and really enjoyed Colorado. I hope they come back again one day.

We also began the refurbishment of our back yard. It was a mishmash of poorly laid flagstone/ grass and concrete and wasn't much of a useable space. We started by having the old concrete and some flagstone ripped out and a huge new concrete deck laid. Upon the deck we have begun tiling with Travertine and have installed a brilliant hot tub and brick fire pit with brick bench. From design to end it will be all our work (bar the concrete laying) but its been hugely physically demanding, we have hauled tons and tons of brick, flagstone and tile between the two of us (with some help from the Durnfords when they were here too). Its taken up a lot of weekends so far and there are still more to come, but when its done it will give us a wonderful outdoor space to use and relax in... just in time for the snow ha ha!

Anyway, I am signing off now to go and do some MORE work on the patio. Love to you all!!! xxxx

Yeah Baby!

The Rock that Tom Durnford jumped off at Browns!

The Mishmash Patio