Quoted:

Things were great when I visited last June.

When I went back at Thanksgiving, factories were shutting down everywhere, lots of businesses had signs up saying "we're not even taking applications, go away", and the housing market was falling like a rock.

"Local paper" depends on which part of eastern Tennessee you're thinking of.  Johnson City Press-Chronicle, Elizabethton Star, Knoxville News-Sentinel, Chattanooga Times. . . .

Quoted:
Aside from Denver and Boulder, Colorado is a fantastic place. It gets cold, but not like Montana or Idaho. Humidity is basically non-existent, so cars and trucks last forever because they don't rust. If you like pro sports, you can live out in the middle of nowhere and still be within an hour or two of Denver (basketball not included - the Nuggets SUCK).

I live in Greeley, about 40 miles NNE of Denver. This is basically where the Great Plains start, but it's only an hour to Denver or an hour to the mountains. Several really good spots to live up here: Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor (a FANTASTIC little town/city of about 15K), and Loveland, as well as a number of smaller communities sprinkled along the Front Range.

Average daytime high in the winter months is in the low 40's; average low about 15. During the summer it goes about 88/60. Air conditioning really is an option here, because it's something you could live without and not really miss it. Heating is obviously a different story!

All in all, I love it here!

(And the gun laws are very friendly, too!)