cant speak on new zealand or amsterdam but colorado is far from an escape (unless you happen to be a multimillionaire and can afford to live in the mountains)!!!!!!!! hate to be the bearer of bad news but the front range (the place where most people live in this state) is ABYSMAL
My brother lives out there n any time i get to visit is like the best day of my life. Super fun city plus i learned how to ski which is nuts also im real bad at it. And they got restaurants