Meet Ryan and Carrie Smith Nicholson of Hashtag Colorado Life in Colorado Springs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan and Carrie Smith Nicholson.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ryan and Carrie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We are a married couple and have lived together in Colorado since October 2015. Ryan is a personal chef who is a Colorado native, born and raised. Carrie is a marketing manager who was born and raised near Dallas, TX. We met thanks to some mutual friends after Carrie visited Winter Park on a yearly family vacation. Though Ryan is a native Coloradoan, he moved to Texas so we could be together. This is where we got married and lived together for three years before moving to Colorado.

After renting an apartment in Boulder for the first three years, we began looking into buying our first home together. But we quickly found out that Boulder’s housing market was way out of our price range, so we decided on Colorado Springs. Not only was it close to Ryan’s parents, but it was a more affordable lifestyle for us.

In early 2019, we co-founded a travel podcast called Hashtag Colorado Life based on our experiences as both a newcomer and a native to Colorado. On our podcast, we share the many wonderful reasons why we chose to live in Colorado, things to do to enjoy the outdoorsy lifestyle, and how both newcomers and natives can explore this awesome state. Our most popular episodes are about Moving to Colorado, Buying a House in Colorado, and Creating a Colorado Bucket List.

Has it been a smooth road?
Our business is just shy of a year old but it has already seen a lot of ups-and-downs. We have worked really hard to connect with local businesses and create mutually-beneficial relationships. Our goal is to help more tourists enjoy Colorado while encouraging locals to explore the city and state that’s right outside their front door.

We were on track to double our listeners and revenue for the month of March 2020 when the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world. For obvious reasons the travel & tourism industry took a massive hit and so did our podcast. Our downloads have stalled out and traffic to the website has greatly decreased. Because of this we had to let one of our contractors go who helped us with social media and marketing. We are hoping things will bounce back soon or we will have to let go of our other team members who help us produce content for the podcast and blog.

Please tell us about Hashtag Colorado Life.
One of the things that set us apart from other Colorado travel podcasts is the fact that we are not a government organization or corporate company. Many of the Colorado tourism websites focus more on what’s newsworthy and keep everyone updated on what’s happening right now. Which is great, but can sometimes be void of personal tips and field-tested ideas.

We prefer to focus on the lesser-known stories and tips that are applicable all year long. We are a small business who focuses on sharing our personal perspective as well as the perspectives of other Colorado locals. We have interviewed many Colorado newcomers and natives on various topics, and continue to tackle more in-depth conversations about what it’s really like to visit or live in this state. And the best part is that the podcast is completely free!

Some of the other things we specialize in are highlighting local businesses, events, and eateries. Since Ryan has a background as a chef and Carrie is in marketing, we enjoy sharing all things food and fun. We are always looking for ways to support local Colorado businesses and restaurants. We have published podcasts about the best brunch places, popular outdoor festivals, and have many more topics slated for the coming months.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We love the diversity and opportunities that Denver has to offer! There are so many awesome places to eat and there is always something to do — you are never bored. We enjoy trying new foods and hanging out with our friends and family members who live in Denver on a regular basis.

In fact, when we were looking at cities to live in Colorado, Denver was one of our first considerations. We even house-sat for a friend as a way of testing out whether or not we wanted to live in Denver. The biggest downside for us is that Denver was a little too big and didn’t have that small-town feel that we wanted. Plus, the cost of rent was a bit out of our budget at the time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hashtagcoloradolife.com/4
• Email: team@hashtagcoloradolife.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hashtagcoloradolife/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hashtagcoloradolife/

Image Credit:
All of the images are taken by us @hashtagcoloradolife

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