Tech jobs in Boulder (Denver, Colorado Springs: real estate, renting, job market)
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I am currently throwing around the idea of moving to Boulder. I love trails, mountains, and the small town feel yet "open mindedness" of a big city. I have been to some online job sites but I would like to get a perspective from an insider of the availability of tech jobs in the Boulder area. I would prefer to not have to commute to Denver daily. My perception is that the salary that I would receive in Boulder would not be equal to what I would pay in housing. I am experiencing "the good life" here in Florida in regards to affordable housing and decent pay. However I fully understand that my standard of living would decrease somewhere else. I don't need many luxuries but I prefer to not be struggling to meet basic needs....any insight?
I am currently throwing around the idea of moving to Boulder. I love trails, mountains, and the small town feel yet "open mindedness" of a big city. I have been to some online job sites but I would like to get a perspective from an insider of the availability of tech jobs in the Boulder area. I would prefer to not have to commute to Denver daily. My perception is that the salary that I would receive in Boulder would not be equal to what I would pay in housing. I am experiencing "the good life" here in Florida in regards to affordable housing and decent pay. However I fully understand that my standard of living would decrease somewhere else. I don't need many luxuries but I prefer to not be struggling to meet basic needs....any insight?
Have a look at the sites for companies such as Covidien which just relocated to Boulder and has lots of open tech jobs. There's also Amgen in Longmont and Woodward in Fort Collins.
IBM Boulder, OCE, Lexmark, Ball Aerospace, StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, Matchlogic, and Avaya off the top of my head.
I'm a Florida Native as well. What you might end up hating is the length of the cold season. It's cold about 9 months of the year. One year I can recall it snowed 1 week before June and then again in the last week of September. So what's that. About 4 months without freezing temps.
Once I was fussing with a leaking tire stem on my car. A tear dropped to the car and before I could wipe it off... it was frozen. Temperature? -14 F. LOL!
I've been from the Mississippi river all the way to LA in this particular car. Lowest temp I ever saw on it's thermometer was there. Highest was in Phoenix, where it hit 99 on the dash because it only has 2 digits. Local temp was 110. LOL!
So if you like that tropical thing, you won't like the Rockies. I promise. Heck I don't even really find the beaches of SoCal comparable in tropical feel to say Juno Beach, Florida.
IBM Boulder, OCE, Lexmark, Ball Aerospace, StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, Matchlogic, and Avaya off the top of my head.
I'm a Florida Native as well. What you might end up hating is the length of the cold season. It's cold about 9 months of the year. One year I can recall it snowed 1 week before June and then again in the last week of September. So what's that. About 4 months without freezing temps.
Once I was fussing with a leaking tire stem on my car. A tear dropped to the car and before I could wipe it off... it was frozen. Temperature? -14 F. LOL!
I've been from the Mississippi river all the way to LA in this particular car. Lowest temp I ever saw on it's thermometer was there. Highest was in Phoenix, where it hit 99 on the dash because it only has 2 digits. Local temp was 110. LOL!
So if you like that tropical thing, you won't like the Rockies. I promise. Heck I don't even really find the beaches of SoCal comparable in tropical feel to say Juno Beach, Florida.
But just my $0.02.
Ok, I grew up in NC and it's not Florida, but come on! Cold 9 months out of the year, that's just not true. It can be cold - below 30 generally from October to mid-April, but in October and November and in March and April you are likely to have a lot of 60 degree temps. The weather changes constantly. It can get really cold here, but its usually the center winter months - December -February. I think the wind is the killer if you live in west metro. But in NC, it was alot colder when there was moisture in the air to boot and the humidity in the summer, forget it.
If you love sunshine, you will love the Rockies. If you like having all four seasons, you will also. If you need green all year long and reliabile weather, you won't like it. I'd suggest moving to the Bay Area for that if you are tired of oppressive Florida weather.
Storage Tek is no more, it is now a part of Sun and Avaya is in Westminster. Polycom is in Boulder and lots of smaller companies are there as well.
The 9 months of cold thing both is and isn't true. It can snow in early Sept and it can snow in late May. I have seen it snow in June in Louisville twice in the 28 yrs I have lived here. IMO, Sept, Oct and May are usually very pleasant months. June, July and August are characterisitcally hot. How hot? Into the 90s many days. Denver gets an average of 33 days of 90 degree temps/yr. Occasionally, it sees 90 in May, Sept, and Oct, as well as during the summer months. A lot of people from warmer climates never quite get used to the weather here. The winter is mild, even sometimes in January, but long.
If you like the "open mindedness of a big city" be mindful of the lip service about Boulder being open minded. It's true as long as you see things the same way...there's areason it's called the Peoples's Republic of Boulder.
I am currently throwing around the idea of moving to Boulder. I love trails, mountains, and the small town feel yet "open mindedness" of a big city.
Metro Denver (e.g. Golden, Lakewood, Littleton) may meet your requirements too. Check out Denver.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridaresident
I have been to some online job sites but I would like to get a perspective from an insider of the availability of tech jobs in the Boulder area.
It's extremely competitive in Boulder. Everyone wants to live/work in Boulder and there's only so few good paying professional jobs. When positions open the companies get inundated with tons of applicants. It's very tough here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridaresident
I would prefer to not have to commute to Denver daily..
You always want to keep that option way open in a very tight job market (and as a contingency). Try moving close to the RTD RT36 bus route incase you have to commute one day into Denver. The bus will make life easier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridaresident
My perception is that the salary that I would receive in Boulder would not be equal to what I would pay in housing. ..
This could be true if you are buying (vs. renting) and in the heart of Boulder.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridaresident
I am experiencing "the good life" here in Florida in regards to affordable housing and decent pay. However I fully understand that my standard of living would decrease somewhere else. I don't need many luxuries but I prefer to not be struggling to meet basic needs....any insight?
If you work in Boulder you can live in the SW side of Longmont (RT119) for a reduction of rent/real estate cost. You can also go down RT36 to Superior/Louisville for a reduction of rent/real estate cost. I'd say look at Superior/Louisville for the reason I stated above regarding the bus and contingency option of working in Denver.
My advice to make Boulder work for you in the long run is career and income stability. The Boulder job market is vunerable and you need to keep all options open for sake of security.
Quote:
Originally Posted by davya
If you like the "open mindedness of a big city" be mindful of the lip service about Boulder being open minded. It's true as long as you see things the same way...there's areason it's called the Peoples's Republic of Boulder.
Hence another reason to throw Denver/metro-Denver into the mix.
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