Moving to Boulder? My situation (Denver, Grand Junction: home, find a job, university)

[TD*]

Hello, here is my current situation. I am a graduate of Florida State University, and I have lived in Tallahassee, Florida my entire life. I love this area, It has definately served its purpose of providing a great place to grow up in. What is lacking however are jobs, and me wanting to spread my wings and get out on my own.

I don't think I could ever be happy here because all of the jobs here are mostly boring government related which i absolutely hate.

I am interested in non profit work, or working with the environment in some fashion. I seem to be most happy doing something I enjoy instead of something boring, yet extremely lucrative.

Every time I have been camping or driven the blue ridge mountains or visited the state parks up there I have been in heaven. I truly believe that I can be happy If I surround myself which makes me feel that way, which is the beautiful outdoors with activities I enjoy doing.

I also cant stand the heat here.. ugh.


As far as jobs, I have worked my share of bottom of the barrel jobs from retail, to government, and after completing my degree I feel as if I should at least be doing something of some semblance of what I would like to do.

I dont have any wild aspirations or really any career goals. Just enough to get by, and doing something i like which would be working outside, working for a non profit, working for a park etc.. you get the drift.

My degree isnt specialized either, its Social Science, which is a result of not having a clear direction in college. However, I do feel like maybe it could be of some use, as I did trudge through 4 years opposed to someone who has not.


Sorry for the long post, but I am tryint to give everyone a vivid description of where I am in life.

I am also single, free of debt and have no ties or obligations to my home town.

I am 23 years old.


What I would like to know is do you think my plan is worthwhile. I have saved 5,000 dollars and wanted to pack everything and try to make it in Asheville.

I know this and that about the economy etc. but I really am fed up with doing a job that is pointless in my eyes, and not making any progress in life.

Progress to me, is being around great people, making friends, and working in a place that inspires you.

I don't need all of the luxuries in the world to make me happy.

I have a vehicle, a mountainbike, and I just want to start living, I want to hike, bike, kayak, raft, and live in a place that I can feel good about what I am doing as a person.



As far as living goes, I hope I could find a rooms share or cheap place on craigslist, to get me by until i meet some people up there.


Thanks for taking the time to read this post, and I appreciate any and all suggestions and thoughts on this.

Thanks again,

Mike

[Mike from back east]

Our usual advice to people is to get the job here first, then come on out.

Boulder tends to be pricier than nearby towns and/or Denver.

IMO, you're best to head for Denver and look for work from there, or at least fake a local area code on your resume.

[CosmicWizard]

Based on your post, Asheville seems like it would be a better fit for you, and it's closer to Florida to boot, so you could save $$$ on moving expenses. Having spent many a camping-hiking trip in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia and NC, I can tell you that the Colorado mountains are vastly different. Colorado is MUCH drier, the mountains are much higher/bigger, and the landscape is not nearly as lush. The big plus is the lack of humidity in the air. But if you've spent much time in Florida, you are certainly no stranger to humidity. Asheville will seem comparatively dry to someone from FLorida. If you can find a job in Asheville...go for Asheville. It is a much nicer city than Boulder IMO.

Asheville - NC was on my short list a few years back before I moved to Colorado. If I could have found a job in Asheville, I might be living there instead. Another place to consider is Blacksburg - VA. If I could transplant my Grand Junction home and job to Blacksburg, I'd do it it a New York Minute. The bigggest drawback to Blacksburg in my mind is that eastern humidity. Not nearly as bad as the coast, but still very noticable compared to a really dry climate like Colorado.

BTW, I concur with Mike. During this tight economy make sure you have a job before moving.....anywhere! Without a job, your $5000 cushion wouldn't last you very long.