Visiting Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora: hotels, buying a house, buying)

[rickjr13]

A little background first, I am separating from the Navy in about 9 months and we are looking at possibly settling down in Colorado afterwards. I work in IT and have a fairly high security clearance from being a former crypto guy. I have read, on this forum, that Colorado Springs might best suit me as there are quite a few defense contractors there. We are going to be making a trip out there the last week of September and I had a couple of questions for the fine folks on here.

Where should we get a hotel, south of denver? West? I'd like to stay somewhat central so we can see CS as well as some of Denver, Boulder, etc. Any recommendations of a nice, decently priced hotel (nothing 5 star)?

What sites should we check out while visiting? Specifically what should we be looking for while we are in CS? We plan on buying a house after about a year there, this will be our first non-military assisted move so this will all be new to us.

What is the weather like that time of the year? Do we need pants jackets or will shorts still work?


Any assistance would be appreciated, and if anyone knows of any point of contacts in CS that work for a defense contractors and are in need of an IT System Administrator with a clearance within the next year your more than welcome to send me a Direct Message, I would be truly grateful.

[Amery523]

The last week of September will be very nice, weather wise. All over Colorado, particularly in the mountains, you will see the trees starting to change colors. If you can spare some time to do a road trip up to the mountains, you will enjoy it. It will still be nice, maybe 65-70 during the days, but bring a light jacket for the evenings. We generally do not get our first snowfall until Halloween. Remember, even though the forecasted temp will be 60, that will feel like 70 because we're a mile up (or more!) in the sky, so we're closer to the sun. Here in CO, a lot of people wear shorts when it hits 60.

As for your stay, a good midpoint between Denver and CS is Castle Rock. There are a few hotels right by the freeway (I-25), probably in the 3-4 star range, all normal chain things. From Castle Rock it will be 30-45 mins south to get to CS (depends on the area of CS), and 15-40 mins north to Denver (depends on the area of Denver) and about 45-60 mins to Boulder (also north). You also need to factor in traffic - it will take longer to reach your destinations during morning and evening rush hour.

Lockheed Martin just hired my brother in law for a PC Desktop support job, which is totally beneath your qualifications, but try looking at their website. Maybe they're looking for someone just like you :-)

[rickjr13]

Thanks for the advice. We'll be sure to pack appropriately, doesn't sound like it should be too cold while we are there, I was hoping to get it right when it was really comfortable outside. Any sites that we should check out while we are there?

Anyone else have some insight?

[SheridanL]

My son is a CTT in the Navy. He is stationed in Hawaii right now but, has often talked about Buckley (in Aurora) and, Norad (COS) .
Norad is moving most of their operations to Peterson AF base (?) .
I believe a Navy Admiral is head of Norad. Hope I'm getting all of this correct
Anyway, you should look into this. My son has a Top Secret Clearance and, has known others that got great jobs (civilian) after they separated!

[rickjr13]

SheridanL, thanks for the info. I was a CTM, i converted over to the IT field about three years ago, but spent my first 8 years as a CTM. Your son and I probably have the same clearance level. I'll take a look into Peterson AFB, I think i've already seen on federal jobs for positions at Peterson.