Young couple looking to move to Colorado (Denver, Fort Collins: apartment, renting)

[Simicalif]

My fiancé and I have been actively looking for a place to move to. I live in Southern California, she lives in Central Texas. She's currently in school for a Psychology major, I'm working on completing my COMP-Tia A+ and Network+ certifications. The misses is losing her place to live after this school year is completed, which is around the time I will have my certifications completed. We're looking for a safe low cost of living area near mountains and lakes (I have two boats, ones coming with us). She absolutely adores the state, I was planning on moving to Arizona to be closer to the river, but after a few vacations, the misses pulled rank and said she refused to move to the state. We settled on the idea of Colorado, and the Denver area I hear is a great place to be in the IT field. We're just looking for a place we can afford living in. I'll be working full time and doing side work, and she'll be in school full time (if you could include good community college areas with excellent psychology programs, that would be lovely ) and hopefully she'll have time for part time work. I wouldn't mind our own apartment, but having a backyard and RV access/parking is very important to me, so we may consider renting rooms out to afford the luxury. So how about it guys? Any areas in west Colorado that matches what we're looking for? Thanks!

[vegaspilgrim]

Lakes??? What lakes???

[Mike from back east]

Simi, there are some lakes here, not many, mostly man-made reservoirs.

Use the search tool with keywords like: boating, lakes, reservoirs

[Idunn]

As mentioned, Colorado is not renowned for its many lakes, at least not of a size and situation to do any boating on. But options do exist, of course.

Just off-hand, there would be Vallecito Reservoir in the mountains northeast of Durango; appreciably larger Navajo Reservoir southeast of Durango, with the majority of its body in New Mexico; Lake Granby (reservoir) in the mountains just south of Grand Lake; and Dillon Reservoir in Summit County, nestled between the towns of Dillon and Frisco. I believe all of these allow power boats, and there are other bodies of water of a certain size which do as well. However the majority of lakes in Colorado are natural and fairly small, without the access for boating or allowed.

One good option near the front range is Horsetooth Reservoir, in the mountain foothills just west of Fort Collins. Power boats are allowed (with a fee for anyone using the lake, boat or not), and of a sufficient size for practical use, even in summer when almost all the activity takes place, and a good number of boats on the lake.

Possibly the only real downside to such a proposition is if one could find suitable employment in Fort Collins. It is an attractive large town on many levels, and viewed as desirable by many with education and skill. So expect competition in what is a small market in relation to Denver and its environs. Look at a map and you'll see it is also isolated enough from other towns of any appreciable size that commuting would be problematic, certainly a pain. So hopefully something suitable is found for whatever is on offer locally.

On the plus side, as said, it is a largely attractive town with an ambience many find pleasant. Colorado State University is one of the premier schools in the state, and more than suitable for any continuation of education. Lots of good options in shopping and services in town, with little reason to go elsewhere, save perhaps museums or other attractions only a larger city like Denver can offer. Many good options in housing, with prices lower than in Boulder, certainly than in favored mountain resort towns, but higher than some other places in the state, and certainly portions of Nebraska.

When it comes to it, boating is something of a compromise in Colorado, although perfectly fine if one finds a particular 'lake' that they like. The grander issue, being more usually the case, is if one can keep body and soul together sufficiently day to day in the meantime.

[Simicalif]

Wow, I was told there were quite a few lakes in the state, that's a downer, and the wife knows that's a deal breaker..

[wong21fr]

^On the bright side, our lakes and reservoirs are at least full and not starting to look like puddles unlike the ones in Arizona.

[NW Crow]

There is some discussion about lakes in these recent threads:

Best Lake communities in CO?? Please help!
Recreation lakes near Boulder?
towns with lake near by
Which lake would you recommend???

Even though it is mentioned in the third link, I'll highlight this reference:
Boatable Waters | Colorado State Parks



P.S. If you are interested in and looking for advice about the Denver area, I wouldn't call it "west Colorado", that might confuse some people or have them throw out objections for the semantic "foul". It is not what people consider eastern Colorado (that would be the plains east of Denver) but it isn't western Colorado either (that being west of the continental divide). The Denver region broadly defined is usually referred to as the "front range".

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by Simicalif

We're looking for a safe low cost of living area near mountains and lakes (I have two boats, ones coming with us).

Do you want to live near a big city or in a small town? That's the main thing to decide. Basically if you want to have access to city life you'll need to be around the Front Range (I-25). Otherwise, the whole central or western part of the state is open to you. See the following link for a map of all the lakes in Colorado and their permitted uses: Freshwater Lakes Fishing Map

A bit of information regarding lakes. In Colorado there's basically two kind: the lower-elevation warm water reservoirs and the cold water mountain lakes. The mountains lakes are very cold, even in the summertime (hyperthermia is a concern) and completely freeze over for several months in the winter. You should be aware of that, as it affects your ability to boat and use the lakes.

We settled on the idea of Colorado, and the Denver area I hear is a great place to be in the IT field.

This is true. It's a bit of a mini IT hub actually. There's a wide mix of companies in the Denver area, including the customer service headquarters for Level 3, large Sybase facility in Boulder, Trizetto in Denver, etc.

Any areas in west Colorado that matches what we're looking for?

Grand Junction (where I used to live.) There's a small statee college there. Lots of lakes, including the amazing Flaming Gorge (four hour drive northwest) and huge Lake Powell (four hour drive southwest), plus a variety of nearby lakes.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by Idunn

As mentioned, Colorado is not renowned for its many lakes, at least not of a size and situation to do any boating on.

Huh???

Most lakes in Colorado allow power boats and there are many very large lakes in different parts of the state. Many of these lakes have depths of several hundred feet.

Just off-hand, there would be Vallecito Reservoir in the mountains northeast of Durango; appreciably larger Navajo Reservoir southeast of Durango, with the majority of its body in New Mexico; Lake Granby (reservoir) in the mountains just south of Grand Lake; and Dillon Reservoir in Summit County, nestled between the towns of Dillon and Frisco.

You're leaving out Blue Mesa Reservoir, which is the largest body of water in the state, Ridgeway State Park, Vega Lake, Reudi, Taylor Park, Paonia Reservoir, Crawford Reservoir, all of which are large mountain lakes that allow power boats (I've taken a boat out on all of these), as well as all the huge reservoirs out on the Plains and along I-25, and many other medium-size and smaller lakes throughout the state. In fact there are several lakes in the immediate Denver area that allow boating.

Just follow the link. It shows you where all the lakes are: http://www.fishexplorer.com/lakenav.asp?

[jazzlover]

Lakes and reservoirs are two different things, people. Lakes generally maintain a relatively constant water level--that level only drastically changing in times of drought. Most Colorado reservoirs, on the other hand, are built for storage of water from wintertime snowpack, which is then drawn down--often drastically--during the summer months to supply water for municipal use or agricultural irrigation. So, a reservoir that is brim full and quite attractive in early June may be drawn down by many feet by August. In some drought years they are drawn down to the point that boat ramps become unusable. Bottom line: Colorado is an arid state--Minnesota with 10,000 lakes it ain't--never was, never will be.

As for IT jobs on the Front Range, like any other kind of job in this state, they are highly competitive and frequently scarce. As an example, a friend of mine, a highly experienced IT individual with nearly 30 years of experience, is now working out of state most of the time because of downsizing occurring in Colorado. Contrary to what is frequently spewed out on this site, Colorado's tech sector appears to be quietly continuing in contraction from what I've seen in the IT field--and I just met with one of Colorado's long-time IT companies in the past few weeks. Like many, they were absorbed by an out-of-state operation a few years ago, and a lot of their Colorado employees have either been transferred out of state or cut loose.