Plan to move to CO from California (Bay Area) (Denver: apartment, rent)

[Gonzalez11]

Hello Everyone,

My girlfriend and I plan to move to CO from California, Silicon Valley (Bay Area) to start a new chapter in our lives and get away from the overpopulated, high cost of living here in the heart of Silicon Valley. We are both 25 years old with steady jobs and bachelors degrees. I Finance, and she Psychology. I'm in finance 3+ years experience ($60k+ Salaries), and she in planning and scheduling field in pursuit of her grad school entry for Physical therapy.

I have visited Colorado Springs, and Aurora and have to say it was one of best experiences of my life. The state is absolutely beautiful driving through it and visiting for 10+ days. Unlike California, where it is Summer 365 days out of the year here and as you may have heard we are in a terrible drought so it is very dry and hot. Just seeing a cloud is very rare for us in our area. I know Colorado is not a winter wonderland and I am fully aware of the weather and traffic conditions and will prepare accordingly for it.

I love cold weather, hockey, hiking, and snowboarding. Just the outdoors in general since I grew up in a small town but now live in a big city for work purposes. I don't expect every day to be perfect, but a colder climate is what I am expecting since every day is overbearing heat in CA.

If anyone can guide us and give us some details on the work situation, cost of living, recreational/entertainment, and people that would be much appreciated.

As a finance person I already crunched a lot of numbers on purchasing power and cost indexes. Although numbers will only tell me so much. We need real advice from real residence. Thank you to anyone who can give us more information on behalf of our new journey.

Thanks!

[blondmoray]

First piece of advice: Get a job before moving and live near your job. Traffic sucks. Second piece of advice: change your license plates as soon as you roll into town. You'll have a hard time changing lanes in all that traffic with California plates (there's a bit of anti-Californian sentiment in the metro-area, particularly among natives).

[Dogmama50]

Has your girlfriend applied to grad schools yet or will she become a resident first and then choose? It could have a lot of bearing on where you choose to live so you may consider that.

Colorado is still expensive, not as bad as where you live but not much less. Don't move without a job.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by blondmoray

First piece of advice: Get a job before moving and live near your job. Traffic sucks. Second piece of advice: change your license plates as soon as you roll into town. You'll have a hard time changing lanes in all that traffic with California plates (there's a bit of anti-Californian sentiment in the metro-area, particularly among natives).

The Bay Area is in the top 5 for worst traffic in the nation. Traffic here, while not pretty, is a breeze compared to there.

[Gonzalez11]

I appreciate all of the responses. I of course plan to interview and land a job before moving of course and already have a solid savings for this type of reason. I am financially responsible so I want to make sure everything is planned out first. I have at minimum 15k as a disposable safety net before making any moves with no major payments aka student loans, car payment. All paid off. Rent first while still saving for down payment for a home later on in life year 30+ preferably.

How is the competition for work in Colorado business areas for finance if anyone would have an idea? I currently possess experience in Finance/Accounting with solid resume including analyst work at major fortune 500 companies such as Cisco Systems and government enterprises.

And yes the lady plans to keep working for the mean time until her student loans are paid off which will be soon around 2-3 years. She doesn't have much. I am debt free which will be really good for a big life decision such as moving to another area away far away from our current area.

Just want to make sure we have more personal knowledge of schools, work, and cost of living. I've Googled as much information as I possibly could, but want more information from the great people who currently live in Colorado. Thanks everyone!

[davebarnes]

Housing, gasoline, taxes (re and income) are less.
Food is tiny bit higher.
You will laugh at the traffic.

[Gonzalez11]

Ya Silicon Valley traffic is absolutely horrible. Average rent for a small apartment here in my area is $2500+ a month. With my current salary I have to problem paying rent and paying the bills, but the reason why I want to make the move has a lot to do with my purchasing power. Our value to the dollar here is really bad. Our net earnings and purchasing power is very low.

So it is very hard for a person at my age to save money to purchase a home even with an above average salary.It is very discouraging. I don't mind renting for 4-6 years until I earn enough to put down on a decent home, but in the bay area it is just not feasible. I may be able to purchase a home later on, but majority of earnings will go straight towards that just staying afloat rather than being able to save for retirement even with a good 401k.

What areas are best for finance work that isn't in the heart of Denver? I'm looking for a happy medium between a decent commute to work and within driving distance to mountainous attractions for hiking, mountain biking, skiing etc. I understand the closer to the mountains the more expensive which is why I'm looking for a good medium. Thanks!

[beezle1]

Your money will probably go a little further in Colorado Springs than Denver. TRowe Price has a facility here, and there are probably other places that will hire finance people. Do check on what schools offer what your girlfriend is looking for as that may limit what parts of the state will work for you.

[mic111]

Even if you take a job downtown you can have an easy commute if you live on a rail line. Here is a map.
FasTracks System Map
It is one of the poorest maps I've ever seen but will give you a general gist. You can click on the see legend or see status buttons on the upper right. Basically it appears to me that the light blue background lines are in. The 225 one has a darker blue background and is opening in 2016. The gold ones are going in at different times. Whoever created this map is a terrible map maker.

Edit: The Northwest rail line isn't really happening and hence has no date. Those with a date are funded and under construction.

[Gonzalez11]

Ok it is very relieving that the traffic isn't as bad. In a city with over a million people here, public transit is the best way to avoid tearing your hair out from hour+ commutes. The ladies school situation is still up in the air. She still wants to figure how what she wants to do as her next step. Grad school or stay out of debt and keep working.

We both grew up in small towns of less than 40k people so we definitely miss the small town feel. As long as their is affordable housing and lots of outdoors that is mostly what we are looking for. More bang for our buck. California is not the place to make a living. It is the best place to never be able to save a penny.