Cities in Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins: mover, homes, job market)

[Simmers]

Hello, I was wondering if a Colorado expert could help give me a suggestion for a city/cities that has some or all of the follwowing in Colorado so I can narrow down the search:

* Around 100K Population or less
* Outdoorsey place, like mountain climbing, fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, etc.
* Not so flat, more mountains and trees
* Homes around $250K with maybe 1/2 or more of land (house size could be small)
* Smaller town feel, like family feel/less college feel
* Good job market.

We are looking to mover there and climate doesn't matter and we don't have kids.

Thank you so much for any help!!!

[BenWolfe]

Please elaborate on "Good Job Market" and I will try to help. What line of work are you in? What would you consider to be a reasonable commute?

[tfox]

Are you looking to be part of a larger metro area like Denver or Colorado Springs? Or are you looking for a town in which most people are working in town and not commuting?

[Simmers]

Hi BenWolfe, I appreciate your response. I guess what I meant by good job market was somewhere that has opportunities as far as steady jobs like say in an established company but a career move rather than like say a retail store. My husband will probably be looking in the fields of leadership (was a test director for a military installation), law enforcement or logistics and I would be looking in the I.T. field. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[BenWolfe]

Simmers,
With that in mind you will probably want to stay reasonably close to the Denver Metro Area or Colorado Springs. Golden, Morrison and Evergreen immediately come to mind. They are all in the foothills west of Denver.

Personally I like Larkspur (the Perry Park Area) and Monument (Black Forest) because they are located half way between Denver & CO Springs and they still have the trees and mountain feel. But if you are commuting from these areas to downtown Denver it is going to take 1 hour. If your are going to the Denver Tech Center or northern CO Springs it will be less than 30 minutes.

Unfortunately your price point is going to be a limiting factor in most of the areas I mentioned. For the same reason you mentioned the areas in the foothills are often a little more desirable and thus more expensive.

If at all possible I would try to focus on precisely where you will be working first and find a place to live second because if your husband is working on one of the military bases their geographic location will significantly limit the areas in which you will want to live.

Good Luck with your move.

[Christian11]

Originally Posted by Simmers

Hello, I was wondering if a Colorado expert could help give me a suggestion for a city/cities that has some or all of the follwowing in Colorado so I can narrow down the search:

* Around 100K Population or less
* Outdoorsey place, like mountain climbing, fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, etc.
* Not so flat, more mountains and trees
* Homes around $250K with maybe 1/2 or more of land (house size could be small)
* Smaller town feel, like family feel/less college feel
* Good job market.

We are looking to mover there and climate doesn't matter and we don't have kids.

Thank you so much for any help!!!

I'd say Loveland. It is close to Fort Collins (and lots of stuff to do), but no college. In Loveland, you can get a home cheaper than $250k... much cheaper and still very nice.

Hunting in CO is great, but stay away from Boulder... the hardcore liberals will call you a monster or the Devil for hunting... lots of vegetarians and they attack people whom they disagree with. The only allowed sport in Boulder is tree-hugging.

Hey Colorado Springs is nice too, though a bit crowded for me. It is a very conservative/moderate town, hunters are trated with the respect they deserve. Lots of friendly folk, very close to the mountains, not bad housing costs.

Merry Christmas and good luck!!
Chris

Ps. Please note that these are based on visitaion of the CO and extensive research. The locals can give you more info, though I have been to CO many times and am moving in March '07. I have spent a considerablt amount of time researching and talking to locals. CO is a smart choice, it's great!!

[BenWolfe]

Originally Posted by Christian11

I'd say Loveland. It is close to Fort Collings, but no college.

I could be mistaken I haven't been to Loveland for over a year, but I don't recall it being "Not so flat, more mountains and trees." If someone who is more familiar with this area could clarify.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by BenWolfe

I could be mistaken I haven't been to Loveland for over a year, but I don't recall it being "Not so flat, more mountains and trees." If someone who is more familiar with this area could clarify.

You're right. It's not in the foothills except for a few scattered homes on 34 on the way to Estes Park.

[Simmers]

Originally Posted by tfox

Are you looking to be part of a larger metro area like Denver or Colorado Springs? Or are you looking for a town in which most people are working in town and not commuting?

Sorry for the delayed response tfox. I really appreciate your help! I guess ideally it would be great to live and work in a nice smaller (not so flat) town where I could work in that town but commuting wouldn't be bad either if it wasn't too far. We are used to commuting to work 30-45 minutes in our previous jobs. My only concern with that would be that I could commute okay during the winter too. Thanks a bunch and I look forward to your reply...

[Simmers]

Originally Posted by BenWolfe

Simmers,
With that in mind you will probably want to stay reasonably close to the Denver Metro Area or Colorado Springs. Golden, Morrison and Evergreen immediately come to mind. They are all in the foothills west of Denver.

Personally I like Larkspur (the Perry Park Area) and Monument (Black Forest) because they are located half way between Denver & CO Springs and they still have the trees and mountain feel. But if you are commuting from these areas to downtown Denver it is going to take 1 hour. If your are going to the Denver Tech Center or northern CO Springs it will be less than 30 minutes.

Unfortunately your price point is going to be a limiting factor in most of the areas I mentioned. For the same reason you mentioned the areas in the foothills are often a little more desirable and thus more expensive.

If at all possible I would try to focus on precisely where you will be working first and find a place to live second because if your husband is working on one of the military bases their geographic location will significantly limit the areas in which you will want to live.

Good Luck with your move.

Wow, thanks so much for your response BenWolfe and helpful advice. It is greatly appreciated! I will research more on the areas you suggested. Thanks a bunch!