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Boulder has a great location, but it's very expensive. I wouldn't want to commute to Downtown Denver from Boulder on a daily basis, either.
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Originally Posted by Colorado Rambler
I wouldn't exactly call Denver "well forested." Plus, just like in California, well-forested communities in Colorado are also starting to burn. Colorado Springs' Black Forest and Waldo Canyon areas are but two examples.
Got it thank you both, after doing a bit more research it seems like the majority of Denver is different than I was expecting
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Originally Posted by otowi
My first advice would be to come visit. Some of the things you don't like about LA are here, too, although maybe in lower quantities, and some of your ideas of what Colorado is like may or may not be true - especially depending on where you are in it.
Also, understand that some of your wish list may conflict with other parts in reality - for example, generally speaking, vibrant social life and forested areas with lakes and rivers are not in the same place.
Also understand water is not particularly abundant anywhere in Colorado.
Given your relatively young age, I might suggest thinking of college towns, if you can afford them. There is more to the state than the Front Range, but your interest in social life suggests you should probably start there in your search. Denver will have more going on socially just being bigger, but you get more college town vibe in Boulder and Fort Collins. Golden as well, to some extent. Colorado Springs might work if you want something bigger than Golden but closer to outdoor stuff than a lot of Denver happens to be. Pueblo area might work if you want to save budget a bit and can go for more of a southwest vibe than most of the rest of the Front Range.
I'm definitely planning to come visit ASAP. I'm open to starting out in a place with more of a social life to be able to build a new social circle and learn the town, but down the road I'd probably want to move to a peripheral city with a quieter/more nature heavy vibe. Between Boulder and Ft Collins, which do you think would be a better fit?
How's the job market in CO Springs? For someone my age is Denver the only main option to find a good job to grow with or do Boulder/Ft Collins/CO Springs have some good options as well?
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Originally Posted by Vision67
A Real Estate agent?
Good luck with that. Realize that Colorado already has about 10X as many Realtors as houses for sale.
I'll actually be getting out of real estate, I'm already over it in LA (same thing over here - everyone and their mother is an agent who thinks they'll make it big with minimal work and a tiktok following.
Between Boulder and Ft Collins, which do you think would be a better fit?
How's the job market in CO Springs? For someone my age is Denver the only main option to find a good job to grow with or do Boulder/Ft Collins/CO Springs have some good options as well?
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With just the information given so far, I can't say which is better for you between Boulder or Ft. Collins. The job market in the Springs is pretty hot right now. I'd say it is good pretty much every where on the Front Range for the moment. But, as always, individual mileage may vary. I'd say keeping your options open is a good idea.
Between Boulder and Ft Collins, which do you think would be a better fit?
Depends on whether you want to be close to Denver, skiing, the airport, etc. Ft Collins is nice but after LA it will seem small and limited. It's also not commuting distance to Denver unless you're a masochist with no life Boulder is beautiful -- but, honestly, rather full of itself -- and expensive. There are small towns near Boulder - Louisville, Niwot, Gunbarrel (yes, you read that right) that might meet your need for the outdoors and still within a doable drive to Denver. For all these reasons, they're not cheap either.
Commuting to Denver from the more outlying areas is a pain. Highway construction hasn't kept up with the population growth, and the drive from the southern suburbs into Denver is starting to resemble the 405. There are certainly jobs in Denver and the southern suburbs notably in the areas in/near The Tech Center. The job options are a bit more limited in Boulder because it's small (and fierce competition from its educated workforce -- lots of spouses of academics, etc., looking for work)
You don't say what kind of a job you're looking for -- but if you do end up in the Tech Center you could in live in Denver to establish a social scene and just commute. Broomfield has a fair amount of bigger companies, and you could commute to it from the Boulder areas.
If you want trees, consider Evergreen and the surrounding areas. Just keep in mind driving from the foothills can be a major pain in the winter.
I'm definitely planning to come visit ASAP. I'm open to starting out in a place with more of a social life to be able to build a new social circle and learn the town, but down the road I'd probably want to move to a peripheral city with a quieter/more nature heavy vibe. Between Boulder and Ft Collins, which do you think would be a better fit?
How's the job market in CO Springs? For someone my age is Denver the only main option to find a good job to grow with or do Boulder/Ft Collins/CO Springs have some good options as well?
Have you considered moving somewhere in Colorado besides the Front Range? You might want to check out Durango in SW Colorado just for grins and also because it can be a very cool place to live. Youthful vibe? Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College and there are many brew pubs, eateries and all sorts of other spots in Durango that cater to a more youthful crowd.
Want forests? Durango and its surrounding mountains are covered with all sorts of forests. You can drive for hours and hours in the San Juan and La Plata Mountains and never run out of forests. Plenty of places to go boating and fishing too - everything from trout streams to the Colorado and Green Rivers which have their confluence just outside of Moab, about a two hour drive from Durango. For world class ski runs, you'd be close to Telluride, Purgatory, Wolf Creek, and great cross country trails up in the Silverton area.
Real estate costs in Durango can be discouraging to some - The median list price of homes in Durango, CO was $587K in August 2021, trending up 22.5% year-over-year. The median listing price per square foot was $328. However, coming from LA, these prices may not seem so bad to you.
Durango used to be mainly a tourist town anchored by a small college, but in recent years, it has really begun to take off with a number of small to medium size companies relocating there. I moved to Durango when I was your age - 30 - to accept a job offer at Ft. Lewis and I fell head over heels in love with the Four Corners and especially its mountains. Come visit for a few days. It may be just what you're looking for if you don't mind a more remote location.
With just the information given so far, I can't say which is better for you between Boulder or Ft. Collins. The job market in the Springs is pretty hot right now. I'd say it is good pretty much every where on the Front Range for the moment. But, as always, individual mileage may vary. I'd say keeping your options open is a good idea.
Got it thanks, I'll keep searching for more info but this has been helpful so far
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Originally Posted by vunderbar
Between Boulder and Ft Collins, which do you think would be a better fit?
Depends on whether you want to be close to Denver, skiing, the airport, etc. Ft Collins is nice but after LA it will seem small and limited. It's also not commuting distance to Denver unless you're a masochist with no life Boulder is beautiful -- but, honestly, rather full of itself -- and expensive. There are small towns near Boulder - Louisville, Niwot, Gunbarrel (yes, you read that right) that might meet your need for the outdoors and still within a doable drive to Denver. For all these reasons, they're not cheap either.
Commuting to Denver from the more outlying areas is a pain. Highway construction hasn't kept up with the population growth, and the drive from the southern suburbs into Denver is starting to resemble the 405. There are certainly jobs in Denver and the southern suburbs notably in the areas in/near The Tech Center. The job options are a bit more limited in Boulder because it's small (and fierce competition from its educated workforce -- lots of spouses of academics, etc., looking for work)
You don't say what kind of a job you're looking for -- but if you do end up in the Tech Center you could in live in Denver to establish a social scene and just commute. Broomfield has a fair amount of bigger companies, and you could commute to it from the Boulder areas.
If you want trees, consider Evergreen and the surrounding areas. Just keep in mind driving from the foothills can be a major pain in the winter.
This is great info thanks! Instead of Boulder, what are your thoughts on CO Springs? It sounds like the job market out there is relatively strong and that it's still a large city but with more of a small-town feel. How's the social life out there? Would it be potentially harder to meet new people or is it similar to Denver with things to do, just less LA-like? Those other areas sound nice but, while I love nature, my main goal starting out would be to meet new people and be close enough to my job that the commute isn't egregious (unless I work remote). I'm currently a real estate agent but wouldn't be keeping that job if I move (I probably won't even keep it if I stay in LA - too many gray hairs). I'd want something with transferrable skills so likely wouldn't be in tech.
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Originally Posted by Colorado Rambler
Have you considered moving somewhere in Colorado besides the Front Range? You might want to check out Durango in SW Colorado just for grins and also because it can be a very cool place to live. Youthful vibe? Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College and there are many brew pubs, eateries and all sorts of other spots in Durango that cater to a more youthful crowd.
Want forests? Durango and its surrounding mountains are covered with all sorts of forests. You can drive for hours and hours in the San Juan and La Plata Mountains and never run out of forests. Plenty of places to go boating and fishing too - everything from trout streams to the Colorado and Green Rivers which have their confluence just outside of Moab, about a two hour drive from Durango. For world class ski runs, you'd be close to Telluride, Purgatory, Wolf Creek, and great cross country trails up in the Silverton area.
Real estate costs in Durango can be discouraging to some - The median list price of homes in Durango, CO was $587K in August 2021, trending up 22.5% year-over-year. The median listing price per square foot was $328. However, coming from LA, these prices may not seem so bad to you.
Durango used to be mainly a tourist town anchored by a small college, but in recent years, it has really begun to take off with a number of small to medium size companies relocating there. I moved to Durango when I was your age - 30 - to accept a job offer at Ft. Lewis and I fell head over heels in love with the Four Corners and especially its mountains. Come visit for a few days. It may be just what you're looking for if you don't mind a more remote location.
I've heard of Durango but hadn't really considered it until reading that! It sounds like another great option. How's the social life/job market out there compared to the bigger cities? While I'm not really the party type anymore, I still want to be able to get out there and easily start meeting new people my age along with being able to find a stable job. Either way I'm definitely adding this to my list when I go out there?
To all - what are your thoughts on Golden? I heard that's another good place to consider since it's close to Denver but less chaotic
You have to visit Golden, walkable interesting downtown, microbrewers, parks, hiking, swimming, tubing, the white water park, kayaking, Clear creek, bike riding, scenic views, snow, it gets very crowded in the summer with tourists.
Be careful if you drive up HWY 6 into the mountains and try to come back Sunday afternoon-evening it can take HOURS. Hwy 93 will take you up to Boulder in 35-40 mins.
To all - what are your thoughts on Golden? I heard that's another good place to consider since it's close to Denver but less chaotic
Golden is too close to Denver and too crowded on the weekends to be 'less chaotic' IMHO. You might as well live ten minutes closer to Denver. My own impression as a recent transplant to the area is that it is much harder to start any social life in the suburbs here. People in general are friendly but only at a superficial level. It's hard to develop deeper bonds except with other transplants. I'm mostly talking about Littleton/Highlands Ranch so I'll let people who actually lived in Golden to weigh in on that.
what are your thoughts on CO Springs? It sounds like the job market out there is relatively strong and that it's still a large city but with more of a small-town feel. How's the social life out there? Would it be potentially harder to meet new people or is it similar to Denver with things to do, just less LA-like?
Colorado Springs has grown and changed a lot in the past decade, even - so people who haven't been here in awhile really don't necessarily know what it is like anymore. The market is strong in the Springs right now and it is still a pretty large metropolitan area (about 730,000), a 23% or so increase over a decade prior. I think infrastructure has catching up to do. Social life isn't going to be quite like Denver but it is more lively than probably anywhere else on the Front Range outside of Denver unless a college bar is your thing, then you have a few more options.
Some people say it isn't super easy to meet a love-interest in Colorado in general compared to some other places - people are friendly, but also live-and-let-live, come-and-go, which can come across as 'you're all very nice but how do we get to the next level, everything stays casual' kind of thing. It can take some time to get to meaningful relationships when you're out of school age.
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Boulder is beautiful -- but, honestly, rather full of itself -- and expensive. There are small towns near Boulder - Louisville, Niwot, Gunbarrel (yes, you read that right) that might meet your need for the outdoors and still within a doable drive to Denver. For all these reasons, they're not cheap either.
