30 and considering moving from LA to CO - feedback appreciated (Denver: real estate, for rent)

[LE2021]

Hi everyone,

I'm 30 and starting to re-evaluate my life (it's been fun). I'm starting to think about other cities I'd like to move and CO is on my short-list. From what I understand, the different main cities offer different things but in general are all good for outdoors activities (which are extremely important to me). First question - which area has more lakes/rivers? I love lake camping and fishing. I also love the forest-feel more than anything so I'd like to have as much of that as possible.

The main things I don't like about LA (that I'd like to avoid in a new city) are:
High cost of living (but I guess any area in CO compared to LA will be better in comparison)
Selfish people/materialism/toxic work environments in sales-type jobs
Smog/traffic
Show-off mentality
Increasingly less-safe and growing homeless population

My main questions -

Being 30 and moving alone I'll obviously have to get a new job and restart my social life. I understand Denver to be a more youthful brewery/day drinking/hang out in the park/dog/social environment which is appealing to me, especially with having to meet new people. How does that compare to the social scene/meeting people in other areas such as Boulder, CO Springs, Golden, etc?

Denver sounds like the strongest job market. My goal is to obviously find a suitable job that's as high-paying as possible to support and support an eventual family. Would it be harder to find a job in Denver because of the population density?

Finally, if I chose to commute and live outside of either main city, what would be the best peripheral cities to look at that might offer a better cost of living and less congestion? I like the ability to get out and meet new people but I'd prefer my home life to be quiet and peaceful and am ok with a bit of commute to work if it gets me more of what I'm looking for.

Thanks for any feedback

[ponyupgrl]

It seems like you are exploring a lot of options in terms of places to live (inside and outside CO). What line of work are you in? Can you find a job that lets you work remotely and feel out different areas before settling down?

[cowboyxjon]

Okay I guess you mean Los Angeles and not Louisiana based on your description.

I lived in LA and moved to Colorado (Denver) about 15 years ago. I moved to Colorado because I found a job here; I wasn’t really trying to move to Denver specifically. But, it happened, and I’m here, and for the most part, it’s been great. Denver, and Colorado, has become more expensive and more crowded over the past 15 years to the point where I wonder if you would see a significant advantage by moving here now.

I think to really answer your questions, we would need more information, like what kind of job you’re looking for and what kind of living arrangements you are looking for.

[davebarnes]

Consider SLC or Idaho or maybe Austin.
Colorado is not for you.

[LE2021]

Originally Posted by ponyupgrl

It seems like you are exploring a lot of options in terms of places to live (inside and outside CO). What line of work are you in? Can you find a job that lets you work remotely and feel out different areas before settling down?

I am and I'm still early in the search. I'm trying to get as much information and first-hand accounts as possible before starting to travel to each place though. I'm a real estate agent so I can't necessarily do remote but I'm open to finding another line of work out there that allows me to use the same skills. The only question would be whether to move and then find something or look for something in the place I decide on and move once I find something.

Originally Posted by cowboyxjon

Okay I guess you mean Los Angeles and not Louisiana based on your description.

I lived in LA and moved to Colorado (Denver) about 15 years ago. I moved to Colorado because I found a job here; I wasn’t really trying to move to Denver specifically. But, it happened, and I’m here, and for the most part, it’s been great. Denver, and Colorado, has become more expensive and more crowded over the past 15 years to the point where I wonder if you would see a significant advantage by moving here now.

I think to really answer your questions, we would need more information, like what kind of job you’re looking for and what kind of living arrangements you are looking for.

Correct, I'm in Los Angeles. What about the peripheral areas outside of Denver? I'd be OK with driving 20-30 minutes in to the city to work and go out socially if it meant better quality of life. I'm a real estate agent but will be looking for something new and I have a large dog so I'd rather rent a house or live in a complex with a dog area that he can run around in.

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Consider SLC or Idaho or maybe Austin.
Colorado is not for you.

I've heard that Austin wouldn't be for me. Why do you say that about CO? SLC and Boise are also on my list

[bluescreen73]

First things first. What's your budget? Rent or buy? Urban or suburban?

We don't have a lot of water here. The rivers and lakes are fairly small. The mountain lakes/reservoirs are cold, Some don't even allow body contact because they're so cold you'll develop hypothermia in a very short period of time.

Denver is on the plains. The farther east you go, the fewer trees you'll see. You won't see a lot of trees until you get above 7,000' (Denver's at 5200-5700').

Ozone and wildfire smoke are increasingly becoming an issue here.

Originally Posted by LE2021

I've heard that Austin wouldn't be for me. Why do you say that about CO? SLC and Boise are also on my list

Dave's just sarcastic. He and I both saw your post in General US.

If you like the outdoors I wouldn't move to Texas - not even Austin. It's the most outdoorsy of the big Texas Triangle metros, but it's a couple notches below Denver. It has more water, but significantly less public land, and the terrain isn't all that interesting. The traffic is terrible because Austin's highway infrastructure is hot garbage, and the climate sucks. It's ridiculously hot and humid for a solid 4 months.

SLC is a smaller, whiter, more conservative, and less urban version of Denver. Great access to the outdoors, but once you get outside SLC Utah becomes VERY conservative, and the Mormon influence is very palpable.

[LE2021]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

First things first. What's your budget? Rent or buy? Urban or suburban?

We don't have a lot of water here. The rivers and lakes are fairly small. The mountain lakes/reservoirs are cold, Some don't even allow body contact because they're so cold you'll develop hypothermia in a very short period of time.

Denver is on the plains. The farther east you go, the fewer trees you'll see. You won't see a lot of trees until you get above 7,000' (Denver's at 5200-5700').

Ozone and wildfire smoke are increasingly becoming an issue here.




Dave's just sarcastic. He and I both saw your post in General US.

If you like the outdoors I wouldn't move to Texas - not even Austin. It's the most outdoorsy of the big Texas Triangle metros, but it's a couple notches below Denver. The traffic is terrible because Austin's highway infrastructure is hot garbage, and the climate sucks. It's ridiculously hot and humid for a solid 4 months.

SLC is a smaller, whiter, more conservative, and less urban version of Denver. Great access to the outdoors, but once you get outside SLC Utah becomes VERY conservative, and the Mormon influence is very palpable.

Thanks for the reply! With my current savings I'd like to stay under 2,000 a month for rent. Ideally for sanity and cost reasons I'd like to live someplace on the outskirts and commute a bit. I have a large dog so a yard would be helpful. Good to know about the water, I was expecting a bit more.

What are your thoughts on Boulder?

Yeah I posted in the general too but figured I'd get a bit more specificity here. I've heard the same about TX and SLC. I know there won't be a perfect place and I'll have to concede somewhere. I won't really know for sure until I visit. I've heard I might like Eastern WA and Boise ID too but haven't looked into those much

Any other suggestions on well-forested places with a strong job market and social life?

[bluescreen73]

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.

[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.

[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.