Young married couple CO bound. Suggestions? (Denver, Colorado Springs: apartment, to rent, new home)

[RollyPolly]

Hello,

My husband and I are 24-25 and will be moving from the Northern VA area to Colorado in the upcoming months. I have visited CO a couple times, mostly Denver and Colorado Springs, but still do not know too much about it. I work in the nonprofit field so I would need to have access to such careers. I would like to have easy access to the city, while actually living in a more quiet area (but not so quite there is nothing going on). We have two small dogs and are not interested in high rise living, but we are not looking to rent a house either.

We are leaning towards Boulder area right now, but maybe there is a better choice near by? Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[randomy]

Boulder is the most expensive of all the areas near Denver, as it is the most lucrative to most people. If you can afford it, you'll love it, if you have to pay every penny you earn to afford an apartment you'll hate it.

Nearby are towns like Louisville, Lafayette, Superior, Golden, Longmont, Erie, so many little towns that have easy access to Denver and Boulder and are much cheaper to live in. I live and work in Longmont right now, it's a decent city, about 12 miles Northeast of Boulder, 45 mins to Denver (without traffic). It might be good to start in one of the smaller satellite towns, and explore the area and see if you'd like to live closer into one of the big cities.

[80skeys]

Denver is not a "city" in the sense that East Coast cities are. Denver does not have the kind or quantity of high rise living that northern VA does. Even if you move to Denver proper, you'll find it to be less congested than what you're used to in the DC metro area.

That said, you may find the tranquility and slower pace that you're looking for - even in central Denver. Otherwise, look at Littleton, Boulder, Broomfield and some of the outlying areas.

[cisco2007]

I think that either Boulder or Denver are great places for young people. I would suggest renting 1st. Denver sprawls into Boulder (more or less) so you don't have to live directly in one or the other. Although the economies in both haven't been hit quite as hard as the rest of the country , they still have been affected. I have a good friend that has her master's in non profit administration as well as a resume full of experiences. She moved here from LA ....spent 9 monthes looking for a job....and now works as a receptionist making $15/hr. I don't want to discourage you I just want to inform you. I moved to Colorado when I was young and it was one of the best decisions that I ever made! I came and just waited tables for a little while but those were different economic times. I think that maybe if you found jobs then you could figure out where the best place to live would be. Go for it just plan it out well. Good Luck and safe travels!

[CosmicWizard]

RollyPolly wrote:

Young married couple CO bound. Suggestions?

In the current economy, bring lots of $$$$ with you and/or absolutely have jobs lined up before making the move to anywhere in Colorado or elsewhere. Approaching your move in this manner will alleviate a great deal of the stress associated with a cross country move. Best wishes for a great experience, and good luck finding your new home.

[COflower]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

RollyPolly wrote:

Young married couple CO bound. Suggestions?

In the current economy, bring lots of $$$$ with you and/or absolutely have jobs lined up before making the move to anywhere in Colorado or elsewhere. Approaching your move in this manner will alleviate a great deal of the stress associated with a cross country move. Best wishes for a great experience, and good luck finding your new home.

That is EXACTLY my first thought process. Have a job lined up before moving anywhere (not just CO) unless you have quite a good chunk of savings/friends/family to carry you through. It took me months to find a part-time job.

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by COflower

That is EXACTLY my first thought process. Have a job lined up before moving anywhere (not just CO) unless you have quite a good chunk of savings/friends/family to carry you through. It took me months to find a part-time job.

My sister moved here three years ago, at age 29, with plenty experience in management and business ownership, and she is still working on finding a real, full time, career-type job.

I'm certain she has no regrets, but she would be the first to tell you that it could take months -- or years -- to find any well-paying work without a job lined up before hand.

[CAVA1990]

I don't think I'd move out of NoVA in this economy. We're the only ones with lots of available jobs.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

I don't think I'd move out of NoVA in this economy. We're the only ones with lots of available jobs.

It has certainly crossed my mind that if I were to lose my present job, my only recourse would be to ask my former boss in D.C. for a job, as much as I hate the idea of moving back there!