Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Colorado
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 01-04-2010, 02:38 PM
 
2 posts, read 4,105 times
Reputation: 15

Advertisements

Hello all,

I am hoping to get a job transfer to Colorado and would like some help. We have not sold our house in Georgia yet so money is an issue. We have a 3yo and a 2mth old. We are IT professionals. We are thinking about Co. Springs or Ft. Collins So we would like to know:

-Where are affordable apartments in Colorado? We looked online and we saw 2BDR 2 bath at 700+

-Where are good schools/day cares?

-What is the cost of living like? I read that someone making mid 40's would have to make 50k to even out.

-Things I'm looking for in a town are nice, clean parks, a mall, shopping in a centralized location, nice weather, non-pollution, etc.

-I am also concerned about snakes. Someone told me there is a hug snake population.

-I would like to know which areas receive the least amount of snow. I don't like it so much but my husband does...

We are not visiting Co. until April but I would like some info before we go. I can't think of anything else to ask but please feel free o tell me anything you want. Thanks.

Last edited by Deianeira; 01-04-2010 at 03:04 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-05-2010, 10:11 AM
 
Location: Greeley, Colorado
631 posts, read 1,572,472 times
Reputation: 165
I wouldn't recommend either of those cities and here's why:

Fort Collins is a congested college town that really doesn't have you need.
Colorado Springs is also a congested city but more military based and hardly any commercial value at all.

Here's my recommendation:
Longmont. Why?

Along with nearby Boulder Longmont has the highest concentration of high-tech jobs in the nation, and most if not all of them are in need of IT specialists. Longmont has some of the best schools in the state, all the way from Elementary to High School, and these are locaed throughout the city. Generally Longmont is rated in the Top 50 places to live in the entire nation since 2006 (and was even granted the All-American-City award in 2008). Homes/Apartments in Longmont are cheaper than most other places, especially even the coastal cities. Making 50k/year will get you along just fine, but usually someone with your expertise gets closer to 60, 70K/year in this region. Snakes around here aren't usually a problem, all I've ever seen are Gardner Snakes, which are harmless, unless you travel into the mountain areas. Longmont probably gets the least amount of snow out of any Front Range city (of course that also means less rain but we make do). Longmont's plethora of parks make the city much greener and 'outdoorsy' than its many neighbors. As for shopping and such, except for Main Street most of our commercial venues are located towards the outer edges of the city (Hover St, Ken Pratt Blvd, Pace St for example), however our mall is considered 'blighted' and now there are really only two places to go for that: Flatirons and The Orchard, both of which are new malls (one outdoor on indoor) in the nearby city-county of Broomfield, which is never more than an 30 minute drive.

If you plan on visiting in April just be aware that April (along with March) has the highest amount of precipitation in the year for us, and this oftentimes translates into mid-spring snowfalls.

I do hope that this information helps you with your decision!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-05-2010, 12:13 PM
 
2 posts, read 4,105 times
Reputation: 15
While I am militarily affiliated (I contract for the army), I am willing to move away from that lifestyle. Thank you I will look into Longmont.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2010, 09:44 PM
 
375 posts, read 910,520 times
Reputation: 450
I live in Ft Collins and am making it on 40k a year with 2 kids on my own (no child support). So it is feasible, altho I do live in a cheap apt. I don't know much about the local economy, as I telecommute. So daycare isn't an issue for me either.

I would defer to the people who have been here much longer and work in your fields for more info, but I did want to pass along the idea that you can make it anywhere if you are willing to cut corners, etc, in order to live in the area you want to live in. (sorry for the run on sentence) Good luck with your move!

This is said to be a wonderful place to raise a family and there is lots to do here. Snow generally melts within a few days of falling here, altho not lately, but we are in January!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-12-2010, 08:51 AM
 
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
6,288 posts, read 11,750,966 times
Reputation: 3369
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deianeira View Post
-I am also concerned about snakes. Someone told me there is a hug snake population.
Wrong. THere's no issues here at all. I'm sure you see more snakes in Georgia.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-12-2010, 10:31 AM
 
Location: Wherabouts Unknown!
7,841 posts, read 18,966,706 times
Reputation: 9586
Deianeira wrote:
-I am also concerned about snakes. Someone told me there is a hug snake population.
I've never seen a hug snake. If hug snakes actually hug people, they seem like really friendly snakes. Have you been hugged by a snake today?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-12-2010, 01:16 PM
 
Location: Everywhere and Nowhere
14,129 posts, read 31,184,179 times
Reputation: 6920
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicWizard View Post
I've never seen a hug snake. If hug snakes actually hug people, they seem like really friendly snakes. Have you been hugged by a snake today?
There are some in Florida that'll give you a hug you or your survivors will never forget.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-12-2010, 01:19 PM
 
Location: SW Missouri
15,853 posts, read 35,068,861 times
Reputation: 22694
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deianeira View Post
Hello all,

I am hoping to get a job transfer to Colorado and would like some help. We have not sold our house in Georgia yet so money is an issue. We have a 3yo and a 2mth old. We are IT professionals. We are thinking about Co. Springs or Ft. Collins So we would like to know:

-Where are affordable apartments in Colorado? We looked online and we saw 2BDR 2 bath at 700+

-Where are good schools/day cares?

-What is the cost of living like? I read that someone making mid 40's would have to make 50k to even out.

-Things I'm looking for in a town are nice, clean parks, a mall, shopping in a centralized location, nice weather, non-pollution, etc.

-I am also concerned about snakes. Someone told me there is a hug snake population.

-I would like to know which areas receive the least amount of snow. I don't like it so much but my husband does...

We are not visiting Co. until April but I would like some info before we go. I can't think of anything else to ask but please feel free o tell me anything you want. Thanks.
Go there and spend a couple of weeks and see if you can stand it first. The low humidity is very hard to get used to, and don't even get me started about the altitude. I stayed there for months at a time and never, ever got used to the altitude. Some people never do.

You couldn't pay me enough to live there.

20yrsinBranson
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-12-2010, 11:08 PM
 
375 posts, read 910,520 times
Reputation: 450
"I've never seen a hug snake. If hug snakes actually hug people, they seem like really friendly snakes. Have you been hugged by a snake today?"

LMAO I need a hug snake. if you run into any, send them my way.

it's nice here and I'm used to the humidity, I'm from FL. Totally different but in a good way.

For me, it was the hardest to get used to the fact that most ppl aren't chatty here, it is weird in that way. BUT they mind their own business, which I can't say is always true in FL.

At least during the winter, the hug snakes hibernate, can't say the same for the snakes that are in GA probably.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-12-2010, 11:15 PM
 
3 posts, read 5,848 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmicWizard View Post
Deianeira wrote:
-I am also concerned about snakes. Someone told me there is a hug snake population.
I've never seen a hug snake. If hug snakes actually hug people, they seem like really friendly snakes. Have you been hugged by a snake today?
It just wants a HUG! LOL
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Colorado

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:46 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top