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Old 08-04-2006, 03:16 PM
 
1,821 posts, read 7,708,705 times
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I moved from Washington DC to Salt Lake City last year to attend graduate school for my MBA. I’ll be graduating in 9 months. I don’t want to move back to DC. I want to stay in the intermountain west, preferably in Idaho, Utah, or Colorado.

Since my experience is in Government, Colorado, especially Colorado Springs is of interest to me, but I’d take anywhere in the West I could find a good job and a good community. A couple of questions:

1. What are the major government agencies and contractors in Denver and the Front Range?
2. What are the other major employers?
3. How is traffic? I don’t want to deal with that again.
4. Can I buy a house for $250,000 in a good neighborhood in Denver or Colorado Springs.
5. Anything else to help sway my decision to Colorado over Utah or Idaho?
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Old 08-04-2006, 03:48 PM
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,812 posts, read 34,265,174 times
Reputation: 8930
1. Try the Federal Center in lakewood (jokingly referred to as DC west)
2. Oil & Gas, Airlines, Technology & in the Springs Military & Missionarys
3. Not at all like DC average communte time 20 minutes
4. yes.
5. Utah over Colorado? Colorado wins. Colorado over Idaho? There is less humidity in CO. We win again
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Old 08-04-2006, 06:10 PM
 
Location: Monument/ Colorado Springs
137 posts, read 771,605 times
Reputation: 55
1. Here in the Springs- ITT, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grummin???? (spelling?), tons more. My mind has gone black; I'll think of some more later.
2. Focus on the Family, HP, the city, Phil Long Ford, military bases, Symbios Logic, Atmel, hospitals
3. Only bad during rush hour. Construction on I-25 now.
4. In some people's opinions and not in others... you can get an average home in an average neighborhood.
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Old 08-04-2006, 07:40 PM
 
Location: Colorado Springs
648 posts, read 2,931,591 times
Reputation: 191
My husband put his resume on monster and dice and got a few bites for that. He is in the IT industry and also did DOD work. I think you can get a good home in a good neighborhood for $250,000. SHEP
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Old 08-04-2006, 08:40 PM
 
26,112 posts, read 48,696,623 times
Reputation: 31481
Default Jobs Jobs Jobs

The local newspaper runs an online job list at http://www.springsjobs.com/

The main library has a High Tech Directory listing local companies. The Business Services Librarian there is at 719-531-6333 ext 2308. She may be able to fax you this 3-page list. Website for the Pike Peak Library District is www.ppld.org

A few more links are:
The CO state service: http://www.coworkforce.com/
The newspaper site: http://www.springsjobs.com/
Jobs with EL Paso County Govt: http://adm.elpasoco.com/Employment_Services (broken link)

There are the usual sites on the web, like Monster, and many more, google on "colorado springs" +employment and you'll get these sites.

There is a great high tech sector here in the Springs, with a small army of contractors supporting military efforts at the Air Force Academy, Peterson AFB, Schreiber AFB, Fort Carson, NORAD, Homeland Defense, and other DoD.

With a focus on Defense, the Springs is a bit of a silicon valley in its own right. Denver has a big high tech center, less centered on Defense. The whole region, 60 miles each side of Denver (north-south) may well be the main high-tech area for the intermountain-west.

Chamber of Commerce sells a high-tech directory: http://www.coloradospringschamber.org/site/site/connection/rel.shtml (broken link).

If you're in the internet side of life, there is a Colorado Assoc of Internet Professionals, here in town, at: http://www.csaip.org/ (broken link).

There’s a Colorado Women in Technology directory at: http://www.coloradowit.org/directory.htm.

In a brief search, some of the firms here are:

- SAIC: http://jobs.saic.com/ajobbext3.nsf/Colorado?OpenView&Start=1&Count=75&Expand=2#2 (broken link)

- INTEL: http://www.intel.com/jobs/usa/sites/ColoradoSprings/ (broken link).

- HP (3 locations here): http://h10055.www1.hp.com/jobsathp/c....asp?Lang=ENen.

- Northrup Grumman: http://careers.northropgrumman.com/ExternalHorizonsWeb/getQuery.do (broken link).

- Colorado Tech Assoc: http://www.csiaonline.com/2005techindex.htm (broken link) and their mother lode of tech listings is at: http://www.csiaonline.com/membershipdirectory.htm (broken link).

Here are some more local high-tech/aerospace firms: Teledyne Brown, ITT (numerous locations), Oracle, FEDEX, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, SI International, BoeingAgilent, Allied Systems, Anser, Aptek, AT&T, ATK Mission Research, AVX Corp, Boeing, Booz-Allen Hamilton, Busch Semi, CACI, CCI Systems, Celis Semi, CH2M Hill, CompuCom Federal, CSC, Cypress Semi, DRS Signal, Dynamics Research, Fairchild Semi, Falcon Labs, Fluke Networks, Foss, Den Dynamics, H-P, Honeywell, Intel, Inter-Link, ITT, L-3 Comm Holdings, Lexis Nexis, MCI, Northrup Grumman, SAIC, Titan and many more smaller firms.

If you have access to www.hightechdirectories.com you can see the full listing under "Rocky Mountain High Tech Directory, 2005." I recall these firms from the DC area, and like you, don't want to go back there. I hope you read "why choose Colorado Springs."

Gotta be something here for you.

s/Mike
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Old 08-04-2006, 08:56 PM
 
26,112 posts, read 48,696,623 times
Reputation: 31481
Default Back to your questions

1. What are the major government agencies and contractors in Denver and the Front Range?
A: See my posting above called Jobs Jobs Jobs.

2. What are the other major employers?
A: Ditto number 1.

3. How is traffic? I don’t want to deal with that again.
A: We fled Northern VA in 2005 after 30 years in Fairfax County and fighting our way into DC each day. Traffic in the Springs is a breeze compared to DC. I think you'll get a shorter commute here. We are very spread out, no dense downtown. I elaborate at length about this in my post: http://www.city-data.com/forum/color...html#post52895

4. Can I buy a house for $250,000 in a good neighborhood in Denver or Colorado Springs.
A: Yes, both cities. I think you'll get more for that money here in the Springs. Use zip codes and realtor dott komm to see examples. See my tips on using these in my post: http://www.city-data.com/forum/other...here-move.html

5. Anything else to help sway my decision to Colorado over Utah or Idaho?
A: So much to do here along the Front Range, great airport in Denver, lots of culture in Denver (I can get to most of it in 60-90 minutes from the Springs.) Younger people probably would like Denver a bit more, it's a bit hipper, more liberal. Fort Collins may also be very likable, but mostly a college town, as is Boulder. So much to choose from, so little time to live in them all......

s/Mike
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Old 08-05-2006, 12:37 PM
 
1,821 posts, read 7,708,705 times
Reputation: 1044
Thanks for all the replies. I have to be honest. My wife really wants to stay in Utah, since that is where she is from. I like Utah, but there is SO MUCH MORE in Colorado that fits my career background. We'll see. I think any place in the Intermountain West is a move up from the East Coast. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of great things to see and do back there, but I'm more of a small city, low-cost of living, low-traffic person.
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Old 08-05-2006, 01:35 PM
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,812 posts, read 34,265,174 times
Reputation: 8930
You can try the "Let's have an adventure..." line and promise her if she is miserable in 3 years you'll move back.

Ask her what is most important to her as far as community and an environment to raise a family.

When all else is exhausted, remember the great truth of happisness is...a happy wife, means a happy life.
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Old 08-07-2006, 04:50 PM
 
Location: East Texas
7 posts, read 41,673 times
Reputation: 13
If you want small city, low cost of living, little traffic, Colorado Springs is NOT the place for you!! The main highway through the city, I-25, is a nightmare during rush hour and it takes forever to get from one side of town to the other. You can take Powers which takes you North and South, but again a nightmare during rush hour. The cost of living is outrageous now!! I was born and raised in Colorado Springs, lived there most of my adult life, let me tell you, the housing market is so expensive and the wages don't match the cost of living. You need to have a great paying job to buy even a decent house in a good neighborhood now.
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Old 08-07-2006, 05:24 PM
 
Location: Monument/ Colorado Springs
137 posts, read 771,605 times
Reputation: 55
Actually our ratio of home prices to wages is a little better than the national average. I've e-mailed my economist to send me the exact figures, and I'll try and post them soon. I've lived here since 1982, and home prices really have gone up a lot- but the same is true everywhere else.
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