Two young women relocating! (Denver, Colorado Springs: to rent, condo, townhouse)

[MindaMJ]

My best friend and I are planning on relocating to Colorado from the D.C. area within a year but neither of us is terribly familiar with the area. We'd like to rent a condo/townhouse that is within an hour of Colorado Springs and Denver (she likes nightlife and I have loved the Springs when I've visited). Our main concerns are finding someplace that isn't not too remote but not too urban that is near a scenic park or trail for running.

That being said, I'm curious about a few things!
*I've heard that it's harder to get a concealed carry permit in Arapahoe County... is this true? Are there any other counties where it's difficult to get CC? I'd like to leave that madness behind when I leave D.C.!
*How bad are the winters? Personally, I love some snow but after snowpocalypse I'd rather not be knee-deep in it too often.
*How is the dating situation? I've heard that there is a high male-female ratio in Colorado and that sounds great... but is this a "the odds are good but the goods are odd" situation?

Any input/advice is greatly appreciated!

[jazzlover]

Do you have jobs here? Without that, everything else is pretty moot. In this economy, the days of just moving someplace and thinking "I'll be able to find a job when I get there" are pretty much over.

As I just posted in another thread, my advice is simple: Do not move here unless you have a job in hand, and don't move here without doing some in-depth scouting to see what the area is really like. That can save you a lot of (expensive) problems later. Visiting for a couple of days and "loving the place" is not near enough research to know diddly squat about whether it will be a place where you can stand to live for awhile.

As for a concealed carry permit, it must be issued by the county sheriff for the county in which you reside. So, you have to establish permanent residency, then worry about getting a CC permit. You will have to take a certified handgun safety course, be fingerprinted, and undergo a background check with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Right now, it takes approximately 3 months from the time of your application is submitted before the sheriff gets the results back from CBI, so it is no "instant" process. Instead of listening to third-hand drivel about getting a CC permit, just call the county sheriff's office where you might locate and ask some questions. They won't bite your head off.

[jim9251]

You're young and life's an adventure. If you're renting, after a year if you decide "ew this place sucks" you can leave. Good luck!

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by jim9251

You're young and life's an adventure. If you're renting, after a year if you decide "ew this place sucks" you can leave. Good luck!

Yeah, I'm sure there are some young ladies that thought exactly that down on the 16th Street Mall in Denver looking to turn some tricks to make a buck . People might have gotten away with the "throw caution to the wind" BS philosophy in the go-go days of the 90's (though it wasn't really very smart then, either), but people just don't want to get that things have changed. A little prudence, common sense, and caution would do us all well now, especially the younger generation that's going to be saddled with paying up for a lot the stupid mistakes their elders made because of those elders' lack of judgment.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Yeah, I'm sure there are some young ladies that thought exactly that down on the 16th Street Mall in Denver looking to turn some tricks to make a buck .

Ouch, you might want to pull that one back. Seems a bit harsh for a couple of young women who are just looking for a change of scenery. It's Denver for goodness sake, not the bleak streets of 19th century London.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by MindaMJ

My best friend and I are planning on relocating to Colorado from the D.C. area within a year but neither of us is terribly familiar with the area.
*How is the dating situation? I've heard that there is a high male-female ratio in Colorado and that sounds great... but is this a "the odds are good but the goods are odd" situation?

Any input/advice is greatly appreciated!

Not really. There are a lot of IT/engineering types here, both male and female, but these are predominantly male-oriented professions.

[80skeys]

So you know how you guys got a bunch of snow in DC this year? So it's like that every winter in Denver, several heavy snowfalls and a bunch of light snowfalls.

As for the dating, I've heard people say that men in Colorado tend to be a little aloof, the reserved outdoorsy types so it sounds like you'll need to consider becoming more aggressive in your dating!