Relocating from So. Cal (Denver, Aurora: for sale, apartment, renting)

[EthansMoms]

Hi my name is Krystal and I have been lurking around for a while and have now come to the decision of relocating my family from a city with only 1 good school, constant crime, poverty, very little employment, etc. and I can go on and on about how much I dislike where we live now. Colorado has been a thought of ours for some time now and now I'm interested in locals opinions, with that being said any advice is greatly appreciated and I thank you all in advance ) here go my questions lol

1. What locations in the greater Denver area are good, safe, family oriented locations or communities? I've heard mixed feelings regarding Aurora as well as Denver itself. ( I have a 4 yr old & an English bulldog) our budget is no more than $1250 a month.

2. I've been in the customer service sales industry for over 7 years now, I currently do not have a job set in Denver but are vigorously looking. Is the area high in demand for sales associates, customer service reps, etc? And I am more than willing to share my resume if someone has connections!? I currently work at Verizon. I am also looking for st least $14 an hour for myself to feel comfortable. Does this seem possible and easily found?

3. What school districts other than Cherry Creek are good, highly recommended districts??

4. I've heard mixed things regarding Tornados, is this something we should worry about? We're only use to earthquakes here.

Thank you all soooo very much, I'm extremely excited for the move but of coarse have my reserve with unfamiliar area.

Krystal

[Willy702]

1. You have enough to get a 2 bedroom place in a lot of areas, maybe not downtown or near it, but most other areas you have a budget that will get you into an apartment. Hardest part is finding one you like as supply is tight.
2. Not high demand, but as I am sure you are aware good sales people always find opportunities to prove themselves. Places like banks and car dealers are always hiring and if you can't make $14 hour at those jobs they won't keep you long anyways. Hard to say if you will find exactly what you want, but I wouldn't expect tons of opportunities and be ready for lots of competition for most jobs.
3. Lots of places are highly recommended, but since you are renting and only have a 4 yr old I'd just move into the area and get a lot of opinions from locals and buy where you feel best in a few years. I have heard the best and worst of almost every school district out there. People complain about the quality of expensive private schools at times, just the way it is.
4. Almost never happen and if they do they won't hit a very big area. Bigger problem here are hailstorms and if you don't own a house you don't have to worry about the roof damage they can cause.