Colorado here I come... but where? (Denver, Aurora: relocating, travel, rental)

[bluecrew]

I am so excited to be graduating from nursing school in May 2008, and have always dreamed of living in Colorado, mostly for the outdoor amenities. I am moving from Spokane, Wa and I have never been to CO, so my decision-making regarding this situation are quite limited.
I plan to work in ER, as I have for the last 3 years, and would like to work in a high-volume facility that receives trauma (level I or II) that is fairly easy to commute to.
I would like to live in an area that is affordable, where I can feel safe and secure. I am a 22 year-old female who is doing this move on my own. I am a huge ski-bum and participate in just about everything outdoorsy. So I am interested in living near these areas where the younger generation thrives.
I plan to work for a couple years, get some experience under my belt, and hopefully be working at a hospital I will grow to love. I might travel a bit after a couple years before I try to get hired on to a flight team.
So there is my 5 year plan. Does anyone have any suggestions for the new nurse on where to work and live? These will be huge deciding factors for me, as I don't have anything else to go off of!

[10kbluejay]

This sounds a lot like me except I'm coming from Nebraska. I would check out Denver Health Medical Center, St. Anthony's-Central and Swedish Medical Center all Level I Trauma centers. Let me know what you hear, I am interested.

[Katiana]

Also check out University Hospital, now located in Aurora.

[EvergreenRE]

Hey Bluecrew. I'm a local Realtor and my wife is an RN working at Swedish. Trust us, we know Denver and the foothills very well. If you want to balance the Mtn sports with hospital work, consider Evergreen. Great open space parks, hiking and Mtn biking all over town. The commute is about 40-45 minutes to Swedish or Lutheran. They will be building a new St Anthony's that will be about 25 minutes, all highway. Evergreen itself is a great little town and about an hour to Loveland, 1.5 hours to Breck and just under 2 hours to Vail. It's also nice to be close to Denver, but to live out of the city.
If you're working 3 12 hour shifts as my wife does, the 40 minute commute isn't really too bad only three times a week. If you want to be in the more trendy areas of the city, Wash Park or the Highlands are excellent choices, but you'll pay for it. Rent and home prices are higher here than in the foothills/Evergreen. Plenty of local parks and paths, but a longer commute to the ski areas. If you want to be right up in the mountains, the only two reasonable choices are Vail or the small towns around Breckenridge. Vail has a decent but small hospital and Summit County (Breckenridge area) also has a nice, newer facility. The skiing is close, but the winter starts early and lasts until May. Aurora is frankly a lousy suburb, but you will find abundant and affordable rentals and housing choices. If I were moving here, Anything East or North of Denver would be a no-go!
Boulder is another option with a young, trendy crowd. Also expensive housing and farther away from good skiing. They do have cross country and skate skiing right in the town park when the snow is good enough...

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[bluecrew]

Wow, that was helpful, I appreciate it! 3/12's would be the plan, and I enjoy a nice commute, so that wouldn't bother me. I will look into Evergreen, it looks like a nice place to live, also, I have heard great things about Swedish hospital so I will have to keep you updated as I learn more.
Unfortunally, St. Anthony's doesn't accept new grad's into their ER department so I will look more of the others. Do you know anything about Rose Medical Center? I appreciate your point of view as your wife is a RN, and you know the residential data. Thank you very much!

[Landy]

I was considering relocating to Spokane. Any comments? Thanks.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by bluecrew

Wow, that was helpful, I appreciate it! 3/12's would be the plan, and I enjoy a nice commute, so that wouldn't bother me. I will look into Evergreen, it looks like a nice place to live, also, I have heard great things about Swedish hospital so I will have to keep you updated as I learn more.
Unfortunally, St. Anthony's doesn't accept new grad's into their ER department so I will look more of the others. Do you know anything about Rose Medical Center? I appreciate your point of view as your wife is a RN, and you know the residential data. Thank you very much!

It's a long drive from Evergreen. Most of the hospitals here are on 12 hr shifts. You might try Lutheran; it's the closest to Evergreen.

[ZKDM]

I've lived in the Denver area for 20 plus years. I've moved around quite a bit and enjoy living in the north metro area the most.

I am also a nurse and am quite familar with many of the hospitals.

Have you looked into Good Samaritan Hospital or Avista Hospital? I believe they both have Level 1 trauma centers. You could live in Boulder, Louisville, Superior, Lafayette, Erie or Broomfield. Boulder is definitely a cool, trendy place to someone your age but you will pay for it. The other communities I listed have more affordable housing. I think you would probably find that Lafayette, Erie or Broomfield are probably less expensive.

Since you're a single woman I would look at the crime rates for various cities and or suburbs. You mentioned that you want to feel safe which I agree is important considering the kind of shifts that nurses work.

[steveco.]

They just opened fitzsimmons med campus in aurora. There are a ton of different hospitals over there. Might want to check it out.

[CatMoon]

Some parts of Lakewood and Golden are still affordable, and not
too far of a commute from some hospitals (St. Anthony's,
for instance). (Actually, I don't know how much you can
afford, and what is affordable for one person might not be
for another. But you can check with a realtor if you want to
know more about what's affordable where...realtors have
giant books with listings arranged by town/suburb, among
other things. You can get a pretty good idea from that of what
the prices are usually like in the different areas. Also sometimes
you can get a better price if you find someone looking to sell
right away and not wait. Or someone whose house is neat and
clean but just maybe not as fancy and/or modern as somebody
else's. It just depends on what you're looking for, and when,
where and whether it's available...ask around enough, and
sometimes you can find something great at a good price! ^_^)

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