Considering a move from CA to Denver area...advice please!! (Boulder: best town, insurance)

[GypsyMama2]

I live in Arizona now and can tell you with what we pay in personal income tax and property tax combined, it did not come close to the property tax alone when we moved to Austin on a less expensive home. I'm sure it's less than CA, though.

[denver_hacker]

We moved to Denver proper from the SF Bay Area (Mountain View, San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell Los Gatos, etc) for the same reason - we wanted to buy a house but couldn't justify the prices in the South Bay. Most people I know who've relocated from the SF Bay Area, and there are a lot of them here in Denver, do it for that same reason as well, they want a lower cost of living and decent schools for their family (or want to start a family). Young single people moving to Denver do it for the outdoor lifestyle, but most California refugees do it for cost of living reasons.

Compared to the South Bay, $350K can get you an awesome house in a great area with great schools. People don't understand that $700K there is where prices really start - you're really looking at $1M for a good family house in the South Bay.

We love Colorado and Denver, the weather is good, our kids love their school, our neighborhood is very stable and awesome, the mountains are a fun playground, and Denver/Boulder has a lot of great culture. The downsides are that the ocean is a plane trip away, Denver is cool but no San Francisco, the Denver food/art/music scenes are fun but not even close, and there's a noticeable lack of ethnic and racial diversity in Denver. My last job in the Bay Area had me on a team of 30+ people with just two of us born in the US, which was pretty normal out there. Here it's the other way 'round.

[denver_hacker]

Also, some things to keep in mind when you're looking.

A lot of folks live along 36 because they have easy access to both Denver and Boulder.

A lot of folks live west of 25 to have easier access to the mountains.

Major employment centers are Boulder, Denver, and the DTC. Basically from Boulder down 36 to Denver, then down 25 to Parker/Lone Tree.

In general, things get more socially conservative as you move further south.

Close proximity to light rail and/or park'n'rides is a good thing. Check out the RTD maps.

[Claire S.]

Originally Posted by ssillen

Claire S, was it worth the move? Did you really end up saving in the end? I realize we won't make as much as we do here...but looks like we would end up with a positive net balance. I am concerned that we won't be able to get the quality home we are desiring. As I was searching homes for sale online, I noticed that if we want the nice (newer) home we desire in the area we want, it will cost us more than we would like to spend. I want to make a smart move, and not make a rash decision because we want to get out of here. Thank you for your response and advice!

I moved here shortly after finishing college, so it is hard to say for me. My husband has had much better job prospects in Colorado, so he has wound up making much more here than we think he would be earning in CA. We just purchased an incredible brand new home in a fantastic community just north of $350K this summer, which is something that was hard for us to imagine in CA. Before we moved (granted this was 6 years ago and our budget was more modest), we were looking at small cookie cutters and condos in neighborhoods that ended up with an insane number of foreclosures and older fixers in really rough neighborhoods of Sacramento. All of our options were considerable commutes from where my husband worked - whereas now we live 8 miles from his office. I think spending less time driving not only saves a bit of money, but also improves our quality of life. I have friends living in the bay area that will spend 1.5-2 hours commuting to work...one way.

[Freelee]

Someone has to move to Texas, they all can't live here.

[ssillen]

Originally Posted by denver_hacker

We moved to Denver proper from the SF Bay Area (Mountain View, San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell Los Gatos, etc) for the same reason - we wanted to buy a house but couldn't justify the prices in the South Bay. Most people I know who've relocated from the SF Bay Area, and there are a lot of them here in Denver, do it for that same reason as well, they want a lower cost of living and decent schools for their family (or want to start a family). Young single people moving to Denver do it for the outdoor lifestyle, but most California refugees do it for cost of living reasons.

Compared to the South Bay, $350K can get you an awesome house in a great area with great schools. People don't understand that $700K there is where prices really start - you're really looking at $1M for a good family house in the South Bay.

We love Colorado and Denver, the weather is good, our kids love their school, our neighborhood is very stable and awesome, the mountains are a fun playground, and Denver/Boulder has a lot of great culture. The downsides are that the ocean is a plane trip away, Denver is cool but no San Francisco, the Denver food/art/music scenes are fun but not even close, and there's a noticeable lack of ethnic and racial diversity in Denver. My last job in the Bay Area had me on a team of 30+ people with just two of us born in the US, which was pretty normal out there. Here it's the other way 'round.

denver_hacker - Thank you for your response. It is VERY helpful hearing from someone that can understand what I am referring to and what we are looking for :-) You are not exaggerating when you refer to the houses starting at 700k (not even for a nice one!) If I am going to be putting money down I want it to be a place that I enjoy coming home to and spending time in. I know we are going to have to give up some of the qualities that CA offer, but we are willing to at this point.

We are in the medical field so I am going to have to find out where facilities are and maybe concentrate on those. Thanks again!!

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

I moved here from Sunnyvale. Best thing to do now is plan a visit.

Me too. And I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon, although I still go back to visit often.
Visit, visit, visit. And not just for vacation. Rent a house for a couple weeks if you can and do things like go grocery shopping and driving to the hospital (assuming that's where you may work) to see what life will actually be like. And then try to get really familiar with the different neighborhoods. Our move worked out well for us because we did visit a lot, but I still wish I had known even more about specific neighborhoods when I was home-searching.

Coming from Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, San Jose, and now living in a rural area south of Denver I can tell you...

Pros:
1. Way more affordable homes
2. Way less traffic (that will depend on where you live/work though -- Denver does have traffic and it can be pretty bad if you're caught int he worst of it regularly)
3. Mountain views galore and great access to the outdoors (especially in COS)
4. Winter Sports
5. THE HIGH COUNTRY

Cons:
1. Weather - I truly enjoy the winter weather most of the time, but they are looong and it takes the right attitude to deal with it over and over agin every year without getting nostalgic for the Bay Area's practically-perfect weather (especially in April).
2. Lack of Ethnic Food (sorry, yes, even in Denver --- it's there, but it's not the same)
3. No SF - Denver is a great city but it's not SF - if you're used to going to the city often you will miss it.
4. No ocean - what can I say... we have prairie where the ocean should be but the mountains on the other side are absolutely stellar, especially if you're willing to drive a ways. (see pro #5)

I was trying to think of a fifth con to make it even but I really couldn't. Sill, it's not for everyone. To really enjoy living anywhere in Colorado, you need to love the land and make really good use of it.

[illuminatedpast]

In 2004 my parents moved from Fremont to Highlands Ranch. They looooooove the Denver metro area and don't seem to have any regrets about the move. They were looking to buy a nice affordable house in a nice suburban area. From my California perspective the houses in the neighborhood seem to range from large to gigantic (plus some fancy townhouse/condo set-ups). They are a little too generic and big for my personal taste, but if you are looking for a clean, safe neighborhood to raise your family, Highlands Ranch is one to consider.

The weather really isn't that bad at all. There was one rough winter (2006 I think?) where they were shoveling snow for weeks, but most winters are very doable and relatively mild. The summers are hot and dry and there is lots of sun (my Mom loves to remind me that Colorado gets more sunny days than California). Overall, more seasons than California, but still nothing as extreme as a southern summer or a northern winter.

My parents aren't beach people and they've really taken to the mountains. Denver is also a great central location for road tripping and DIA has flights that go everywhere. My parents moved after I graduated from high school and I stayed behind in California. Thankfully there are a lot of flights that fly into Denver from California airports, so there are frequent and cheap-ish flights between the states. (something to maybe consider if your son stays behind in California after graduation)

Across the state there isn't that overlapping city sprawl of California (where cities bleed into other cities with no rural pause in-between), but some people like that.

I'd say one of the few cons when they first moved out there was a lack of diversity in their particular neighborhood, though even that's changed in the past 9 years since they moved there.

[denver_hacker]

Originally Posted by ssillen

denver_hacker - Thank you for your response. It is VERY helpful hearing from someone that can understand what I am referring to and what we are looking for :-) You are not exaggerating when you refer to the houses starting at 700k (not even for a nice one!) If I am going to be putting money down I want it to be a place that I enjoy coming home to and spending time in. I know we are going to have to give up some of the qualities that CA offer, but we are willing to at this point.

We are in the medical field so I am going to have to find out where facilities are and maybe concentrate on those. Thanks again!!

Well, you give them up in exchange for a more livable lifestyle

Besides, California is a great place to visit and is only a two hour plane ride away. Now when you go back, you can hit all the best spots. We probably see the Pacific Ocean more now because when we go back it's always on the list. When we lived there, it was too much of a hassle to get to the beaches.

I don't know much about the medical world out here. I know the state is pouring big money into this:

Fitzsimons Life Science District

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by denver_hacker

We probably see the Pacific Ocean more now because when we go back it's always on the list. When we lived there, it was too much of a hassle to get to the beaches.

Ironic, I know, but very true. I still go back there 3-4 times a year for work and to visit friends/family while we're there. We almost ALWAYS go to the coast while we're there because it's a priority now instead of just a hassle. I think I went to the ocean maybe 10 times in the 12 years I lived there. In fact on our next trip we made the effort to call people and arrange for sailing on the bay, kayaking on the sea, and dining in SF --- things I never ever did in the span of a few days while I was living there.

When I moved here I realized that the reality is that I left the ocean behind many many years ago when I stopped being able to live within easy walking distance of it as a kid in So Cal, and no one else was around. If it's crowded and/or I can't walk there I just don't do it very often. It's different with he Hight Country here, because we have a camper now and we can and do really get lost up there (in a good way) regularly, avoiding the hassles and expenses of camping or otherwise staying on or near the CA coast. We love it here, but it's not for everything.

There are three main ingredients for success here (or just about anywhere):

1. A good work/home balance (not too much or too little of either)
2. A good circle of friends/family (this one is probably the hardest for most people, so my recommendation is to move someplace where you already have some established ties if possible)
3. A positive attitude toward inclement weather (e.g. cold, snow & WIND)