Boston to Denver, but not much of a plan (Aurora: affordable apartments, rent)

[plytheman]

So my buddy and I decided that we need to relocate to a part of the world with some real snow because we're sick of riding hard pack and ice every season and figured CO is the place to be. Of course, there are a few complications.

Whats the job market like in the Denver area for someone without a degree? While we both have some college education under our belts we're planning to finnish school out west since the state college tuition is much more affordable than it is around here. I have experience working in the concrete industry and my company I work for now is set up in Denver, but assuming there are no positions open for a while I'll have to find work elsewhere. I'm not opposed to working retail again, but is it possible to afford half the rent on retail alone? I dont know what the minimum wage is or where people get paid on average for crap jobs. Obviously we're fine with living in a bit of a **** hole apt for a while till we can really get the ball rolling.

The real complication is that my license is soon to be suspended for a bit, so between where ever I live/work I need at least a bus or biking distance. Unless someone knows if I can get a CO license even though my MA one is suspended, but I doubt it because I know its all on a national database now...

Our overall goal is to move down around end of summer and survive/get established for a year then hit up some higher education and figured the Denver area would have the best public transport and most job offerings to start with. Any advice on where to live or work in our situation? I've seen a good amount of info on various neighborhoods and a killer thread on public transport, but not much on bottom of the barrel jobs.

Thanks for reading!

[tfox]

I'd try finding a retail job that actually pays real benefits -- the better retail jobs will pay between $10-$15/hour plus benefits, which isn't too bad. From what I understand, places like REI and Starbucks do pay benefits, which is nice. The job market around here is actually pretty good for job-seekers, so I wouldn't rule out an office job of some sort, depending on your skills.

If you think you're going without a car, I'd try to live somewhere close to bus or light rail, or be close to downtown so you can walk. One obvious solution would be living in Capitol Hill, where you guys could share a $600/month apartment and just walk everywhere. There are lots of affordable apartments there -- and I think it's doable on two retail salaries.

[plytheman]

Thanks for the reply. My last job in retail was actually at a Gloria Jean's, a coffee shop over-priced sugary drink kind of place, so starbucks probably wouldn't be too hard, though I'd rather REI. I mentioned that to my friend and he said he had found an REA in Aurora (not sure how far into Aurora) but how's the bus coverage there? By means of craigslist we found a few places at around 700 in Capital Hill that look nice, so if the market stays about that we should have a few choices supposing thats the route we take.

My buddy thinks he has a good chance at working in a chain of hotels in the area too which should start ~12/hr too, so thats a good start too. There seem to be a good offering of places in Aurora, but its hard to get a sense of scale and distance just looking at maps online. Is it pretty massive and some parts real far from Downtown, or fairly easy biking or bus coverage? This license issue is really proving to be a pain.

Edit: just realized Aurora is a outlying city more than it is a specific part of Denver...

[tfox]

There is a downtown REI at 15th and Platte.

Aurora isn't too bad a commute, you can take a number of different buses from Civic Center Station near Cap Hill there.

However, there are so many jobs downtown and the pay tends to be better there, so I would think it would be better to stick around close to where you're living.

[Mike78613]

Home Depot and Lowes department stores pay very well also. Fun to work at, from what my wifes says