Relocating (Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora: rental homes, townhome, job market)

[RBest]

Hi my wife (31) and myself (36) are trying to move to the Denver area. Probably more the out skirt areas rather than the depths of the city. Even smaller "towns" around Denver. I have visited usually the areas around Colorado Springs, Canon City, all through Salida etc. along Hwy 50 for many years. Just as a bit of back ground, to show I'm not ignorant of the area, seasons, altitude etc.

I have a fairly steady income draw regardless of work. Not extreme, I'm not rich or anything. I have several areas of work I can do. I know some mechanic work (general), Auto Detailing, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Order Management, warehousing, shipping/receiving, and have many computer skills. My wife is a veteran and is not able to work.

My questions I am hoping that some in the area on here can answer are probably not unexpected.

How's the job market? What are the midlevel, working class neighborhoods and the price ranges for rental homes (2 / 3 bedroom). Do most places have garages. I have a classic car.

We plan to move from Louisiana around February. I figure that would be best so I have several warm months to more familiarize myself with the areas before snow and traveling difficulties could arise.

Does anyone have any advice? Where are good head hunting agencies located, websites, contacts etc. I currently work for an oil company as an Engineering and systems Administrator. I have a large logistics back ground. I make great money now, but money is not my concern. I am moving for the environment and because I love Colorado. I've been going since I was young. We have no children, and don't plan to have any, so I don't have an drawbacks to "starting over". Not running from anything, and have no issues to worry about. Since we have no debt and an opportunity to live our dream of Colorado, we've decided to do it at the end of our lease.

Any advice and direction would be greatly appreciated. I've talked to Chamber of Commerce people in a few cities, but I would prefer the local input. You live it, you work there, you are best to consult, not someone that glosses over things to generate more interest. We are moving regardless, I'd just like a better input and some leads in the necessary directions.

Thank you.

[Count David]

If you come in February, the snow will have just begun (it lasts til May around these parts, with March and April being particularly heavy).

Rentals start around $1000/mo for what you described, and at that price it would likely be a townhome. $1200+/mo will get you into a house in an average area.

Job market here is better than it is in most places, but jobs are by no means dangling off trees. It might take awhile, but you could probably find something.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

RBest, why do you think that February is a warm month when it is in the middle of winter? Snow can fall as early as September and as late as May, although as David says March and April are the snowiest months.

There are lots and lots of mid-level working class neighborhoods in all of the many suburbs around Denver. Most people recommend finding a home close to where you work because commuting can be a killer. And, yes, the majority of houses do have garages. As far as "small towns", some of the suburbs (Littleton, Arvada, Golden) still have the small-town feel with thriving downtowns.

[2bindenver]

March is Denver's snowiest month, followed by February (cause it's a short month.) We average about 55-60 inches a year of snow.

Personally, I hope it snows early and often.

[RBest]

Dreaming of Hawaii: I don't think February is a warm month by any means. I just meant that it would be toward the end of winter. I do realize that this time of year is still quite heavy in snow and cold. It would be the end of February in to March. I used to live in the UK, and it was quite cold and heavy wet snow in March. Thank you for the information. Most often in winter my visits centered around November, December and January. Snowy and cold. Mostly I was in the higher elevations...Cotopaxi, Salida etc. I am used to the fist snows in mid to late October and on through times that I visited.

I love the winter snow and cold. I prefer it actually.

Now as far as jobs go, I am aware that the job market is not good in most places, but I have been trying to plan this properly I've noticed that Colorado's job market is quite a bit better than most areas of the country. I am going to focus on the Logistics side of the market.

Thank you for the info on the "small towns". I guess that statement wasn't accurate to what I meant. I don't mean small towns in the since of a few thousand people. I mean not a hugely populated downtown type large city living. I prefer suburban or spacial living.

I have been finding more and more references to Littleton, Arvada, and Aurora. About all I know of Golden is my beer of choice is Coors Light. LOL

I appreciate the input and the clarification on the winter months. I have been under the assumption March was the ending time into April being more mild. I didn't realize the heavy snows were around this time. That helps me prepare. This is valuable information you can't find in newspapers and on web pages for housing and jobs. Visiting a couple months a year doesn't give you the proper perspective on such things. I have a big 4 wheel drive truck, but my wife has a Honda Civic. I want to live close enough to a city that roads are cleared (relative to time of snow fall/access to city services mostly being available) Living in Cotopaxi, I'd be snowed in for days more often.

[RBest]

Does anyone have information on good classified type papers? We have what we call the Qik Quarter. It is all classifieds. Jobs, cars, housing, services, pets, boats, atv's, etc. etc. Houston has a similar publication called the Green Sheet. If I could get a lead on other outlets that could help a lot. My main concern is housing. Anyone have a recommendation on staffing companies? I know around the airport area is going to be the biggest plus for Logistics and Warehousing. Industrial parks are heaviest in those areas in most cities.

[Ziasforever]

Originally Posted by RBest

Hi my wife (31) and myself (36) are trying to move to the Denver area. Probably more the out skirt areas rather than the depths of the city. Even smaller "towns" around Denver. I have visited usually the areas around Colorado Springs, Canon City, all through Salida etc. along Hwy 50 for many years. Just as a bit of back ground, to show I'm not ignorant of the area, seasons, altitude etc.

I have a fairly steady income draw regardless of work. Not extreme, I'm not rich or anything. I have several areas of work I can do. I know some mechanic work (general), Auto Detailing, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Order Management, warehousing, shipping/receiving, and have many computer skills. My wife is a veteran and is not able to work.

How's the job market? What are the midlevel, working class neighborhoods and the price ranges for rental homes (2 / 3 bedroom). Do most places have garages. I have a classic car.

We plan to move from Louisiana around February. I figure that would be best so I have several warm months to more familiarize myself with the areas before snow and traveling difficulties could arise.

Does anyone have any advice? Where are good head hunting agencies located, websites, contacts etc. I currently work for an oil company as an Engineering and systems Administrator.

Wow! That's a pretty uh, varied background. Auto mechcanic who details cars that's done Supply Chain Managment (?) that's an engineering and systems admin with passive income.

The situations get stranger and stranger on this forum. But, hey, I'm always game!

OK. You have one advantage over a lot of other posters who want to move to Colorado who are personal trainers and nurses and IT persons. You might actually have a skill that can't be outsourced to another country or is not being duplicated on a mass scale in CO.

Good mechanics are in demand everywhere, especially with an ASE certification. You're going to find the competition tough going at any rate in Colorado but I think you could find something, maybe right away. There is no shortage of cars on the Front Range and more and more get on the road up there everyday from other states.

From what I've seen on this forum there are scores of surplus fitness workers in Colorado and hopeful nurses from all over hoping to get on with a hospital in Colorado which is already able to pick from the choicest, most experienced types in their own backyard and from the local universities and my personal experiences attempting to find IT employment in the Front Range Sprawl blob as well as Mountain Colorado but you never hear of doom and gloom as an auto mechanic. Almost anyone can do detailing and unless you have some sort of obscure IT talent like "Oracle CNC admin with HR experience in the bio mechanical industry with financial planning support for green technology initiatives", it will be a tough field to get into up there. Ever since Larry Ellison bought out PeopleSoft and shipped most of the jobs off to San Francisco, there's been a surplus of general IT talent in Colorado. Those with secret clearances might be an exception.

I don't know what you're current wages are in Louisiana or where you're at, but you'll see that wages are about the same in Colorado and maybe a bit more depending on where you're moving out of. If you're moving from Alexandria, then wages might even be a bit higher, Shreveport, about the same and I am not sure about South Louisiana. Rents will be higher, the possible exception to that is they might be a bit lower in some areas (very few) of Denver than Shreveport. As you may or may not know, a big gas discovery, the Hadley field (not sure of the name) sits in between Waskom, Texas and Bossier Parish, Louisiana so that area hasn't been hit as hard as other areas of the US in terms of the economy. Usually Shreveport is the first to tank.

So, in your wide range of talents, I'd think being an auto mechanic, especially with an ASE certification, will serve you well in Colorado. The other stuff, not so much.

Good luck in any case!

ps. Since it looks like La Nina is going to dominate the West's weather, Colorado will be dryer and warmer than normal this winter. At least it looks like it's going to be the case since there have been record temperatures here in the West. It's going to be 91 in Denver today, it probably should be in the lower to mid 70's for this time of year. Go ahead and check things out maybe even in January.

[RBest]

Ziasforever: Thank you for your in depth reply. That gives me some very useful information. I have a varied back ground because I have always felt it necessary to be varied. I don't believe in depending on one thing or individual or talent. I have varied interests and so over the years I have developed experience based on going where the interest took me. I am going to go back to school also, so once again I will be following another path. I am quite looking forward to our move. I am minimizing my possessions here now, and will make a trip in January. I will look in the surrounding Denver area as well as Colorado Springs and a few other areas around the state. I will start contacting property management companies in December to set things up for viewing while I am there.

Thank you all that have posted. Anyone with any more ideas or what to look out for would be greatly appreciated. I think the largest of issues is timing the move properly to align with my lease ending here and finding a place there in an area that we like.