Moving from SW Florida to the Denver area and need advice (Lakewood: rental car, for sale)

[Starfish1215]

Hello all! My husband and myself, both in our mid twenties, and our two children, aged 1 and 3, are planning a move from Naples Fl to Jefferson County in July. This move is a LONG LONG LONG time coming and we are both VERY excited. My husband will be a Jefferson County Sheriffs Deputy so we will be moving with him having a job. I currently stay home with the little ones. We have never been anywhere near Colorado but I am from Michigan so I am familiar with snow and cold. And I very much prefer snow and cold over hot and humid. My husband has to fly to Denver at the end of February for testing and the kids and I may be joining him. That all depends on the cost of a last minute flight. We have no cold weather attire what so ever. Is it very cold and snowy in February? Do we need to invest in winter coats and snow boots for our week long trip? I plan on building at least one snowman if possible . What about driving? Neither my husband nor myself have driven in snow and SW fl is nothing but flat so we also aren't familiar with hills and mountains. We want to look into some real estate while we are there too. We want a little bit of land, a few acres at least. Is anyone familiar with evergreen? We would prefer to be in a slightly rural area. The Internet is no help when it comes to rural real estate. Naples Florida is very expensive for real estate so the price tag of a nice home in Denver is not shocking but since we are a one income family who is concerned about staying out of debt we want to find a cheaper rural house that might need some do it yourself type repairs. Honestly if we didn't have the kids we would buy an empty plot of land and live in a travel trailer while we built our dream home. But these are pipe dreams now. So any suggestions about what to wear/bring for our trip in February, about driving, and about renting or buying in Jefferson county would be very very much appreciated. Or any other advice, information, or personal stories of your move. Thanks!

[himain]

I moved here from Miami. Rents will be kinda a shock from you but not too much coming from Naples. Yes, you'll need winter coats/etc for Feb. It doesn't start getting nice to till end of May here. Definitely rent first before buying. Get ahold of a real estate agent to help you with that as you do not know the area at all.

[2bindenver]

What's the budget? Jefferson County covers a lot of square miles. March is our snowiest month, followed by February, mostly because it's the shortest. You will need full winter gear.

A couple acres in Evergreen will cost more than Conifer & Pine - but with little mountain driving under your belts - could spell trouble.

[SkyDog77]

Single income cop salary and you want a few acres in Evergreen? Are you guys independently wealthy? it may be available somewhere in Jeffco, but unlikely. If it is you are going to really far out.

[JohnnyDenver]

Has your husband already been offered a position or just starting testing in February?

That is generally a 4 month process at a minimum given the amount of applicants and background investigations to be conducted. Prior to attending law school, I was a Jeffco law enforcement officer and still remain friends with several officers in the area. I now practice law in the Jeffco county court system and know that while there are openings in the department, there is also a great number of applicants, both in-state and out. Many students in the criminal justice program at Metro State apply at Jeffco. Also, any blemish on his prior employment or issues with the polygraph and he'll be disqualified in a New York minute.

Also, many local cops start their career at Jeffco and then move on to other municipalties that pay better than Jeffco. The outgoing Sheriiff, Ted Mink, was my supervisor at another police department, and he has been lobbying for better pay since he took office, but has not been generally that successful in that area. The patrol bureau pays better than the detention bureau, but they generally require CLEET certified from a reciprocal state as a lateral officer. Does your husband have 4-year degree? If so, I would encourage him to apply at both Lakewood PD and Arvada PD. Their pay is xcellent. I know the Arvada PD Chief of Police and he is an excellent manager. He does not tolerate any nonsense and will fire cops who lie and subject citizens to acts of brutality.

What is your housing budget? Evergreen is expensive and unless you have a trust fund or substantial nest egg, it will be difficult on a deputy sheriff's salary as the only income. The cheapest house with very little property (certainly not several acres like you want) is around 275 - 300 at a minimum. If you want to live in the foothills, you may want to consider Conifer. However, Conifer prices are also rapidly increasing. Rentals are few and far between in the area.

[wycoyote]

Evergreen CO Homes For Sale & Evergreen Real Estate - Zillow

Will give you a feel for what's within your budget.

I don't believe you'll find raw land at any bargain in Jeffco, perhaps there could be something with a mobile on it, but not with much land.

Jefferson County CO Homes For Sale & Jefferson County Real Estate - Zillow

Try looking at Jeffco rentals for a better price point closer to work, even Golden could work out.

In the Golden area land will start around $120K and median should be about $400K.

[Pequeño_Bonsai]

Originally Posted by Starfish1215

Is it very cold and snowy in February? Do we need to invest in winter coats and snow boots for our week long trip? I plan on building at least one snowman if possible . What about driving? Neither my husband nor myself have driven in snow and SW fl is nothing but flat so we also aren't familiar with hills and mountains.

Yes, you will want to pack hats, gloves, scarves, warm winter coats, hand lotion, chapstick, etc.

Average Denver Winter Temps:
October 66/36
November 52/25
December 44/14
January 43/16
February 46/20
March 52/25

See more at: Colorado Weather | Colorado.com


When deciding on a rental car class make sure you're going for something that has at minimum FWD, some clearance for snow, and obtain snow chains if going up to the mountains. If you have no experience with winter driving, you may want to consider a vehicle with 4WD and watch some winter driving videos. (4WD does not equal 4W stop and you'll likely not get proper all-season/winter tires on those rental cars.)


In terms of housing, perhaps your husband's new colleagues can give your family some advice on where they live? As others have mentioned, Evergreen is not cheap and even more so when you desire land so you'll need a pretty hefty income and/or a solid nest egg.


Good luck!

[Starfish1215]

Thank you for the speedy responses. JohnnyDenver you were very detailed! My husband is beginning the testing in February but he was told that his name has been flagged for employment, he comes highly recommended. We will not move until the job has been secured. We were told if he has to go through academy again it starts in July, but he might be able to bypass it. We are neither independently wealthy nor do we have a nest egg. Does anyone in their mid twenties?! If so I need some tips! The only reason I mentioned Evergreen was because I found a few parcels of land around 5 acres for between $30,000 and $70,000 which I thought was pretty good. I'm guessing our budget will be somewhere around $150,000 which I know is very low for just about anywhere. Even if were to get approved for more than that, we don't want to spend more than that. Which is why we are more than happy to get our hands on a foreclosure or fixer upper and live further away from the city. My husband already has a two hour round trip commute that doesn't bother him a bit. We would like to rent first to get to know the area but I hate throwing good money away.

[himain]

Those parcels of land are more than likely unbuildable land. If those are not, I'm going to go purchase some myself this week. Where is he currently working with that round trip?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

You would probably do better to find some kind of fixer-upper in town, especially with no experience driving in the snow. Your budget is really low, but perhaps some of the realtors who post here could suggest some areas in Lakewood/Golden/Wheat Ridge or areas on the west side of the Denver metro area that would work for you.

The rural areas to the west of Denver (Evergreen, Conifer, Aspen Park, Pine) are in the foothills and will involve driving on mountain roads. I doubt that you'll find anything in your price range without being a MAJOR fixer.