NYC to Denver (Boulder: transplants, apartment, to rent)

[Dmj9891]

Hello! I'm sick of New York, I've lived here forever. I am 30 years old, single, female, and just want a new start with some beautiful nature.

I actually visited Denver and didn't love it, I preferred Boulder, but I want a place with job opportunities so I don't mind traveling on the weekends. I am done with East Coast, it all looks the same to me.

I currently have a job with $88k income (sales/marketing) and my apartment outside of NYC is 2 bedroom $2100.

A few questions...

1. Has anyone here moved from Denver to NYC? Were you happy with the change?
2. How late are restaurants and bars open?
3. Is it easy to make friends?
4. Will I notice a major decrease in salary?
5. How much is an average 1 bedroom?
6. How are the people in Denver different than the people in NYC?
7. Are there complicated roads in the area to drive on?
8. Any public transit?

[NW Crow]

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8. Public transit in Denver isn't like NYC but it is pretty good relatively speaking for the west.

[Phil P]

1. Never been to NYC, but it certainly does not sound like a comfortable place to live. I would say it's probably worth the move. Denver may not be your final stopping ground, but it's easy to move into, has a lot of stuff to do and it's good exposure to the western half of the US.

2. Bars are at least till 2AM, most of the restaurants outside of downtown shut down at 10PM.

3. Ish. If you share activities yes.

4. Your salary will probably drop some, but your overall purchasing power shouldn't. COL outside of housing is significantly better than NYC.

5. $1400-1500 gets you a pretty decent 1 bedroom. That's the comfortable range when the options open up.

7. Not really. One ways and a diagonal downtown grid are about as complicated as it gets. Outside of downtown it's real easy to navigate. Traffic is bad for the city size, but not NYC bad.

8. Yes. The light rail runs from the edges funnelling into downtown and from downtown to the airport. It's handy for getting to work, but you'll still want a car.

[ALStafford]

RE #7, just always remember, the mountains are to the west. So, if they're outside the passenger window as you're driving down the road, you're heading south; if they're out the driver's window, you're going north. All things follow from there. If you know where you're destination is, just use the mountains to determine if you're going the right direction!

[NorthDenverGirl]

I have visited NYC many times, I have not lived there though. Comparisons from visiting are:

Food, restaurants, entertainment is cheaper in Denver than in NYC.

Traffic through the city is better here in Denver and the taxi, Uber drivers are a little less go, go, go .

In general, it is a little slower paced here and people are friendly enough. I know people think New Yorkers can be harsh but I just think it goes with the faster-paced life in a big city like NYC. You may get annoyed at slow walkers.

Rent is definitely cheaper here in the Denver area, Boulder will be pricier though.

I have friends that have moved from NYC and are happy here, they like that things are a little slower paced.

[JrzDefector]

I moved out here from Jersey when I was a few years older than you. I am very familiar with NYC - used to commute to Times Square from the Trenton area for two years.

In answer to your questions:

1. Has anyone here moved from Denver to NYC? Were you happy with the change?
Although I miss a lot of things about the east coast, I do not regret my move for a minute.

2. How late are restaurants and bars open?
Late enough? Bars are open later than restaurants, but there are only a few 24-hour dining options.

3. Is it easy to make friends?
I have found it very easy. Between my participation in dog sports and a creative writing group, my social calendar is almost always full.

4. Will I notice a major decrease in salary?
No idea - I began working from home before I moved and my job came with me. I'm kind of at management level these days and I've found that I'm priced out of the market here. Fortunately, my job is pretty bulletproof.

5. How much is an average 1 bedroom?
No clue. I saw that property values were going up and went and bit the bullet to buy a house. I never intended to be a homeowner, but here and for my purposes it made a great deal of sense.

6. How are the people in Denver different than the people in NYC?
There are plenty of transplants - honestly, I only know a few people who were born here. Something I have commented on is that I seem to be in a more "stratified" society here. In Jersey, I had friends from all walks of life, but here most of my friends are college graduates, which is weird to me. My father once pointed out that since most of my family had not been to college, it was only normal that I had a ton of people in my life who were not college graduates. So I dunno. Just a quirk.

7. Are there complicated roads in the area to drive on?
Not sure what you mean by complicated. There are mountain roads I will not go near, but mostly I'm ok with the roads I've been on. However, one of my favorite activities in Jersey was to jump in my pickup and ramble around the Pine Barrens. I have a deep-seated fear of heights, so I don't venture into the mountains on strange roads without checking them out first and east of the city is mostly just flat and open, so not interesting to drive around. So that's one activity that has kind of gone away.

8. Any public transit?
Yes, but I never use it (that work from home thing - I've put maybe 20K miles on my car in 5 years). A lot of people around here swear by it though.

Just some of my observations: The restaurant scene here is very different. Quite good, but different. The pizza generally sucks except for a few select locations. I've made do. There is very little of what I consider to be "history" here - I used to drink in bars that had been around for 300 years back in Jersey and one of my great joys was visiting historical sites in Philly, DC and Jersey. Here, if a building is 70 years old, they consider adding it to a historical registry it seems like. But the natural wonders more than make up for that. But don't get me started on those stupid "Native" bumper stickers (having a few friends here who are Native American, I have some issues with those things).

Oh and it's dry. You'll find yourself using A LOT of moisturizer.

Also, no matter what anyone tells you, this is only a marginally better area for dating than in NYC (which I know sucks). I had a great time when I was dating, but I wasn't really looking for anything serious. But between the hiking, the skiing/snowboarding, the concerts, the pot, the breweries, the numerous sports teams, the camping, etc., guys don't have a ton of reasons to get into a relationship. Too much other stuff to do. My friend who was around your age went back east and was engaged within two years, but it wouldn't have happened here most likely. She found dating here very frustrating.

[Mach50]

Leave the NY attitude there please.

I have 3 ex-NYC neighbors and they are all having a pretty hard time adjusting to the laid-back lifestyle here. They also like to create a lot of neighborhood drama.

[Silver_Surfer]

Denver is fine if you're not planning/hoping to buy a home. The average home price is 540k...

Source: https://www.9news.com/article/money/...u/73-561682247

...so if you're not making 100k or more and want to buy, I'd consider other places. 20% (down payment) of 540k is 108k. It's going to take a while to save up 108k making 100k. And the average salary in Denver is only 60k. Just food for thought.

This might be helpful, although, it's an older article with outdated figures:

https://www.hsh.com/finance/mortgage...es.html#denver

I raise this point because people often move to cities with no intention of purchasing a home. That can change after years of throwing money away paying high rent.

[JrzDefector]

Originally Posted by Silver_Surfer

Denver is fine if you're not planning/hoping to buy a home. The average home price is 540k...

Source: https://www.9news.com/article/money/...u/73-561682247

...so if you're not making 100k or more and want to buy, I'd consider other places. 20% (down payment) of 540k is 108k. It's going to take a while to save up 108k making 100k. And the average salary in Denver is only 60k. Just food for thought.

This might be helpful, although, it's an older article with outdated figures:

https://www.hsh.com/finance/mortgage...es.html#denver

I raise this point because people often move to cities with no intention of purchasing a home. That can change after years of throwing money away paying high rent.

That's pretty much what I intended, to rent forever - then two years in, I saw the writing on the wall and felt I had to buy. It was a good investment six years ago, but now.... maybe not so much. With the improvements to my home and the fact that A LOT of people want to live here, I'm convinced I will not lose money on the purchase, but I couldn't say the same to anyone buying now.

[NorthDenverGirl]

Originally Posted by Silver_Surfer

Denver is fine if you're not planning/hoping to buy a home. The average home price is 540k...

Source: https://www.9news.com/article/money/...u/73-561682247

...so if you're not making 100k or more and want to buy, I'd consider other places. 20% (down payment) of 540k is 108k. It's going to take a while to save up 108k making 100k. And the average salary in Denver is only 60k. Just food for thought.

This might be helpful, although, it's an older article with outdated figures:

https://www.hsh.com/finance/mortgage...es.html#denver

I raise this point because people often move to cities with no intention of purchasing a home. That can change after years of throwing money away paying high rent.

You don't have to have a 20% downpayment. I have seen buyers go in with much less in this market and have huge equity gains within 2-3 years that made up for the lower downpayment.