Moving from Chicago burbs to the burbs of Denver..

[bhcompy]

on existing houses you can look up what is paid on the douglas county tax assessors website(you can also look to make sure its in good standing and not past due). on new homes, not sure.

that said, the property taxes werent too bad. around $2k-2.5k for the houses in pinery glen even after all the special assessments for it being a newer development. granted those houses are 200k to 350k, but they dont seem all that bad.

[zbysiu23]

thanks for the tip...
just calculated couple comparable properties and the douglas county property taxes
show to be 1/3 what we pay...
right there is a huge saving!!!
I am sure they get you somwhere else...???
..so where do they get you???? I have heard ..the cars?????? how?????
gas prices probably are still cheaper then Chicagolands....????

[bhcompy]

vehicle registration is very expensive compared to where im from
fyi insurance is crapshoot too, since credit score is a major factor

chicago is probably going to be more expensive than CO overall in general, much like CA is more expensive than CO overall. you wont see the 10.25% sales tax like you will in chicago/cook county for sure. granted, you still have taxes in all forms, but coming from a more expensive place to live in general you're going to have some relief, especially if you keep your chicago wage.

im keeping my los angeles wage when i do end up moving, so im already on top of where i would be in the same field if i was hired in denver rather than LA. so i get relief in the lower income tax and lower property tax(if i were to purchase now in LA vs now in denver, since LA is based on 1% of sales price of home at purchase), but the sales tax is comparable in the denver metro area and the vehicle license fees and insurance(auto and homeowners) are much higher. still a net gain though in the end

[thedfly]

I lived in Naperville for almost 20 years, and can tell you that you really need to do some research before deciding if Colorado/Denver is the place for you. A few vacations will have you sold on the weather and sunshine, and the property taxes will be 1/5th of what Naperville's taxes are..BUT...you will never find schools that compare to Dist. 203 schools. We have children in Douglas County schools and are very saddened by the education they are receiving even though Denverites consider it very good.

You will find many nearby places to hike, bike, camp and SMALL bodies of water to boat on. Nothing like the canals or Lake Michigan. You must be ready to give up the midwest trees and GREEN in exchange. It's just a different type of vegetation. On the plus side, the weather will be sunny and mild to enjoy more time outdoors.

Traffic will seem non-existant compared to 88/355/55...and most drive times will be very short. You get spoiled fast and hear people complaining about an hour commute that takes them basically from one end of the Denver suburbs to the other.

Have you thought about Boulder? If you like the downtown area of Naperville and want outdoors, water, etc... you should really consider living there.

If you want any other specific comparisons on Naperville, you can PM me directly.

[candy_co]

do you have a recipe for klochkes (not sure of the spelling)?? i've been trying to find a good one! anyway, if you like chicago hot dogs & italian beef sandwiches as much as i do... my aunt moved from chicago to denver in the 60's and she told me that the "chicago style beef & dogs" restaurant at 6680 w. colfax is comparable to back in chicago.

do you know the name of the polish church or where it is? there's on in st. louis that has a great picnic every year. i miss it!

[2bindenver]

Originally Posted by candy_co

do you have a recipe for klochkes (not sure of the spelling)?? i've been trying to find a good one! anyway, if you like chicago hot dogs & italian beef sandwiches as much as i do... my aunt moved from chicago to denver in the 60's and she told me that the "chicago style beef & dogs" restaurant at 6680 w. colfax is comparable to back in chicago.

do you know the name of the polish church or where it is? there's on in st. louis that has a great picnic every year. i miss it!

I think there is a store on Wadsworth on the east side between 6th & Alameda. It's in an old BK building, that was shared with a starbucks.

[SubaruFiend]

Originally Posted by zbysiu23

Hi, we are currently living in Naperville Illinois - suburbs of Chicago...
I am a sugical nurse, my wife is a family medicine physician.
We have two kids 18 months and 5 years old.
We are tired of Chicago weather.
We are tired of driving for four to five hours to be able to enjoy outdoors.
We are looking for good safe area to move with the family..
Good public schools..
We have chosen the Denver area because of Polish community in there (we are both born in Poland)
We would be looking to buy a house ~ $500000.00
We have heard that the property taxes are low???
I am supporter of the Second Ammendment, I do own a lot of firearms I love'm and use them for hunting and shooting.
We love outdoors..camping ...four wheeling...fishing..travel..
I do enjoy water???are there any lakes???

How is to practice medicine in Colorado/Denver ??
Are people gun friendly???
Are there good public schools?

We would appreciate any tips suggestions, experiences..etc etc

CHRIS

Whats up from Saint Charles! and I'm on my way out to Denver in February hopefully! I'm with you on the driving part and the weather part! Can't wait to be in the Rocky state