Looking into Moving to Denver Area... From CA (Aurora: 2009, live)

[Shock976]

Originally Posted by steveindenver

I dunno David, technically the Denver Ghetto Bird does not hit Aurora but you do see/hear it quite often on weekends just at the fringe near Yosemite.

The Buckley guys just left town earlier this week for another deployment in Iraq so that noise is gone from the F-16s for a while at least.

I still see and hear quite a few helicopters, mostly medivac types that tend to head down Colfax more or less all the time (hearing one as I write this) and the twice weekly NG Blackhawks in the afternoon / evenings.

What is this about Yosemite and Jet's? Isn't Yosemite far from CO?, also, can anyone shed some light on the cost of living/Rental rates in Boulder area? How is the weather over there as well?

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by Shock976

What is this about Yosemite and Jet's? Isn't Yosemite far from CO?, also, can anyone shed some light on the cost of living/Rental rates in Boulder area? How is the weather over there as well?

Yosemite is a north-south street that makes up the eastern border of Denver down Colfax. Denver is nowhere near the Half-Dome or Tuolumne Meadows.

Shock, what happened to Spokane? I thought you or your significant other were afraid of Denver/CO's tornadoes.

[Shock976]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Yosemite is a north-south street that makes up the eastern border of Denver down Colfax. Denver is nowhere near the Half-Dome or Tuolumne Meadows.

Shock, what happened to Spokane? I thought you or your significant other were afraid of Denver/CO's tornadoes.

Hi David,

We have been all over, just looking for a place that might suit our needs, after considering spokane, I was turned off by the unemployment rate, however someone I know was just there and said that it is absolutely gorgeous. Then I was talking with a gentleman about Idaho and from what he said, the quality of life there is much like where we are now. I have still been considering Boulder CO as an option. Nothing is out of the question yet. Although my GF would like to avoid Tornadoes for sure.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by Shock976

Hi David,

We have been all over, just looking for a place that might suit our needs, after considering spokane, I was turned off by the unemployment rate, however someone I know was just there and said that it is absolutely gorgeous. Then I was talking with a gentleman about Idaho and from what he said, the quality of life there is much like where we are now. I have still been considering Boulder CO as an option. Nothing is out of the question yet. Although my GF would like to avoid Tornadoes for sure.

I'm in Spokane now. Well, technically North Idaho at this exact moment, but everything from Spokane to Coeur d'Alene pretty much runs together anyway.

My job brought me here, so the unemployment rate is a non-issue for me, and I will probably be here for at least quite awhile. Spokane is absolutely gorgeous, way moreso than Denver, at least in a botanical sense.

North Idaho is nothing like Santa Clarita. I take that back. Santa Clarita moved to North Idaho, and brought their bland/ugly housing styles, traffic, and commuting with them. But, the natural landscape blows Santa Clarita out of the water, and there is plenty of water here. If you've never been to the Northwest before, you are definitely missing out on one of the most beautiful and diverse series of landscapes in the country.

Boulder is expensive.

There was a very small tornado about 36 mi W of Spokane a few weeks ago. They really can happen anywhere. There was one in Riverside (CA) also about a year ago, I'm sure you saw that one on the news.

Good luck, Shock, with whatever you decide. I for one will be here to help.

[PunkGuy]

Originally Posted by Shock976

PunkGuy, what is boulder like, my mother visited that part of town years ago and said it was absolutely gorgeous, I have considered Boulder, however when I search for places to live i.e: homes, apartments, etc. I am not finding much. How are the prices up there?

Also, how long have you lived there, and how would you say it compares to CA? Also, I am in real estate and would like to remain in that industry, also my GF is a Registered Dental Assistant, and also does front office management, any thoughts?

Just saw your post...sorry!

Boulder is beautiful, with the mountains (usually with snow on them) in the background.
My wife and I are renting a townhouse in Lafayette (15 minutes outside of Boulder where it's a little cheaper) for $1450.
Prices in Boulder for a decent house (2000 sq ft +) would be around $600k, but in Lafayette it's around $420k, while in Erie (next town over) $350k...
We've been here since October and love it.
Basically my wife and I compromised when deciding to move here...I wanted to move back to San Diego (weather), and she wanted to move back to the northeast (seasons) so we picked here.
When we came out here in October we had fall colors but it was around 70 degrees and sunny (like CA).
The winters are pretty crazy (one day it's 70, the next it's snowing and 20) and it certainly is not boring!
LOTS of outdoor stuff to do.

Funny your gf is a RDA, as my wife was...but now she's a dental hygienist.
Our "landlord" is a realtor and says the market here really hasn't taken a hit like CA and other places, but not sure how the job market is as far as real estate.

[Shock976]

Lafayette sounds like a nice place, how are the winters being that the city is just outside of Boulder? As for salary, what are the starting wages for an RDA, I figured I ask because your wife was in the field as well... Being that I am an Realtor I am hoping that winters are not too bad, snow wise because it would really shut me down for awhile making it rough.

As for area, how visually appealing is it? I looked at photos of Boulder area online and let me say it did not look as nice as other have told me it was. Brown, dirty, dark... Do you have any photos of your town and or neighborhood you wouldn't mind sharing?

Originally Posted by PunkGuy

Just saw your post...sorry!

Boulder is beautiful, with the mountains (usually with snow on them) in the background.
My wife and I are renting a townhouse in Lafayette (15 minutes outside of Boulder where it's a little cheaper) for $1450.
Prices in Boulder for a decent house (2000 sq ft +) would be around $600k, but in Lafayette it's around $420k, while in Erie (next town over) $350k...
We've been here since October and love it.
Basically my wife and I compromised when deciding to move here...I wanted to move back to San Diego (weather), and she wanted to move back to the northeast (seasons) so we picked here.
When we came out here in October we had fall colors but it was around 70 degrees and sunny (like CA).
The winters are pretty crazy (one day it's 70, the next it's snowing and 20) and it certainly is not boring!
LOTS of outdoor stuff to do.

Funny your gf is a RDA, as my wife was...but now she's a dental hygienist.
Our "landlord" is a realtor and says the market here really hasn't taken a hit like CA and other places, but not sure how the job market is as far as real estate.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by Shock976

Lafayette sounds like a nice place, how are the winters being that the city is just outside of Boulder? As for salary, what are the starting wages for an RDA, I figured I ask because your wife was in the field as well... Being that I am an Realtor I am hoping that winters are not too bad, snow wise because it would really shut me down for awhile making it rough.

As for area, how visually appealing is it? I looked at photos of Boulder area online and let me say it did not look as nice as other have told me it was. Brown, dirty, dark... Do you have any photos of your town and or neighborhood you wouldn't mind sharing?

Lafayette is (was) a small town with tract homes surrounding it. The winters are pretty much the same as Denver, I believe Denver's annual snowfall is around 60 inches, whereas Boulder's is like 82 inches. Lafayette would be somewhere in between. You couldn't really say "Boulder is much snowier than Denver", you really can't tell the difference, and in both places it melts pretty quickly anyway.

For the millionth time, snow shouldn't shut your life down, especially in Denver/Boulder/Lafayette/anywhere else along the Front Range. Life goes on when it's snowing, or if there's snow on the ground. Some days driving in it sucks, some days it's not too bad, and then you'll get the very extremely rare day where you probably shouldn't be out at all, unless you have to be. If a day like that occurs, it's likely the next day will be A-OK. You won't have to be holed up in your house for days/weeks/months/years on end.

Boulder itself is absolutely gorgeous, you really have to see it in person to appreciate it. As for Boulder itself, it isn't for everybody. Lafayette looks like pretty much any other Denver suburb, but with Boulder's Flatirons in closer view.

Have you been to Colorado yet? Simply going there will answer most of your questions.

[NameAlreadyInUse]

If you want to be able to have easy access to the Rocky Mountains, then I'd scratch Aurora. Just too far of a drive. Castle Rock is very close, Littleton is easy, parts of Centennial go way to far east for my taste, though. Southern Lakewood and unincorporated Jefferson county are nice, such as Columbine and Ken Caryl. If I had the bucks, I've live in the Columbine or Ken Caryl area myself. Close to the hills, quiet, very nice.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by NameAlreadyInUse

If you want to be able to have easy access to the Rocky Mountains, then I'd scratch Aurora. Just too far of a drive. Castle Rock is very close, Littleton is easy, parts of Centennial go way to far east for my taste, though. Southern Lakewood and unincorporated Jefferson county are nice, such as Columbine and Ken Caryl. If I had the bucks, I've live in the Columbine or Ken Caryl area myself. Close to the hills, quiet, very nice.

Yes, this is correct Aurora is very far removed from the Rocky Mountains. However, it must be pointed out The Denver Metro area is on the Great Plains. Most people, do not go to the mountains or the foothills, everyday. Some go very rarely, if at all. All municipalities have extensive parks, trails and reservoirs where people recreate everyday. These are all on the Plains. So the Plains over many amble opportunities for exploring nature and recreating.

Livecontent

[PunkGuy]

Originally Posted by Shock976

Lafayette sounds like a nice place, how are the winters being that the city is just outside of Boulder? As for salary, what are the starting wages for an RDA, I figured I ask because your wife was in the field as well... Being that I am an Realtor I am hoping that winters are not too bad, snow wise because it would really shut me down for awhile making it rough.

As for area, how visually appealing is it? I looked at photos of Boulder area online and let me say it did not look as nice as other have told me it was. Brown, dirty, dark... Do you have any photos of your town and or neighborhood you wouldn't mind sharing?

David had it pretty right about the area, and here are some of my observations:

it did seem to snow a lot this winter (of course I don't have much to compare it to) but it really does melt within a day.

My wife wasn't really sure what RDA's make here, but her guess is probably around $20/hr

As far as "visually appealing," when we leave our "complex" and head towards Boulder, we have a great view of the Rockies, which usually have snow on them, so that's a plus...there is one ugly factory or something (2 big smoke stacks) that you can see on the way to Boulder, but other than that it's a cool drive

shoot me a PM on here and I can send some pics