Trying to move from Kansas City to Denver, need some info... (Lakewood: apartment, rental)

[kcmo]

Although I know Denver quite well, I don't live there and it's hard to truly understand the economy, housing market, job market, cost of living etc.

So here goes.

My wife is a special ed teacher in the very urban KCMO School District. It appears that those jobs are also in demand in urban Denver. Anybody have any thoughts on that?

I am trying to find a job in the engineering field. Specifically civil and transportation. I'm not an engineer though, but an engineering designer. Anybody have any thoughts on the general health of the engineering firms there?

We are tired of KC and really ready to move on. I have always loved Denver and how active and vibrant the metro area is.

KC is a great town, but its location blows and so much of the metro is just blightened compared to Denver. Plus metro KC is just too conservative for my tastes.

What kind of a house can you get for 200k? Should we look more into the 250k homes? What about living in an apartment?

We have two kids, 9 and 12. So we will be looking at more a suburban area but we are not sure if we can buy a home or will have to survive in a rental for a while.

Has anybody moved from KC to Denver? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

Thanks.

[Jerry Bckr]

You'll get more for your money in suburbs than in Denver proper. The city of Denver has lower property taxes, but that still doesn't off set their higher prices. You can find homes at the $200K price range but you'll find your choices somewhat limited; ie. not the greates floor plans, not the greatest neighborhoods, homes needing serious up-dating, or defered maintenance, or some combination of these. You'll be much happier in the $250K range.

As to the question if you can survive in an apartment for awhile, well, only you can answer that. There are three bedrooms available, so it could work.

[denverian]

Yeah, $200K is too low for Denver proper, I'd suspect. Here in Stapleton, you'd be lucky to find a 2 bdr. condo for $200K. You might try Lakewood. I'm pretty sure houses are cheaper there, they have the new BelMar development, not that far from downtown, and they're currently building a light rail line through Lakewood. I think there's a wide variety of housing there, and it's not known for being conservative, although I doubt it's as liberal as Denver. It also has the advantage of being closer to the mountains, but not way far out like Highlands Ranch.

I'm a KC native, so I know what you're talking about. There are no huge areas of blight in Denver, and the metro area is much more compact. I did a map comparison once and I don't think Denver's metro area footprint is any or much bigger than KC's, yet there are close to a million more people here. Plus Denver's inner city and downtown are great places. Not that KC doesn't have some nice and desirable areas in the city proper, but not really widespread like Denver. I'd say the Plaza blows away Cherry Creek for an upscale shopping district though. I guess they're just very different environments, and the Plaza is very unique.

[Micktooth]

We moved to Colorado a few years ago. We have a daughter with special needs and we researched the school districts. We live in Louisville, near Boulder. We like the special needs services in Boulder County. Have you thought about living there? There are a lot of engineering firms in and around Boulder. Louisville was recently named the 3rd best place in the entire country to raise a family. I'm not too sure what $250K will buy, but when we first moved to the area, we lived in a nice complex called the Horizons at Rock Creek. Simpson Property Group | Dwell in Satisfaction Good luck, I think you and your family will love it here, we do !!!!