Is Denver for me? If so, where? (Aurora, Boulder: renting, how much)

[soulrebel]

Hello,

I have an opportunity to relocate to Denver with my job. I'm 34 with wife, one child (1.5 yrs old), and 2 dogs. We are very excited about the opportunity due to the snowboarding and relatively liberal outlook of the town. My industry is blowing up right now in Colorado, so business will be good even in a down economy. But I am trying to determine if Denver is the place for me and my family for the long haul. More specifically, I'm trying to determine suburbs that might fit our needs. If we move, we plan to stay and put down roots. A few thoughts:

• We love everything outdoors, especially ski/snowboarding and mountain biking. This is the root of our primary interest for the area.
• We are both from small towns but currently live in Charlotte (the big city as we call it). We have found it necessary to live quite a distance away from the city here to be comfortable. My commute is currently 45 minutes, but it allows me to live in the "country".
• Work would be on the east side of town, so I presume I would not want to live on the west side due to traffic? West side would offer better access to the mountains, but I don't want to be beating my head in traffic every day if I can help it. Used to a 30-45 minute commute though.
• My wife is a school teacher. Anyone familiar with the job market here for teachers? She seems to think from preliminary research that it is very tight right now.
• We would have to find a suburb that allowed a little privacy. We need elbow room and would prefer not to have neighbors right outside of our windows.
• How are gas prices? Groceries?

I appreciate any help you guys can offer. We are excited about the opportunity but want to be realistic in our expectations. Thanks in advance!

cJ

[bhcompy]

Where abouts on the east side of "town" makes a big difference. You can find some space in the Brighton area, you can find some space in the Parker area(or further southeast), you can find some space in a few areas. Just depends on where exactly your work is and what lot size you're looking for

[Kylehuckabee]

I moved from Charlotte, NC in November to colorful Colorado, and will never go back!
10x better IMO

[iColt1]

i have been thru Denver. very beautiful. its just as beautiful in Utah. i assume its relatively expensive to live in Denver (cost of living or w/e you want to call it) but look on the brightside. in the great depression had an average of 25% unemployment. Today is only 10%

[ellaphant]

I can comment on the teaching industry but nothing else since I'm moving out of Denver in less than 2 weeks. Yes, teaching jobs are very tight right now. Schools are closing and budgets are being cut. The best way for her to get into a district is to substitute teach and get to know people in the building. Maybe she'll end up with a long-term sub contract, but right now, permanent positions are hard to come by.

There are several districts out here: DPS (Denver public schools), Jeffco (Jefferson County), Cherry Creek School district, APS (Aurora Public Schools). In the SW suburbs, you have LPS (Littleton Public School) and the north end of DCSD (Douglas County School District). I know up north there's Adams County and BVSD (Boulder Valley School District). Based on where your job is, I doubt she would want to drive up north.

Good luck!

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by soulrebel

Hello, .... My industry is blowing up right now in Colorado, so business will be good even in a down economy. ...

Damn! Tell us more about this industry!

[soulrebel]

The work location is just north if I-70 near Stapleton (according to the map). As for lot size we would want to purchase a home at some point with an acre or so, but initially we would be renting. We're interested in being far enough from the city so it doesn't feel like city living.

Looking at the map, Cherry Creek State Park sticks out. Any places close to there that might fit the bill? Or would that be too close to the city?

Thanks for the info regarding the teacher employment climate. That is somewhat scary. We would likely be moving at the beginning of the summer, so hopefully some things will open up at that point. Any advice in this area is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the info. You guys rock.

[Jerrym303]

From there, you can actually take 270 NW to where it turns into 36 and take advantage of the NW area. At about Broomfield, you start running into areas with very good access to long trails and you are within shooting distance of Boulder and all of the mountain parks around there. Itw ould be about 15 miles to Broomfield. 270 can get crowded. I ahve only used to go to the airport. Never have stopped, but have slowed down.

I moved out here form Durham in '96. Never even thought of going back.

An acre is hard to come by arund here. There is a more of a philosophy of smaller lots and large public open spaces - especially as you get closer to the mountains. there may also be some nice areas in Thornton, but I don't know them.

[ellaphant]

I wish your wife luck with obtaining a teaching position. She needs to keep checking all the district websites up until the day school starts. People are sometimes hired at the last minute. However, right now, it's not a good time to be a teacher in Denver. I was a day-to-day sub until I lucked out with a 4.5 month contract only because a teacher went out on maternity leave. As for right now, I would advise her to get her CO license ASAP. It can take months to get it approved and transferred over. Some districts won't look at you if you don't have a CO license while others are ok with it being 'processed'. I hope this doesn't discourage you or her, it's just the reality of the market in Denver right now.

Originally Posted by soulrebel

The work location is just north if I-70 near Stapleton (according to the map). As for lot size we would want to purchase a home at some point with an acre or so, but initially we would be renting. We're interested in being far enough from the city so it doesn't feel like city living.
Looking at the map, Cherry Creek State Park sticks out. Any places close to there that might fit the bill? Or would that be too close to the city?
Thanks for the info regarding the teacher employment climate. That is somewhat scary. We would likely be moving at the beginning of the summer, so hopefully some things will open up at that point. Any advice in this area is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the info. You guys rock.

[Count David]

We don't know how much you want to spend.