Employment in Loveland? (Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder: rental, how much, job market)

[gjs]

Hello friends, I am looking to get as far away from this Athens,GA heat as I can.
Another 100 degree day with 85-90% humidity, not to mention the allergies I have in this area. Is it doable to find a warehouse job or something similar in the Loveland area around 13 bucks an hour fairly quick if I move there, just something to get me started, along with a one bedroom for around 500 a month?
I'm a process technician in the plastics industry, have been for about 15 years, but will probably not find this type of work in this area. Really looking to get out of this line of work anyway, just too much stress. I am an outdoors type individual.......like fishing, trails, etc..... Been in this area for about 2 years after taking a job here, but I can't do anything outside due to the heat. It feels like I'm inside of an oven.

Any and all responses are welcome.
Thanks,
George

[AZheat]

Well it's 95 in Loveland right now but humidity is only 52%. Jobs are hard to come by IN Loveland/Fort Collins. I've been here a year and have been looking for permanent but taking part time or seasonal to get by. It's an employer market and the hourly rate seems to be dropping every day. Loveland seems to be more of a bedroom community. Market rate for a 1 bdrm apt at a professionally managed rental property can be close to 700 a month.

I'm now looking toward the Louisville, Lafayette, Boulder area as there seems to be more ads for jobs. That commute would not be fun in the winter.

Lots of outdoor activities here and the scenery is breathtaking. Check out the Loveland and Fort Collins newspapers for jobs and also craigslist. That will give you a better idea about the job situation.

Good Luck.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by AZheat

Well it's 95 in Loveland right now but humidity is only 52%.

Uh ... try 15%. 95 degrees with a humidity of 52% is brutal. Oh, and Georgia's relative humidity only gets up to 80 or 90% at night. During the day, Gerogia's humidity is actually around 40 or 50%.

People really ought to use dewpoint temperatures rather than relative humidity. Relative humidity depends on the temperature, and so it's hard to gage how it feels from relative humidity. A relative humidity of 50% at 40 degrees F is dry air (dewpoint 20), but a relative humidity of 50% at 90 degrees F is very humid air (dewpoint 75). Dewpoints above 65 feel humid to most people.

While dewpoint is a temperature reading, it is actually an absolute measurement of how much moisture is in the air. It's what temperature the air would have to cool to to form a cloud --- the more water in the air, the higher the temperature a cloud (or fog) can form at. Fog is very rare in summer in Colorado because the dewpoints are lower than the nighttime low temperatures. But in winter, the temperatures are so low that fog can form even in the dry Colorado air.

Today in Loveland it was 95 degrees with a dewpoint of about 40, which is a relative humidity around 15%. 95 degrees with a relative humidity of 52% would mean a dewpoint of 75. That happens in Georgia all the time, but never, ever, ever does the dewpoint get anywhere near 75 in Colorado. The highest it gets is 60, and that's on the most tropical days of the monsoon season. The dewpoint in Georgia rarely gets as low as 60 during the entire summer.

Here's a temperature - dewpoint - relative humidity calculator.
Dew Point and Relative Humidity Calculations

There is another measurement called the heat index which uses temperature and dewpoint/humidity to get at a "feels like" temperature. Heat index up around 100+ starts to get hazardous (heat advisories and warnings). That hardly ever happens in Colorado, but happens all the time in Georgia. The thing you have to worry about in Colorado is dehydration due to low relative humidity.

[AZheat]

Thank you for the lesson on dew point and heat index! I doubt seriously it will help the original poster make a decision on finding work in the area. And finding work in this area really is a major issue. Not so much dehydration due to relative low humidity.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by AZheat

Thank you for the lesson on dew point and heat index! I doubt seriously it will help the original poster make a decision on finding work in the area. And finding work in this area really is a major issue. Not so much dehydration due to relative low humidity.

Yeah, so my post was overkill. Don't like it, don't read it. But you were way off to say the relative humidity was 52%. The OP isn't the only person who'll read this thread.

Your post about the job market was good. Unless he has a very good reason, the OP should not limit himself to Loveland, which is a pretty small place. Yeah, it's pretty hard to get a job anywhere right now. So casting as wide a net as possible, or moving somewhere where you know a lot of people for a job searching network, is probably going to help you. If he's moving somewhere before getting a job, Loveland may not be the best place, as you say, unless he knows a lot of people there. There are a lot of places that have less humidity than Georgia. Basically anywhere in the west other than the desert southwest isn't going to get excessively hot.

As for cheap housing (<$500), Loveland isn't going to have a lot of that. Greeley has a lot more cheap housing, but also has a high unemployment rate. Boulder isn't going to have any cheap housing. I think the OP should definitely add Salt Lake City and Denver metro to his list of places to look into. I'd add Omaha too, but the humidity is bad there. Basically, the weather in the midwest is pretty rough year round.

[AZheat]

Overkill to say the least. But you are correct - casting the net as wide as possible is wise in this state and in this economy.

Not sure I'd check out Omaha but I would definitely take a long look at Souix Falls SD. Soo Foo's economy is doing well and rent and pay seem reasonable.

I do agree that Salt Lake City and Denver are very good options for this region.

When I did my relocation search, I read local newspapers daily and did lots of research (cost of living, jobs, crime, housing, talked to locals). Took me 3 yrs to make the decision and get the move done. I do not regret the choice I made in leaving Tucson and where I ended up in Northern CO.

Economy is a huge issue all over the country. A lot of people are staying put and waiting it out to see if there is a rebound.

Good Luck to those out there wanting to make a big move like I did. If the window of opportunity opens and the pieces fall into place - GO FOR IT.

[Ziasforever]

If you check another thread on this site, you'll see a post where a call center manager is able to hire College Degreed people to answer phones/make calls for 11 bucks an hour. Warehouse work is probably at the minimum wage level if I had to guess. I'd rethink where I'd move to. I see Vermont has a lower unemployment rate than most places. You might check there.
One other thing, people from back east tend to develop worse and more permanent allergies in the dryer climates. Something to consider.

[Cosmicstargoat]

Originally Posted by gjs

Hello friends, I am looking to get as far away from this Athens,GA heat as I can.
Another 100 degree day with 85-90% humidity,

Me too, only it is Memphis heat, corruption and racism.

Originally Posted by AZheat

Thank you for the lesson on dew point and heat index! I doubt seriously it will help the original poster make a decision on finding work in the area. And finding work in this area really is a major issue. Not so much dehydration due to relative low humidity.

Hey, it helps me. I'm an amateur meteorologist and that's my language.

Originally Posted by AZheat

Well it's 95 in Loveland right now but humidity is only 52%.

That is impossible. You don't get that sort of misery in Loveland. You're talking Memphis heat now, only it is 99° with a humidity of 59% and a heat index of over 110°.

"I've got to get out of this place...If it's the last thing I ever do...."