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This is close to my story. I moved to Denver with the illusion I could get a good paying job quick (no luck...easy to get a job that pays $14-15 or less and hour, but that won't cut it) and my car, which is necessary in this area, had to be junked because repairs were more than the value of it. Unlike you, I cannot wait to move. The mountains are nice, but everything else is sub-par to Chicago and Portland, OR, which was the other city I was thinking about moving to.
It hasn't lived up to my expectations. The unemployment rate is low, but the pay for a majority of the jobs is too low for the constantly increasing rent prices from the high demand and low supply of apartments plus other life experiences. Being completely land locked is getting to me. Up until now, I have never lived further than 40 miles from the shores of a large body of water (Lake Michigan and briefly Lake Superior...I know, not an ocean, but these are still large bodies of water). There is zero public transportation, there is little to no hiking within a 30-40 minutes drive, and not really an urban feeling i.e. high density, even in the downtown area.
The biggest problem is that I thought I would be around a lot of like minded people, but they are...well, it is tough to describe. I connect easily with people from the Great Lakes and Northeast, but natives and other westerners are on a completely different wave length. Nobody has any urgency. I don't know if it is the sun, altitude, weed, or any of the 7 possible combinations of the three, but most of the people seem to be out of it.
The funniest thing is that as recent as two months ago and before then I was the biggest cheerleader for this town. While I don't hate it, I am really indifferent. To this point it has been the biggest mistake of my life...a complete waste of time and money.
I thought about Colorado too. I visited this past summer. It wasn't until I visited that I realized how isolated it was. It would take forever to get to any major city by car. People's #1 reason for going to CO seems to be the mountains. Well, it's not the only mountain area, and once you go to CO, you probably have to head to Denver to get a job, and Denver isn't the spot to see the mountains in CO anyway. I liked the views in Colorado Springs better, but the economy is much worse there, and the roads are full of potholes.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed my visit to Phoenix, which has mountains I liked looking at much better. It's also much more accessible to other cities you might want to visit: LA, SD, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, etc. From Denver, you can go nowhere, except for a couple smaller cities in CO. Out of the 3 mountain states I visited on my trip (AZ, UT, and CO), I expected to not like AZ at all because of the hot desert, to find UT pretty OK, and to love CO. I ended up loving AZ, hating UT, and having mixed feelings about CO. I could probably enjoy living there, but I don't know that it would be my ideal place.
Pretty surprising how much action this thread has seen in just 3 days. I've enjoyed reading all the responses. Maybe I'll post more later.
Actually OP, it was good to see your post. Merry Christmas btw. Anyways like the OP, i can also relate. I moved back home to a place where only 10% of my race/ethnicity live. Since that time a few years ago, this town has been labeled the saddest in tbe state/nation, worst place to raise a family and most uneducated compared to metros of its size. Its also extremely racist here too.
What really gets me is that saying, when in rome, do as the romans do. Sorry, but i dont like hunting and fishing. I like new cultures and im open minded. Everyone here has a small town mentality and does t believe in change and they fight it with a passion. My friends all moved away and im the only one left. Alone now most of the time, people here form cliques and if you are not in you are out. The most annoying thing here is that EVERYTHING that i do is misunderstood. People also get mad really quickly here(possibly due to the sadness part) and i have literally sat there, not said anything and people STILL get mad. I hate it here, i really do and i will be moving in less than a month.
I still cant forget the time i was dating a mans daughter and because i didnt have a truck, go hunting, or work in the oil industry, he looked at me like i was crazy. Yeah screw u too man. Anyways get out while you can. It will do you wonders.
Oh one more thing, I have considered Colorado, California and Massachusetts, currently in im Texas, but honestly California and Massachusetts are way too expensive and colorado, well I like big cities and I would have to move to Denver.
Last edited by SoundNinia; 12-14-2014 at 08:23 PM..
Actually OP, it was good to see your post. Merry Christmas btw. Anyways like the OP, i can also relate. I moved back home to a place where only 10% of my race/ethnicity live. Since that time a few years ago, this town has been labeled the saddest in tbe state/nation, worst place to raise a family and most uneducated compared to metros of its size. Its also extremely racist here too.
What really gets me is that saying, when in rome, do as the romans do. Sorry, but i dont like hunting and fishing. I like new cultures and im open minded. Everyone here has a small town mentality and does t believe in change and they fight it with a passion. My friends all moved away and im the only one left. Alone now most of the time, people here form cliques and if you are not in you are out. The most annoying thing here is that EVERYTHING that i do is misunderstood. People also get mad really quickly here(possibly due to the sadness part) and i have literally sat there, not said anything and people STILL get mad. I hate it here, i really do and i will be moving in less than a month.
I still cant forget the time i was dating a mans daughter and because i didnt have a truck, go hunting, or work in the oil industry, he looked at me like i was crazy. Yeah screw u too man. Anyways get out while you can. It will do you wonders.
Oh one more thing, I have considered Colorado, California and Massachusetts, currently in im Texas, but honestly California and Massachusetts are way too expensive and colorado, well I like big cities and I would have to move to Denver.
My heart goes out to you. I have just moved to a place where less than 1% of my "kind" live. The loneliness is unbearable, and not knowing who-knows-who-and-who-hates-who-and-who-you-have-to-watch-out-for.
God bless. You're not the only one in your situation, but I know how it feels like to feel as if you are.
If you had asked me 30 years ago where I would be living today, I probably would have said Las Vegas. And that's where I live!
It hasn't been easy. It has been harder than it should have been. But I am so glad I got out of Minnesota and the neverending gloom and cold. I am thankful every day that I escaped when I could!
To the OP (and some of the others), I'm in a similar boat, except I hate just about every aspect of where I live currently. I moved back home in the summer basically to hide in school for an extra semester and to save on expenses for a little bit. At least I ended up enjoying one of my classes. I'm just waiting for the year to end since no one will hire for a few weeks if I leave now anyway. Just working on developing some more computer skills the next few weeks.
I've got enough money to last a while, but I'm not going to live here to waste it all, and to try to get a job with 2 hands tied behind my back by applying for jobs out of state since there are no jobs out here. Before I moved here, I was a grad student in my old city and I would say it was cool for about a year, but things went south pretty quickly and I became the most miserable I'd ever been in my life. Of course I can't really comment on my move going well or not since I haven't made it yet.
I'm very excited to get out of here. When I moved back home this summer, I basically boxed up everything I have, got rid of tons of junk I don't need, and made my next move very easy. Everything I need will fit in my car when I do leave.
Contrary to what many say, moving doesn't have to be expensive. Living is expensive if you can't find a job right away, but I'm not spending thousands to move everything I've ever owned across the country. Of course, this may not apply if you've got a spouse and kids or whatever.
My heart goes out to you. I have just moved to a place where less than 1% of my "kind" live. The loneliness is unbearable, and not knowing who-knows-who-and-who-hates-who-and-who-you-have-to-watch-out-for.
God bless. You're not the only one in your situation, but I know how it feels like to feel as if you are.
Oh man, sorry to hear that. The loneliness is bad for me too, especially since I am an extrovert. It sucks because I shouldn't have to act like someone that I am not just to "fit in" or "have friends", but that's the way it is here too. A lot of people are stuck like its still high school here. The only good news I have is that between after Christmas and before January 31, I will be gone. I just hope where I move to will be better for me job wise.
I hope your situation gets better too. Merry Christmas and God bless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rarog
To the OP (and some of the others), I'm in a similar boat, except I hate just about every aspect of where I live currently. I moved back home in the summer basically to hide in school for an extra semester and to save on expenses for a little bit. At least I ended up enjoying one of my classes. I'm just waiting for the year to end since no one will hire for a few weeks if I leave now anyway. Just working on developing some more computer skills the next few weeks.
I've got enough money to last a while, but I'm not going to live here to waste it all, and to try to get a job with 2 hands tied behind my back by applying for jobs out of state since there are no jobs out here. Before I moved here, I was a grad student in my old city and I would say it was cool for about a year, but things went south pretty quickly and I became the most miserable I'd ever been in my life. Of course I can't really comment on my move going well or not since I haven't made it yet.
I'm very excited to get out of here. When I moved back home this summer, I basically boxed up everything I have, got rid of tons of junk I don't need, and made my next move very easy. Everything I need will fit in my car when I do leave.
Contrary to what many say, moving doesn't have to be expensive. Living is expensive if you can't find a job right away, but I'm not spending thousands to move everything I've ever owned across the country. Of course, this may not apply if you've got a spouse and kids or whatever.
we are pretty much in the same boat. I saved up money as well, but I don't want to just blow it all here. I thought about staying here until January 31 due to the job situation too, but socially I am drowning here, so I don't know if I will make it.
It's funny, too, when you're young you just take for granted, where you live, is the way "things are." You don't question or any of that, but as you change and grow (if you do, lol) and move around, all of the choices get difficult because the choice of where you live affects so much. And, uprooting is hard. How many people actually do it? I mean, just uproot without anything there and start over. It takes hutzpah, I'll tell you that.
People who feel they have nothing to lose, I guess, because their life has become miserable. Also people who chase a significant other across the country.
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