26 male and no job in line....Co Springs a good move? (Denver: extended stay, appointed)

[JP465]

Im currently thinking of moving to the CoSprings from the suburbs of Chicago. My current suburb is on the nice side but not overly expensive by any means. Lived here my entire life and never had any issues with crime whatsoever or even had any worries.

I do not have a job lined up or anything in CoSprings so I would be moving out there blindly. Are jobs pretty easy to find out there that pay nicely? Im 26 with a bachelors degree in emergency management/fire administration with a handful of years in customer service/management in sporting venues but open to anything short of mcdonalds/fast food. I also have a small interest in going in the AF as an officer so I would use my time to check out AFA which is another reason I chose CoSprings.

Ive never been to CoSprings but with a friend about to be stationed at Ft Carson and myself not having too much going on in Chicago, figured I would move while young and without a concrete job. Ive looked briefly at hotpads/apt finding sites and Im noticing that most apartments are pretty cheap (1-2 bedrooms roughly 5-700) whereas Chicago those same/smaller apts range from 1100-1300.

Is there a lot of nightlife/things to do as a 26 year old?

[otowi]

I think moving without a job is risky. If you're open to risk, things could work out for you. But of course there are no guarantees. Nightlife - I don't think Colorado Springs is particularly known for that. Pay will be less here but cost of living is less, too.

[geographystudies]

Moving without a concrete job and moving without any job are not the same thing. Moving pretty much anywhere without any job tends to be a very dangerous move unless it is moving in with mommy and daddy. Since you're a grown man and living on your own, you'll want to make sure you can find work out here. Interested in the air force? Great. Read up on them and apply before you make the move. The move is the last step. The one bedrooms for 500 bucks are anything but great. One bedrooms for seven hundred bucks on the other hand tend to be very nice. Same goes for 2 bedrooms when you transition from 700 to 900 for a two bedroom there is a significant increase in quality. However, markets are not efficient. You can find a two bedroom for 850 that is dramatically better than another two bedroom for 900. Doing the research pays.

Nightlife. If you mean clubs to flop around it with drunk girls and hope one goes home with you, no, we don't have much of that. Denver has those. We have dramatically less night life than almost any city of equal size.

[Carrera32]

JP - You should do your research on the AFA or the military in general well before you make any move. The AFA is four year undergraduate university, but you don't just show up, apply and get accepted. It's operated like the other service academies (West Point, the Naval Academy, The Coast Guard Academy). Most who get in are at the top of their high school classes, have a history of extra curricular volunteer and leadership activities, and most importantly, are nominated by their local member of Congress and after that it's a drawn out acceptance process. The AFA and other other academies are not for those who "have a small interest" in being an officer. It's a very rigorous process and requires absolute dedication and laser focus. From your post, it doesn't sound like that's where you are right now. If you want to be an Air Force officer, there are other ways to do it. College ROTC programs used to accept graduate students or students studying for a second bachelors degree (at least they did when I was in). You can also join as an enlisted and apply to Officer Candidate School (OCS). That's probably your best bet. Talk to a recruiter. With your degree, I suspect they'd be interested.

[JP465]

well my main thing/reason for moving isnt for the air force - its just a route to take - and I have been looking things up and talking with friends that are/have been in the military for several years. I worked for Homeland Security for a little bit and know many of my co-workers came from a military background and thats what sparked my interest. Also having a degree is what makes me want to go the officer route. I was only mentioning AFA so I could get a first hand look to see how things are out there as I do not have any actual experience on seeing military operations. I also have thought about going the enlisted route and taking a higher rank. But again, this isnt a "should i enlist in the military" discussion

I would look closer to Denver as im sure there would be more jobs available up there and a greater nightlife, but I would like to stay relatively close to Ft Carson (about a 15-20 min drive tops)

As far as nightlife - im not really referring to that, however I would like to go to a bar/club and be able to socialize with people my own age as opposed to a small bar with 20 people inside.

This is looking further down the road (maybe in the January/Feb area) so I do still have time and if I was going to make this a reality I would take a few days to come down and check out the area and apartment hunt before making my final decision. I have given this a good amount of thought but I just wanted to better grasp of the area from you guys as well.

[beezle1]

You will probably find bars with young people in the downtown area. As people say, Colorado Springs is not really known for nightlife, but I am sure you can find it if you look.

[otterprods]

Moving without any job prospects is generally not a good idea but, assuming you're single, it's pretty hard to mess up your whole life with one move even if it doesn't work out well. As long as you can save enough money for an extended stay w/minimal pay and a return trip if need, there's not much to lose in your case. At best, you'll find a decent job and enjoy living here. At worst it will be an extended 'vacation' that wasn't much fun. Some of the most enjoyable times I ever had was drifting around the country with very little money and working a few weeks at a time before moving on, but I usually went where I knew people I could stay with. I've done it the 'homeless' way too and that was really not fun at all. If you can get an apartment, that's ideal, but they usually want a fair amount up front and some proof of income before they'll let you move in.

[Mike from back east]

Before JP moves anywhere it seems he should talk to his local USAF or ARMY recruiter to see what is possible.

Relying on the word of pals and acquaintances can be dangerous as there's a ton of partial or mis-information running around out there.

[Carrera32]

JP - I understand that your reason for moving isn't to join the military and you made it pretty clear this isn't a "should I enlist in the military discussion." I'm an AF vet, but I'm no recruiter. I just don't want you to be disappointed if part of your reason for visiting/moving is to somehow experience the military life. That's why a follow up comment in your last post has me a bit confused. If you're going to visit the AFA in order to get a look at "military operations," in short, you won't. The AFA is a college campus. Since it's a military college, it's also considered a military base, though it doesn't have an operational mission in the same sense as you'd find at a base like Shriever, Peterson, Buckley, etc. As such, the only part of the operation (i.e., campus) you'll be able to see is the visitor center, the chapel and the quad (from the chapel area). If you come this time of year, you'll be able to attend a football game. That's it. Security is tight at all the bases here, and elsewhere I assume, and I doubt you'd be able to have any access to areas other than those I noted above without an escort (an active duty member, a retired military, or a civilian employee or contractor of whatever facility you wish to visit). Bottom line, if you have any interest in joining the military, go see a recruiter. They'll be more than happy to give you a taste of military operations and how your degree might be put to good use. Good luck.