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Old 08-08-2017, 08:53 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,112 times
Reputation: 15

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Hello all,

New to the forum and currently residing in West Palm Beach FL. I have visited and stayed in various parts of CO since I was 16, I am 23 now. I have made the decision to head west sometime in May and I am seeking some advice on getting there. Most people think I'm crazy when I tell them I want to leave Florida but it's just not the place for me. I am looking for some more adventure, beautiful scenery, and genuine people. I have never moved across the country which makes this trip seem intensely daunting. I would like to make the Springs my home, I have a few family member in Manitou and some friends in Denver if all else fails. Please give me some suggestions, moving advice, neighborhoods to be on the lookout for, anything else you want to throw my way. Thank you for your time in advance!!!
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Old 08-08-2017, 09:05 PM
 
914 posts, read 2,206,654 times
Reputation: 1516
If you ever are to make a drastic change in your life such as this, you are at the age to do it.

Adventure will be found where you seek it, whether Florida, Colorado, or anywhere else.

People in Colorado are exactly like the people in Florida, only more so.

Unless you have family heirlooms to deal with, sell everything and move only what you can pack in your car.

Forum members will need a housing budget to recommend neighborhoods. Possibly your income and/or employment prospects as well, if that is relevant.
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Old 08-08-2017, 09:10 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale
2,074 posts, read 1,643,640 times
Reputation: 4091
Quote:
Originally Posted by cactiqueen View Post
Hello all,

New to the forum and currently residing in West Palm Beach FL. I have visited and stayed in various parts of CO since I was 16, I am 23 now. I have made the decision to head west sometime in May and I am seeking some advice on getting there. Most people think I'm crazy when I tell them I want to leave Florida but it's just not the place for me. I am looking for some more adventure, beautiful scenery, and genuine people. I have never moved across the country which makes this trip seem intensely daunting. I would like to make the Springs my home, I have a few family member in Manitou and some friends in Denver if all else fails. Please give me some suggestions, moving advice, neighborhoods to be on the lookout for, anything else you want to throw my way. Thank you for your time in advance!!!

I loved the Colorado mountains when I lived there from 1998-2002. I was a software engineer
and a mountain runner. I come from a culture of Native Americans known for mountain running
long distances. Other indigenous communities referred to us as the "Mountain People".
But in 2002 I had to leave Colorado because the engineering economy had a massive recession.
When I drove from Denver to Florida, I left via I-70 and saw the massive Longs Peak
disappear into the western horizon. I got really depressed when that happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLWD2WIvRQk

I was forced to move to Tallahassee which has no mountains. I ultimately earned graduate
degrees from UF and FSU (LOL). I even worked one year in South FL at Davie and Miami just
south of MIA. So I know Florida very well and ran many half marathons or marathons throughout
the state. I ran one 1/2 marathon at West Palm Beach and another at Miami and Marco Island.
I know South FL very well for running terrain. I played coed UF intramural basketball with a friend
from West Palm Beach who had played HS volleyball in the area. I have a friend who went to the "U".
I took online courses at FAU.

I would recommend Denver since the job situation is reasonable. But the "catch" is to have a job
lined up. Denver has a fairly good bus commute route. The apartments on the east and north
side are reasonable. Many recent college graduates live in "Lo Do" off Speer Blvd. or Aurora.
Lakewood is also a good place. I did internships in Golden and stayed at Lakewood when I
was in my early 20s.

So try Metro Denver but be sure you have a job lined up.

Strong jobs in Denver:
* software (Android, test automation SDET, cloud computing, Python, AngularJS, iOS, Linux Shell, Cucumber)
* electronic health records/medical billing
* Allied Health (Denver Health Sciences Center)
* business

Try Tech Jobs | US Contract and Permanent IT Jobs | Dice.com
Job Search | Indeed
http://www.linkedin.com


Best wishes. Be sure to acclimatize for the mountains. I once went back from FL to Denver for a high-altitude race. Orlando had just been hit by Hurricane Charley. I flew out of Orlando to Denver and drove to the Colorado mountains. It snowed on the summit at the end of that endurance race in the summer at > 14000 ft. As for me, I went back to Phoenix, AZ and love it. There are many mountains here too in my home state.
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Old 08-08-2017, 10:07 PM
 
6,824 posts, read 10,520,613 times
Reputation: 8392
Start job hunting or school hunting as the case may be and saving money for a move and downsizing stuff you'll need to take with you. Focus your job and housing searches near your relatives first and your friends second - so I'd suggest focusing first on the Colorado Springs area and seeing if you can make that work - it is a bit cheaper than Denver as well. Neighborhood suggestions will depend on your budget, but really there are very few if any truly dangerous areas in the Springs although of course some are nicer than others, especially if you start out by renting until you feel out where you really want to be better.
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Old 08-08-2017, 10:18 PM
 
5,842 posts, read 4,174,777 times
Reputation: 7668
Denver sucks. If you can get a job in the Springs, move to the Springs. COS is awesome. There are mountain adventures waiting in your backyard, and a cool downtown that is small enough to be manageable yet big enough to have stuff to do. I'm not too far from your age (I'm 32), and I moved here last September. It was one of the best things I've ever done. I already have better friends here than I did in Dallas, where I lived before.

Some neighborhoods to check out would be the westside (Old Colorado City) and downtown. Since you are young and presumably single, I think you should aim to stay west of Union and south of Fillmore. There's no reason to live outside of those boundaries.

But seriously, Denver sucks. Every time I am up there, which is about once per week, I find myself thinking "Why the hell do people live here?" What's especially funny to me is when I talk to Denver folks who seem to feel sorry for me that I live in the Springs. COS really is a great secret, so I don't correct them. They can sit in their traffic, look at the tiny dots on the skyline that they call "mountains," pay $600k for their 800 sq. ft. shanties and brag about how many Costcos they have. Fine by me. I'll probably be on my mountain bike.
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Old 08-09-2017, 05:21 AM
Status: "Nothin' to lose" (set 11 days ago)
 
Location: Concord, CA
7,185 posts, read 9,320,007 times
Reputation: 25632
Quote:
Originally Posted by cactiqueen View Post
Hello all,

New to the forum and currently residing in West Palm Beach FL. I have visited and stayed in various parts of CO since I was 16, I am 23 now. I have made the decision to head west sometime in May and I am seeking some advice on getting there. Most people think I'm crazy when I tell them I want to leave Florida but it's just not the place for me. I am looking for some more adventure, beautiful scenery, and genuine people. I have never moved across the country which makes this trip seem intensely daunting. I would like to make the Springs my home, I have a few family member in Manitou and some friends in Denver if all else fails. Please give me some suggestions, moving advice, neighborhoods to be on the lookout for, anything else you want to throw my way. Thank you for your time in advance!!!
Need more information.

How do you plan to support yourself? Do you have a particular job skill? Do you have a job lined up?

Moving at 23 is fun. I did it myself way back when I was your age. I drove my VW Beetle with all my worldly possessions in the back seat from Tucson to Santa Clara over a weekend to start work on a Monday. But I got the job first.

If you are moving to Colorado without a job, make sure you have enough cash saved to last until you get a job. Perhaps that family member in Manitou would let you couch surf for awhile.
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Old 08-09-2017, 08:16 AM
 
2 posts, read 3,112 times
Reputation: 15
Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply! I really appreciate it! Some of you asked for more information about me, income, and what I aim to do. I have a bachelors degree in psychology but I currently work as an office manager for a jewelry company here in West Palm. I am aiming to save about $10k before I leave FL and so far I am about halfway to my goal. I would basically be open to any office/admin/clerical work because that can be found basically anywhere. As far as housing goes, I am looking to rent. I have the means to sustain myself in a studio or one bedroom but I would likely like to have a roommate or two to cut down on costs. However, I am moving with a service animal so that makes it a little more tricky. Anything that's $700 or below would be awesome! Again, thank you all for taking the time to reply! Your suggestions are both insightful and encouraging
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Old 08-09-2017, 09:08 AM
 
6,824 posts, read 10,520,613 times
Reputation: 8392
Quote:
Originally Posted by cactiqueen View Post
Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply! I really appreciate it! Some of you asked for more information about me, income, and what I aim to do. I have a bachelors degree in psychology but I currently work as an office manager for a jewelry company here in West Palm. I am aiming to save about $10k before I leave FL and so far I am about halfway to my goal. I would basically be open to any office/admin/clerical work because that can be found basically anywhere. As far as housing goes, I am looking to rent. I have the means to sustain myself in a studio or one bedroom but I would likely like to have a roommate or two to cut down on costs. However, I am moving with a service animal so that makes it a little more tricky. Anything that's $700 or below would be awesome! Again, thank you all for taking the time to reply! Your suggestions are both insightful and encouraging
Just fyi that budget range can be quite tricky here. Average rent for a 1 bedroom here is over $1100 now. Studios are mostly in your price range but there may be a low vacancy issue i.e. they may be hard to find. - I have rented in awhile so I am not sure if apartments make exceptions to pet policies for service animals - if not, that could be very tricky particularly if it is a larger animal such as a larger dog. I am not sure how to go about finding roommates - I might suggest Craigslist but with the caution to always be careful.
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Old 08-09-2017, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Colorado Springs
4,944 posts, read 2,941,035 times
Reputation: 3805
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost View Post
Denver sucks. If you can get a job in the Springs, move to the Springs. COS is awesome. There are mountain adventures waiting in your backyard, and a cool downtown that is small enough to be manageable yet big enough to have stuff to do. I'm not too far from your age (I'm 32), and I moved here last September. It was one of the best things I've ever done. I already have better friends here than I did in Dallas, where I lived before.

Some neighborhoods to check out would be the westside (Old Colorado City) and downtown. Since you are young and presumably single, I think you should aim to stay west of Union and south of Fillmore. There's no reason to live outside of those boundaries.

But seriously, Denver sucks. Every time I am up there, which is about once per week, I find myself thinking "Why the hell do people live here?" What's especially funny to me is when I talk to Denver folks who seem to feel sorry for me that I live in the Springs. COS really is a great secret, so I don't correct them. They can sit in their traffic, look at the tiny dots on the skyline that they call "mountains," pay $600k for their 800 sq. ft. shanties and brag about how many Costcos they have. Fine by me. I'll probably be on my mountain bike.
Yea I can't stand Denverite snobbishness all to often I have heard the same things you have.
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Old 08-10-2017, 02:10 PM
 
Location: Boise, ID
116 posts, read 124,504 times
Reputation: 234
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost View Post
But seriously, Denver sucks. Every time I am up there, which is about once per week, I find myself thinking "Why the hell do people live here?" What's especially funny to me is when I talk to Denver folks who seem to feel sorry for me that I live in the Springs. COS really is a great secret, so I don't correct them. They can sit in their traffic, look at the tiny dots on the skyline that they call "mountains," pay $600k for their 800 sq. ft. shanties and brag about how many Costcos they have. Fine by me. I'll probably be on my mountain bike.
I find I get the same reaction when I'm in Denver and tell somebody I live in the Springs. I get that "oh man, that's sad" type of response.

Now I don't think "Denver sucks" but, like you, having moved from a major metro area with traffic and sprawl I was looking to avoid that. Less traffic, better views, more affordable housing...the Springs suits me and my family just fine.
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