Potential Move to CSM in Golden with DOGS!!! (Denver, Boulder: rentals, houses)

[lizzyshizzy]

Hi all!

My husband is sending an application to Colorado School of Mines this week to apply for grad school for geological engineering. If he is accepted and is offered any type of TA/RA position we will make the move to Colorado this July.

We are currently in Charlottesville, VA; originally from Wilmington, NC. We are outdoorsy/natural/hippy type folks, my husband enjoys fly fishing, mtn biking, good beer, and music. I enjoy the arts (a lot), photography, working with animals, and yoga/meditation.

Here are some concerns/questions I have, hopefully someone can offer some input:

-Learning a little about us from above....is Golden a good fit?

-I have a dog that has a bit of pit bull in her...she is as sweet as anything. My concern is with the Pit Ban in Denver. Would Golden be more pit friendly? Will Denver officials confiscate my dog if she travels through Denver with us?

-Is living in Nederland a reasonable option? Considering drive distance to the CSM. We like what we've heard of Nederland, that is why I ask.

-Pet friendly housing???? We have two dogs and two cats. Finding a landlord that is comfortable with that many pets is always a headache. We have references and the pets are all trained and older. Any good websites or realty companies that can help us find a pet friendly home, if need be???

-And joke of the decade...I am teacher, will finding a job be easy or possible? I currently teach at a private Waldorf inspired school in the Blue Ridge of central VA. I hold a current NC and VA teaching license. Ha. If all else fails I have experience in organic food stores and green houses.

-The other options we have for grad school moves are Reno, NV (UNR) and Tucson, AZ (UA). Any opinions on those in comparison to Golden, CO?

Thanks for ANY help. Moving is a big deal, especially that far from family.

[Mike from back east]

IMO, Colorado is a major player in the beer biz, not only with Coors in Golden but many other breweries and brew pubs. I doubt very much if those other two cities come anywhere near to what's here. There's a huge annual beerfest in Denver each year in Sept.

CSM has a fine reputation. I went there a couple of times to use their library and found the campus had tons of great resources and students who seemed serious about education.

Golden sits at the foothills, a good jumping off point for fishing and biking. Boulder is too, and a bit artsy as well, but IMO it's expensive to live there.

I noted a lot of small older homes around the CSM campus, some of those might be good rentals. Landlords may be amenable to serious people with pets who have good references, and I'm sure each landlord is different. Some recommend putting a "housing wanted" ad on Craigslist where you explain your case. But CL is noted for scams, so read their warnings.

Teaching jobs are hard to get in this economy but no harm in trying.

I've never heard of pit bulls being confiscated from people just visiting or passing through.

We have existing threads on just about all these topics, try using our search tool with keywords for each topic....

Colorado is awesome. Best of luck to you guys...

[JohnHAdams]

Mr brother graduated from CSM....great school and a great town. Ah...those were the days.