Moving to Colorado from Florida! (Colorado Springs, Grand Junction: house, job market, transfer)

[BlueWillowPlate]

Good advice in this thread, especially from Delta and 3Ds, and Katiana about the one car. Having everything within walking distance means living in a very expensive neighborhood.

I mostly grew up in Colorado, lived there as an adult, and even have a relative (married with kids) who lives and works in Vail. That relative moved there long, long ago and was able to establish himself as an athlete-of-all-trades. This took talent, hard work, and a chameleon-like ability to adapt to all seasons.

Take this quote from 3Ds to heart:

Ski towns are usually full of very expensive homes and condos and a neighboring town full of junky apartments and trailer parks where those who actually work there live.

My niece spent a couple of winters as a ski instructor. She lived in a tiny apartment with several other girls.

I too believe in following your dream--we left Colorado to begin a new life in north Florida. To follow your dream of moving, think about the skill sets that you and your husband have, and weigh the possibilities of re-inventing yourselves.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

Good advice in this thread, especially from Delta and 3Ds, and Katiana about the one car. Having everything within walking distance means living in a very expensive neighborhood.

I mostly grew up in Colorado, lived there as an adult, and even have a relative (married with kids) who lives and works in Vail. That relative moved there long, long ago and was able to establish himself as an athlete-of-all-trades. This took talent, hard work, and a chameleon-like ability to adapt to all seasons.

Take this quote from 3Ds to heart:
My niece spent a couple of winters as a ski instructor. She lived in a tiny apartment with several other girls.

I too believe in following your dream--we left Colorado to begin a new life in north Florida. To follow your dream of moving, think about the skill sets that you and your husband have, and weigh the possibilities of re-inventing yourselves.

It's very doable, but what I found in my 8 ski seasons was that most people couldn't wrap their heads around the change in lifestyle and the seasonal flow of business. Expectations of having a "normal" life with a regular house, yard, schools, steady jobs, etc. isn't going to happen. If people stayed for a second season, then it was usually their last before going back to the "Real World" where you could have a regular living arrangement and house.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by wanneroo

It's very doable, but what I found in my 8 ski seasons was that most people couldn't wrap their heads around the change in lifestyle and the seasonal flow of business. Expectations of having a "normal" life with a regular house, yard, schools, steady jobs, etc. isn't going to happen. If people stayed for a second season, then it was usually their last before going back to the "Real World" where you could have a regular living arrangement and house.

Yes, I guess you just have to be adaptable--and creative.

As I mentioned, I have a relative in Vail (with wife and twins) so it is possible, but he established himself there many years ago, and does all sorts of things to bring home a paycheck.

[LightYearsAway]

We are coming from Florida now but we have lived up north before and LOVE it. We miss the snow.
I never said my husband would be the only one supporting the family. I too have a job and plan on having a job before we move. I would never expect to survive as a family of three in Breck on one income.
Breckenridge has few apartments for cheaper than what I'm paying now in Florida that is Minutes from the beach. Shocking.. Yes. Even I was surprised. I've spoken to a couple people who live there and Vail and they've said as long as we get out there before fall we should do fine with getting Jobs and we'll have our apartment secure before we move.
I've done some more research and talking with locals to find that Breckenridge has a free transportation system in town limits. Which is exactly what I was looking for.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by LightYearsAway

We are coming from Florida now but we have lived up north before and LOVE it. We miss the snow.
I never said my husband would be the only one supporting the family. I too have a job and plan on having a job before we move. I would never expect to survive as a family of three in Breck on one income.
Breckenridge has few apartments for cheaper than what I'm paying now in Florida that is Minutes from the beach. Shocking.. Yes. Even I was surprised. I've spoken to a couple people who live there and Vail and they've said as long as we get out there before fall we should do fine with getting Jobs and we'll have our apartment secure before we move.
I've done some more research and talking with locals to find that Breckenridge has a free transportation system in town limits. Which is exactly what I was looking for.

I would definitely view any apartment/condo in person to consider a variety of issues. The cheap apartments tend to get well used by ski bums and other hippie types and they often are located in the noisiest places as well and also these places are usually in need of refurbishment. So renter beware. Do not sign a lease for something sight unseen and do not believe what property managers tell you. Trust but verify.

In my experience my happiness in ski towns was directly related to my living situation. The times when I lived in unsavory apartments were the times I was most unhappy.

September is a good month to start lining up jobs for the winter and to find a place to rent. Keep in mind that really there are just 6 months of the year when Breck is busy with tourist traffic with a few months that are completely dead. Hence a lot of jobs furlough people or only hire seasonally. If you can roll with working 80 hours a week in the winter and then having almost no work in May, then you will do fine. Getting a well paid year round salaried job is tougher.

If you can deal with working weird hours, tons during the busy season, not a lot in the off seasons, having multiple jobs possibly, not being paid well, you'll do fine. If you can't roll with that lifestyle, you will not last long.

[Idunn]

The advice given here is accurate. Believe what they say.

Summit County is a great place, but in no way is it as affordable or traditional as the suburbs of the front range. If you are willing to adjust your life and expectations accordingly then you'll at least have a chance of making it home. Unless wealthy, the compromise will be working harder for less than afforded elsewhere, but living in a beautiful area many dream of but few realize.

Breckenridge is a lovely town in a beautiful location, with many quaint quasi-Victorian buildings. It is not cheap. I knew a fellow who lived there more or less as a ski bum, but his wants, needs and home were modest. I do not recall now if he had roommates, it might have been a very very small house on his own. At the time I lived in Silverthorne with at least four other roommates. We had a great time together, but it was party central and no one was contending with family issues, only work and whatever pastimes they had beyond it. No one was getting rich, either. At the time I was nonplused in being surrounded by all these huge, elegant houses, often sitting empty, while we working and living there had to scrounge for that actually vaguely affordable. If living in Breckenridge, or anywhere near one of the ski areas, you should expect to pay a premium for less than possibly hoped for. There is a good reason why some employees in Summit County live removed in Fairplay or Leadville, and certainly not because they love the long commute over snow-packed mountain passes.

There is a hospital in Frisco. Other than that I am rather vague on healthcare options in the region, other than fairly sure they are good if limited. Major complaints would see one transported to Denver. Simply put, it will prove a challenging job market. Not impossible, but whenever replying to the common dream you share my inevitable advice is to love it enough to get there and stay. You will have a lot of company, more than a few of them already well entrenched with friends and contacts, and possibly the job you want. So the question is in what way will you adapt to be one of the few who actually make it work. Most people to the area are just visitors, tourists who come for a week or two, and can spend the type of money which is reflected in what locals can see but seldom touch. Those thinking to live there may never actually make it as far, or last but a relatively short time before the practicalities of life convince them otherwise.

I've mentioned this before, but remember well the fair well party we once held after hours at A-Basin for one of our own. A nice guy, not that old, and one of the ski patrol. Although a cheerful mood that evening, still somewhat bittersweet, as if ready to move on he still would surely have happily remained on the mountain. But he was soon to marry, and obviously he and his wife to be had made some sobering calculations. Perhaps they might have remained, and I did not know him personally well enough to know otherwise, but it seemed a decided change, divide, and new chapter in their life.

But an assessment. Each will have their own. The easiest, if at times more challenging choice, in choosing that one truly loves.

[eon-krate32]

Kinda sounds like my family from the mid 90's. I moved to Longmont, Colorado from Jacksonville when I was 3 because my dad got a job transfer. There are plenty of great schools here and plenty of places to walk to shop (for whatever reason) so it really comes down to what you want specifically. Do you like the big city or do you want to live in the suburbs or even away from larger communities?

[donisanasfan]

Just how old are you , out of curiosity? Breck is a very young town, and personally I think a bad place to raise a kid. Out of the Summit County area I would recommend Dillon, if this is really something you want to do. I would say it has more families, more full time locals , and a much better family vibe then would breck. It is also closer to the shopping a family would need, closer to 1-70 access, and still has free public transportation around the county.

[CAVA1990]

Maybe things are different there but my uncle was a ski instructor in California for years and only did it on weekends when demand spiked and they needed extra folks to handle it. He didn't live in the mountains and had a regular day job during the week. They don't hire part timers for weekends and holidays there? I find that hard to believe.

[PokerMunkee]

Check out Salt Lake City. It's constantly ranked in the top 10 places to live and is less than a hour away from the slopes. Sure, there are a lot of mormons but the place has some of lowest unemployment rates in the country. The town is beautiful with the mountains right there. Check out Park City and Deere Valley, less than 40 miles from SLC. Ski magazines rank these resorts in the top 10 in the US, they get great snow.

Unless you're pulling in over $250,000 a year, living in Summit county just is too expensive to make it work for a family.