Is Colorado a good place to move to and raise a family? (Denver: apartment, rent)

[Reaper2792]

I have lived in Long Island, NY my entire life. I married my high-school sweetheart this year and we are looking to get out of NY. We are both turning 28 soon and would like to start a family. Colorado has always come up in conversation regarding places to move.

Do any of you know certain areas we should look out for? Right now, we own a 2 bed, 1 bath, 1-story home with a 1/4 acre of property and paid $245,000. We would like to stay in that price range but can go up to $300,000 and obviously would like something bigger than what we have now. My wife is an accountant and i am a computer draftsman for a mechanical engineering company.

Living on Long Island is a nightmare. It takes me an hour to drive to work, which is only 12 miles from my house. Property taxes are around 6,500$ a year. Crime is at an all time high (my neighbor across the street got shot and killed during an attempted robbery just last year). There aren't many good things to say about living on Long Island besides always being near a beach.

For the past year, we have both been working our full time jobs and each have a part time job just to pay the bills. We really just want a better quality of life. Get away from the constant traffic and pollution that surrounds Long Island.

We have narrowed our search down to Colorado, but now would like to start narrowing down specific areas in the state. We don't want any part of city life since that is what we are trying to get away from. Thanks in advance.

[jim9251]

I would suggest looking at the western slope. Montrose, Paonia, areas of Montrose County, Delta County, Ouray County, Gunnison County. There will be a problem finding employment though unless you want to live in the Denver area which is as bad if not worse than where you live now. Do LOTS of research and visit visit visit. Good luck to you.

[proveick]

Also rent for 6 months before you buy. RP

[davidv]

Originally Posted by jim9251

I would suggest looking at the western slope. Montrose, Paonia, areas of Montrose County, Delta County, Ouray County, Gunnison County. There will be a problem finding employment though unless you want to live in the Denver area which is as bad if not worse than where you live now. Do LOTS of research and visit visit visit. Good luck to you.

Denver is nowhere near what you describe. I commute a long way to work each morning -- 23 miles in about 28 minutes. My commute home is not as fast, but I can get home in 30-40 minutes.

I have never been a victim of a crime (lived here all my life).

I have never had a problem finding employment (but I haven't tried looking lately).

Living in Denver is very different than the East. The city and suburbs are very spread out, and the lots are not very big. Trying to find a house like you describe for the price you want would be difficult.

Your best bet is to try to find employment first and then find a job that is close by.

[motoracer51]

As a former Long Islander, I'd do your due diligence about moving here to Colorado. They( Democrats along with the Supreme Court) are trying their best to get rid of TABOR and increase taxes and fees to no end.

For a decent idea, read the book The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care) by Adam Schrager.

Good luck getting out of, off of Long Island. I still have a place for it in my heart, and still own my house there in the event people stop voting full retard and things return to normal a little.

If you have any specific questions about CO, please feel free to PM me.

[Count David]

OP, salaries are lower in Colorado and the cities/towns are smaller, for example: Brooklyn and Queens together have about the same population as the entirety of Colorado.

Even in Denver, it's not difficult to escape the city life, because the truly dense areas are confined to a few small areas in the city.

Is there anything in particular that you are desiring? Your post is a little vague, Colorado is very different depending on which part of the state you live in.

Originally Posted by jim9251

the Denver area which is as bad if not worse than where you live now.

LOL, AINEC.

[Juliemac]

I live in Fort Collins, about an hour north of Denver. It seems a great place to raise a family and far less busy than Denver. (around 140K). As far as traffic goes, the locals gripe about rush hour here, but its all relative. Having grown up and lived most of my life in metro Detroit, this is a walk in the park You can find a nice home in your price range but employment might be a little tougher up here than Denver, just because of the size of the town. Property taxes will seem very low here compared to back east. Come and visit Good luck!

[Katarina Witt]

"Is Colorado a good place to move to and raise a family?"

Yes. We did it. We (DH and I) moved out here after our marriage at slightly older ages than you guys, got on with our lives and raised a family. My brother (from Pennsylvania as am I) once said we'd made a "pretty good" life for ourselves here.

I do agree with those who say exercise your due diligence. Come out for a vacation and look around. Read. You can look at the Denver Post online, also most other daily papers in the state.

[Reaper2792]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

OP, salaries are lower in Colorado and the cities/towns are smaller, for example: Brooklyn and Queens together have about the same population as the entirety of Colorado.

Even in Denver, it's not difficult to escape the city life, because the truly dense areas are confined to a few small areas in the city.

Is there anything in particular that you are desiring? Your post is a little vague, Colorado is very different depending on which part of the state you live in.



LOL, AINEC.

I guess what we are desiring is a low-key area. Where i am from, my highschool graduation class was about 900 students. I didn't even know 75% of their first names. I want my kids to go to a school that is much smaller than that. I am almost 28 now and i would say a majority of the people i knew from high-school are still living with their parents and have dead end jobs. There is nothing out here for anybody anymore because the population is just too overcrowded. A basement apartment (studio apartment) on long island will run you minimum $1200 a month. I don't want my kids to have the life that i am going through. It is nothing but a struggle. I work 2 jobs and still have nothing in savings. You would think bringing in $800 a week would be good but not for life on Long Island.

I am not worried about my wife finding a good job. She is well educated with a bachelor's degree in accounting. She has experience in both public and private accounting and even worked for the IRS for 4 years. I personally may have a hard time finding a good job since i only have an associates degree in architectural drafting but i am willing to take whatever i can.

As i stated in the OP, we are looking for a 2-story house that would be good to raise a family (2 kids is our goal). The house we own now was 245,000 and we already put over 80,000 into it so a down payment would be no problem. Basically the wife's dream house is 3-4 bedrooms, 2 bath, 1/2 acre to 1 acre of property (right now our neighbors homes are basically within an arms reach).

If we have to drive an hour to work we won't mind, as long as it's not bumper to bumper traffic the whole way. As stated in the OP, it takes me an hour, sometimes longer to drive 12 miles to work. (I would love to ride a bike to work but way too many bikers get killed on the road i take. Alot of people love to drive in the shoulder lane on LI)

We don't care for chain restaurants or shopping centers on every corner. Give us a Walmart and a local, mom and pop diner and we will be happy.

We just want ideas of areas to visit. It's a big state to just go without a destination.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Reaper2792

I guess what we are desiring is a low-key area. Where i am from, my highschool graduation class was about 900 students. I didn't even know 75% of their first names. I want my kids to go to a school that is much smaller than that. I am almost 28 now and i would say a majority of the people i knew from high-school are still living with their parents and have dead end jobs. There is nothing out here for anybody anymore because the population is just too overcrowded. A basement apartment (studio apartment) on long island will run you minimum $1200 a month. I don't want my kids to have the life that i am going through. It is nothing but a struggle. I work 2 jobs and still have nothing in savings. You would think bringing in $800 a week would be good but not for life on Long Island.

I am not worried about my wife finding a good job. She is well educated with a bachelor's degree in accounting. She has experience in both public and private accounting and even worked for the IRS for 4 years. I personally may have a hard time finding a good job since i only have an associates degree in architectural drafting but i am willing to take whatever i can.

As i stated in the OP, we are looking for a 2-story house that would be good to raise a family (2 kids is our goal). The house we own now was 245,000 and we already put over 80,000 into it so a down payment would be no problem. Basically the wife's dream house is 3-4 bedrooms, 2 bath, 1/2 acre to 1 acre of property (right now our neighbors homes are basically within an arms reach).

If we have to drive an hour to work we won't mind, as long as it's not bumper to bumper traffic the whole way. As stated in the OP, it takes me an hour, sometimes longer to drive 12 miles to work. (I would love to ride a bike to work but way too many bikers get killed on the road i take. Alot of people love to drive in the shoulder lane on LI)

We don't care for chain restaurants or shopping centers on every corner. Give us a Walmart and a local, mom and pop diner and we will be happy.

We just want ideas of areas to visit. It's a big state to just go without a destination.

You would be hard put to find what you want within an hour's drive of downtown Denver, especially considering your price range.