Relocating from NY/Jersey to Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs: obgyn, rent, homes)

[Tuty0420]

Hi, I am a 26 yr old mother of two ( a one year old and a 7 yr old) my boyfriend and I have been thinking of moving to Colorado Springs/Fort Collins area within the next 6 months or so and I would like to know more about it. We have been researching online and looking on Craigslist for job offers and homes. We are looking to spend from $1000-$1250 on rent. We are used to living in New Jersey so we are just looking for some peace. Even tho we would still like to live in a city area and be around people our age we dont want to be around to much rustle and bustle... <---if thats a word . We are looking for an area where its more family based but not to conservative or extremely military based since my boyfriend is tattooed up and we occassionally smoke pot . I work as a scheduler coordinator in a obgyn office and would like to continue to work in Medical/Health. I am a licensed Medical Biller and went to school for Psychology. I have read didnt forums and people say the job opportunities are not good. is that true? What places are our best best? We want to live in a place where we can walk around and take public transportation even tho we have a vehicle. We are Hispanics (puerto rican/dominican) we heard its a bit racist in some places . we are trying to avoid those places. If anyone can help us get a lil more knowledge of Colorado we would appreciate it!

[Mike from back east]

Tons of soldiers in COLO SPGS are heavily tattooed, no need to avoid this city because of that. Lots of them are Hispanic too.

The further south in COLO one goes, the more Hispanic it gets, with Pueblo being a good example of a city that is majority Hispanic or close to it.

Colo Spgs will prove to have a lower cost of living than Fort Collins.

Both are good places for families.

Not a lot of racism in this state, it's always had a Hispanic flavor to it, the further south the more of it you get. The area from Pueblo and further south was part of Mexico until about 1848 and there are lots of Hispanic families that've been here for generations.

Your rent budget will do fine in COLO SPGS, but I haven't checked Fort Collins, aka The Fort.

Very little pubic transit in COLO SPGS, the Denver metro area has excellent transit. IMO you should not rule out the Denver area.

Best advice is to move to wherever you can get a job, then start improving your lot in life once you are here.

[Tuty0420]

I have heard that Colorado Springs is very conservative? Is that true? I was leaning more twds COLO SPGS since im tired of being around a lot of ppl but i need to be around transit since we only have one vehicle. And i would like to get a job before moving out there.

[TigerLily24]

I second the recommendation to also look at Denver. Lots of near suburbs where you can avoid people as much or as little as you'd like.
The public transportation system is indeed excellent here. And I say that as a NYC native.

Also, lots of medical facilities here including National Jewish, Children's Hospital, Medical Center of Aurora... so it may be easier for you to find work in the greater Denver area.

Have you visited the area yet? If not, you really must. The climate, etc. are very different from NY/Jersey and things are considerably more laid back. And, it's land-locked. Just some things to consider.

Good luck!

[CosmicWizard]

Tuty0420 wrote: I have been thinking of moving to Colorado Springs/Fort Collins area

According to google maps, there is a distance of 132 miles between the cities of Ft Collins and Colorado Springs. Noting this degree of separation, I feel safe in saying that there is no such animal as a Colorado Springs/Fort Collins area

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Tuty0420 wrote: I have been thinking of moving to Colorado Springs/Fort Collins area

According to google maps, there is a distance of 132 miles between the cities of Ft Collins and Colorado Springs. Noting this degree of separation, I feel safe in saying that there is no such animal as a Colorado Springs/Fort Collins area

Yeah! Actually, when we came here that was our goal, and we ended up in the metro Denver area due to there being more jobs. We've been here 33 years; I guess that means we like it!

[TigerLily24]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Tuty0420 wrote: I have been thinking of moving to Colorado Springs/Fort Collins area

According to google maps, there is a distance of 132 miles between the cities of Ft Collins and Colorado Springs. Noting this degree of separation, I feel safe in saying that there is no such animal as a Colorado Springs/Fort Collins area

Perhaps "corridor" is a more apt description?

Don't be too hard on us easterners. It can be really hard to fathom until you do it regularly that it is possible to travel hundreds of miles in the time it takes to travel from Manhattan to Jersey during rush hour. And that big cities really are that far apart out here.

[davidv]

It is important to note that the Hispanic population is much different here.

- the most established group is made up of people whose families settled in New Mexico and have lived in the region for centuries. They do not like to be grouped in with recent immigrants from Mexico.

- Mexican immigrants make up the other large group. This group is a mixture of legal and illegal immigrants and they are the focus of many anti-immigrant sentiments.

- Central American immigrants (Hondurans, Salvadorans, Costa Ricans) are a much smaller group and they don't like to be lumped in with the Mexicans.

There is a very small population of Hispanics from the Caribbean (Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans). Traditionally, these groups have very little in common with other Hispanic groups. I don't think Puerto Ricans have to worry about discrimination from the white people, as they will have to worry about discrimination from the other Hispanic groups. I know that even in the east, the Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have little in common with the Mexicans.