move to Colorado (Denver, Monument, Vona: how much, house, job market)

[bethsg]

After many years to back and forth, with our love for Colorado, my husband and I think we are ready to relocate there...we have vistited several times, have friends that live in Monument, and our son who is graduating from HS wants to go to college there. Skiing, biking and hiking are a big part of our lives and we live in MD...so there aren't as many opportunities in our area for our hobbies. Plus the cost of living in MD is out of control, we have a 2400 finished sq ft house (1800 plus bsmt), with prop taxes over $3000 year, $350 a month for utilities, and $85 month for water. Our daughter starts HS in Sept... so we need a good HS. So the question becomes, how do you make a move like this? Do you look for a job first? How much time will a potential employer give you to start? The job is the critical part of this transition. I am an accountant, just preparing for the CPA exam, and my husband is a project manager for a construction co, with estimating experience, and he is a proficient CADD operator as well. I don't expect us to make the salaries we make in MD... but finding the right job will be critical in the transition. So I need to decide what to do first. Where do I begin?

[Mike from back east]

A job seems paramount. Yes, some youngsters with no responsibilities can show up without a job, but you're a family with at least one child. Unless you have a fat nest egg to rely on, you probably need to nail down at least one job before moving.

From prior postings on this thread, consensus is that you need a local address before most employers will consider you. One way to do that is to have a cell phone or Vonage account that can get you a phone number that appears to be local to CO.

Two biggest CO job markets are Denver metro at 2.5M people and COL SPGS metro at 500K people. Denver is the main city in the Intermountain West, the regional heavyweight with no real competition for hundreds of miles.

Denver economy is widely varied, with a fairly good high tech sector. One part of Denver has been referred to as the Wall Street of the West. Denver is growing, lots of major buildings going up in the downtown.

COL SPGS economy is largely related to national defense with related high tech and support contractors, plus some tourism.

Excellent school districts in both towns, a good school won't be hard to find.

Lots of outdoor stuff in both towns. COL SPGS may have an edge in that we are right up next to the mountains. Good skiing can me had from both cities in about 2 hours, but Denver has a cool Ski Train that can get you there in style, via some of the best scenery on earth, and without fighting I-70 west of Denver, which was closed for almost a day this weekend due to blowing snow, high winds and unsafe condtions.

We live in COL SPGS due to affordability and milder climate. We drive to Denver often for tons of cool stuff, its only a 60-90 minute drive up I-25. Denver is the main arts, culture, and pro sports city. COL SPGS has USAF Academy sports and minor league baseball, both of which are very affordable, with tickets that are easily obtainable.

[Katarina Witt]

I don't think you will have much trouble finding an accounting job here. There are several large firms (only one I can think of off the top of my head is Ernst and Young, but I know there are others), and lots of small ones. I don't know the construction industry.

I agree with the advice to FIND THE JOB FIRST. Yes, it's cheaper than MD, but you still have to have food, clothing and shelter at the minimum. Don't worry about the schools. You can do a search on this site and other sites to get school information. There really aren't a lot of "bad" schools.