Young Family Seeking to relocate to colorado from CT (Denver: rent, crime)

[dmazzacane7]

Like the title says, we are interested in moving from CT to Colorado. We would prefer to live somewhere that has some type of night life but is close to the mountains. We are an outdoorsy couple which is the main reason we think Colorado would be perfect. We also enjoy marijuana occasionally so that is one of the factors as well. We would prefer to keep rent under $1400 with utilities if at all possible. We have a 2 year old boy as well so an area with not much crime is essential.

I guess our question here would be, what area's close to a decent sized city can you find 2 bedroom living for around $1400 with utilities? Much cheaper if possible. Also, how much money would you recommend saving before moving? We were thinking between 7-15k. I am a firearm enthusiast and the ar15 ban in Denver is a huge turnoff! The ban says no ar15's in the Denver area, so what is considered the Denver area? Just the city of Denver or the surrounding towns as well?

Thank you all for the help!

EDIT: Colorado seems much cheaper than connecticut. Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

[brown_dog_us]

The best advice I can give you is to have your job lined up before you get here.

[NW Crow]

You and your AR15 would probably like Colorado Springs.

[Colorado Rambler]

^^^

And Colorado Springs would love OP's AR15. This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

[NW Crow]

According to this https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.h...&f=20&t=241381
the ban applies to city and county of Denver. Outside Denver county, state law probably applies.

[SkyDog77]

Agree that Colorado Springs is probably a good fit.

[spirit9987]

Your family sounds just like mine! We are a younger couple with a toddler in the same boat. We are looking into moving to the Colorado Springs area from South Florida. The area seems more affordable compared to others and the weather seems milder. We have read a lot of mixed reviews about this city and are curious where you all end up!

[rumline]

You don't have to move to Colorado Springs to avoid Denver's AR15 ban. Almost all of the suburban counties around Denver are firearms-friendly, including the NFA fun stuff. I would probably stay out of Boulder County as well, though.

[Apple Tree]

The nice thing about Colorado Springs is that you are closer to the nature as well. In Springs, it is just on the edge of town. In Denver, it is often a 2 hour drive up the highway with 2,000 of your closest friends.

[rogers719]

Colorado springs probably has the best mix of what you are looking for in Colorado. Not a huge nightlife, but if needed Denver is a short trip away. You should be able to find something well within your price range as well. Its close to the mountains but still a moderately large city.

Prices on the 25 corridor generally go up as you go north. Pueblo being the cheapest and Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins being much more expensive. The Springs seems to me to be more in the middle in terms of pricing. Exceptions can be found on either end of the range however.

Mj options are also extremely limited in the Springs, as El Paso County and the City of Colorado Springs do not allow recreational marijuana. Manitou Springs does, but they only have two stores. Still You are not far from Denver if you want more options, and like anything buying in bulk is cheaper anyway so you can limit trips. If you have a medical card then you can find mmj shops in or near almost any of the large cities. The Springs has a ton of med shops.

As far as savings, as much as you can. Generally you want to have a full six months of living expenses after paying moving cost. Include in this everything you would need such as food, rent, fuel, and so on then add about 25% for cushion. Twelve months of expenses would be even better. My wife and myself relocated from TN last year. Everything ran about 8k for moving expenses, getting services connected, and buying odds and ends that we couldn't bring with us. We also payed cash for a cheaper mobile home in order to lower our monthly expenses and give us more of a cushion after we moved. I might add that at least one of us also had a job before moving. Just make sure to give yourself plenty of "wiggle room". Colorado is an awesome place and has many great options for where to move, but there isn't any city that is fun when you are completely broke.