Wanting to relocate to Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs: rent, good schools, college)

[trennerc4]

Okay so I'm not sure how to start this really. I currently live in a small town in Tennessee. Born and raised in the same town and here I am 26 years later ready to relocate. My heart has been set on Colorado for about 10 years now. I have finally convinced myself to take the plunge and make a move happen. I'm recently divorced...okay well not recently, it has been 2 years, and Im ready for a big change and start living the life I imagined for myself before marriage. I would like to be in a small town close to denver. Somewhere safe and decent schools (I have a 5 year old). We love being outdoors (hiking kayaking, etc) I have a friend in the Breckenridge area and it looks amazing and my friend loves it there but ive also heard that it's somewhat of a party area. As much as I want a social life I need a place suitable to raise a kid. But I dont want to be too far from everything considering I am still single and would like to get out every now and then. Any locals have any suggestions for me?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

You didn't mention work. Will you be looking for a job? There are lots of places in the Denver metro area that are safe and have good schools, but I would think that you'd want to find where you will be working before deciding where to live.

There have been other threads here about the whole issue of "small towns close to Denver".

[StealthRabbit]

budget?
Skill set? (employment?)
Transportation?
Climate desires?
What are your reasons for choosing Colorado?

the above will dictate suggestions for best location for you. (such as if you want mountains... <50% of Colorado does not have mountains)

Breckenridge is a pretty high rent district with limited employment/ low wages (due to every ski bum / college kid willing to work for nothing just to live there)

Many great choices for you in Colorado and elsewhere.

Most conventional destinations would be Colorado Springs to Ft Collins (I prefer either of those to places in between them (Denver / crowds)).

be advised than NONE of the above are "in-the-mtns". Colorado Springs has best quick access to Mountains and a very wide economy and diversity in housing / schooling choices. It is a great community to 'start-over'. Woodland Park is the nearest community in the Mountains.

Denver is HUGE and spread out suburbia on the prairie (dry and brown). There are some nice parks and areas, but no where near as green and nice as TN. What part of TN are you from? It is quite diverse in it's 3+ sections too.

Why Colorado? there are many other similar places that might be better (less expensive and more healthy / better schools).

If it MUST be Colorado, let us know what are your other MUSTS? <1% of the people moving to Colorado will be able to move to Breckenridge, but hopefully you can!

[NW Crow]

Take a look at Golden, Georgetown, Lyons, Evergreen / Conifer. Figure out if you are willing to commute or not and for how long. Don't blindly assume full highway speeds for commuting or recreational travel. Could be 50-200% more time than what you hope for in some places / situations.

Decide if you want a small town of 10-20,000, 1-2,000 or something in between. For you and your youngster who may want options later. Answer these questions and you have relatively few options left, if you want to be near / in the mountains. If you'd consider the Colorado Springs area, look at Monument, Manitou Springs and Woodland Park.

Obviously don't know yet what you pay / are able to pay in rent but knowing that will help you decide or others helping you where to look and not look. Are you after a 2 bedroom for $800, $1000, $1200 or what?

Are you sure you can't have the life you want in TN or nearby by changing habits? Would Maryville TN or Banner Elk, Hot Springs or Weaverville NC give you enough different?

Do you think you'll want to spend more or less discretionary time in Denver than the cities you are currently near?

If you are sure or pretty sure you need Colorado, take a 5-10 day trip to scope out the towns and get a live there feel. Not really a vacation, a work on deciding trip. Look at housing, visit schools, check the commute, nearby shopping, possible employers, etc.

[Sunderpig2]

Any serious move to CO should start with the basics: job, budget, income, etc. which details are lacking here. I've found it to be more expensive and difficult to live here than anticipated, even with lots of planning and preparation. And being dedicated and working hard is no guarantee of success either. The head-in-the-clouds / daydreaming mindset is dangerous when not balanced out with cold reality. Unless you have tons of money, you will definitely need to be thinking about work/budget/money. Even the vagrant/bum approach won't work here. This isn't Oregon (nothing against that state though)

[rogers719]

Welcome to the forums. We relocated to Southern Co last year from Knoxville. I find most of the areas north of the springs to be higher priced than I would want to be single with a child unless I had a good paying job lined up.