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Ok, Guys and Gals. Come one come all..long time lurker lol
Anyway Me and My wife are moving to Colorado in august of next year. reason being California is just too damn expensive. (Born and raised out here in cali for 30yrs). Basically me and my wife want the ability to grow our own little family, have kids down the line etc.
Sidenote: We went to colorado on our honeymoon and fell in love with the state as a whole, even though it was in February and was pretty cold but captivating.
I have some extended, extended family up in the fort collins but i've only met them once and frankly im trying to reach out to them for some questions (social media aint helping).
A bit of background, I work in I.T. Midlevel range...Not Helpdesk, But also not calling the shots yet either and i have already spoken to a recruiter about potential jobs out there and the price range. which he stated i should be able to clear 55k to 70k with a few more certs. We're also looking to rent, and at my current salary were looking at a absolute max of 1500, without being on the struggle bus.
Now this brings me to my questions.
1. How are the Medical insurance rates out there? (I play hockey and ride motocross)
2. Which area would be the best to look at? I mean so far we've narrowed it down to Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Aurora, Maybe Denver itself (Avoiding boulder, due to race relations, I'm black wife is hispanic).
Open to suggestions from people who know.
3. Any Quirky things to know about the DMV in CO?
4. Should i immediately trade in my 2wd Manual mazda for a truck or AWD, due to the snow?
5. Do you have as many Taxes on Gas/Food/Tag Renewals as california does?
anyway thankyou for taking the time to read this, and potentially providing any additional insight.
3. Auto registration fees are higher than in most states. CA might be one of the higher ones, though.
Make sure you get insurance in place before going to DMV. Long ago, DMV used to run on honor system, i.e., “You will buy insurance for this car, right?” Shocked me when I moved from a state where we had to have proof of insurance FIRST. Those days are gone, for excellent reasons.
4. No. The Mazda has FWD (unless it is a Miata) and might have adequate traction as is, or with good new tires (much less expensive than buying a new 4x4 or AWD). What to drive depends where you end up living and working. I drove 2WD trucks and car (all of them RWD) for the first 11 yrs I lived in the Front Range, only buying 4WD when we moved to an outlying foothills area with steep terrain and winding roads.
You would do well to visit more than the one honeymoon trip. Of COURSE you fell in love with the scenery. You were not commuting in city traffic every day, and you only got a brief snapshot of what winter conditions can be like. Coming from CA, this is something to thoroughly research.
1. Insurance costs vary quite a bit by employer and coverage. The state exchange plans are getting better and cheaper.
2. Any of those areas may work for you but I think budget wise Colorado Springs might be slightly more affordable for rent, but the rent market is tight in general. In Colorado Springs, you might like the Fountain/Security/Widefield area - it is known for being a little more diverse, lots of mixed race families, slightly cheaper housing, nice small town feel. The further north you go in Colorado Springs, generally speaking, the less diverse it is.
4. Lots of people drive two-wheel drive here. You may eventually decide you want AWD depending on your commute and how much you go up to the mountains, etc., but it is not an immediate must-have.
5. I think generally our taxes are a bit lower than CA but I've heard our car tags/registration may run high compared to some areas - not sure about CA in particular.
If you do decide on Colorado Springs, your job opportunities may expand quite a bit if you are able to get security clearances for some of the military-related positions. I am not sure how one goes about that, but others may know.
Ok, Guys and Gals. Come one come all..long time lurker lol
Anyway Me and My wife are moving to Colorado in august of next year. reason being California is just too damn expensive. (Born and raised out here in cali for 30yrs). Basically me and my wife want the ability to grow our own little family, have kids down the line etc.
Sidenote: We went to colorado on our honeymoon and fell in love with the state as a whole, even though it was in February and was pretty cold but captivating.
I have some extended, extended family up in the fort collins but i've only met them once and frankly im trying to reach out to them for some questions (social media aint helping).
A bit of background, I work in I.T. Midlevel range...Not Helpdesk, But also not calling the shots yet either and i have already spoken to a recruiter about potential jobs out there and the price range. which he stated i should be able to clear 55k to 70k with a few more certs. We're also looking to rent, and at my current salary were looking at a absolute max of 1500, without being on the struggle bus.
Now this brings me to my questions.
1. How are the Medical insurance rates out there? (I play hockey and ride motocross)
2. Which area would be the best to look at? I mean so far we've narrowed it down to Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Aurora, Maybe Denver itself (Avoiding boulder, due to race relations, I'm black wife is hispanic).
Open to suggestions from people who know.
3. Any Quirky things to know about the DMV in CO?
4. Should i immediately trade in my 2wd Manual mazda for a truck or AWD, due to the snow?
5. Do you have as many Taxes on Gas/Food/Tag Renewals as california does?
anyway thankyou for taking the time to read this, and potentially providing any additional insight.
I'm somewhat confused. Why would write off extremely liberal Boulder due to race relations? I can see writing off Boulder due to the extremely high cost of housing there, but the folks in Boulder are a very tolerant crowd (other than being a bit too PC).
Anyhow...
How long has it been since you last visited Colorado? The state has changed quite a bit in recent years. A huge influx of people from other states has led to traffic congestion and high priced housing all along the Front Range.
Do you prefer a city with a more liberal outlook or do you tend to gravitate toward more conservative places? If the latter, than Colorado Springs might be a good fit. If the former, you might like Denver. As others have suggested, make a trip or two out here first, so you can get a better idea of what Colorado is like these days.
Ok, Guys and Gals. Come one come all..long time lurker lol
Anyway Me and My wife are moving to Colorado in august of next year. reason being California is just too damn expensive. (Born and raised out here in cali for 30yrs). Basically me and my wife want the ability to grow our own little family, have kids down the line etc.
Sidenote: We went to colorado on our honeymoon and fell in love with the state as a whole, even though it was in February and was pretty cold but captivating.
I have some extended, extended family up in the fort collins but i've only met them once and frankly im trying to reach out to them for some questions (social media aint helping).
A bit of background, I work in I.T. Midlevel range...Not Helpdesk, But also not calling the shots yet either and i have already spoken to a recruiter about potential jobs out there and the price range. which he stated i should be able to clear 55k to 70k with a few more certs. We're also looking to rent, and at my current salary were looking at a absolute max of 1500, without being on the struggle bus.
Now this brings me to my questions.
1. How are the Medical insurance rates out there? (I play hockey and ride motocross)
2. Which area would be the best to look at? I mean so far we've narrowed it down to Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Aurora, Maybe Denver itself (Avoiding boulder, due to race relations, I'm black wife is hispanic).
Open to suggestions from people who know.
3. Any Quirky things to know about the DMV in CO?
4. Should i immediately trade in my 2wd Manual mazda for a truck or AWD, due to the snow?
5. Do you have as many Taxes on Gas/Food/Tag Renewals as california does?
anyway thankyou for taking the time to read this, and potentially providing any additional insight.
2. I don’t think race will be an issue anywhere you go, including Boulder. Don’t believe what you see in the national media. Check out all the areas you mentioned. We live in Larimer county (Fy Collins/Loveland) and enjoy it.
3. One quirky thing about the DMV here, is when you buy a vehicle, you can’t go to get your plates and tags the same way as you can in California. You have to wait on the dealership to send in paperwork, which can take up to two months. Very archaic system.
5. Colorado is one of the friendliest tax states. Income taxes are flat and when you’re ready to buy a house, property taxes are low compared to most other states. As others have mentioned, yearly tags on newer vehicles is quite high.
I'm somewhat confused. Why would write off extremely liberal Boulder due to race relations? I can see writing off Boulder due to the extremely high cost of housing there, but the folks in Boulder are a very tolerant crowd (other than being a bit too PC).
Boulder has a long history of treating POC poorly. The latest was a police stand off with an african american resident who was picking up trash in his own yard. I love living in Boulder, but it's not a diverse or welcoming city.
Colo Spgs has more mixed race persons by percentage than any city in CO. The military here was brought a large number of international expats with particularly high percentages from Germany and Korea, and smaller numbers form Canada and the Middle East.
I'm somewhat confused. Why would write off extremely liberal Boulder due to race relations? I can see writing off Boulder due to the extremely high cost of housing there, but the folks in Boulder are a very tolerant crowd (other than being a bit too PC).
Anyhow...
How long has it been since you last visited Colorado? The state has changed quite a bit in recent years. A huge influx of people from other states has led to traffic congestion and high priced housing all along the Front Range.
Do you prefer a city with a more liberal outlook or do you tend to gravitate toward more conservative places? If the latter, than Colorado Springs might be a good fit. If the former, you might like Denver. As others have suggested, make a trip or two out here first, so you can get a better idea of what Colorado is like these days.
Best of luck!
Yeah the last time, we were there was in February 18th - 25th of this year, when it was snowing and cold. We also hit a ton of traffic north of denver on the I70 crossing the 25. Which looked like the industrial part of town.
Anyhoot, as the other poster mentioned about boulder the man being harassed in his front yard made me a little wary of that particular city. But you're right sometimes the media does spin stuff... But anyway. We as in me and my wife are definitely more libertarian/conservative mindset than liberal thats forsure. One thing we do want to escape is California laws and taxes, (thats another discussions though).
Thankyou everyone who has chimed in so far. Please feel free to advise me on other aspects that you feel someone should know about CO. We plan to visit again sometime in the fall, either late October or early November.
Teeny-tiny bit of friendly nano-advice: Using the article "the" to designate Interstate highways is a sure giveaway that you are or have been, a Californian. People who live in Colorado might say, "I was stuck on I-25 for days, thanks to "The Gap" construction and the wildly popular Renaissance Festival." Or, even more likely, "Thanks to snow, ice, fog, low visibility, and a bunch of folks who have never driven in snow before, our travel on I-70 took four times longer than expected.
Otherwise, truly, all the best on finding your perfect spot in the Mile High State!
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