College grads need info on Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs: apartment, rent, insurance) - (CO) - City-Data Forum

bamatide0231 · 10-05-2008, 12:57 PM

My girlfriend and i are looking to relocate to Colorado sometime in the next year and a half. We both grew up in New Jersey, moved to Alabama for college, and are now looking to settle down somewhere in between those two extremes. New Jersey was too populated and WAY too expensive. Alabama, although it has its nice areas for insanely cheap price tags, we just can't handle the close-mindedness and well, the lack of (college) educated people here (Don't get me wrong! I've loved it here, people are great, and not everyone is like this. Maybe it's just the Jersey in us who knows...)

ANYWAY... I've done a little research on areas from Colorado Springs up through Fort Collins, but whenever I browse these forums, I always get hesitant. On paper Boulder sounded decent for a couple that recently graduated from college, then I searched these forums and found quite the opposite. I guess we're looking for a medium sized town, not far from shopping, hiking/camping, nice people, newer housing market... So basically, I am looking for any information about Parker, Broomfield, Louisville, Aurora, Colorado Springs, or any similar areas. I would like to hear anything and everything from crime, to weather, just whatever ya got is much appreciated.

thanks

sterlinggirl · 10-05-2008, 01:08 PM

The stats for all the cities are on the CD home page.

Katarina Witt · 10-05-2008, 02:29 PM

^^^Plus, there is tons of information about all those cities on the forums. Just do a search with the specific city name. You will then know what questions to ask.

PokerMunkee · 10-05-2008, 02:58 PM

I would suggest you take a week and visit Colorado. That's what we did. We found Denver too large for us and liked the smaller feel of Colorado Springs. Then I found a job in Cripple Creek, so we are now in Woodland Park. Life works out for the best

bamatide0231 · 10-05-2008, 04:35 PM

Yea, I've looked through just about every city listed on CD's Colorado page. But reading through all the other threads I guess I was just looking for a more comparative view on different parts of Colorado. I know it's a stretch to compare with NJ and AL, I have no doubts...

For example, I found in New Jersey that: traffic was horrible, taxes/insurance - miserably high, people - not exactly friendly, shopping was abundant..
Alabama is pretty much the exact opposite: traffic is almost non-existant, taxes/insurance are significantly cheaper, and people - although very close minded, they're incredibly friendly.

I guess I just want to see if Colorado is a decent medium between these two states. I know everyone has their preferences and that one person's paradise could turn out to be another's - well, not so paradise.
I've read so many different POV's on so many cities in CO that I'm beginning to have doubts... Some say it's too brown, it's too crowded; I've read that Greeley stinks (and I can't seem to understand this coming from NJ and NYC...) and that there are gang issues in Longmont. But most of all, I have only seen people compare CO to cheaper surrounding states like Utah, Nebraska, etc... or California. I know I should visit and I plan to soon, but I was looking for some CO native feedback as to the pros/cons.... and most importantly can I get ny style pizza because they seem to dislike Italian(s) in the south

sterlinggirl · 10-05-2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

I was looking for some CO native feedback

Here we go again....

SheridanL · 10-05-2008, 06:54 PM

Golden!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charles · 10-05-2008, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bamatide0231

My girlfriend and i are looking to relocate to Colorado sometime in the next year and a half. We both grew up in New Jersey, moved to Alabama for college, and are now looking to settle down somewhere in between those two extremes. New Jersey was too populated and WAY too expensive. Alabama, although it has its nice areas for insanely cheap price tags, we just can't handle the close-mindedness and well, the lack of (college) educated people here (Don't get me wrong! I've loved it here, people are great, and not everyone is like this. Maybe it's just the Jersey in us who knows...)

ANYWAY... I've done a little research on areas from Colorado Springs up through Fort Collins, but whenever I browse these forums, I always get hesitant. On paper Boulder sounded decent for a couple that recently graduated from college, then I searched these forums and found quite the opposite. I guess we're looking for a medium sized town, not far from shopping, hiking/camping, nice people, newer housing market... So basically, I am looking for any information about Parker, Broomfield, Louisville, Aurora, Colorado Springs, or any similar areas. I would like to hear anything and everything from crime, to weather, just whatever ya got is much appreciated.

thanks

A lot may depend on what you will be doing. What line of work are you two in? What are your job prospects?

Do you have an anticipated housing desirement? Do you want to buy a house, rent an apartment, condo, townhome, etc.?

What is your housing budget?

bamatide0231 · 10-06-2008, 08:44 PM

We'll have degrees in advertising and marketing so it's pretty general i suppose.. I don't know much about companies/industries in CO so i can't exactly say..

We would like to look into buying a house, but being from NJ with insanely inflated housing prices it's hard for us to grasp what could be within our reach. We would prefer new(er) construction and don't need anything bigger than 3-4 bedroom... I've taken notice that Colorado Springs may be the more affordable route as far as getting more for the money, possibly?