why do people who make good money.. (Basalt: sale, insurance)

[mczabe]

Overall, Douglas County schools are excellent. Highlands Ranch in Doug Co has some real estate steals these days. The rec centers (4 of them for HR) provide great affordable activities for all members of the family, and there seems to be a free concert/street fair/festival every other weekend.

[amanda87]

Originally Posted by mczabe

Overall, Douglas County schools are excellent. Highlands Ranch in Doug Co has some real estate steals these days. The rec centers (4 of them for HR) provide great affordable activities for all members of the family, and there seems to be a free concert/street fair/festival every other weekend.

Cool! Ive gotten the idea that SE Denver is more so what I'm looking for but Id still like to know more about the different areas of Arvada, and Broomfield which originally appealed to me (looks like apartments are affordable but maybe not real easte )

[WiW]

On any discussion board, you need to pick the people who have the same circumstances, personality, sense of humor - whatever it is - as you and then follow what they say. The affluent person looks at your post and can't understand it any more than you can understand theirs. In real life, we tend to move in much narrower circles than we do online.

In my reading, the 'affluent' posts have been in the minority, by far. The 'regular' posters all have a very broad & earnest view of life in Denver.

Read them all, see if your circumstances match and then decide whether it applies to you or not - and move on. Don't waste your energy on being upset about this. All the best.

[vegaspilgrim]

This isn't NYC, LA, or SF. If you can make it anywhere, you can make it in Denver. You won't be able to afford the buy the same $/sq ft home as you would in a dirt cheap state like Texas, but I can guarantee you once you have an income stream you'll be able to find some form of housing in the Denver metro area that is both liveable and affordable to you, regardless of where you fall on the income spectrum. However, it does take significant cash reserves to be able to move and support yourself until you get on your feet. Finding a job that pays a liveable wage once you've just moved to a brand new city with no connections and are currently unemployed could likely take 3-6 months-- could be instant if you are extremely lucky-- or could be 6mo-1year or longer if you are not so lucky. What is truly scary is reading stories of people wanting to move here, no family to take them in, no prospects, and they only have a $1,000 (or less) to their name.

[amanda87]

That would be scary!! I would never move without a good savings and I would never stay loonger than a month or two with no job prospects. Luckily, I do have family in Grand Junction and of course Texas also which is a 13 hour drive, so if I didn't find anything I would just drive back home lol. Can't be too crazy and spontaneous when you have kiddos.

[livecontent]

It is not what you earn that makes you able to afford a lifestyle. It is the level of your lifestyle that meets your needs, wants and desires that determines affordability.

A person who makes 20,000 a yr and is able to save 2000 a yr. and his needs, wants and desires are fulfilled is living an affordable livestyle.

A person who makes 100,000 a yr. and is not able to save any money and his needs, wants and desires are not fufilled unless he goes into more debt, is not living an affordable lifestyle.

There is another way to view your life. You got to look at yourself as a business. If you have money left over from paying the expenses of living then you are a profitable business. If you have no money left after expenses then you are not a profitable business, no matter what the revenues (salaries) that you obtain. If you save money and invest those funds in retain earnings then you become more valuable as a business. If you do not save money and increase your debt then you, as a business, decreases in value.

I compete with nobody and my needs, wants and desires are simple and are fulfilled. I have no debt and I save money. So, I, as a business, am profitable and I meet my personal (business) goals.

So, worry not about what others need to live. Make your own level of comfortability. There are many, many people in the Denver area that live on less than 20,000 a yr. and less and are able to survive. Of course not all are happy and fulfilled but some of these people are surviving happiliy and acheive all their needs, wants and desires.

Livecontent

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by amanda87

try and discourage the idea that an "less than average" income can buy a life (at all) in Colorado..

I sit back and read so many threads from people who are looking to relocate and get such a snobby response from locals who find it appalling that anyone could even think they could live in Denver/Boulder on a salary of less than say.. 300k per year lol.

I didnt realize you had to be a heart surgeon, rocket scientist, or President of a company to make a decent living these days in Colorado.

Here in Texas you can make a decent living on 40k-60k, a good living on 60k-80k and an freakin awesome living on anything over!!

I know the cost of living is higher but it cant be out of reach and I love reading posts from locals who are just as confused as I am by this fact.

I am unsure who you are referring to but I would assume, like me, that most on citydata are replying based on compared cost of living (COL) and are hoping to give you an accurate assessment of COL in the Denver/Boulder area. For me, exemplary schools -- elem through high school -- matched with a home that meets our needs and supports a family of four with a decent family neighborhood, very safe surroundings and shopping nearby is hard to come by for less than 250K. This is based on the quality of life I just described.

I am unsure why you are confused. Front Range Colorado is, Front Range Colorado and it's COL is it's own. Just as the COL in Dallas is vastly different, from San Antonio, which is different than Austin, Houston or Corpus Christie.

"Here in Texas you can make a decent living on 40k-60k, a good living on 60k-80k and an freakin awesome living on anything over!!"

Mostly agree, (although it depends on what city you live in)... which makes Texas COL lower than Colorado COL. Which is why we moved to Austin two months ago as it offers us a housing market and a quality of life that better supports our family's goals and priorities. Again, this demonstrates how areas ARE different, especially COL.

Citydata is not a place that sugarcoats COL. Still, the area "experts" on here helping those considering a move to a new area tend to answer factually and provide insight into what an area offers based on the requirements posters provide. The rest of it is subjective. The term "less than average" means different things to different people.

[DenverLawGal]

Well, thanks.

$60K I think would make for comfortable living for a single person. I had a hard time thinking of $60K on a family of four - and the person wanted a big house, etc.

I echo what a lot of people have said here. With the housing market, the mass amounts of people moving here and the economy, it's just not as easy to land a job as it used to be here. So it's not that I think you need a large sum to live here, I think you need a sizable sum to move here.

Originally Posted by amanda87

@DenverLawGal - ha! actually yes, I do remember seeing your post but I was not refering to you directly You were open minded and did try and retract what you said as you had no first hand knowledge of raising a family on that paticular budget.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by amanda87

try and discourage the idea that an "less than average" income can buy a life (at all) in Colorado..

People get used to the income they've been making and can't imagine (or don't want to think about) what they would do if they found themselves making much less.

I sit back and read so many threads from people who are looking to relocate and get such a snobby response from locals who find it appalling that anyone could even think they could live in Denver/Boulder on a salary of less than say.. 300k per year lol.

People like to brag about how much money they make and the kind of lifestyle they live.

I didnt realize you had to be a heart surgeon, rocket scientist, or President of a company to make a decent living these days in Colorado.

You don't unless you want to buy property in one of the resort towns in the mountains.

Here in Texas you can make a decent living on 40k-60k, a good living on 60k-80k and an freakin awesome living on anything over!!

In Denver a $70k salary is a good, decent salary.
In Pueblo that salary is a great salary.
In Boulder it's okay but not that good and you'll have trouble buying property.
In Grand Junction it's okay but not that good (the cost of living is inflated due to the oil business.)
In Aspen and many of the well known mountain towns $70k is like minimum wage compared to the everybody who lives and owns property there.

[amanda87]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

People get used to the income they've been making and can't imagine (or don't want to think about) what they would do if they found themselves making much less.



People like to brag about how much money they make and the kind of lifestyle they live.



You don't unless you want to buy property in one of the resort towns in the mountains.



In Denver a $70k salary is a good, decent salary.
In Pueblo that salary is a great salary.
In Boulder it's okay but not that good and you'll have trouble buying property.
In Grand Junction it's okay but not that good (the cost of living is inflated due to the oil business.)
In Aspen and many of the well known mountain towns $70k is like minimum wage compared to the everybody who lives and owns property there.

@80skeys - loved your post! I feel you hit the first three statements hit right on the mark and the last part was very informative!

@Livecontent - again you are very right and I love your take on things!

@DenverLawGal - Yes, $60k on a family of 4 would be tight. We're closer to $80 which we make work for us here. You are right though, it's all about what you can make do on your budget - for any of us.

Typically, the more you make - the more you spend, which brings you back around to 80skeys first statement - "People get used to the income they've been making and can't imagine (or don't want to think about) what they would do if they found themselves making much less."