Question about Jobs that require no College degree or certificate. (Denver: low income, apartment)

[Anubis3.14]

I live in Upstate NY, and I do have a high school degree , but that's it. I have been working in a manufacturing plant most of my life on a dozen of different machines , from huge hydraulic presses to a hand full of different forklifts and much more. How good or bad is the job opportunity for assembly/manufacturing plants?

My wife has a large amount of experience in the medical assistant/medical secretary field and has a 2 year degree in equine studies and business. Not the greatest mix between us, but we would love to try and move west of denver or any area out side of denver. And, the hardest part of this is, we have 2 horses.

Even with all the high prices here, we are doing above ok. We live in a mid/upscale apartment in a nice suburb neighborhood. If we were to move, we would rent for a short time, then build a home in an area that allows horses but isn't too far out in the sticks. We have a total income at about 60k after taxes.
We saved up a large amount, enough to flat out build/buy a home with land, but of course would only do so after getting jobs for a year or so before feeling secure enough to do that.

Whats your thoughts? Is this an Isane idea? Or do you think it's plausible? Or better?

Thank you for any input.

[flyingcat2k]

Unless "large amount" is greater than 400k, I doubt you can find something west of Denver that will allow this. Horses are tough on property and the alpine areas support fewer animals per acre than back east. Considering you live in a high income state (NY state wages are higher on average than CO) and your household income is only make 60k, you're probably looking at 45-50k in Colorado.

I don't think you will find what you are looking for and do not recommend you relocate.

[mic111]

I don't think we have an assembly/manufacturing industry. I think there are some food manufacturing plants like Celestial Seasons and Hammonds Candies. You would want to locate a job before you relocate.

Brighton is the cheapest area that has horse property. They are located NE of Denver.

You would need to pay for all the horse feed and that is very expensive especially in drought years. Many horses are sold or dumped because people can't afford them in a drought. We don't have enough moisture to support horses on a natural pasture. You may want to call some boarding places and get prices.

Your wife is probably more marketable but I think you would find it really tough to find a job.

I guess I don't really understand why you want to move to the Denver area. Were a 'hot' area right now and everyone wants to move here which drives up the prices. Upstate NY is super pretty and you have jobs there. It also probably has a better cost of living based on your ability to save and live in a nice area with two horses with what would be a fairly low income here. I'd say you were better off staying put or finding an undiscovered area that hasn't taken off yet.

[dude_reino]

At some point a few years ago Vestas was expanding their local plants. I'm not sure where they stand now. Ball and Lockheed are two large companies but I'm not sure if they're local operation is just R&D or full fledged manufacturing.

Otherwise, construction is crazy out here. If you are reliable, have a good work ethic, and half a brain you should be able to retool your skills and get a job in construction.

[Mort_canard]

Have you thought of getting into petrochemicals and mining? There's plenty of that out here, it pays well, and the more desperate we are for fuel, the deeper we'll be digging and the more labor intensive it will be (job security). You can work long shifts, sleeping near the work site, then have a week or so off at a time. There are a few vocational tech fields you can study and learn a trade in a year or less that are very employable. Good luck!