Considering a move to Denver from ATL! Help us! (Aurora: for sale, rent)

[alisonofagun]

Hey everyone!

I've been browsing the Denver forum and have read a lot of great insight, both positive and negative. I'm trying to take both with a grain of salt, AND I know that only visiting can really fill in the blanks for me. But the boss is gone from work today and I'm distracted so I figured you could give me some more input that's a little more personalized.

I'm a 31-year-old newlywed currently residing in Stone Mountain, GA. My husband is 32. We both grew up in Atlanta and are anxious to get the hell out of here. My parents moved to Vancouver, BC two years ago, and my sister just finished the Peace Corps and moved to Portland. Portland would be my dream city, but I really don't think we could afford it and I worry about finding jobs. My husband, Zach, works for ExpressJet (Delta/United Connection) so if we moved to Denver, he could transfer with his job which puts the city far above Portland on our list. I work for a freight forwarder in the import department, so I'd hopefully find some freight-related job. (For the record, we haven't really lived anywhere with a real winter before, but are not intimidated by snow or the thought of staying inside for a couple months.)

Zach is a big-time homebrewer and has won a slew of awards for his beer. We joined a homebrew club here but all the people in it are socially awkward. After 3 years of attending meetings we still haven't made any actual friends--they ONLY want to talk about beer ALL the time. We both love to cook and eat out, and try new recipes and foods frequently. We like going to farmer's markets and food trucks. I am not a huge drinker but I do like to smoke...things...that are legal in Colorado.

We have a super cool midcentury modern house that will be hard to leave. It was only $90k so our mortgage payment is miniscule. We have a pretty big yard for our 3 dogs and a 2-car garage. We'd prefer to buy a house once we move because having the yard is pretty important, as is having extra space to keep all the brewing equipment.

We have a few close friends but not a ton, so it won't be super hard to leave this behind. If we moved to Portland, I would obviously have my sister close by. I also have an aunt and uncle and a few cousins out there too. It would be nice to live near family, but I wouldn't cross Denver off the list just because we don't know anyone. Though, reading some of the threads about how hard it is to make friends there is a little discouraging. I think it's hard to make friends as an adult though, and especially if you don't have kids.

Speaking of--we are child free. We usually stop hanging out with people once they have kids, but we're still young so I don't know if that will change once the kids are out of diapers and everyone is used to the new arrangement. We don't dislike kids, we're just...not interested in being around them for the most part. We are also atheist, which is pretty unheard of in the South. We're not militant about it or anything, we'd just prefer to not be assaulted with God stuff all the time.

Politically we're pretty liberal, but seem VERY EXTREMELY liberal out here.

The things we hate about Atlanta are plentiful but include: the traffic, the heat, the people (Southern hospitality means being nice to your face and not behind your back), the crime, and how spread-out everything is. If a friend doesn't live within a mile or so, we'll probably never see them. Conservative people and religion.

We do like: the scenery--springtime and fall are GORGEOUS here. The winters are mild. Houses are cheap. There is a lot of good food.

What we're looking for in a new city: Friendly people, good food, affordable housing, jobs, free time, a more liberal viewpoint (and less emphasis on religion!), natural beauty, a thriving beer culture and an acceptance of weed culture are also definite pluses.

At this point I'd consider moving almost anywhere, but as I said before Denver gets top billing since Zach could have a job waiting for him. So tell me, internet. Do you think we'd like Denver? Do YOU like Denver? Why or why not?

[SkyDog77]

Good first post.

I think you have a good handle on what you are after. Denver ticks a lot of the boxes, but the affordability of housing is going to be a bit of a shock to the system. Socially, what you are after is in the city, but lots sizes go down and prices go up the more central you get.

Denver is liberal and has a great beer culture. The weed thing is obviously there so well.

How much do you think you could budget for a home?

[alisonofagun]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

Good first post.

I think you have a good handle on what you are after. Denver ticks a lot of the boxes, but the affordability of housing is going to be a bit of a shock to the system. Socially, what you are after is in the city, but lots sizes go down and prices go up the more central you get.

Denver is liberal and has a great beer culture. The weed thing is obviously there so well.

How much do you think you could budget for a home?

I don't know since the scale is so far off! I am totally prepared for housing to take up more of our budget than it does now, obviously. We are thinking probably $200k?! We have a 3 bed/2 bath with a little under 2000 sq. ft. but could make do with smaller since we don't have kids. Right now we have an entire living room/dining room that is basically unused so I know we could downsize a bit. Thanks for your response!

[davebarnes]

Wheat Ridge has many MCMs.
4470 Balsam St, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 is For Sale - Zillow
8040 W 45th Ave, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 is For Sale - Zillow
8020 W 44th Pl, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 is For Sale - Zillow

Krisana Park (Denver)
Krisana Park

Renovated MCMs are going to be $300+K for the most part.
Your best bet is rent for a year and then figure where you want to live and then buy the neglected MCM from the estate.

[Claire S.]

SkyDog77 is correct. Denver has it all except the affordable housing. A nice mid-century modern home in Denver will cost about $500K, with the exception of the Cliff May homes in SW Denver which price around the low $200K area (those homes are tiny).

I think you'd like Denver - it meets a lot of your criteria. For us, we enjoy living in Denver b/c we have fantastic friends, great employment opportunities and live in a neighborhood that is friendly and social (Stapleton).

[mic111]

I think you sound like a good fit. You will miss the weather, green and moisture. Since your already used to an older home you will find plenty here. Lots of them have big yards. If you go for a non-trendy neighborhood (i.e. those not mentioned on this forum) you will get more for your money. Aurora has a long held stigma that is no longer relevant but the stigma keeps the housing prices down so you will get more for your money there. $200K is doable in many areas of the Denver metro area.

In terms of the friend thing, if you don't have a ton of friends there you probably won't have a ton here. I think the friend thing depends more on the people and less on the location. If any of your 3 dogs are on breed ban lists then you will have to pick your city based on that.

Good luck with your decision.

[alisonofagun]

Thanks for the great posts so far, everyone!

Originally Posted by mic111

I think you sound like a good fit. You will miss the weather, green and moisture. Since your already used to an older home you will find plenty here. Lots of them have big yards. If you go for a non-trendy neighborhood (i.e. those not mentioned on this forum) you will get more for your money. Aurora has a long held stigma that is no longer relevant but the stigma keeps the housing prices down so you will get more for your money there. $200K is doable in many areas of the Denver metro area.

In terms of the friend thing, if you don't have a ton of friends there you probably won't have a ton here. I think the friend thing depends more on the people and less on the location. If any of your 3 dogs are on breed ban lists then you will have to pick your city based on that.

Good luck with your decision.

We have a wire-haired dachshund, a Jack Russell, and a chihuahua-pomeranian. I don't know of anywhere those breeds are banned, so I think we'll be okay. ;-)

Regarding friends: ouch! I guess you're right. Even having grown up here I have a hard time making friends due to differences in politics and religion. I guess you can try to overlook those things but it's hard for me to bond with someone who is very religious or very conservative. I am pretty outgoing and can make friends at work or parties or with neighbors, but here it seems like people do not want to be friends.

[SkyDog77]

Certainly more like minded folks in Denver and you will find a lot of "normal" people in to brewing here.

[Mike from back east]

Alison, great first post, +5 to you.

FWIW: I was in transport many years, know it well; my Army agency moved 10-15M tons of combat gear and supplies to the Persian Gulf in 1990-91.

As Skydog said, most of what you want is in Denver. Prices are well higher. Dave gave you a couple quick hits. Look in the Index of Key Threads for our Photo Tour of MCM homes.

The more conservative areas of the Denver Metro area are Douglas County on the far south end, including Highlands Ranch, Parker, and Castle Rock. Jefferson County on the far west side may be moving that way but IMO is still fine for your interests.

Assuming work is at the main airport, DEN, nearby areas that might work are Brighton, Thornton, Henderson, Re-union, etc, along 104th Ave, 120th Ave, etc.

IIRC the MCM homes are towards the main city of Denver, and that will add to the commute, though a light rail line is going in soon and may be a solution.

[eiafjam]

Keep in mind that although legal after the first of the year most employers will still require a drug test for "gainful" employment. Of course this is probably going to change as the wind blows so to speak. This would include any jobs related to "trucking" which you mentioned in your original post. I am surprised that being in ATL you have yet to be drug tested as the laws in the south are not as lax. You will fit well in the Denver area. Winters in Denver are not all that bad and I would compare them to Asheville, NC (without the humidity). The other 3 seasons are absolutely glorious.