Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think a question to ask yourself is what life do you want for your son?
...What weather? Amenities? Weekends with the grandparents or cousins? Once a year with the grandparents? Mountains? Beach? What activities do you want to do with him as he grows up? How much time do you have to spend at work now and does work interrupt your home time with calls or emails? Is that work/life balance going to be the same in your new potential location? How much of your life do you have to or will you have to spend in traffic... If you move and change your mind, how difficult will it be to move back?
Good luck as you weigh your options. If you are wanting a better life for your family and don't feel like LA is a good fit, it is nice to be able to try a move while your son is young and hasn't built strong friendships or school ties.
Since I've only ever lives in Los Angeles, I only know the constant sunshine. It's nice and all, don't get me wrong, but do I think it's worth the price of admission? I really can't say as I don't know much else (at least not apart from visiting other places in wintertime). While I love my family as does my wife with her family, we're both ok with just seeing them a few times a year. They're great, but it's not like we all hang out every weekend or anything. It's our friends who we will miss as our kids are growing up together now. That will be very hard for us.
As for locale, we have both grown up in the Foothills of Los Angeles and are mountain folk as opposed to beach people. Even when my wife lived a couple of blocks from the beach right after college, we never went. Once again, it's nice and all, but we'd rather camp and hike.
While I have good job, the commute is no good. I spend two hours a day in the car which was ok when it was just me and my wife (although not ideal of course), but not that we have our little boy, I feel like it's time wasted I could spend with him. Also, my job forces me to work a lot of long hours (60+ hours every week typically), which once again was ok before we had a kid).
I'd like to be a place more oriented towards family and less oriented towards trying to make a buck or get famous. I'm not saying that Denver, or any city, doesn't have these same qualities/issues, but from what I've experienced it has a lot of the things we admire in a locale.
You need to start appreciating what you have. If you move here you will be one of the ones that moves back. You are undervaluing some of the most important things in life, good living, stable jobs, friends and family to chase a rainbow with unicorns riding under it. Stay put and be happy.
As for myself I moved here 20 yrs ago from N. California. I love it. I had no family in N. Cal. I had some good friends and we stayed in touch for about 10 yrs but have drifted apart for the last 10. I moved here because I had a good job offer with alot of opportunity and I wanted to be able to afford a house. Both worked out well. I love the easy access to hiking and the size and amenities of the city.
If I was in an area where I made a good living, had a stable job, good friends and family would I move from it? Not a chance.
You make valid points and this is why I posted. I often wonder if there actually IS something better or if I'm chasing a dream of it because the grass often looks greener on the other side.
That's not to say I wouldn't be able to find a job with growth potential that I would enjoy in Denver, but I obviously don't know as I haven't really looked. Currently my wife and I have a townhouse that we bought when the market was really bad. Price have gone up, which is great if we want to sell, but it's impossible to find a single family residence with 3 bedrooms in a decent living area for what we can afford. The lure of buying an affordable home in a nice area suited for families is very appealing to me (which is why I like the Highlands Ranch area a lot.)
Give it some time. They are in the honeymoon period.
How you can claim to know anything about people you've never met and a situation that I've not given any specifics about is beyond me.
Everyone situation is different, but if I had to make a guess I would say that they are here for the long haul. Found a great job, got his kids in ski lessons, found a better hockey league than was available in Phoenix, really in to craft beer, and loves having older established neighborhoods. They are very social and have already made a ton of new friends (my wife and I included).
I don't think you will find it better, just different. There are studies out there that show the longest lived people are those with a good community of close friends and family.
Our weather isn't nearly as good as S. Cal. You will soon tire of trying to wrangle the airport at holidays with all the other transplants who want to spend time with friends and family.
But I get the whole, never lived anywhere else - want to give it a try, thing also.
If your town home is in an area with your friends and family then you might want to get a job out here, rent out the town home, rent here and give it a try. The bad part is that you will both lose your jobs and they probably won't be there if you want to go home again. If the town home is in an area you don't care about, then selling it works just as well.
The big quality of life changer will be getting a house close to where you work and biking or walking to work. There are good neighborhoods every where here and just about all of it has a great parks and recreation district associated with it. Loads of paths in most areas also. No need to live in a far flung location and commute in.
Denver is getting less affordable on a weekly basis but compared to S. Cali. it is probably still affordable.
Since you sound like you have friends there you will probably have them here as that is a skill that moves with you. Some people post that they don't have any friends where they are then expect to make them here. It doesn't work that way so they are often disappointed.
Things I miss about California:
The GREAT food - the fresh fruits and veggies aren't the same variety and freshness as you get in CA. They have to truck it in over the mountains and it just doesn't survive as well. When it lands on the shores of CA it is much tastier. Ours have to be picked way too soon. The restaurants in CA are way better! Fresher food, better chefs, more variety, more competition so only the best survive. Also cooking at altitude isn't the same so may account for some of the mediocrity.
The people - You get a diversity, experience set and education level that you don't find in the more insular, land locked Denver. It has changed some with all the transplants but still you will be shocked, I tell you absolutely shocked by all the white people.
The news - World view, educated opinions etc are just not present here in the news. Don't even bother subscribing to the paper. Absolutely worthless. You will want to get a coastal paper sent in if you like to read the paper.
For me the above isn't enough to want to move back but you will notice on the importance to happiness scale they are not high on the list. In fact they are more frilly luxuries than necessities.
The things I love about the area:
Nice homes in good neighborhoods for a good price. Aged homes are very desirable because of the location. The people are just that type. For the majority, they aren't swayed by wanting the biggest, newest home. They look for good neighborhoods close in. The end result is that the closer in and older areas are desirable and kept up well. I think Denver people are less materialistic than your average area. I fit in well with that type.
Lots of hiking nearby, lots of walking paths throughout most neighborhoods. The outdoorsy type is very characteristic of the area. I fit in well with this group.
Lots of good neighborhoods near employment centers so one does not need to commute. I am very protective of my recreation time. Time spent in a car detracts minute by minute from this time. Lots of Denverites are this way. I fit in well with this type.
Weather is good enough to get outside most days. I don't care for the extreme sun and heat in the summer so I have to go out early in the a.m. and after 9 p.m. at night. As a result summer is my least favorite season. The brown doesn't bother me. I like having the small number of bugs that result from less moisture. Brown doesn't cut into my outdoor time. Lots of people in Denver feel this way and aren't swayed by the ugliness. I fit in with this type.
People are live and let live. They are not fashion conscious. They are often not trendy (unless you get into some of the trendy areas like Cherry Creek, Highland and LoDo). I fit in well with this type.
I like the weird mixture of conservative and liberal we have around here. The TV newscasters don't look like trash. For the most part alot of the kids/teenagers don't either. I'm more liberal in my views. I fit in well here.
I've lived in NY, OH, IL, PA, NJ and CA. I know I love Denver due to my living experiences. My husband on the other hand only knows Denver. He wants to look at other areas for retirement which I'm open to but I could be happy staying here also.
We left the east coast for COLO SPGS and love it here. Ain't going back - unless I hit the PowerBall Jackpot and can afford a place in Manhattan facing Central Park where I can walk to great deli, go to theater every week, eat seafood at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal and make use of that city's incredible assets.
IMO our society has more than enough diversity, in all of our great cities, to provide the OP what they seek, and as we've heard so many times over the years in these forums, half of succeeding is the friendly smile and extended handshake of the newcomers; everyone's mileage may vary.
We've flown back east a few times for funerals (and crabcakes) but the older generation is gone now and the crabcakes at Ted's Montana Grill have improved greatly these past few years. If our families can't afford or don't want to come visit, que sera sera.
There's a part of me that wants to live a year in a different major city every year: Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, L.A., Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, etc.
__________________
- Please follow our TOS.
- Any Questions about City-Data? See the FAQ list.
- Want some detailed instructions on using the site? See The Guide for plain english explanation.
- Realtors are welcome here but do see our Realtor Advice to avoid infractions.
- Thank you and enjoy City-Data.
eat seafood at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal
Nice! My wife and I ate there last time we were in NY. It was great. They got a little irritated when we broke out some sort of cut-rate coupon, though. (and yes we presented it up front and tipped against the non-discounted amount, but what can you do?)
I too love living in this area, compared to the many places in CA I lived, including SD, SF Bay and LA/OC. I live closer to COS than Denver, but not actually in either one. If you want to live in a city, Denver is a good choice, IMO. It's not for everyone though, so you need to bring a positive attitude, and preferably a job, with you.
There's a part of me that wants to live a year in a different major city every year: Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, L.A., Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, etc.
We are thinking of a variation on this plan. In retirement we may try to rent for 4-6 months in an area we are wanting to experience and either renting out (or not) our current house. Maybe try to get on a home swap list. On our list: Coastal Maine (Portland?), on the water near Seattle - Port Townsend or similar, NW Arkansas, South Dakota, Hawaii, San Diego, Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Portland Oregan.
We left the east coast for COLO SPGS and love it here. Ain't going back - unless I hit the PowerBall Jackpot and can afford a place in Manhattan facing Central Park where I can walk to great deli, go to theater every week, eat seafood at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Terminal and make use of that city's incredible assets.
IMO our society has more than enough diversity, in all of our great cities, to provide the OP what they seek, and as we've heard so many times over the years in these forums, half of succeeding is the friendly smile and extended handshake of the newcomers; everyone's mileage may vary.
We've flown back east a few times for funerals (and crabcakes) but the older generation is gone now and the crabcakes at Ted's Montana Grill have improved greatly these past few years. If our families can't afford or don't want to come visit, que sera sera.
There's a part of me that wants to live a year in a different major city every year: Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, L.A., Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, etc.
One of the reasons I left NYC (early December 2013) was due to the insane COL. We were making over 6 figures with no kids and could just barely survive. My friends were shocked that we were even above water as far as debt, let alone the fact that we managed to save. But we had to sacrifice so much to be able to live within our means.
So, yes NYC is the greatest city in the world, yes it is a cultural epicenter and everything you want is at your fingerprints - that's all well and good except we could not afford anything above the basic necessities. All that while living in Staten Island and commuting 1.5 hours each way to work.
Now, I live downtown and walk to work. I enjoy the constant sunshine and dry climate. I love the down to earth people here and the lack of pretentiousness (?) and just how simple things are to do here. Back home everything was a struggle from grocery shopping to getting a driver's license to calling the cable company. Here people seem to want to work with you rather than against you.
Would I move back? Not even if I won the mega millions. If I did I would probably move to SD instead of NYC but that's just me.
Do I enjoy the move and feel I made the right choice? Absolutely.
I see that a lot of people moved as a result of "a good job offer." How exactly did these come about? Was it a transfer from your current employer or were you actively seeking employment in the Denver area? If so, why Denver versus another city such as Portland, St. Louis, Chicago, Salt Lake, Austin, etc.?
Or were you just hanging around one day and and email came I am and sounded like it was a good idea to move now?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(and yes we presented it up front and tipped against the non-discounted amount, but what can you do?)
