Hi, thinking about moving from Belgium (Denver, Littleton: real estate, houses, neighborhood)

[BlakeStreet Media]

Hi Denverites (is that a word?)
I am thinking about relocating from Belgium to Denver and starting a new business there (high-tech, new media, multimedia).
Been in CO several times and fell in love with the area.
One of my best friends relocated from Littleton to Brussels... so I thought I return the favour and relocate from Belgium to the Denver area.

Ok here are some Qs :

- how is the current economic climate, especialy in my sector (new media, multimedia, IP TV, very high tech)
- are there better choices than Denver?
- as you can see in my screen name, I adore Blake Street in downtown Denver. My company is named after this street. Is real estate for commercial purposes (recording studio, tv studio, mastering and media production, creative stuff in short) available there? Not a good choice? Wrong neighbourhood?

- How are the winters in Denver? I have only been there in summer, and loved the fact that it wasn't too hot and humid. My kid has asthma, something to consider too.
And since I heard about 300 sunshine days... great! I won't miss Belgium, where it rains about twice as often than in Seattle or London.
To quote my friend from Denver... we can have four seasons in one day in Belgium, all of them grey and wet

What I found the hardest to get used to when being there was the altitude, I come from a region that is below sea level and flatter than Goldie Hawn's chest (pardon my French)

In a previous life, before I became a music producer and label owner, I was a certified translator and interpreter. So is my wife. We speak and write five languages without obvious accent, so my wife is interested in a teaching position at a university (she has the necessary master qualifications). Is there a market for this?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions, but I have to start somewhere And I'd like to hear alternate opinions to those of my friend.

Final Question: what is the average house price here for, say, 3 bed 2 bath with a nice patch of land?

THanks very much in advance for reading and taking the time to answer some of my questions.

Cheers from a wet, rainy, grey Belgium

Arthur

[MorningGlory]

Originally Posted by BlakeStreet Media

- How are the winters in Denver? I have only been there in summer, and loved the fact that it wasn't too hot and humid. My kid has asthma, something to consider too.

I can only help with some of your questions, here goes: Altitude: Within a few weeks you will feel much better.Your bodies will adapt completely within about 90 days as your red blood cells are replaced. Winters are sometimes very mild and sometimes not so mild. It does get cold, it does snow, but because of the sunshine the snow tends to melt very quickly. Asthma: Some people with asthma and allergies do much better in the dry Colorado climate than in humid places.

Originally Posted by BlakeStreet Media

In a previous life, before I became a music producer and label owner, I was a certified translator and interpreter. So is my wife. We speak and write five languages without obvious accent, so my wife is interested in a teaching position at a university (she has the necessary master qualifications). Is there a market for this?

Sounds interesting! What languages? There are several large colleges in the Denver area. Auraria Campus is downtown, it houses the University of Colorado at Denver, Metropolitan State College, and Denver Community College. I would google them and start researching.

Originally Posted by BlakeStreet Media

Final Question: what is the average house price here for, say, 3 bed 2 bath with a nice patch of land?

I am not sure what you mean by "nice patch of land". Housing prices vary a lot all over the Denver area. Lot sizes vary from tiny to areas that average .25 acres. If you want to drive further you can get a couple acres. What type of neighborhood are you interested in? How far from Blake Street? From what I have heard Europe's housing is much more expensive than ours.