Young and ready to move on!

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by blendin

Are you trying to say the economy in Denver is just fine ? and RTD is good ?

I think many people looking for a decent paying job in Denver or spending more then driving a car to use RTD would disagree.

Economies could always be better, but to say the ecomony sucks is just plain ill informed. We have a growing economy that is the envy of many other cities.

RTD isn't perfect, but it also listed on nearly every top 10 list for US public transit systems.

[blendin]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

Economies could always be better, but to say the ecomony sucks is just plain ill informed. We have a growing economy that is the envy of many other cities.

The economy is worse then it has been in decades. That sucks. The media can warp numbers and print propaganda fluff pieces if you get your info there thats what I call "ill informed".

Unemployment U-6 is 16%+ Denver is not much different then the national average it is not an magical island. Denver probably has close to 100,000 unemployed adults.

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

RTD isn't perfect, but it also listed on nearly every top 10 list for US public transit systems.

RTD is one of the most expensive public transit systems if you take into account real usage and the fact that the $2.50 ride ticket expire in 1 hour. On top of the over priced expiring tickets it is a bankrupt tax drain.

The OP is looking for a job, if he limits his self to RTD route his job options are going to be limited. To just go around and tell people who are trying to make real life plains that everything is all peaches and orses is not helpful.

[SkyDog77]

Yep worse than it has been in decades......Except for the end of last decade or the 80's. The economy hardly sucks.

You're right things are awful here. Nobody should move here.

[Timmyy]

I love when people throw statistics out.

From the amount of construction that is going on right now in this city the economy appears to be booming. Just my observation.

[JohnnyDenver]

The economy is good for those who have jobs. However, with the influx of newbies, there are certainly more applicants competing for each job. There are also employers who take advantage of job applicants knowing the increase of people to the area just willing to take any job just to live here.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by blendin

Unemployment U-6 is 16%+ Denver is not much different then the national average

U-6 national is 12.2%
U6 Unemployment Rate | Portal Seven

Originally Posted by blendin

The economy is worse then it has been in decades.

Really?
Have you checked your stock portfolio lately? I have checked mine.
Have you checked out the commodities inflation rate?

[blendin]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

U-6 national is 12.2%
U6 Unemployment Rate | Portal Seven

Nice government unemployment stats have seemed to go down this year. To bad independent unemployment stats are still up over 20%
Alternate Unemployment Charts

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Really?
Have you checked your stock portfolio lately? I have checked mine.
Have you checked out the commodities inflation rate?

Because inflation and commodities are a good gauge of the economy ? A good gauge of how wages buy less. More labor to buy food, fuel and rent, yeah the economy is really rolling along.

[whoisjongalt]

You'd probably be better off doing it on your own. With 2 other people, you have to hope that they'll hold up their end of the bargain too. Just move here and find someone who needs a roommate. You can probably do that for $600 - $800/month. I don't know anything about the welding but IF you can find a job in a busy bar/restaurant, you can make pretty good money until you figure out what you want to do. There are an insane number of twenty-somethings moving here but that's no reason not to do it.

[Rockies4]

Ask your parents for lots of cash before you move out here. It is waaaaay expensive!!!! It is nice here in Denver, but cost of living is ridiculous. Expect to be working most of the time so you can pay rent.

[lurtsman]

Originally Posted by woockie

Hey there,
I'm twenty years old and two friends of mine just invited me to move to Denver, Colorado. Currently we live in Midwest Iowa so snow and erratic weather is no stranger to us. So naturally I have a few questions to ask.
1. How is housing as far as 3 bedroom rentals go?
2. How is the job market? ( I've got three years experience working at an applebees as well as a degree in welding)
3. I'd have to sell my truck so how is the public transportation in Denver and Arura(sp?)
4. Any other things you might think I need to consider would be greatly apreciated!

Even any other questions I should ask would be awesome as this would be my first out of state move.

I'm extremely dedicated to this and making it work. In fact I have not a doubt in my mind that I can make it in this city.
Thank you so much,
Nate

I wish you had stated which part of Iowa you lived in.

1. Denver (assuming you don't try to live in the most expensive districts, because that's stupid) is generally charging about 10 to 15% more for rent than Iowa City. Maybe only 5% if you account for the fact that dramatically more services are included. IE, apartments that have their own car washing stations in Denver, free for residents.

2. On the other hand if you were coming from Des Moines, the bump up is going to be dramatic. There certainly are plenty of them, and if you rent a 3 bedroom with 3 people each having one bedroom, the costs should be reasonable. You can live in a nice area and rent will effectively run you around 400 to 500 per person, so long as nice doesn't mean "Trendy downtown area where I can live without a car". If you want that, you'll need to pay more. (Think around $600/month per person, before utilities)
The job market is vastly better than Iowa City, though I don't know if it beats Des Moines. However, that is from the perspective of an outsider. In IC if you're mommy or daddy know people, you can find a job much easier.

3. The public transit is viable, though not great. But if you're going to move without a vehicle you'll need to plan to buy somewhere with access to the light rail. You'll need to plan to pay a premium for rent. You don't just get to save money on gas and insurance without any cost.

4. It's better to find a job before moving as it doesn't sound like your skill set is going to create an enormous demand from employers. The degree in welding and job experience at Applebee's don't really go together, so you'll be stuck using one or the other to sell yourself to employers. Having moved from Iowa to Colorado, I can safely state that Colorado is like heaven compared to the ****hole that is Iowa. Some people may say that I'm over selling it, but they don't truly know how bad it is to be in Iowa as someone that didn't grow up there.

I have never met someone that lived in both Colorado and Iowa and decided that Iowa was the right place for them -- except for people that said, "I needed to live near family".

The weather here is dramatically better. Summers are much cooler and winters are much warmer.

PS. As a financial analyst: The stock market doesn't reflect the economy, but the economy certainly has improved dramatically compared to four years ago. Stock prices are driven by a combination of corporate profits (which have reached an unsustainable percent of GDP) and discount rates, which are manipulated downwards by the Fed. Ironic, since we have people clamoring to call China a currency manipulator, but in reality they just want tariffs on imports to allow them to jack up prices with captive markets.