Oklahoma to Denver (Colorado Springs, Aurora, Brighton: apartment, rental market, new house)

[Liquidlife]

Hi. I am heavily considering relocating from OK to CO. I am a licensed plumber in the state of Oklahoma, but due to the oil-bust that started mid summer of last year I am desperately looking for a way out of this state.

I have with out a doubt noticed the slow down here in the OKC metro area. It's affects have become worse as the months pass, and I do believe that by the first of 2016 that everyone is going to realize that this oil-bust is as bad as the oil-bust of the 80's.

I have no other skills other than plumbing, new construction residential to be exact. I am married, but my wife's career would not easily transition to another job unless that job has an immediate opening for what she has been trained for.

I would like housing to be on the cheap side if at all possible due to my license only being valid in the state of Oklahoma so basically I would need to start my career all over again, and put in the time until I am able to take the state exam, which means being an apprentice making apprentice wages.

I was thinking possibly moving 30-60 minutes away from Denver, and commuting back and forth to work. We both drive Subaru cars, each has a set of summer, and winter tires. When times were good we would travel all over Colorado for skiing/snowboarding, but we obviously missed this last season due to the local economy in our area. We both like the state. I am a California transplant, she has lived here her entire life. I miss the mountains, and the recreational venue's that other states provide, but she is oblivious to anything outside of Oklahoma. I personally feel that this might be something both of us need in our lives.

I am mainly seeking advice on everything that I might encounter if we moved. Would I be laid-off in the winters? How often would we be completely snowed in, etc. I am under the impression that Denver is a tech area, so I am unsure how that would affect my job. I have read that Denver has a pretty high unemployment rate, and that the cost of living is a lot higher than Ok. Have any of you made the move from OK to CO?

All advice/information would be much appreciated. My goal is to try and suffer through the summer/fall here in OK, and maybe make the move late fall.

If you have made it this far I thank you. Have a wonderful day!

[davebarnes]

What is your housing budget?
What size place do you need?
Kids? School issues?

[Liquidlife]

Housing budget would probably be 500-900.

House size does not matter, its just my wife and myself. We currently live in a 3 bed 2 bath. Master bed is our room, 1 spare room is basically storage for guests, and the other spare room is my computer room / office.

We do not have children, but are wanting a family. I am too petrified to even consider bringing a child into this world at this point in my life.

My take home pay would literally be cut in half once we moved, but due to work hours for myself being inconsistent for the last year I am used to bringing home a lot less than I normally would in good economic times. Basically when we move I see myself making any where from 12-18 dollars an hour as an apprentice.

P.S - I am heavily opposed to moving to a ghetto area. I would rather move further away from the metro. I cannot handle the ghetto atmosphere I.E - chevy caprice's with 26" rims, with stereo systems booming all over, people hanging out on the corner all hours of the day and night, crime, people being loud, etc... Our current area has none of that, and all of our neighbors seem to be good, and honest people. Our city is a very, very nice place to live in.

[2bindenver]

Please read 15 threads in the Denver forum and maybe 10 from Colorado Springs.

[history nerd]

Originally Posted by Liquidlife

Housing budget would probably be 500-900.

House size does not matter, its just my wife and myself. We currently live in a 3 bed 2 bath. Master bed is our room, 1 spare room is basically storage for guests, and the other spare room is my computer room / office.

We do not have children, but are wanting a family. I am too petrified to even consider bringing a child into this world at this point in my life.

My take home pay would literally be cut in half once we moved, but due to work hours for myself being inconsistent for the last year I am used to bringing home a lot less than I normally would in good economic times. Basically when we move I see myself making any where from 12-18 dollars an hour as an apprentice.

P.S - I am heavily opposed to moving to a ghetto area. I would rather move further away from the metro. I cannot handle the ghetto atmosphere I.E - chevy caprice's with 26" rims, with stereo systems booming all over, people hanging out on the corner all hours of the day and night, crime, people being loud, etc... Our current area has none of that, and all of our neighbors seem to be good, and honest people. Our city is a very, very nice place to live in.

When you say 500-600 I sincerely hope that you mean you are looking to buy a house in the $500,000 to 600,000 range but if you are expecting $12 to $18 I'm afraid you might mean $500 to $600 a month rent. If that is what you are looking for you wont find anything in the Denver metro, certainly not if you are looking for something of similar size and especially if you don't like the ghetto.

[Liquidlife]

I've read several, but they're not similar to my situation.

[Liquidlife]

500-1000 a month for rent. I do not want to live in the metro area. I am thinking about moving roughly 45 minutes from Denver, and commuting to work.

I would like to work in Denver, not necessarily live in Denver.

Look man I make any where from 60-90k a year in Oklahoma when things are going good. I know its not a lot of money, but for my area I am well above the norm. I would think that after a year in Colorado that my employer would sign off for me to get my license because I am the best plumber the world has ever seen lol. I am very good at what I do. I would also expect that I could potentially make more working in the Denver area due to the fact that Denver is such an expensive place to live.

Its Denver, not Malibu CA. I am sure there are people in my similar situation in Denver, or the areas surrounding Denver. I have a hard time believing that everyone in Denver is making a 6 figure salary.

[history nerd]

I hear you, don't get me wrong... But here is the thing Denver is going through a period of massive expansion and the rental market is massively inflated. Being not super wealthy myself and having moved here from South Dakota (With a similarly low COL) I ran into a similar situation and had to stay with family for a year before my wife and I could get on our feet. There simply isn't much in the way of cheap housing. And to clarify we do not live in Denver but rather Aurora about 1/2 hour from the city center. You might be able to find an apartment for 1,000 but there is very little around for less than that.

But here is the good news: Denver is going through a period of massive expansion and that means LOTS of new built residences that are going to need plumbing so I imagine that you should have a much easier time finding work than the the average joe with no skills.

[Liquidlife]

Thats exactly what I thought. Thanks for that. I have done a little research and it seemed that 1k a month for terrible little apartment was going to be the norm for that area.

I could probably make a decent wage after getting my state license, but the struggle would be horrible until I got to that point.

The suburb that I live in has the highest COL in the OKC metro area, but then again I used to bring home more than the average person.

I guess I need to explore other locations in CO, or just suck it up and move back to CA..

Appreciate all of your help.

[davidv]

Try the northeast side of the metro area outside of E-470. Look at Brighton and towns to the north.

The upside is that many new houses are being built up north and if your wife is in oil and gas, that is where many of the oil fields are.

The downside is your budget. You won't get as nice of a neighborhood as you think in your price range.