So. Calif. To Denver Area, Some Things You Should Know (foreclosure, house)

[BabyBoomers2]

We lived in a 1-bedroom, 2nd Floor apartment at Centergate for two years. It was ok, but we were sure glad when we moved out and into our house in Parker.
The bedroom was right next to a stairway and there were a number of times when we were woken up in the middle of the night by someone coming up the steps "noisey" (pounding noise and high voices). Our female neighbors right across the hallway from us were cocktail waitresses at some nightclub. The would come home at 3AM, running up the stairs and talking like it was one in the afternoon. There were a few times that I had to go into the hallway and asked them to PLEASE be quieter. They would look at me and say, "oh, we're sorry" and then, two nights later do the same thing again. We ended up having Management put a Notice on their door. The Notice didn't do any good, so Management ended up putting a Notice From Our Lawyer on their door telling them about the noise. They finally ended up moving.
The ceiling over our apartment seemed to very "thin" and we could hear the two young boys stomping around and playing. Actually, their noise got so loud, we couldn't hear our TV and had to tell Management about them. Not to long later, we moved to our house in Parker........THANK GOD!!
Yep, this was at Centergate in Greenwood Village/Centennial.

[MaddieClaire]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

We lived in a 1-bedroom, 2nd Floor apartment at Centergate for two years. It was ok, but we were sure glad when we moved out and into our house in Parker.
The bedroom was right next to a stairway and there were a number of times when we were woken up in the middle of the night by someone coming up the steps "noisey" (pounding noise and high voices). Our female neighbors right across the hallway from us were cocktail waitresses at some nightclub. The would come home at 3AM, running up the stairs and talking like it was one in the afternoon. There were a few times that I had to go into the hallway and asked them to PLEASE be quieter. They would look at me and say, "oh, we're sorry" and then, two nights later do the same thing again. We ended up having Management put a Notice on their door. The Notice didn't do any good, so Management ended up putting a Notice From Our Lawyer on their door telling them about the noise. They finally ended up moving.
The ceiling over our apartment seemed to very "thin" and we could hear the two young boys stomping around and playing. Actually, their noise got so loud, we couldn't hear our TV and had to tell Management about them. Not to long later, we moved to our house in Parker........THANK GOD!!
Yep, this was at Centergate in Greenwood Village/Centennial.

Thank you for the information.
I've heard horror stories from other apartment renters (complaints of barking dogs and loud people) and wonder if finding a quiet complex is possible?
Maybe we should rent a house instead?

[CO Rox]

or a real house? Why rent when interest rates are low and the inventory of new homes is large.

I came looked, saw, got a cool deal & bought a brand new home near Southlands, and I close on the 27th, get a good realtor, you'll be fine.

[MaddieClaire]

Originally Posted by CO Rox

or a real house? Why rent when interest rates are low and the inventory of new homes is large.

I came looked, saw, got a cool deal & bought a brand new home near Southlands, and I close on the 27th, get a good realtor, you'll be fine.

The main reason we want to rent first is because we know nothing about Denver and not completely sure where we'll want to "settle."
Right now being close to DTC is our main priority - we still have to learn to drive in the snow, and being able to walk to work will be extra nice the first year.
(we're southerners, we had our first frost last night).

[High Altitude]

I also moved to CO from Costa Mesa.

My experience is the only thing that is cheaper in CO is housing and gas. You will pay more for everything else. It cost me more to register my cars, companies don't pay as well or offer as good health insurance, groceries cost me more (especially meat) and I definitely pay more in utilities which the weather plays a big part in. Most services cost more too. Plus, there is no prop 13 so your property taxes go right on up with the value of your house unlike CA.

Socal has more people/businesses/competition to keep prices down, a larger/cheaper immigrant labor pool, they are right next to the sea port where imported goods come from etc.......

I did a lot of research and made several trips here before I decided to move so none of this was a surprise to me, but a lot of people are shocked at the high cost of living in CO vs. available jobs/pay. Most people that I know in CO from Socal after a year or two want to go back.

I came to CO for its biggest assest, the outdoors (including winter) and everything it has to offer.

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by High Altitude

My experience is the only thing that is cheaper in CO is housing and gas. You will pay more for everything else. It cost me more to register my cars, companies don't pay as well or offer as good health insurance, groceries cost me more (especially meat) and I definitely pay more in utilities which the weather plays a big part in. Most services cost more too.

I found that housing, gas, utilities, water/sewer, and car insurance are less expensive than while I lived in San Diego.

On utilities, I actually spend about the same amount, but the difference is I am heating and cooling 3 times the square footage. It helps that our current home is far more energy efficient than our old one, but we do also pay less per kwhr and therm than SD.

On car insurance, it was intially higher, but then our insurance company actually came back and adjusted our rates down (without a change to coverage).

On gas, we paid 20 - 25 cents more per gallon in SD.

We didn't need winter gear in SD, so that has been an added cost. Groceries are a bit more expensive.

[MaddieClaire]

Originally Posted by High Altitude

I also moved to CO from Costa Mesa.

My experience is the only thing that is cheaper in CO is housing and gas. You will pay more for everything else. It cost me more to register my cars, companies don't pay as well or offer as good health insurance, groceries cost me more (especially meat) and I definitely pay more in utilities which the weather plays a big part in. Most services cost more too. Plus, there is no prop 13 so your property taxes go right on up with the value of your house unlike CA.

Socal has more people/businesses/competition to keep prices down, a larger/cheaper immigrant labor pool, they are right next to the sea port where imported goods come from etc.......

I did a lot of research and made several trips here before I decided to move so none of this was a surprise to me, but a lot of people are shocked at the high cost of living in CO vs. available jobs/pay. Most people that I know in CO from Socal after a year or two want to go back.

I came to CO for its biggest assest, the outdoors (including winter) and everything it has to offer.

Excellent post. Thanks for all the valuable information...it's really good hearing the particulars on any region, both good and bad.
Things like property tax, groceries, auto tax and insurance, utility bills, pay salaries, etc. are a major factor and need to be considered as well.
Thanks again!
Maddie Claire

[MaddieClaire]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

I found that housing, gas, utilities, water/sewer, and car insurance are less expensive than while I lived in San Diego.

On utilities, I actually spend about the same amount, but the difference is I am heating and cooling 3 times the square footage. It helps that our current home is far more energy efficient than our old one, but we do also pay less per kwhr and therm than SD.

On car insurance, it was intially higher, but then our insurance company actually came back and adjusted our rates down (without a change to coverage).

On gas, we paid 20 - 25 cents more per gallon in SD.

We didn't need winter gear in SD, so that has been an added cost. Groceries are a bit more expensive.

is there a website that shows cost of living comparisons from state to state or city to city?

[2bindenver]

Cost of Living - Cost of Living Calculator from CNNMoneyCalculators > Cost of living comparison ... Using data provided by researchers at ACCRA, Inc., we compare key expenses in dozens of major cities. ...
cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

Cost of Living comparison calculatorUse this calculator to compare the cost of living between US cities.
www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

Cost of Living comparison calculatorUse this calculator to compare the cost of living between US cities.
www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp

Interesting. Comparing San Diego to Denver on the bankrate site, nearly everything listed was less expensive. It even indicated that I could take a 33.08% decrease in pay and still maintain my standard of living. Though, it didn't list things like property taxes, income taxes and car licensing. I know those will vary widely, but they could have listed averages.

From the CNNMoney site:

If you move from San Diego CA to Denver CO...

Groceries will cost: 8.174% less
Housing will cost: 49.975% less
Utilities will cost: 3.447% less
Transportation will cost: 17.378% less
Healthcare will cost: 11.952% less

I don't know about that last one. It seems health care here has been more expensive. Then again, I gave up some good medical and dental benefits to work my own business.