Where to Live? Coming from Louisiana

[Jake1126]

Ended up somewhat near Glendale. Had to increase my budget since I discovered I had a kid on the way so we had to find a 2 bed apartment so $1000 was not possible. Found a nice 2 bed 2 bath for $1300 so it wasn't too bad. I found a part time job my second day here and luckily found a great job that will pay the bills the first application I put in a few weeks ago. I credit it to my valuable experience and personality. Can't say where for security reasons.

[Jake1126]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

CoS is allegedly cheap and scenic, compared to Denver. Lotos of outdoorsy stuff to do. Why doesn't it fit for you?

I have more "liberal" views as much as I hate labels. I also prefer a city with tons of different things going on (art, shows, yoga, marijuana, etc.). Plus I figured (rightly so) that Denver would have more job opportunities than springs.

[TCHP]

Ahhh, another victim of the national media circus that Cos is the conservative capital of the western US. Since we have had several thousand views on this thread and may have others in the future, I'll add this for consideration and I'll point out a few things you may have overlooked.

First, the city and county of Denver may be a more liberal bastion, along with Boulder city and county, but the two are surrounded by moderate to conservative satellite cities and suburbs.

Yes, Cos does have several large evangelical organizations headquartered here. However, they are not home grown and transplanted themselves here like so many individuals, for many of the same reasons so many other people have moved here. They tend to be more isolated to the northern edge of Cos and El Paso County. An added plus to their presence is they provide great entertainment value for their hypocritical and controversial rantings.

Cos has been a vacation city for most of its existence. Its proximity to the mountains of the Front Range put it on par with Boulder for access to mountain activities within minutes of nearly anyplace in the city. We have annual world class event on Pikes Peak in the form of running, biking, and motorsports. Not to mention the wide variety of natural attractions throughout the area; Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods, Cheyenne Mtn State Park etc.

We also, because of proximity to Denver, get plenty of national tours through Cos that also hit Devnver. Theater troupes, they stop here. Concerts, we get em. Heard of the Eagles or Elton John, they've been here. Smaller local underground venues like the Black Sheep or Gold Room often book up and coming national touring musicians and groups as well. Want something a little off the cuff, how about flat track roller derby. We've got a team. One drawback, our AAA Baseball team is leaving and being replaced by a single A team because the Rockies dropped their affiliation and the city refused to build a new stadium.

Local yoga studios abound. Local breweries and distilleries are easy to find. Bristol is one of the larger local micro brews that is getting larger regional and national attention. We have a few different local acting troupes and University of Colorado and Ent Credit Union are completing a large, multi-million dollar performing arts center near the UCCS campus. Colorado College is a smaller liberal arts college that is nationally recognized for excellence as well as being a Division 3 school with a Division 1 hockey program that routinely makes it deep into the NCAA playoffs. The Air Force Academy sports programs are also regularly featured on the national stage with 28 different collegiate sports in both men's and women's divisions.

Employment, by sheer numbers of 2+ million vs 450k, the Denver metro will always have more jobs with a broader range of companies. However, Cos is at a similar low 2% range unemployment rate, so if you have a reasonable skill set, you can find employment. I'd also point out that a number of employers in Cos who review wage data for the region, Front Range, and nationally to determine competitive salary ranges. Not all do this, but quite a few do, so we do have percentage of competitive wages in many fields.

In any case, glad you got grounded, have found your nitch, and are living your dream. Welcome to Colorado!

[wilberry]

that is great news about competitive wages !