Potential Move to Denver after College

[rtloucks]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

^^I don't know why you're trying to discourage this guy from moving here and looking for a job! Presumably if it doesn't work out, he can go back home to Illinois. What's wrong with giving it a try? People find jobs during economic downturns, in bad employment markets, etc. Sometimes it's just a matter of serendipity.

I think you skipped right over my comments about watching the market and local news, do some more research, Inquiring with locals about specifics. And maybe you passed over my positive notes about the area so that you could focus on my negatives. I specifically said I was NOT bashing Denver or the people or the area but only mentioned some things to consider. PLease re-read my original reply. I feel that you skimmed it for the bads to call me out on

[davebarnes]

1. The overall unemployment rate in greater Denver is 2.9% for November 2016. - http://unemployment-rates.careertren...y-Surprise-You

2. "It's the hottest job market in years for the expected 1.9 million students who will graduate." - May 2016 - College grads enjoy the best job market in years

3. "The Class of 2016: The labor market is still far from ideal for young graduates" - The Class of 2016: The labor market is still far from ideal for young graduates | Economic Policy Institute
"For young college graduates, the unemployment rate is currently 5.6 percent (compared with 5.5 percent in 2007), and the underemployment rate is 12.6 percent (compared with 9.6 percent in 2007)."

4. "This Year’s College Grads [2016] Are The Luckiest In A Decade" - This Year’s College Grads Are The Luckiest In A Decade | FiveThirtyEight
Argues that #3 above is too pessimistic.

[brown_dog_us]

OP:

It's tough to make it on the salary for your job, but it can be done. You just need to be frugal.

I agree with David. The Hispanic people around here are fluent in English and their Spanish is rough. It's 3rd generation Hispanics or maybe true natives. You might do better in a place like Atlanta, but then you would have to live in Atlanta.

I say come on out and give it a go. You can always move somewhere else.

[Stankonia]

Good to see another central Illinois person (ISU grad here). I moved out here after graduating a few years ago; really the only thing that is significantly more expensive compared to IL is rent/housing, which is roughly double what rent is in central IL (closer to 3x more for buying). The suburbs are cheaper than the city obviously, but expect rent for a basic apartment to start in the $1000-1100 range (minimum) - likely a bit higher if you aren't moving here until 2018.

Weather is fantastic compared to Illinois. There is no humidity here, so 90+ degree days feel decent compared to what we are used to in IL. Denver gets a lot more snow, but it melts pretty quickly since it's pretty sunny, so you usually don't wind up with weeks of dreary grey skies and dirty brown snow like IL.

Driving is a lot more frustrating than central IL. Traffic is pretty bad due to the population expanding faster than road projects can keep up with, and there is an insane amount of red light running. People are also surprisingly bad at driving in the snow. However Denver has a pretty good public transportation system that stretches to the burbs, so you can avoid driving in the city most of the time if you want to. (If you can handle Chicago or St Louis driving you'll be fine; if you are only used to Springfield/Bloomington/Champaign driving then you're in for some stress)

Also a word of advice since you mentioned your student loans affecting your budgeting - look into signing up for income based repayment when you graduate, which will make your monthly payments far more tolerable. Another benefit of IBR is that there is a public service loan forgiveness program that forgives your federal loans after you work 10 years in government/non-profit, which you'd likely wind up doing if you go into a human services career.

Also if you decide on Denver - since you mentioned you have family in Arvada, I highly recommend using their address on your resume if you can. Employers often shy away from considering out of state applicants sometimes, and if you are interested in state jobs (Colorado Dept of Human Services, state universities etc), they require CO residency when you apply. I believe only state agencies/universities have that requirement though; i know Denver Human Services doesn't, and I don't think the human services departments in surrounding counties do either. Either way, it will help your chances a bit if you have a local address when applying.

[Katarina Witt]

^^I think most health departments require an in-state driver's license if you're going to drive on the job.

[SkyDog77]

OP seems to have vanished in to the Central IL fields.

[maciesmom]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

OP seems to have vanished in to the Central IL fields.

Or the Fort Collins forum...