Madison WI to Denver (rental, violent crime, credit rating)

[sedqq1]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

OP, you keep talking about your wife wanting an "8 to 5 job", but so far you've said that her experience is at a call center but she doesn't want to keep doing that. So, what kind of work would she be looking for? Does she have any other experience? It's kind of hard for us to make any recommendations given that small bit of information.

You also said that she has an associate's degree. In what? Does she want further schooling?

What is your housing budget? You've mentioned not living in a high crime area, but it's hard for us to give you any advice about Denver without knowing how much you feel you would be comfortable paying.

She would like an administrative assistant job or a writing job or an event coordinator. She does not have experience in those areas except maybe the admin assistant one. She had worked in a bank for a while, short while of around 3 months I think. She had been working for around 5 years in a company that helped people quit smoking. She did like that job.

Her associate's degree is general and at this time no further schooling due to budget constraints.

Degrees also don't seem to pay unless it was something critical to the economy and even then, that is a possibly might pay off. Met lots of people with computer science degrees who have gone nowhere.

Rent budget would be about $800 - 1,000, assuming we both make the same in Denver as what we make here in Madison WI. Thank you.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by sedqq1

Rent budget would be about $800 - 1,000

[emm74]

Dave's post is a little rude but he's not wrong. Denver is not going to be the right move for you. Rents are way more than you want to pay especially if you want to live somewhere you can rely on public transportation. And your wife is going to have a tough time finding a job without a degree or experience in the fields you say she would like to try.

Plus while the weather is not as bad as Madison, it's by no means a warm climate here, we do have winter weather - not at the moment, but generally speaking, it's not unusual to have snow any time between October and April, even May.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

Denver is one of the two highest cost, non coastal cities in the country.

Originally Posted by sedqq1

Rent budget would be about $800 - 1,000, assuming we both make the same in Denver as what we make here in Madison WI. Thank you.

[MsBall]

Originally Posted by sedqq1

Rent budget would be about $800 - 1,000, assuming we both make the same in Denver as what we make here in Madison WI. Thank you.

Have you done any research regarding rentals in Denver? I'm not sure what your expectations are in that range but just to give you an idea....I'm paying $1970 for a 2bed/2bath apartment with 1185 sq ft

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by emm74

Dave's post is a little rude

Crap. I was hoping for more than a "little ".

[sedqq1]

Thank you. I can't rule out Denver yet because I could make a good income, potentially. If that happens, rental price would be less a factor. Thus opportunities.

My basic degree is in Economics and I have a MBA. I have more than 5 years of relevant corporate experience. How much can I fetch? Many salary indicators I see on various websites inflate what I do make. I don't make those amounts!

[Coloradomom22]

OP, I would not consider Denver unless you have a job for yourself already lined up. Just the fact that you stated your rental budget would be $800-1000 clearly indicates you know little about the real cost of living here.

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by TCHP

Aside from public transportation, those needs can be met by nearly any small, medium, or large size city in nearly every corner of the country. Why chose Denver over someplace like Chicago, Boston, or someplace else with well developed transit?

To be of any assistance on determining if Denver is a good fit, we would need much more information about what you want out of area than those four simple bullet points. Recreation activities, lifestyle choices, preferred housing types or styles, dependence on public transportation vs personal vehicle, range of weather tolerance, etc.

I wouldn't recommend considering the Chicago area to anyone. Chicagoland is actually LOSING residents (net.) Are you aware of the economic mess that metro and region is in? The State of IL is actually considering bankruptcy, among other things, due to their crushing debt. It's credit rating is just above junk bond status right now.

[Katarina Witt]

^^I find it irritating that so many people jump right in to a request for information and say, "Don't come here. Go somewhere else", and then many times give examples of where these people should go. I too would not recommend Chicago for the above, plus the fact that the OP wants to get away from nasty winter weather. Chicago and Madison have pretty much the same weather. Anyone who's ever lived in the midwest knows that our winters here are way milder than those in the midwest, despite the fact that snow season may (take not of that word) be a bit longer here. You'll not get 60 degree days in Madison or Chicago in January on a regular basis. He works in fiance. Denver is a financial center.