I feel like Denver metro Colorado isn't a good place to invest in my future (Pueblo: townhome, employment)

[Indigo Cardinal]

I would agree that given what costs are becoming in the Denver area, if you feel moving would be better for your family financially, then do so.

I would agree, however, to maybe check out the Missouri side of Kansas City, as opposed to being in the state of Kansas itself, which is, as advised, having a lot of financial issues at the moment. I am also in agreement that Wichita could be a huge culture shock from Denver, whereas Kansas City might be a 'few steps down'. This is not a slam on Kansas City, BTW--but the metro area is a bit smaller than Denver's, (KC is about 2.1 million to Denver's roughly 3 million) so might be an easier adjustment than going to Wichita (which is maybe about 700,000.) And at the same time, KC will have more options than Wichita would.

Another question to ask is, will you wife be going back to work at any point--say, when the kids are in school full-time? If so, will there be job opportunities for her as well when the time comes?

[patch62383]

Thank you all for the responses. I'm sorry but I disagree with the poster who said you can afford something under 450,000.00 k with better schools than what we're in now. Unfortunately you can't move up into a bigger house in the Denver metro area from Aurora where I live now for almost at what I'd sell my house for thinking around 350,000 unless we go to Brighton, stay in Aurora or go to commerce city and the schools are just as bad in those areas. I have a great trade and I could definitely get a job anywhere within the states. I guess I really like the idea of Wichita just because it would be nice to get away from the crowds, traffic and congestion of a bigger city. I just wanted to speak my mind about this and get your feedback. I do love Colorado but I could easily leave it behind to further my financial situation and retirement opportunities. Plus I think there's a lot of great areas in Kansas that could benefit my kids over what they're getting now which is over crowding in schools and teachers that can't keep up with the demands from the influx of students. I could always come back to Colorado if I needed to but I definitely can't afford to stay and move up without putting myself and my family in a financial bind.

[patch62383]

Originally Posted by WoundedSpirit

We moved from Aurora to Kansas two years ago for many of the same reasons. We couldn't be happier.

What makes you love Kansas just out of curiosity??

[abcdefg567]

Hi Patrick! Denver, "native," here...I don't think you're crazy. It's a far call from what my parents and grandparents and great grandparents loved about it...things changed, it's good we can adapt and move on I suppose.

We've experienced much of the same.

I really was interested in Des Moines, Omaha, Plano, Memphis, Phoenix or, etc. We, "settled," on Colorado Springs...while it is not as cheap as what you're describing, you can still get a decent sized home in a decent area for under $300k.

It's still dry, high altitude, brown, lacking trees, and seems to have some other issues....but I've found our quality of life increase a bit with the traffic and pollution being better. Overall, I meet more family oriented people out and about and less kid hating 30 year old hipster? whatever they're called now types....okay like 100% less.

Good luck with whatever you do!

[Ankhharu]

If you think Denver traffic is bad, don't move to a big city, otherwise you'll see what bad traffic really looks like.

[whoisjongalt]

Earlier post about the Springs is not a bad idea if you don't want the extreme move to Kansas. It's a beautiful area and still way cheaper than anything in the Denver/Boulder/Ft. Collins area. Of course it will start to be overrun with escapees from California eventually but you can still get a nice house for a lot less than in Denver.

[Monacles]

I can't speak to the schools but your economic considerations are worthwhile and it sounds like a lot would tip in your favor to move to Kansas or somewhere else in the mid-east/upper south. You are certainly putting important considerations at the forefront to consider your kids' education and retirement savings.

If you like Denver minus the financials then I agree with the recommendation earlier in the thread to consider the Missouri side of Kansas City (and work on the Kansas side). It has a closer feel to Denver than many of the other big and medium cities I've been to.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by whoisjongalt

Earlier post about the Springs is not a bad idea if you don't want the extreme move to Kansas. It's a beautiful area and still way cheaper than anything in the Denver/Boulder/Ft. Collins area. Of course it will start to be overrun with escapees from California eventually but you can still get a nice house for a lot less than in Denver.

See? Californication is a dog whistle for the Ayn Rand folks.

(It would be awesome if people outgrew Ayn Rand like college kids out grow Karl Marx)

[Count David]

Originally Posted by patch62383

Hello everyone my name is Patrick. I'm a Colorado native and I do love this state. I just want to speak my mind about my feelings of where Denver is going. While I can't say I'm right about everything I can say that I think my opinion is valid and my thoughts aren't totally crazy. I currently live in Aurora and have for 9 years which is OK except the school district is absolutely horrible and traffic has almost doubled or tripled within the last 5 years, Denver traffic is absolutely insane IMHO. I need to move because me my wife and are out growing my little 1400 square foot house. While I have a lot of equity in my house but I feel like I can't comfortably afford to move up and into a better school district and a bigger house. I do make decent money but I don't see the benefits of buying a 450,000+ house with a 150,000,170,000 down payment because I refuse to be house poor and I'd rather put the money into retirement and my wife and I want her to stay home to raise our kiddos. I might **** a lot of people off but I think Colorado is going to become the next California which if you like that cool but I myself I just don't want to be around it. My idea is why stay here??? When I can move somewhere else like Wichita Kansas and buy a mansion for 175,000 and move to the suburbs of Wichita and put my kids in some of the best schools in the country. I union and I do commercial light industrial hvac work and would make about 2 dollars an hour less than I do here but with better retirement and health care. I guess I'm asking this because I want some feedback because I don't want to make a bad decision and move to a place I'd hate although I don't expect you to tell me what you do I just want an opinion and maybe if someone else is thinking about this or if you think I'm totally bat **** crazy. Any input is appreciated thanks again everyone

I'm not a Colorado native, and I'm pretty meh on this state overall. I've been here 10+ years. I don't think Denver is heading in the wrong direction, but if I were working/lower-middle class, I would see no appeal in this place AT ALL anymore (I was and I did when I moved here in 2007).

Traffic here isn't insane. Not even close. It still moves, first of all...

I'm not house poor. I have a 2500 sq ft house with a view of the mountains and most of Jeffco. Even with three boys, we haven't outgrown it. Schools over here are pretty hit/miss, but mostly okay. I bought at the last "right" time. Our total monthly bills are 31% of our income. I have no desire to move elsewhere within Denver metro, this little slice of it is just fine, and very little of it appeals to me more.

In some ways, I wish Colorado was more like California. In others, I don't. I'm a California native, and even with all its drawbacks, I see its appeal (as I do for CO).

I think you are wise OP. You can do much better than Wichita though. We were recently in the Midwest, and during the trip, my wife and I considered leaving here with our equity, our work from home income, and moving somewhere else with similar amenities (if we're being honest, in practice we care very little about the mountains ), and a much lower COL. We don't need to do that, as we can afford it, there is just nothing keeping us here, and there's nothing we do here that we can't do somewhere else. So why stay?

No concrete plans to leave yet, just a back burner thought.

tl;dr, get the heck out of here, but to somewhere better than the Fresno of Kansas.

[BornintheSprings]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

See? Californication is a dog whistle for the Ayn Rand folks.

(It would be awesome if people outgrew Ayn Rand like college kids out grow Karl Marx)

I didn't start appreciating Karl Marx until I started working.