Anyone on here relocated from Raleigh-Durham to Denver (apartments, crime)

[jim&heather]

My wife and I have the opportunity to relocate to Denver...we live in Raleigh Durham and the quality of life here is pretty decent. But, I'm from the west, and think I might like living in Denver...anyone made the move from either Raleigh or Charlotte area that can make some comparisons on traffic/crime/schools? BTW, I would be working in health care
thanks!

[Moonwalkr]

It sorta depends what your situation is right now in terms of schools and traffic. If you're in Cary the public schools are pretty good. I would say many of the suburban Denver metro public schools are similar to Cary/Chapel Hill schools, since the educational and socioeconomic levels of the families in these areas are similar. Once you are out of the pockets of nice schools in Raleigh/Chapel Hill/Charlotte, the really bad schools pretty much drag the rest of the state to one of the worst state in terms of education, sad to say.

Traffic is also comparable, again depending on where you live. Denver metro areas at times feel like it's pretty sprawling, similar to driving from west side of Durham to East Wake county. The only difference I would say is that the Denver airport is far removed from civilization unlike RDU. You may be used to getting to RDU in 5 minutes, it's more like 30+ to get to DIA.

Crime is probably less than RDU area, but you can look up statistics on that. Anywhere you go there will be good neighborhoods and bad ones. You can certainly choose to live far removed from the bad sections of town and never visit there.

If you've never visited I suggest you do so. We took several trips before deciding to make the move. The seasons are more pronounced in Denver, and there's not the humidity and mosquitoes quite like what you see in Raleigh. There is snow here in the winter, not just sheets of ice in the mid-Atlantic area. My only concern is that there's a lack of pig-pickin' around here, or any decent down South home-cooking.

[2bindenver]

I believe the Mod Katzenfruend who is not at the computer right now, was from the R-D area.

[jim&heather]

thanks Moonwlkr -

We actually are in Apex and it's a great place to live. I grew up in Montana and my wife grew up in Pittsburgh, so we both know about winter. She works from home but does need to fly a couple times a month. I'll be selling orthopedic implants, so I'll need to go wherever the surgeries/doctors are. I'm not concerned about the climate...trading 4-6 months of stifling humidity for a little snow and being able to ski again is a no brainer for me. What areas of Denver have a similar feel to Cary/Apex, in your opinion? THANKS!!

[Currency Pair Crocodile]

Denver's more of a city than Charlotte. But the suburbs are pretty similar, both in vegetation and surroundings. Of course, you can't beat the view of the mountains and the active folks all over. There's a gym in every corner of the street.

Cost of living is somewhat less. There is a scarcity of dunkin donuts

[jim&heather]

Well, I've always had a weakness for Dunkin Donuts, and damned if they haven't opened THREE of them within the last year, all within 10 minutes drive of my house...let's just say it hasn't helped my fitness efforts. This may not have an easy answer, but here goes:

What area of Denver would you choose if your job required you to attend early morning surgeries several days a week? I realize there are hospitals and surgical centers probably in all areas of town, but is there an area where you could access the majority of the medical areas with the least amount of commute?

[Currency Pair Crocodile]

Originally Posted by jim&heather

Well, I've always had a weakness for Dunkin Donuts, and damned if they haven't opened THREE of them within the last year, all within 10 minutes drive of my house...let's just say it hasn't helped my fitness efforts. This may not have an easy answer, but here goes:

What area of Denver would you choose if your job required you to attend early morning surgeries several days a week? I realize there are hospitals and surgical centers probably in all areas of town, but is there an area where you could access the majority of the medical areas with the least amount of commute?

Dunkin Donuts was my breakfast spot many days. I visited them some nights too.

They are always placed in some strategic location which is absolutely gorgeous packed between apartments and other public buildings of Charlotte. They have chairs outside and I spent many nights munching that flatbread sandwich, admiring the stars, clouds and the whistling trees. It was always quite a night

For some reason, when I went to NY, the taste had changed considerably for the worse. I scouted around the tri-state region and the taste was still not so good. The fellas always over-baked the hash browns to the point they are dark and brittle.

I am not sure of the hospital question. The forum bigwigs will chime in for the location/commute questions. I'm a village idiot and I pretty much lounge around the suburbs, far and away from the hospitals.

[2bindenver]

but, but, but there are pretty (single) nurses all over the hospitals, Big Tony.

[jim&heather]

Well, pretty nurses are a certainly a plus, but probably not going to be the deciding factor for my wife!

[Legs1357]

Originally Posted by jim&heather

Well, I've always had a weakness for Dunkin Donuts

Well, you're gonna find the complete lack of DD to be problematic. It's quite depressing really. As far I as I can tell, there isn't a single one in the entire state. I don't understand why