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Old 05-29-2011, 12:51 PM
 
29 posts, read 82,383 times
Reputation: 21

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Hello, my husband and I are both teachers and are planning on moving to Fort Collins/Loveland in 2 or 3 years to raise our family there. We would be taking a big pay cut since we will have 16 years teaching experience in CA, but only 9 would transfer in Fort Collins, and less in other districts. Also of course, CA is a top paying teacher salary state so we're seeing about a 45,000 pay cut between the two of us. I know the cost of living is less, but when I think about what we would retire with, I worry. I also worry that I might be being fooled by the lower cost of living and thinking it would all even out? Will I be living in a much poorer situation with this move?

I still think this would be a good move because I would love for our daughter to grow up in CO. Am I being naive thinking that earning so much less would be worth it? Opinions?

Also, I'm wondering how the deductions (health insurance, teacher dues, state taxes) will compare to the amounts our CA teacher paychecks are deducted.

Also, do teachers enjoy quality health benefits?

Thank you!
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Old 05-29-2011, 07:36 PM
 
Location: Fort Collins
97 posts, read 265,014 times
Reputation: 44
It depends where in CA you are from... I am from the Bay Area and it was really really expensive there, so to me CO seems less expensive. Home prices are a lot less expensive and most other items are about the same cost as CA except child care, camps for kids, haircuts. Food is a little cheaper, gas is cheaper, but generally it is not that different, but I do enjoy the fact that I can send all my kids to art class, karate, gymnastics, swimming which I could not do in CA since it was soo expensive. And I feel the school system is much better here and I don't have to pay a huge amount for public school which we did in CA.
Good luck,
Allison Klein
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Old 05-29-2011, 11:03 PM
 
29 posts, read 82,383 times
Reputation: 21
Smile RE: moving to Fort Collins @ Allison

I live in the Bay Area as well... Alameda. I was so happy to see your reply. So you moved from the Bay Area to Fort Collins? Besides being more affordable, what else do you love about it in terms of raising children there. I saw that it is in the top 5 windiest cities in America. Does the wind prevent kids from enjoying a nice day outdoors?

Did you look into other areas to move to in Colorado? I am going to visit in June but I want to make sure I go visit the right places. So far I'm visiting Fort Collins and surrounding Denver areas, but I'm thinking of also looking into Colorado Springs. Any thoughts?

Thank you so much for your reply!
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Old 05-30-2011, 09:43 AM
 
Location: Bend, OR
3,296 posts, read 9,688,072 times
Reputation: 3343
One thing to consider is whether you will be able to keep your teaching position if/when you get it. My aunt was a teacher in S. Cali. with 12+ years of experience in CA. They made the move to Colorado three years ago and so far, she has a teaching position, but every year she worries it will be cut since she doesn't have tenure yet.
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Old 05-30-2011, 12:50 PM
 
Location: Fort Collins
97 posts, read 265,014 times
Reputation: 44
Beesto, I looove it here. I lived all over the Bay area, Oakland, Lafayette, and Belmont(near San Mateo) I still have lots of friends in Oakland. I don't find the wind bad at all, take some of those statistics you see with a grain of salt. The weather does not hamper any activities I do with the kids( I have 3: 8, 4 and 2) We walk to school everyday. We chose Fort Collins for a lot of reasons but did look all over we liked Superior and my MIL lives in Golden as well but it is even less expensive here with I think a better quality of life and better schools I feel. We had also checked out Eagle, ID and other towns, but I have to say weather was a big factor as I was born and raised in SoCal. I love the weather here, it's been a bit rainy lately but norcal didn't have the best weather either as most of the country has been experiencing pretty bad weather. PM for more info.
Good luck in your search,
Allison Klein
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Old 06-06-2011, 07:45 AM
 
4 posts, read 7,561 times
Reputation: 10
Hello,

I am in the exact situation you are in.

Can you offer any advice?
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Old 06-06-2011, 10:23 AM
 
16 posts, read 35,951 times
Reputation: 24
I would think you could find a nice, smaller community in CA and keep your pay and retirement. What you would be giving up by moving is an awful lot with no guarantees. Yes, Fort Collins is a great place to raise a family; it's very wholesome, but it doesn't afford the amenities of larger cities and is fairly isolated geographically.

Since I have lived in both places, (CA and CO) I can see your point, but a great j-o-b is a terrible thing to waste!

Last edited by dowhatthouwilt; 06-06-2011 at 10:33 AM..
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