In need of a gameplan to move to Denver/Loveland??

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If you are liberal, I recommend you confine your search to Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins--especially, avoid Republican, agriculture-based Weld County. You can find liberal pockets in Colorado--talk with people you know or friends or friends and read local newspapers, including the Boulder Business Report and the Boulder Weekly, online. Outside of Boulder, Fort Collins and Denver, Colorado is a conservative state. The Longmont paper is filled not only with heartwarming stories of volunteers who make a difference, but with racism, small-mindedness, jingoism and fundamentalism from both the editors and the majority of letters and anonymous telephone calls to the editor. Besides approving three Wal-Marts in town, the City Council recently okayed annexing a proposed tax-advantaged and huge residential and commercial development by a fundamentalist church on the north end of town. About 6,000 citizens successfully petitioned to put this to the voters soon. For decent shopping, you must drive to Boulder or even farther, to the Flatirons Mall in Broomfield. On the other hand, if you can stand all that, people are friendly and there are great trails.

You may want to make sure you have enough money to live on for a year and be willing to rent for awhile so you don't find you wish you'd bought in another area. The labor market is suffering; primary employers are laying people off and the jobs that are propping up the statistics are low-wage service positions. The housing and construction markets are not doing well; even when they do, appreciation varies considerably. You can get all these statistics online.

If you do your homework on the Internet, you can also learn a lot about neighborhoods and schools. Every one of these small cities has some dedicated civic-minded people who are working to make things better. It appears to me that the best way to get established in this area is to join a church, the local Chamber of Commerce and other professional associations, volunteer at your children's schools, attend Newcomers meetings and enjoy the parks. Everyone must get involved in their communities to make them what they should be, regardless of their political points of view.