Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well my current android contract is coming to an end. I've had some a little trouble finding the next gig here in Colorado. Now I'm wondering, why the heck I'm trying to stay in Colorado. I'm 26, despite being an engineer I am living with my parents because rent is close to 2k a month (!!!). Living in the sleepy town my parents live means I have 2 hour a day round trip commutes, and winter is coming.. Needless to say I don't seem to be meeting anyone doing all this driving and being so far from the action.. Nor is it good for my stress.
I've spent a bit of time looking at data. To the point where i have paralysis from analysis. I'm thinking I need to leave Colorado again. Came back, gave it a shot, nothings really coming together, not to mention the roads are getting really dangerous with all the "impaired" tourists..
What I can't seem to find is a good internet post that says You want to live here! Lots of tech jobs and Not 125% men to women ratios!
Meeting a girl and getting married is probably my biggest priority, my ability to get work is second. Be able to get a house, third. low crime forth. not too crowded not too rural 5th. Good weather 6th.
The ideal city would be..
lower average age, Millennials friendly if you will...
More women! None of this 125% men to women stuff. 1to1 or better.. All the tech hubs, austin, Seattle, silicon valley are plagued with this. No paycheck is worth being single forever.
Affordable housing. Colorado houses have jumped 100k in one year. a 200k house will cost you 350k now. Gross.
Less ice. Still limp from that double hyper extension 5 years ago..
Interesting things to do.
I know I'm asking for everything and cheap rent to boot! But let me tell you more about the cities I love and hate. I HATE big cities. That should help with the cost. I lived in San Diego for 2 years and it was a nightmare. everything was 30 minutes away and everything cost an arm and a leg. Everyone was so get up n go. No socializing. Heck starbucks was as much character as it got .. and they usually had no where to sit, ever. Not to mention the average age was 30-40 where I was. Denver is annoying, its busy, lots of traffic, and yet everything closes at 6pm down town. Certainly don't feel safe there.
Citites I loved. Fort Collins. Ignoring its alcohol abuse problem, its a great city (well was, getting a lot of crime this year). I often think, man I would love to live in a Fort Collins.... that had jobs. The 24 hour coffee shop with art on every inch of its ceiling. The younger crowed (mostly college kids, so maybe not that young). How safe it was (was, not any more), FOOD after midnight was everywhere!!! Lots of night life options, Lots of different places to eat, dog parks, hiking, beautiful city. But fort collins also has had a +100k price tag, there are no android jobs worth mentioning and its really isolated, hence the no job options.
I loved my time in Carlsbad. Sure it had the bad age range, but it was lively, yet still small. Beautiful, nightlife, Safe. Best crossfit gyms in the country. Lots of ladies, well in the summer at least.. The cost of living was still California with half a million house price tags alas. At least there was a reason for 2k a month rent there. I REALLY loved the funky street art everywhere. Same with Encinitas its neighbor, and the lightrail. If the simple fact that I was living paycheck to paycheck and every person I met was married, I'd still be there, might return if I ever get rich and am married..
Kinda like boulder. 2k rent, kinda crowded, no android jobs, but beautiful, highly walkable, lots of younger people, nice nightlife, lots to do. Pass on all the drunk frat guys though. Also insane prices for houses, as its in Colorado.
Is it possible to find a small city that actually has job options? I've thought about portland, but I don't know how I feel about all the rain. Got to give on some things right?
Meeting a girl and getting married is probably my biggest priority, my ability to get work is second. Be able to get a house, third. low crime forth. not too crowded not too rural 5th. Good weather 6th.
Quote:
lower average age, Millennials friendly if you will...
More women! None of this 125% men to women stuff. 1to1 or better.. All the tech hubs, austin, Seattle, silicon valley are plagued with this. No paycheck is worth being single forever.
Affordable housing. Colorado houses have jumped 100k in one year. a 200k house will cost you 350k now. Gross.
Less ice. Still limp from that double hyper extension 5 years ago..
Interesting things to do.
Okay bear with me because this might seem counter intuitive at first, but what about Fort Worth TX? Going off of city-data, the male-female ratio is about 1 to 1, with women having a slightly larger number. You won't have to worry about a lack of young people because it is a city. I know I know, you hate big cities, and the DFW is one of the largest population centers in the US, but it can be broken down into it's smaller parts because of how sprawled out it is. To put things into perspective, compare the population of Fort Worth with a place like Austin, and the population is actually slightly smaller. If you want the amenities of the city, it will be there, but the country is close by as well. COL should be less stressful there. People in Texas are a ridiculous kind of friendly. The weather is nice if you can stand some heat.
It's hard to find a nice small city with all of the things that you want nowadays because that seems to be what everyone else is doing too. Lots of places are experiencing what happened to Denver to some extent.
Eh, Austin? Nashville? Maybe even check out Louisville, Ky
Great list....I totally agree....Louisville is by far the cheapest and most laid back..the most "Ft. Collins" esque. Nashville and Austin got recently overran by too many yuppies and club kids...I strongly considered moving to them both.
So in 3 places you complained about 2k rent. So how much CAN you pay?
Well I CAN pay 2k rent. But that is money thrown away. I'll never afford a house if spend it all on rent. Also as all my work thus far has been contracts, I can easily for 3-4 months without work. I only put away a fraction of what I would need to cover 8k in rent, let alone food. It wasn't that long ago rent across the country was 1500 or less. I remember people getting upset at me wanting 400 a month for a whole level of my townhouse. I do acknowledge that the whole US is afflicted because we ignored the need to build houses throughout the crises. Now people are going homeless if they aren't making 50k+++.
@ Mezter Austin is like 150% men.. I would love a non single engineer filled austin. I'm an engineer, and thus I am avoiding cities where everyone else is an overpaid nerd desperate for a date..
I keep feeling called to look into Portland more.. Its not perfect. Its older. It rains a lot. Rent is in the 1800+.. but its funky and seems fun.
@ cirrusly I did look into fort worth aftr your post. Then I mentioned it to my mom (a Texan).. she did not approve. Something about thats where they slaughter all the cows? We can smell the counter part in Colorado 50 miles away. Oh greeley.
Thanks for all the leads. Haha man I am just so lost its not funny. Maybe its time to burn my airline miles and start visting cities..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
