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Old 08-10-2007, 06:29 PM
 
Location: Dallas
989 posts, read 2,432,352 times
Reputation: 861

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I've lived in San Diego 5 months and so far I like it pretty well. But I am concerned about my ability to continue to afford to live here. I have a college degree in business but not a lot of job experience plus not even sure what I really want to do.

So I've been thinking of checking out my 2nd city choice, Denver. Does anyone know anything about it, or has lived there? The reason I mention Denver is because I get the impression that (a) Rent is a lot cheaper, (b) Wages are about equal or higher and (c) the job market for recent college grads is a lot better.

For rent, can you get a decent, non-dumpy, safe place fairly close to the city in Denver for $500-$725? What do winter utilities run you usually? I get cold a lot and will be running heat probably.... What can I expect to pay in rent for a 1br/studio that is pretty decent/nice?

Is the pay better there, or at least equal? If it's equal or close to it, then your money will still be going a lot further than here.

Is the job market better for college business grads ? If I do a job search or Craigslist or Careerbuilder.com, I see way more jobs, which is surprising, b/c Denver is smaller than S.D. The job market for college grads here doesn't seem so hot, with low wages, unless you are a nurse or engineer or biotech.

How are the people in Denver? Nice, friendly? How do they compare to San DIego?

How is the geography, landscaping? Is Denver green, with forests and trees, or is it brown and flat? I'm from the South and miss the lush forests and changing seasons of Spring and Fall. Don't really care much for the palm tree scene. Does Denver have 4 seasons? I know the mountains are beautiful out there.

Any info would be appreciated. My main concerns are where I will have a better job of being successfully employed and making money though. I have no intention of buying a house anytime soon, btw, so renting is what I'm mainly concerned about. Thanks.
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Old 08-11-2007, 09:04 AM
 
840 posts, read 6,505,105 times
Reputation: 338
I lived in the Denver area for about a year. The people are very friendly, maybe even friendlier than San Diegans. I've had people tell me their whole life story at the bus stop. It's pretty interesting to meet people there. They seem more open to (Southern) Californians than a lot of other places. Rent is cheaper, of course the better the apartment/house is the higher the rent. There is crime but it really goes up and down. Denver had something like 34 murders in one year and doubled it the next. When I lived there, there were 80+ but it didn't seem that bad. Didn't really see any gangs other than tagging. They'll sometimes say to stay out of 5 Points or Aurora because those areas are 'ghetto'. I've been in those areas, it's not that bad, they actually have some nice places there. The one thing about Denver is, if you get lost, find the Rockies and you'll know that's west. Summers are something else (there wasn't really a summer when I was there, rain and hail). First time I've ever seen a tornado. Snow is fun, I had to drive in 1 foot of snow on the highway during morning rush hour. Jobs should be pretty easy to get. Denver metro is multi-county with about 2.5 million. The city of Denver is 550,000+.
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Old 08-11-2007, 08:06 PM
 
6,331 posts, read 11,880,185 times
Reputation: 5098
If I could move to Denver, I would. It looks like a nice city for being inexpesive, and I have a feeling that it will eventually get expensive since a lot of people are moving there, so now might be a good time to buy a house there. If my condo in S.D. wasn't upside-down with negative equity, I would cash out and buy property in Denver for investment. From what I've seen in Denver, it's beautiful there. You can't beat the landscape of the Rockies in the background (the mountains of the East S.D. County are nice, but can't compete with the Rockies).
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Old 08-11-2007, 09:44 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
2 posts, read 6,784 times
Reputation: 11
I lived in Denver for 5 yrs & liked it. Short trips to the mountains, cool summer nights, it really doesn't stay that cold during the winter. There are very cold days & they did have a lot of snow this last year. It’s a very out door friendly environment. If you can get a job downtown, that would be very nice. It's a young professional crowd & when I'd go to lunch, it was like an electric buzz of vibrancy. When I first moved there, I shared a huge house in Evergreen, about 20 miles from downtown up in the base of the mountains. A very nice place to live. I can't compare it to SD, as I've only visited there many years ago. Good luck with your decision.
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Old 08-12-2007, 01:22 AM
 
Location: Sandy Eggo - Kensington
5,291 posts, read 12,704,684 times
Reputation: 3194
I'm a big fan of Denver,as well. It has a similar laid-back vibe to San Diego, with a focus on the mountains instead of the beach. If I were to move from here, I'd definitely consider Denver as a place to move to.

Surprisingly, the topography of the city itself, is fairly flat because it sits on the Great Plains. While it sits at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, you still have to drive about 45 minutes to get to the nearest ski resort, which isn't bad if you are an avid skier. I, myself, prefer living only 15 minutes from the beach.

In the end, Denver is a pretty cool place.
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