Questions for the Colorado folk (thinking of moving to CO)

[SnowBaller]

So I’m thinking about moving to Colorado.

I am currently a senior at the University of North Dakota and will graduate in December 2011. My major is a B.S. in Industrial Technology with an emphasis in manufacturing. For those who don’t know, common job titles for someone with an Industrial Tech. degree would be; Applied Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Quality Engineer, Product Engineer, Design Engineer, Process Engineer, or Project Engineer.

After graduation it’s time to get a big boy job, a real job some might say, and I’ve been thinking about Colorado. I’ve lived in Grand Forks, ND (where UND is located) all of my life and have had the dream of getting outta town for a while. Don’t get me wrong I like Grand Forks; it’s just that I’d like to do this while I’m young and still have the chance.

So I have a few questions for all the Colorado folk.
What’s the job market like for someone with a degree like mine?
What are the better areas of the state to live? And for sledding?
What do you think of your state? If you didn’t already live there would you want to move there?
What are your thoughts of a flatlander like myself, that only sees mountains once a year, moving west for the sledding opportunities and a career?

All comments and counter questions are welcome. Thanks for your time.

 

[backcountryislife]

Honestly, if I had it to do over again I'd never move anywhere near denver.

Just went riding in UT a few weeks ago... made me hate it here even more.

Denver is getting worse & worse, and 70 is hell.

Some KILLER places to live in CO though... just not around here unless you enjoy traffic and @holes.

Unfortunately to get a big boy job you're probably stuck in a bigger city anyhow though.

Anywhere but the front range or on 70.
I LOVE where I live, have a great place, awesome location, great property... and a bunch of F'in retards that come flood the mountains every friday to sunday...

 

[skibreeze]

So....you are a F'n retard as well? I know that I am.

I have lived in C/S off and on since '86. Honestly, I have made the best of all the places that I have ever lived. If you want snowmobiling to be a priority, you need to be west of I-25 or close to denver for multiple places to ride if you don't want 3 hour drives. I'd love to live in Grand Junction if you were only looking at a convienent location for everything. Close to snow, 4 wheeling, Moab, Lake Powell, etc.

 

[backcountryislife]

hey... I live RIGHT off of 70... that makes me one even more than most!!!

 

[snowgood]

backcountry is mostly right. the fact that everybody in denver is here for the mountains makes for some interesting driving on the weakends pretty much every weakend of the year. winter and summer. But theres always someone wanting to do something somewhere.

 

[egesledder]

Your best chance for finding a job with that degree is definitely going to be somewhere along the front range. This area really is booming compared to a lot of the country. I just graduated with a degree in Mech. Engineering about a year ago and I'd say 3/4 of the engineers I graduated with found jobs in their fields and were able to stay in the area. Of course, if you can find a manufacturing job somewhere up in the mountains, I'd take it in a heartbeat; its just pretty rare...

As far as driving up i70 to go sledding, I've had good luck leaving super early from town and then riding till dark, that way the traffic has died down by the time you get back to i70. Its really not that big of a deal and I've been going every weekend... For the quality of riding, I wouldn't let it deter you.

 

[tudizzle]

Front Range will have your best employment opportunites. (meaning along the I-25 Corridor) Think Denver or Colorado Springs.

As far as going up 70 to Summit County....it must be the shiney lights of the Ski Resorts that draws all the people like moths. Because its certainly not the only route to great riding in Colorado. The Southern Sledding is A+ and comes with zero traffic.

I would set your priorities.....then decide what area would fit best.

If its work...find a good job..then the rest will fall into place.

 

[WC]

i70 Sucks!

We (aka Gapers according to Kaleb) just deal with it and just do fine. My guess is that job opportunities in your field on the front range will be much better than living in the up in the mountains.

Also if you are single I think you want to be located in Denver or Fort Collins.

 

[Mtn-Track]

Try Northern CO, like Loveland or Fort Collins. Ride the Snowies, Cameron Pass area, and Rabbit Ears. Don't waste your time around Denver (the new LA!) or up I-70 (worlds longest weekend a**hole parking lot).

Come visit, and bring a resume.....

 

[PJ-Hunter]

With that degree you could probably find a job at any of the mines, surface or underground and still be able to live in the mountains.

Myself being a land surveyor and an Engineering Technician, the market is pretty dry still, we had our BOOM and it died a few years ago. It's slowly improving but not as fast as we would like.


Kaleb is correct also, the influx of people into the mountains EVERY Friday morning to Sunday afternoon is quite perplexing. If you are a local, it stinks. Pretty simple. These people just parade around like they are literally saving the local economy with their own pocket book and you owe them your life. But that is the price you pay for being surrounded by ski resorts. Kaleb only has to deal with those hitting the I70 resorts. Where I live I have Winter Park on the East, Steamboat at the north and the I70 resorts on the South. Nothing to the West but no major roads going West either. And no alternate routes so when the highways are clogged, thats it.

 

[SnowBaller]

Thanks for all of the insight guys! It gives me a lot to think about, but I still have some time yet.
Sounds like the front range is the place to look. Thats along I-25 correct?

A job is definitely the top priority, but riding areas are a very close second.

Keep it coming! And thanks again!

 

[Mtn-Track]

Thanks for all of the insight guys! It gives me a lot to think about, but I still have some time yet.
Sounds like the front range is the place to look. Thats along I-25 correct?

A job is definitely the top priority, but riding areas are a very close second.

Keep it coming! And thanks again!

Yes, it's the "I-25 corridor".

Like I said, you should visit and bring a resume.

 

[dtown]

Honestly, if I had it to do over again I'd never move anywhere near denver.

Just went riding in UT a few weeks ago... made me hate it here even more.

Denver is getting worse & worse, and 70 is hell.

Some KILLER places to live in CO though... just not around here unless you enjoy traffic and @holes.

Unfortunately to get a big boy job you're probably stuck in a bigger city anyhow though.

Anywhere but the front range or on 70.
I LOVE where I live, have a great place, awesome location, great property... and a bunch of F'in retards that come flood the mountains every friday to sunday...

Just a guess here... BCIL, you're not a native Coloradoan?... very typical for transplants to move to Colorado then b**ch and complain about crowds and I-70... the transplants want to think that they discovered Colorado, then want to close the door behind them so no one else can follow. The traffic and tourists are the price we pay for living in a major metropolitan area with kick *** outdoor activities out our back door. Don't let PJ fool you... every mountain town would fall on it's face without tourism. Tourists may be anoying, but they are what keeps the doors open. If BCIL and PJ really objected to it, they would move... they're still here. Traffic is an easy work around... ski area lifts open and close at very specific times.

Get a job in Denver, get a loft with a view of Coors field and the mountains, and make some sledding freinds... You'll be loving life.

Grand Junction would be awsome if you were not single and had a job that you could do over the internet (software developer, etc.).

Congrats on the pending graduation.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

I am a native. And I b*tch about the crowds and I70. It's just a bad deal, plain and simple and now they want taxpayers to help solve the problem. The I70 congestion is the ski area's faults, not anybody else's.

To the young man who started this thread, I'd think about Idaho, Wy, or Utah. Colorado is very quickly becoming a Liberal state and it makes for a disturbing change in the way of living. Being here for 37 years, I'm very sad at the changes that have happened. If I could move, I would.

 

[Doctor D]

Snow sucks in Co, way to much traffic, I would be looking for a house and job in Utah or something..The only good here is the bad azz motorcross racing and tracks.

 

[silvester]

I'm sure there are jobs to be had, especially along the front range, but I'd advise you to be flexible if the mountians of CO are where you want to live. Allot of friends have moved from the area (Grand County) to continue their professional careers. The people that are moving here have big ambitions but most are trying to figure out a way to make ends meet after they arrive. I'm not sure how things are where you are from, but some people get sticker shock when they find starter homes are 250K+ in the mountains (not talking about condos or double wides). None the less, people make it work everyday. Just saying, cause college can set you up with some messed up entitlement baggage as far as careers go.

 

[backcountryislife]

Just a guess here... BCIL, you're not a native Coloradoan?... very typical for transplants to move to Colorado then b**ch and complain about crowds and I-70... the transplants want to think that they discovered Colorado, then want to close the door behind them so no one else can follow. The traffic and tourists are the price we pay for living in a major metropolitan area with kick *** outdoor activities out our back door. Don't let PJ fool you... every mountain town would fall on it's face without tourism. Tourists may be anoying, but they are what keeps the doors open. If BCIL and PJ really objected to it, they would move... they're still here. Traffic is an easy work around... ski area lifts open and close at very specific times.

Get a job in Denver, get a loft with a view of Coors field and the mountains, and make some sledding freinds... You'll be loving life.

Grand Junction would be awsome if you were not single and had a job that you could do over the internet (software developer, etc.).

Congrats on the pending graduation.

Pretty typical for people who live in that SH**hole at the bottom of the hill to think that they're special because they grew up here...


No, I'm lacking the colorado birthright, I wear a scarlet W on my chest.... but I've been here long enough to see 70 get MUCH worse.
I haven't moved yet, but I will. Unfortunately I have two places in the county, and the downturn lowered values to where I won't be selling any time too soon. whatever construction they do to 70 will lower those values even more & make this county practically unlivable, all for the benefit of vail resorts & intrawest.

IF you're enough of a citiot that you're fine with wasting your time in traffic or having to alter your plans drastically to avoid it, then that's fine, but all I'm saying is that there's a TON of killer places to live where you can avoid this ONE obnoxious highway.

Today I'm riding spring creek, so I'll be doing a drive I do every day which takes me 28 minutes during the week. Today, I need to leave 2 hrs early just to be able to make it on time. THIS is why I'm saying... avoid it being your main corridor if possible. You're not a skier, try to avoid traveling with them.

 

[glmtnapex]

There are a lot of good posts here, all with good points and counter-points.

In my opinion, Happiness is EVERYTHING! Some people need a job that they love and gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment to be Happy. Some people can handle a crappy job if that job affords them the style and place in which they can live to be Happy. And some people want and need BOTH to be Happy. And some people are just NEVER Happy, they're only Happy when they're UN-Happy. Only YOU know which of these applies to you (and your priorities may change as you age, get married, have kids, ect). Figure out what's most important for you to be Happy (job or location) and choose that as your first priority, then try to fit in the rest of you wants/needs after that.

I will reaffirm, that if you're single and like a decent 'social scene', the bigger the town (Denver, Ft Collins, Co Springs) the better.

I just did a Rabbit Ears run last week, and Steamboat is a pretty big town with a lot of money flowing around. You might be able to find a good job there, as long as you can handle the 'uppity/snobby' attitude of many of the locals. No I-70 issues there either.

Good Luck!

 

[SnowBaller]

Thank you to all who have posted.

This was my exact original intent for this thread; the good, bad, and ugly. It gives me knowledge, insight, and opinions that only residents of Colorado could give. It allows me to make a better informed decision and helps me set my priorities.

I’m 23 and single, and would be looking for decent social scene. Which means a bigger town. On the other hand I’m not a big fan of roads turning into parking lots either. I’m from a town of 50,000 and it takes 15 minutes to get anywhere. But again that’s just my small town mentality and I’ll probably have to adjust it.

Thanks again. If there are anymore comments or insights, please, feel free. I’d love to hear them.

 

[terror]

Grand junction

I have the same degree you have and live in Grand Junction. I have lived in big towns small towns and junction is a nice compromise. The only problem is the job market is much better in Denver. A little harder to find a job over here. Ridding is great over here on the mesa. Most of the people I meet here moved here to get away from all the people in Denver. Just my thoughts.