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

[PJ-Hunter]

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

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!

I disagree. Steamboat is a decent sized small town. The "money" you see is a front to disguise the pain that town is suffering. The Town has recently laid off a good percentage of it's City Workers, the land development and new construction scene is dead. If it wasn't, I'd still have a job there. You may be able to get a good job at Twenty-Mile Coal, Trapper Mine or Colo-Wyo coal mine but those are the ONLY game that is paying halfway decent in the Routt/Moffatt County areas. I know plenty people that live there that are struggling alot and just a few years ago, they were living pretty decently. Do not set yourself up for economic failure by being attracted by the shiny lights and the tourist industry. I am telling you this from personal experience, not hard or biased feelings. Like I said before, I was a land surveyor there and I was doing great until 2008 and the market came to a screeching halt, I was no longer creating subdivisions or managing construction projects, the investors just pulled their money out and destroyed a lot of people. I was left with a pregnant wife and a 4 year old little boy and no income, my savings and 401k disappeared quickly and I was lucky to manage to keep everything I own, but it wasn't without some creative budgeting. But I have kept my eye on things there and have seen zero improvement in the construction, engineering, land development and improvement areas, which I think your career would fall into.

I wish you the best of luck, but I advise you to stay away from that area. Housing is atrocious and the cost of living would make you sh*t a brick.

 

[Tec]

I don't know how you guys do it? I drove to Denver this morning at 7:00am and westbound I70 was a parking lot from Kaleb's exit to Golden/Red rocks Unbelievable!

 

[backcountryislife]

I don't know how you guys do it? I drove to Denver this morning at 7:00am and westbound I70 was a parking lot from Kaleb's exit to Golden/Red rocks Unbelievable!

NO, it's not. There's no traffic, move along.


These are not the droids you're looking for, Denver is awesome.

 

[skibreeze]

Compared to Detroit, I'd say Denver is awesome. It's all relative.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

Compared to Detroit, I'd say Denver is awesome. It's all relative.

Compared to Detroit, Walden is awesome.

 

[skibreeze]

There you go, no more bitchin'.

 

[Zachcreek]

I wish I lived near the City. Traffic here sucks, five cars deep at rush hour at our one stop light.......

 

[JUDD]

The crowds on the front range are insane. Stay away if you can. Grand junction is ideal because weather you can easily go north or south to catch the different storms. Although many ski resorts only recieve 300 inches a year most of the places we ride in central and southern colorado average 500+ inches. Havent gone east of the divide in years.

Grand Junction is headquarters for many oil and gas companies, and a major transportation hub. Economy there is doing ok, in comparison to serviced based resort industry.

Hope this is helpful, i moved to CO 11 years ago and love it here.

 

[BackCountryBob]

I moved to Denver in 1973 so I have seen the growth and am sorry to see our politics change and our traffic grow but there are many benefits to be had as well. There are excellent opportunities for advanced education (School of Mines, CSU, Cu, etc), a great social life, relatively inexpensive real estate, proximity to a world class air port and exceptional health care along the front range and Denver in particular.

I belong to the Mile Hi Snowmobile Club and we car pool out of town at 6:30am, hit breakfast on the west side of the hill and are riding by 10:00. We typically stay for diner at 5:30 and are back to the parking lot by 8:00. We miss traffic both ways, save gas and enjoy the social side of riding. We also find ways to ride mid week as well.

I envy your goals and wish you the best.

BCB

 

[Pertzbro]

Kaleb,

You know you love yelling at all the gapers that the pass is closed. I would agree with everything backcountryislife is talking about, lived in Denver since may and already dislike many many things.


Kaleb, let me know when your riding again... 720-237-5226... ( Mike who rode with Mike) ha.

 

[Zoomie]

Snowballer,
Some things to think about. Resort/Ski towns West of I-25 are expensive to live in, everything from housing costs, to food, gas, taxes, etc. will cost you more then any place else in Colorado. The closer you get to a ski resort, the higher the price. Living in the "Mountains" generally costs more then living in the "Big City" (Front Range) or in a little town out on the plains East of the Front Range. Some of the things you need to consider are higher housing costs, heating costs, utilities, snow removal, home upkeep/repair costs, having to buy more things/equipment to make living in the mountains easier (i.e chain saws, snow blowers, etc.). Most of my wages goes to paying the mortgage, and I don't even have a garage ...or paved driveway, sidewalk, lawn or landscaping. If I did, all of it would be under snow 6 or 7 months a year. Plus there's much more you need to do around the house other then mowing the lawn once a week like you do in the city. Would I trade it for a place in the city... hell no!

Prior to moving to the mountains, I lived in Ft Collins. I'm not a big city person, but the Ft Collins/Loveland area isn't too bad of a crowded place, plus it's a fairly conservative part of the Front Range compared to Communist Boulder/Denver.
The only two things that allowed me to move out of the big city was; 1) I was smart enough to buy some vacant land at an affordable price back in the mid-90's, and 2) a position in my company was created for NW Colorado and I was the only person who applied, so naturally I got the job. I still have to drive 43-miles each way to/from work four days a week, but I'd rather drive those 43-miles in 45-min rather then drive 5-miles in the same amount of time in the Big City.

Good jobs are out there in the mountains, or West of I-25. As PJ said, there are the coal mines. Plus there are opportunities that come up in the oil/gas industry, the power plants, electrical utility industry, etc. You just have to keep an eye out because they don't last long.

A suggestion, get a job in the Loveland or Ft. Collins area, rent an apartment for a year or so. Save your money, travel to a bunch of places in Colorado on the weekends and see first hand what each place has to offer. When the time is right, you can make the move and/or get another job. This would prevent you from getting trapped into a poor job/location, and with the two usually going hand in hand, you may not be able to make a clean break easily. i.e can't quit the job because you owe on the house, can't move because you need the job, etc.

One of the biggest problems in Colorado is there are a higher number of college graduates then there are jobs available that fit those degree's, so naturally the average income for those jobs is lower then other parts of the country. This is mostly due to a lot of people graduating with technical degree's from Colleges/Universities in Colorado, and people like yourself who want to, or have moved to Colorado. A good example, I only have a two-year technical applied science degree, and I make more money then most engineers with a four-year degree. In a ski resort down, it's very common to see people with four-year or doctorate degree's waiting tables, or running the chair lift, or people working two, or three jobs to survive. That's the price of living where they want to.

Good luck!

 

[Texasron]

PJ Hunterdid you know a old guy Skietch? Staem boat

I disagree. Steamboat is a decent sized small town. The "money" you see is a front to disguise the pain that town is suffering. The Town has recently laid off a good percentage of it's City Workers, the land development and new construction scene is dead. If it wasn't, I'd still have a job there. You may be able to get a good job at Twenty-Mile Coal, Trapper Mine or Colo-Wyo coal mine but those are the ONLY game that is paying halfway decent in the Routt/Moffatt County areas. I know plenty people that live there that are struggling alot and just a few years ago, they were living pretty decently. Do not set yourself up for economic failure by being attracted by the shiny lights and the tourist industry. I am telling you this from personal experience, not hard or biased feelings. Like I said before, I was a land surveyor there and I was doing great until 2008 and the market came to a screeching halt, I was no longer creating subdivisions or managing construction projects, the investors just pulled their money out and destroyed a lot of people. I was left with a pregnant wife and a 4 year old little boy and no income, my savings and 401k disappeared quickly and I was lucky to manage to keep everything I own, but it wasn't without some creative budgeting. But I have kept my eye on things there and have seen zero improvement in the construction, engineering, land development and improvement areas, which I think your career would fall into.

I wish you the best of luck, but I advise you to stay away from that area. Housing is atrocious and the cost of living would make you sh*t a brick.

Did you know a surveyor named Skitch?

 

[Coloaggies]

Waiting on the boom

We moved here 4 years ago before the economy took the dive. Things have been difficult at times but worth the wait for the turnaround. Things will certainly get better here in No Co due to the oil and gas boom predicted. Another possitive is the solar and wind energy companies flocking to northern colorado. Try Vestas Inc. for a possible job. They now have plants in Windsor and Brighton and have plans for much more.

Being north of the masses makes for a great small town living but still close enough to some awsome riding in the snowies, the ears, flattops etc. Also, plenty of single college girls looking for that "golden ticket". Hope this helps and best of luck to ya.