amjohnson

My husband and I are in our newly weds and in our mid 20's and currently live in Washington D.C. We are definitely ready to get out of the hustle and bustle and are looking to move somewhere where the people are friendly and pace of living is a little more relaxed. We've only heard wonderful things about Denver and Colorado Springs, but we've never been to the state. I am planning a trip in February to check it out, but am unsure of the area that would best suit us. Any suggestions?

historytraveler

It's difficult to make suggestions without moe information. For example, what is your price range for housing? What are you looking for other than escaping the hustle and bustle of D.C,? Denver and Colorado Springs are very different, and there are probably a number of other places that may meet your requirements. We really need more imput.

virginia

fyi for your feb trip. boulder is about 40 min drive north of denver. denver is about 1 1/4 hrs north of colorado springs. major highway, I25, runs between the 3 so you will easily be able to see all 3 cities.
fort collins is another hour north of boulder. it's a university town so lots going on and lots of ppl in your age group. much smaller with more western atmosphere than the other 3.
what do you both do for work?

amjohnson

We're looking for a more suburban area, but within atleast 30-45 min to city ammenities. We're used to great restaurants and entertainment, so we don't want to live completely away from civilization. As for the housing price ranges we're not really sure. We both recently graduated college, but only have about 2 years work experience. I am in Human Resources and he is a Service Manager for Mercedes. If we were to buy here, we would probably look to spend between 350k and 400k, but I know that by relocating anywhere else we will probably take a huge pay cut. I think that we would probably rent an apartment for atleast a year if we do end up moving there.

DalaiLlama

DalaiLlama

I often go to Denver these days, and every time I go there I am nicely surprised at the variety and quality of what the city has to offer. But what pleases me might not be what you're after, so tell us more about our lifestyle, hobbies, interests.

You can get practical info like housing prices and such on the web, and maps, too, of course. Look at www.denverpost.com for the daily newspaper (the other one, the Rocky Mountain News, is moribund).
Meanwhile, although it is hard and risky to generalize, I think it is fair to say (and my asbestos suit is firmly in place) that Boulder has a more small-town provincial feel, despite the university and the left-leaning "progressive" academe vibe that Boulder prides itself on. Nice place, a little kooky at times, means well, puts on nice classical concerts and has great visiting artists appear at the Boulder Theater and at the Fox on the Hill. But you blow in and you're out the other side before you know it.

Colorado Springs has a right-leaning orientation, it has as its main two claims to fame a hub of rabid evangelicals (Dobson and his gang) and active military personnel and ex-military retirees, rather on the conservative side as a whole. A new art museum is the pride of the town, the symphony is a distant memory from the past...

Between those contrasts (not geographically) are Fort Collins, not a cultural center but trying hard to elevate itself from being a utilitarian college town with not much going on, and Greeley, where the stink of the nearby cattle pens will overwhelm anyone if the wind blows, even though the town has a university (former teachers’ college) that attracts music events and other cultural events that make the trip from Denver worthwhile quite frequently. It gives the impression of an overgrown country village as you drive around.

Denver itself is great - a real city, with much more happening than other cities of similar size sitting between the coasts: A great symphony orchestra, lots of chamber music, lots of good theater, a vibrant art scene (First Friday is worth a trot out to the Santa Fe neighborhood), new museums, cool old neighborhoods (well, old for the West - going back a hundred years is ancient around places like Denver, but not for you from DC).

Ah yes, in case you're into that sort of thing - much of Denver is sports-mad. And trying hard to shed the image of a cow-town, an effort that is ruined every January when the stock show is in town, and about to be ruined again when the politician Salazar insists on wearing his cowboy hat around Washington DC. Once a cow-town, always a cow-town it seems, although there is much more to Denver than that silly image.

The weather around Denver is unbeatable. About 320 sunny days or so - it can be rainy and snowy and overcast, but never for long, most often the sun comes through later the same day. A few times a year new snow will inconvenience you, to the point of maybe holding off driving anywhere for half a day or so, but it doesn't last. Very hot in July and August, quite cold in winter in spurts (with t-shirt days in between), but never humid, most agreeable.

The environs are hard to beat, too - Denver is on the flat, easy to get around, with the frontrange of the Rockies about 30 miles away, and Denver has a weather pattern that is often totally divorced from that of the nearby Rocky Mountains.

When you can go into the mountains, in any season, you're likely to have the time of your life.

Traffic has gotten to a point of difficulty that rivals the patterns of L.A. - in the morning for example, people heading south on I25 from about 120th Ave will attest to that. And there is a lack of freeways crisscrossing Denver - the I25 makes a funny bend, the 225 goes too far around town on the other side, but there is no chance that any more freeways will be built through town, so people have to pick their jobs acording to location, or their residence according to their job, and vice-versa. And pollution can be grim, the brown cloud hovers many a day, visible from far and wide... But such is life in the big city...

So tell us what you're about and you'll get more info.

amjohnson

Thank you all so much for your input. Any info you can give us is fantastic.

Let's see what I can tell you to better help us find an area that suites us.

We don't really go out too much, except for dinner and a movie and the occasional concert. We enjoy staying in, but when we do go out we want a variety to choose from. We would hate it if the only restaurant in town was an Applebees and a rinky dink movie theater.

My husband is a big football fan and I love to shop.

He's pretty conservative and I am definitely more on the liberal side.

We want to start a family in about 2 years, so we would want to be in an area that is safe with a good school district.

We plan on getting a dog and would need to live somewhere that he could run around.
I've heard the mountains in Colorado are absolutely beautiful, so somewhere that we could go hiking and enjoy the scenery would be ideal.

fmpden

DL was doing a fine job of describing Denver -- until the last paragraph. There is nothing wrong with Stetsons and boots. Always thought that cow town was a derogatory term used by our eastern friends. Denver is a western with relatively short history (150 years) when compared to the east coast. It has a western history link to ranching, farming, and mining. And in our climate everyone should be wearing a wide rim hat. Everyone should go to the Stock show at least once.

I think you need to find the jobs and then decide where to move. Boulder is out of your price range. It is super expensive but some of the surrounding areas are more reasonable but then you are not in Boulder. Boulder is good place to visit.

The geography in an earlier post was a little off. Boulder is NW of Devner in the foothills called FlatIrons. Ft. Collins is due north of Denver. Colorado Springs is due south. I think the pretty parts of Denver are on the south and west side.

fmpden

PS -- Do a search on relocation to Denver. About a year ago there was a very extension on this subject by several people.

sylvia3

The honorable dalilama forgot about the world-class dance scene; the ballet is fabulous. The classical music, theater, transportation, neighborhoods, climate, sheer prettiness of Denver are all hard to beat. (Don't bother with Colorado Springs; they've been taken over by Focus on the Family and other right-wing groups.).

amjohnson

From what I understand, Denver seems somewhat like the area we live in now. Lot's of things to do...but also a lot of traffic. I currently work 8 miles away from where we live and it takes me about 40 minutes to get to work in the morning. We're really trying to get away from that. I think we're looking for more of a rural and less populated area, but with the ammenities and big city life not too far away. We wouldn't mind working in the city and living 10-15 miles away, as long as it won't take us an hour to get there.

poudrecanyon

My husband and I moved from DC to Colorado in the late 90s (unfortunately we moved away a few years ago for a job and are trying to find a way to get back but that's a story for another day). It is a great place to live and has everything you'd ever want. We lived in Erie, which at the time was very small but is growing (for better or worse). It seems a lot of people live in towns like Erie, Broomfield, Superior etc because they provide the option of commuting to Denver and/or Boulder. Though frankly, if you both end up with a job in Denver, you're better of living closer to the city. There are plenty of suburbs to choose from, depending on what you want.

The Denver/Boulder area is very dog friendly, so if you do get a dog you will become acquainted with the very popular dog parks that let dogs run off leash.

And as others have mentioned in terms of quality of life, the weather great (tho it is more of a winter than what you're used to), and there are plenty of things to do, from hiking, biking and other outdoor activities to the concerts at Red Rocks. It's definitely a sports-crazy town (particularly the Broncos). If you live in Fort Collins, you root for CSU, if you're in Boulder it's CU.

The restaurant choices may not be as diverse as DC (especially in terms of ethnic restaurants) but there really are a lot of terrific places to eat in both Boulder and Denver.

I think when you come in Feb you will be able to get a good feel for both Denver and Boulder, and what each has to offer.

fmpden

DL really overstated the traffic and pollution problem. It is nowhere near what one would find in Chicago or LA - and that observation is from personal experience with both. It can get jammed from the north BUT it is over in an hour and half. There are excellent school districts on the south side and that area is well served with light rail which avoids the traffic problem if going downtown. We also have great bike paths and you can easily ride your bike to work it is only 8 miles.

BUT ......we're looking for more of a rural and less populated area, but with the ammenities and big city life not too far away. We wouldn't mind working in the city and living 10-15 miles away.........

I think that is a little unrealistic. Either live in a rural area or a metro area. It is impossible to do both. The urban area of Denver easily extends 20 miles or more in all directions from downtown. And the fingers to Boulder, Castle Rock, Parker are even longer. Denver is a major city with a major population base otherwise it could not support a big city life and amenities you want and are attractive to many people.

As I stated earlier, find the job, then determine where to live.

fmpden

PS -- this is a good prior discussion

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...e=fmpden&fid=1

amjohnson

I guess my main concern is that I don't want to be in a city like D.C. or even the surrounding areas that are in Northern VA. There's is too much congestion and too many rude people. The job market is good and the money is great, but we're ready for a change. It seems like Denver is a pretty big city with a lot of opportunity. How is the job market right now? Would it be extremely difficult to find employment with the economy the way it is? I have received a lot of great input on Denver, but nobody has really commented on Colorado Springs...is Denver really better?

fmpden

Most of the responses have come from people in and around Denver. CS is much smaller city with almost none of the amenities that Denver which you earlier indicated was important. CS has become the capitol of the very conservative Christian organization with over 50 of them head quartered in CS. It is also a big military retirement area with a large active military presents. That has a certain influence on local government, activities, etc. Some like, some don't. You have to judge for yourself.

In some recent profiles Denver was listed as one of the youngest cities (average age) with one of the highest educational levels. Denver has been hit by the latest economic problems but not as bad as in other areas. We did not have the housing bubble to the same degree as other areas so our real estate decline is not as steep. As for specific jobs, I have no way of knowing. Start a job search and see what happens. It is always easier to change apartments than jobs.