Relo Scouting Itinerary Advice 11/13 – 11/16 (Denver, Colorado Springs: hotel, affordable house, tech jobs)

[00TAO]

Hello All,

My wife and I are visiting Colorado November 13th-16th, 2008. We're currently living in Southeast Florida and the sole purpose of our trip is to see the area for possible relocation purposes. We've been to CO once before but it was during February '04 and purely for vacation. Our proposed itinerary is listed below. I've tried to keep our destinations to no more than an hour or so from Denver as both of us work in Tech fields and Denver seems to have the most jobs. Can someone tell me if it looks a little too aggressive taking into consideration possible weather conditions for the time of year, traffic conditions (especially hitting a national park on the weekend), construction/road work, or any other possible causes of delay?


We'll pick several addresses to drive by in each town visited (via realtor.com)

Thursday Evening - Fly in and stay in Englewood, CO

Friday - Visit Colorado Springs, Monument, and Castle Rock
Friday Evening - Stay in Englewood again or possibly Boulder

Saturday - Visit Boulder, Fort Collins, and Rocky Mountain National Park
Saturday Evening - Stay in Englewood again or possibly Boulder

Sunday - Fly back to FL


I haven't decided if we should stay in the same hotel each night or move around as we travel north & south of Denver. I didn't make any time for seeing Denver itself as my search is mostly for seeing possible places to live. Denver (or surrounding) would only be for work. Being stuck in a townhouse here in Florida, I long for a single family home, no Home Owners Association, and lots of land & trees.

To reiterate, please let me know if the schedule looks too aggressive or if you have any other suggestions. Thanks!

[Neditate]

Wow. I'm exhausted just reading your itinerary! Especially your plans for Saturday. I think it's too aggressive and too much driving for one day. I can't imagine how you could possibly get a "feel" for any of those places as you'll pretty much be driving through. IMO skip RMNP and save that for another time. Good luck and have a good trip!

[Katarina Witt]

Well, it could be snowing, but probably won't be in the metro area. It is more likely to be snowing in RMNP, but again, the probability of snow actually coming down is low. I agree, that is something you can skip this time around. However, if the weather is decent, and you are in Boulder, it's not *that* far to drive there. As an alternative, you could drive up to Lyons and Allenspark from Boulder, which wouldn't eat up so much time.

Same hotel or different is a personal decision. I prefer same, so you can unpack your clothes, etc. Englewood is a good choice on the south end. Broomfield might work well on the north end.

It is true that "Denver" is the premier place for IT/telecom/general high tech jobs here, but that term is used loosely, to encompass the suburbs as well. Since you don't know where you'll be working, I'd concentrate on getting the job first. You probably won't want to live in Ft. Collins unless you are working there. It is pretty far from even the north metro area. So you might drop that from your itinerary. Just a thought.

Even if you are set on wanting a house on acreage with trees (something that may be hard to find, depending on your price range), I would suggest exploring teh Denver neighborhoods. They are interesting, and you might see something you like.

[00TAO]

Thanks for the input. I'll likely heed your advice and drop the RMNP visit for this trip. Or at least play it by ear.

Thanks again...

[Shuffler]

There's no way 3 days is going to be enough to base a decision on. Especially in November. Have you researched housing costs and land costs? You might find an affordable house, but land around here is far from affordable unless you're very wealthy.

[sjst1000]

I agree that if you really want to get a feel for any of these areas, you're going have to focus on only one. Either that or extend your trip. My husband and I have been on many a relo house-hunting trip, and I can tell you, it is exhausting - after even a day of it, it becomes overwhelming.

Unless you are being flown out by a specific company, which it sounds like you're not, why not stay home and do some more thorough research of areas that pique your interest (focusing on areas with affordable acreage and tech jobs should narrow it down considerably)? Then plan your trip. Just a thought!

Good luck

[lalahartma]

Remember, the altitude and dryness will affect you and most likely pack a real wallop!

Monument is very small and Castle Rock is pretty small and won't take too long. What kind of a commute (time-wise) are you looking for?

Perhaps you should focus on Denver and the Tech Center....and leave the rest for another trip...of course, play it by ear!

[00TAO]

Well, we were able to hit everything we planned and then some. The extras included Loveland, Longmont, Idaho Springs, and Estes Park. It snowed Friday morning but it was nearly gone and dry (off the roads at least) by afternoon.

I found pretty much exactly what I was looking for in Monument. Specifically along Deer Creek Rd in zip code 80132. The houses seemed to have about .50 - 1 acre of land set amongst lots of pine trees. We even found a pack of deer hanging out in someone's yard. Monument doesn't seem too remote and there is job potential in Colorado Springs.

Can anyone that's familiar with the area I'm referring to suggest any alternatives with similar qualities? I would like to scope those areas out on our next trip to CO.

BTW to clear up some confusion, we weren’t looking to pinpoint *exactly* where we wanted to live on this trip but rather get an idea if CO is a place we want to relocate to (in general).

[Charles]

Originally Posted by 00TAO

I found pretty much exactly what I was looking for in Monument. Specifically along Deer Creek Rd in zip code 80132. .....there is job potential in Colorado Springs.

I've tried to keep our destinations to no more than an hour or so from Denver as both of us work in Tech fields and Denver seems to have the most jobs.

This area is called Woodmoor.

I used to live about three miles east of that Deer Creek neighborhood (we used to toboggan right there at Toboggan Hill.). The schools in 80132 are really good, though the voters recently (for a second time in row) rejected additional funding to maintain the new high school. My understanding is this will result in cuts to other programs in D38. Bummer.

Do you know where you will be working? Monument is good if you could be working in either Denver or Colorado Springs. If you already had a job at the Tech Center then maybe look closer to there. Maybe on the outskirts of Parker or Castle Rock. Also, look into a neat comfortable commuter bus with free onboard wireless internet (so you can post on City Data on the way to work). The bus is called FREX. This bus goes between Colorado Springs and Denver.

Do you have kids?