Want to move to Colorado from WI - but where can I afford a house? (Denver: how much, new home)

[xzero1134]

Hello everyone!

One summer I took a road trip to AZ. I live in Appleton WI. Pop. 75,000. During my trip, I discovered how beautiful Colorado is and I want to move there. However! I honestly don't know that I can afford it.

In my trip to Colorado, I visited Denver and Colorado Springs, down to Mesa Verde. Went in April.

Here's what I don't like about WI:
The weather. Entirely. Winters are cold and long. Summer is hot and muggy, and rains 50% of the time. I have really, really bad winter depression that I hate dealing with every year. Going outdoors is pain because I'm heavily bothered by mosquitoes. I don't like it here, but it IS cheap.

Here's what I like about CO:
300 sunny days a year. Is it true most houses don't have central AC because you just don't really need it? Are summers still muggy or more like AZ where it's a dry heat? (which, having experienced that now, there is a big difference.) How long/bad are your winters? MOUNTAINS. My favorite part of my trip is driving through the mountains, and the thought of going for a drive on a weekend sounds heavenly to me.

This is what concerns me and is holding me back: Housing, and Income.

I own a 4 bed ranch for $110,000. With escrow, property taxes, etc. I'm paying $850/mo.Now, it's just my wife and I and we don't plan on having kids. I don't need this big of a house, I can have smaller. I just want something that's not a fixer-upper, I'm not much of a handyman. Seems median house is $300k, which I can't afford those payments. Probably, anyway, that's the next question. But, anyway, I did enjoy Colorado Springs but I think it might be too big for me. I like the size of the town I'm in, but I've also lived in madison, pop 200,000. It was decent, but I do prefer Appleton. What's a good city? I'm prob more concerned with price over population.

I'm a car salesman that does quite well. The average income in my area is $36k, I'm making $50k. I've only done it for one year so I expect that to increase over time. Will I make substantially more in CO? Since there's less winter, for anyone who might now, is it still slow during winter? Summer is where my real income is, while I try to get by in winter. My wife is working towards being an office assistant, but currently make about $20,500 a year.

So, that's my main concern - can I really afford to live in CO? I know I'd have to sell my house and everything but I'm not too concerned about it, I have time it's not like I need to move next week. Please help me out guys, I want to live here so bad!

[otowi]

You can get a decent not-new home in Security/Widefield/Fountain near Colorado Springs for around 150,000-160,000 but they do go fast. Start looking in ppar.com to get an idea of how far your money goes for a house in different parts of town.

We have a lot of car dealerships here - check out Motor City. I don't know how much they make.

[2bindenver]

The people I have helped recently make $4,000 to $11,000 a month.

[NW Crow]

Average home in Pueblo runs about 130k. Pueblo West about 180k. Most affordable area and the metro area is not too big. Could start there and perhaps move later if you feel like it. Less winter there than almost anywhere in state.






Generally not muggy. Maybe right after a thunderstorm it might be.

[MsMetal]

I know Appleton a bit, but I moved here from MSP, so very similar to where you're at. Best thing we ever did. The summers are dry, though we do have a monsoon season, where it can rain more than usual, but it's nothing compared to the midwest & it's not constant. Depending on where you live, winters are a breeze, again in comparison to MN/WI. Anywhere on the front range, you will find winters to be heaven. Basically it snows, then it usually melts in a day or two. Remember all that sunshine? It melts the snow really fast, plus the sun is stronger at this altitude (well, the sun is not really stronger, but it seems that way). Even huge snowfalls, which we do get, do not last all winter, like they do in the midwest.

It's not true that no one has A/C. I'd heard that too, but lots of people have A/C. We didn't have it for a few years & some years were ok, others not so great. We wouldn't go without A/C...again, on the front range. It may be different if you're up at 8K feet or more.

I really can't speak to your income questions, as I prefer at least a 4000 sq foot home for 2 people :-), which is what I also preferred in MSP, so I think we're in a different world. Also, Co Springs is the smallest city I've ever lived in & I find it to be too small in many respects. I do own property near Canon City/Penrose, which can be a beautiful area that are smaller in size & cheaper. I s'pose Pueblo is cheaper, but it wouldn't be attractive to me, in the least. I like being near Denver. Actually, I'd rather be in Denver, but that didn't work out. I'm not familiar with the many other towns in the state, except as a tourist. We have really enjoyed Ouray & Durango & some mountain towns, but IDK anything about living there.

I can say we've never regretted our move & would never go back unless we had to, even though we loved Mpls, but we did not alter our quality of life in terms of jobs/houses/etc. You may also want to consider the culture (liberal or conservative, highly religious or do your own thing) before choosing a town, certain areas here can run very strongly in a direction that may or may not be comfortable for you. For us, it was a HUGE culture shock. I hesitate to say politics, b/c it's more than that. I'm not particularly political, but the culture still affects me greatly. It's just something to think about as far as how important it is to you, to be around people who see life the way you see it. I would also consider whether you want to be IN the mountains (lots of snow) or looking at the pretty mtns :-) Is getting away from snow important to you? It was to us, so we knew we didn't want to be in the mtns.

It was definitely worth it for us! If you're open to small towns, I'm sure you can find something affordable.

ETA: Like NW Crow mentioned, Pueblo & also Canon City/Penrose are in what's called "the banana belt of Colorado", so closer to 350 days of sunshine & more temperate, but there can still be cool nights, even colder than the Springs or Denver.

[James Bond 007]

I find it odd that someone who is complaining about winter weather is considering a move to Colorado.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

I find it odd that someone who is complaining about winter weather is considering a move to Colorado.

If you've ever lived in Wisconsin (I have) you'll know the two areas' winters are not even remotely comparable. Winter in Colorado is orders of magnitude more tolerable than winter in Wisconsin.

[Arrby]

Originally Posted by MsMetal

We wouldn't go without A/C...again, on the front range. It may be different if you're up at 8K feet or more.

I am, and it is.

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

I find it odd that someone who is complaining about winter weather is considering a move to Colorado.

Not even close to WI winter. The snow usually melts here after a few days and the sun is out a lot. Also the summers are dry with low humidity and very few bugs.

Weather can be rough in the east (tornadoes) and in the high mountains, but the vast majority of people live along the front range where the weather is mostly great.

[xzero1134]

Originally Posted by MsMetal

I know Appleton a bit, but I moved here from MSP, so very similar to where you're at. Best thing we ever did. The summers are dry, though we do have a monsoon season, where it can rain more than usual, but it's nothing compared to the midwest & it's not constant. Depending on where you live, winters are a breeze, again in comparison to MN/WI. Anywhere on the front range, you will find winters to be heaven. Basically it snows, then it usually melts in a day or two. Remember all that sunshine? It melts the snow really fast, plus the sun is stronger at this altitude (well, the sun is not really stronger, but it seems that way). Even huge snowfalls, which we do get, do not last all winter, like they do in the midwest.

It's not true that no one has A/C. I'd heard that too, but lots of people have A/C. We didn't have it for a few years & some years were ok, others not so great. We wouldn't go without A/C...again, on the front range. It may be different if you're up at 8K feet or more.

I really can't speak to your income questions, as I prefer at least a 4000 sq foot home for 2 people :-), which is what I also preferred in MSP, so I think we're in a different world. Also, Co Springs is the smallest city I've ever lived in & I find it to be too small in many respects. I do own property near Canon City/Penrose, which can be a beautiful area that are smaller in size & cheaper. I s'pose Pueblo is cheaper, but it wouldn't be attractive to me, in the least. I like being near Denver. Actually, I'd rather be in Denver, but that didn't work out. I'm not familiar with the many other towns in the state, except as a tourist. We have really enjoyed Ouray & Durango & some mountain towns, but IDK anything about living there.

I can say we've never regretted our move & would never go back unless we had to, even though we loved Mpls, but we did not alter our quality of life in terms of jobs/houses/etc. You may also want to consider the culture (liberal or conservative, highly religious or do your own thing) before choosing a town, certain areas here can run very strongly in a direction that may or may not be comfortable for you. For us, it was a HUGE culture shock. I hesitate to say politics, b/c it's more than that. I'm not particularly political, but the culture still affects me greatly. It's just something to think about as far as how important it is to you, to be around people who see life the way you see it. I would also consider whether you want to be IN the mountains (lots of snow) or looking at the pretty mtns :-) Is getting away from snow important to you? It was to us, so we knew we didn't want to be in the mtns.

It was definitely worth it for us! If you're open to small towns, I'm sure you can find something affordable.

ETA: Like NW Crow mentioned, Pueblo & also Canon City/Penrose are in what's called "the banana belt of Colorado", so closer to 350 days of sunshine & more temperate, but there can still be cool nights, even colder than the Springs or Denver.

I'm not horribly concerned about culture shock, when i'm not at work I keep fairly to myself. I'm not trying to start a debate here, but I'm not political or religious. If people constantly pester me about it I might get mildly annoyed but that's about it.

Thanks for the info! Even in Appleton I got a very nice house but it took a lot of looking, most in this price range were pretty bad. I assume CO wont be any different, but it's good to know getting a house for $150k is at least an option