Small town near big city (Denver, Aurora: real estate, good schools, quality of life)

[s4peds]

I am graduating soon with my nursing degree and I want to work in a children's hospital in a big city, but I want to live in a small town that is nice with nice people and good schools. Any suggestions

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by s4peds

I am graduating soon with my nursing degree and I want to work in a children's hospital in a big city, but I want to live in a small town that is nice with nice people and good schools. Any suggestions

You must realize that Colorado has only one big city--Denver and their is only one stand alone Children's Hospital. You also must know that working in nursing you are going to work shifts and living in a small town and working in the "big city" would be a stressful commute.

The new Children's Hospital is Denver is at the Health Science complex in Aurora, the site of the former Fitzimmon' Army Hospital. The dense area around this hospital is being redeveloped from a deteriorated area. There are no small towns nearby that I would consider a reasonable commute. To work in that hospital you would need to live in Denver or Aurora, which is a very "big" town, if you want a quality of life, besides sitting in a car. There are really no small idyllic, pastoral "mayberry" small towns near Denver. They are just connecting suburbs or very small hard scrabbled agricultural and ranching towns on the plains--which would be the small towns that would be closer to Children's Hospital.

You are also making a big assumptions that small towns equal nice people and good schools, while big towns and big cities have mean people and bad schools.

Perhaps a Pediatric unit in a hospital in a small town, where you are living, will give you the quality of life that you find ideal. Or try another State; there may be other children's hospital that meet your criteria.

Livecontent

[Katarina Witt]

The above is true for the main Children's Hospital. However, TCH has been expanding and they have a number of locations around the metro area, some of which, like Parker are more "small town" ish. Be forewarned it is very difficult to get on staff there as a new graduate.

Pediatric Care Locations - The Children's Hospital-Denver Area, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Region

[Josseppie]

The above posts are true but I know Pueblo does have a Children's hospital as part of the Parkview medical Center that treats children form southern Colorado so that might be a option if you want to live in a city with a MSA less then 200,000 people.

Some information on Parkview:

As a vital healthcare source, Parkview’s service area includes Pueblo County and 14 surrounding counties, which together represent 350,000 total lives.

The link: Parkview Medical Center - Pueblo, Colorado

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by s4peds

I am graduating soon with my nursing degree and I want to work in a children's hospital in a big city, but I want to live in a small town that is nice with nice people and good schools. Any suggestions

Children's Hospital in Aurora. You could commute there from Watkins, Bennet, Strasburg, or Byers. Good luck getting the job, and finding housing.

[LeithaCrawford]

I am a wife, with two small biracial children. I am getting a degree in criminal justice/forensics and want to relocate from texas to colorado. I am looking for a nice small community with alot of advantages. Can any one help

[Idunn]

In both your cases I'll suggest Morrison, which is just off the ring road of CO 470, on the far southwestern edge of Denver, slightly separated from it, and actually within the mountains, if only.

Having not been there in awhile I cannot say exactly, but it should prove small and charming enough. If close to Denver, it feels like a separate entity. Downsides would be that none of this is a secret, with real estate prices surely reflecting such desirability. Nevertheless, it is more affordable than one might think. Another issue may be exactly where in Denver one intends to work. You could do a lot worse than Morrison for ready access to certain parts of Denver, or major arterial roads. But proximity cannot be discounted, and a commute across town is not the same as only a block or two.

[Ziasforever]

I thought I read on another thread that even experienced nurses don't get an answer right away in Colorado on jobs unless it is something like critical care because of the numbers wanting to move there.

Commuting wouldn't be so bad on a second or graveyard shift, I would think.