Colorado I'm in love with you....Moving from Missouri to Colorado (Denver: extended stay, 2014)
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First off I'm not moving for cannabis purposes. I've been reading as much as possible in the forums for months and decided I should just post my story and plea for advice froyou guys. Please be easy on me. Recently i just got back from a week long trip to Colorado springs and boy did I love everything about that place. Months ago I saw a picture of pikes peak and started researching Co. Bottom line is this....I will move there and I'm willing to do everything possible to do so. Heres my current situation: I live in north county/Florissant area and basically I hate it here and always have. I love Colorado and know its not perfect but good enough for me. I'm a 27 yo father of 1 beautiful kid and loving wife. I'm just looking for a better life for us and a better future for my kid. When finally making it to Co and watching the rising sunlight reflect off the glowing mountains for the first time in my life I knew my trip was well worth the 12 hours it took driving 800+ miles plus snow.
Now the important stuff: I dont have a job lined up because unfortunately my current warehouse job doesn't have locations in Co yet. I have 10 years warehouse experience and 2 years personal trainer experience plus 20 years martial arts experience I'm a personal trainer and will be certified in 6 months. This will be my main job once we get on our feet again. In the future I plan to launch my fitness buisness in Co...seems like the perfect place. Im willing to work any kind of job or 3 to get us back on our feet once we're there.....I love Co springs but I'm willing to live anywhere....except really bad areas if we cant find anywhere in Co springs. My question is are there many places willing to let me rent with no job? Apartments? All ill have is my savings. This would be much easier without a child. As for employment i know many places won't consider me applying out of state but will still try. Any tips on places to apply or places that might work with us? Rent I'm hoping as cheap as possible starting out. In may-june I'm hoping we can call Co our home. I know its hard but anything is possible. Just hoping for some postive advice. We just want a better life. I've been many places in the states and Colorado gave me a feeling of happiness I've never had before and my 3yr kid and wife love it too. Sorry grammar sucks.
Last edited by Luthmetal; 02-28-2015 at 07:22 AM..
The plus to Colorado Springs is that it has plenty of affordable housing, and you can probably find a landlord who will rent to you even if you’re unemployed. Offhand, I’d suggest that you look in the Old Colorado City/West Side neighborhoods. The rents are reasonable, and it’s a safe part of town with mostly lower middle class residents. The schools in that neighborhood are good as well.
The negative to the Springs is that the job market sucks. Colorado Springs has always been notorious for being a low wage town. I grew up there, and we always used to say we got our pay in scenery, not money. In addition jobs are hard to find there right now due to the drawdown in defense spending and the economy in the Springs is heavily dependent on the defense industry. Don’t be fooled by the unemployment rate which was hovering somewhere near 5% the last time I checked. But this is mostly due to discouraged workers dropping out of the labor force. Check out this story from the Denver Post:
Quote:
COLORADO SPRINGS — The unemployment rate in the Colorado Springs area continued its year-long decline in November, but once again, the number reflects a shrinking labor force more than a booming jobs market.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics this week reported Colorado Springs' unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in November from 5.4 percent in October. It's a steep drop from the November 2013 rate of 7.7 percent. While the area has seen some employment gains, the falling rate is largely tied to an exodus of people from the labor force — they account for nearly half of the drop.
I suggest that you have enough in your savings to cover your living expenses for at least 3 months because it may take you a while to find a job with reasonable pay. Colorado Springs is pretty nice as cities go, but be prepared for a rough landing.
First off I'm not moving for cannabis purposes. I've been reading as much as possible in the forums for months and decided I should just post my story and plea for advice froyou guys. Please be easy on me. Recently i just got back from a week long trip to Colorado springs and boy did I love everything about that place. Months ago I saw a picture of pikes peak and started researching Co. Bottom line is this....I will move there and I'm willing to do everything possible to do so. Heres my current situation: I live in north county/Florissant area and basically I hate it here and always have. I love Colorado and know its not perfect but good enough for me. I'm a 27 yo father of 1 beautiful kid and loving wife. I'm just looking for a better life for us and a better future for my kid. When finally making it to Co and watching the rising sunlight reflect off the glowing mountains for the first time in my life I knew my trip was well worth the 12 hours it took driving 800+ miles plus snow.
Greetings from another Florissant transplant to Colorado (Hazelwood Central, '88.)
A few things to ask yourself:
What is it that you hate about where you are that makes where you're going seem better? Is it the climate, people, what?
You spoke of a better future for your child. While there are a lot of things great about Colorado, a number of people have expressed a great concern about the schools here. (I am aware that the Hazelwood district isn't what it used to be, and apparently Ferguson-Florissant is even worse.) You may want to do research and make sure that education-wise, you won't be taking your child out of the frying pan and throwing them into the fire.
If it's climate, I can sympathize. I do miss the rivers, but not the humidity. Unfortunately, one comes hand in hand with the other. However, it is more arid out here. My sister recently moved here from Florissant and she was getting bloody noses for awhile due to the drying out.
If it's the crime rate...I get that. I know St. Louis proper (which obviously isn't all that far away) is hitting high in the rankings for 'most dangerous city'.
If it's people in general....well, a lot will depend. Are you looking for a more conservative environment, a more liberal environment, a more religious environment, more people, less people? Colorado is more likely to be 'live and let live' than Missouri is.
You will miss the Cards. The Rockies try, but....they're definitely not the Cards.
You do need to have a job lined up when you get here, or a lot of money. The cost of living here--especially housing--is a *lot* higher than Florissant is. If you don't have one or the other, I wouldn't come out here, or you'll be in a lot of trouble in very short time.
If you want out of St. Louis that is one thing; but Colorado Springs is not an answer in and of itself. There is no reason at all to suppose that your child will have a better future there than in any number of other places in Missouri itself, much less anywhere else in the US.
But if you insist, I would strongly urge you not to move without a job. Your job will determine so many things, not least of which is how much housing you can afford, and a location for a reasonable commute. Use every possible method to secure a job from there and if that does not work take a leave of absence for a week to come out and make an intensive search. And do not limit yourself to Colorado Springs. Who knows, you may find just the thing in Ft. Collins. Or Castle Rock. Or Woodland Park. Or Loveland. And frankly, why limit yourself to Colorado at all?
Find the job first, determine if housing can be had that can be supported by that job, and then come back here to ask about school districts in that area.
Good luck to you. I hope you can find what it is you are searching for.
Probably wise to take a second trip and look at housing. Rent by owner, extended stay motel (like valueplace, had accepted experience at one), craigslist temporary. etc. Check out neighborhood safety. Perhaps throw out the first dozen job apps or check in person on the ones you mailed ahead. If it just you, can focus, move faster. If something acceptable is available, you can commit and have a firm place to bring everybody and some of the things to (perhaps just stuff you can't live without for 3-6 months and get the rest after you are sure it is working out.) Use your cell phone camera to get 2nd opinions / make decisions. It is a temp first place.
Another option is just you moves until you have place, job and confidence it is good. Then move family.
I suggest you spend several hours reading all the posts on here about "I love Colorado and want to move there." Don't waste your time on the Boulder threads, you can't afford to live there.
As others have said, without a job, don't move here unless you have 6 months worth of savings. Without a job, you're not renting an apartment. I assume you will need a 2-bedroom pad. In a decent area, that will set you back at least $1,100. Don't rent a 1-bedroom apt and make your kid sleep on the living room couch just because you love Colorado. It's not fair to the kid.
It won't be difficult to find a job if you want to work at Burger King or McDonald's. However, if you want something decent to make bank, you'll be competing with many others who moved here because they "love Colorado." Further, personal trainers are not paid well here. The gym I work out at, has a constant turnover. However, I have noticed that as soon as one leaves, another comes on board for a few months.
Colorado is an expensive place. It's not the state to move to "to get back on your feet." Also, applying a common sense theory of "quality of life," the more people who move here, the more that quality of life goes south. One example of that is the traffic in the metro area. It's heinous and getting worse everyday. It cannot be made better because the infrastructure has been built out.
Unless you afford to send your kid to private school, you will see the overcrowding in that arena. Further, the cost of entertainment in the city has risen as the population has.
While you want move here only after one trip, it's not fair to your wife and kid to risk their quality of life by trying to live in an area you may find it difficult to survive financially.
Last edited by JohnnyDenver; 02-28-2015 at 05:20 PM..
Reason: Word usage
Our quality of life isn't so springy in our 1 bedroom apartment at the moment but no one is suffering. If anyone were to sleep on a couch it would be me not my daughter. I've wanted out of Missouri my entire life. I hate this Black and white type of segregation that only finally boiled over with the whole Ferguson thing. I'm in a interracial relationship....always have been my entire life and my daughter is biracial.
Racism is everywhere but very much alive around here. Colorado has not just white and black but also brown and others....again more than here. When I say better life I'm not talking about school because she will be home schooled. Better life as in getting away from this divide in people.....Midwestern ignorance. I would never let my family suffer but suffering is only how you perceive it. We're use to things people out west probably aren't as much so some things may not bother us. I'm not worried about finding a job once I receive my cert because I guarantee I will make more money in my field of work in CO. Missouri is too racially divided and I've always hated that. Colorado seemed more live and let die. It's more a people thing for us but I know for sure it's not perfect there and won't let people make me dislike it there. I'm a health freak on a level beyond normal and I was blown away by a cashier at Walmart in springs that had a conversation about health related stuff......doesn't happen much here.
Thanks for the advice so far guys. As I said before we will be there it's just a matter of how exactly. I'm the kind of guy that does everything possible to reach my goals.....I'm very persistent and hard headed. Which is why we will make it there. Lol it's not like I have a dream to live on the beach in California or LA. Life is only what you make it and you only have this chance to do what you want....right now I want to move to colorado and maybe in 10 year I may want to move to England....anything is possible I just like advice. Again thank you so far guys.
Our quality of life isn't so springy in our 1 bedroom apartment at the moment but no one is suffering. If anyone were to sleep on a couch it would be me not my daughter. I've wanted out of Missouri my entire life. I hate this Black and white type of segregation that only finally boiled over with the whole Ferguson thing. I'm in a interracial relationship....always have been my entire life and my daughter is biracial.
I am going to presume this means that one of you is black and the other white. The following may or may not be important to the black partner, but there was a thread (https://www.city-data.com/forum/color...oy-living.html) where a poster complained about the lack of black culture in Colorado. And the percentages of blacks in Colorado are going to be a lot less than in in Missouri--if you were to compare Florissant to Colorado Springs (your target city), it's about 27% black for Florissant, 6% black for Colorado Springs. (I think I might live in the city with the highest percentages of blacks living in it, and even then I think it's 16%, somewhere thereabouts.) It may be a culture shock, it may not, YMMV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luthmetal
I'm not worried about finding a job once I receive my cert because I guarantee I will make more money in my field of work in CO.
I am going to reiterate what I said before--the cost of living in Colorado is a *lot* higher than in Colorado. Housing, notoriously. This was actually a discussion my dad and I had once had years ago, because he couldn't understand how I was earning a dollar an hour more than he was, was single, childless, and was finding it harder to make ends meet than he was when he was supporting my mom and my sister (who has since gotten a job and moved here), and paying for a house. The difference in the cost of living between the two areas was (and still is) *that huge*. I'd suggest using a cost of living calculator to compare the two cities, so you get a good idea of what you'll need to continue supporting your family in Colorado. (The one I used suggested that if you were making 50K/year in Florissant, you'd need 63K to maintain your standard of living in Colorado Springs.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luthmetal
Colorado seemed more live and let die
More like 'live and let live', but I gotcha. But that is pretty much the case--Coloradans are pretty much inclined to let their neighbors be.
Lol thanks indigo cardinal....lol live and let die......lol that was no sleep and typing. I'm actually the one that's black and honestly my daughter looks wise could pass as Hispanic. Culture shock is actually very welcomed to me and I prefer diversity. I love all different cultures and I've been many places......just not much Co lol. The culture difference from Florissant is actually one of my favorite parts about the place. It's welcoming to see a fellow Florissant native(?) Make that jump it's very inspiring. Like I said after those crazy things that happened in 2014 I was so outraged by the hatred coming from both sides it was definitely my last straw. Funny a few weeks prior to those events I had actually just made the decision to take plan the trip for February. When it happened I told my wife that those event were the sign that it's time to start somewhere new and fresh. Sadly it was only a matter of time before something like that happened and it will again. No matter how you see it the cop was in the line of duty....my problem was the outrage of hatred between people. Though culture is welcomed.....in my household and in my life I live as human.....my race is human in the end just like every human on earth. This is how my children will taught.
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