30 and considering moving from LA to CO - feedback appreciated (Denver: beach, suite)

[vunderbar]

Originally Posted by otowi

Some people say it isn't super easy to meet a love-interest in Colorado in general compared to some other places - people are friendly, but also live-and-let-live, come-and-go, which can come across as 'you're all very nice but how do we get to the next level, everything stays casual' kind of thing. It can take some time to get to meaningful relationships when you're out of school age.

I've heard the same, especially when it comes to meeting prospective romantic partners. So many people - and a lot of them are men - come to Colorado for the outdoors, specifically to ski/mountain bike ride/hike/backpack/rock climb/train. They tend to disappear on weekends to do their thing. So if you're a female hoping to meet a man here -- and you don't do any of these things seriously -- you may be at a disadvantage simply because it's hard to find the time to get to know these people. When they're not working, they're playing hard with their other playing-hard friends.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

I have lived there.
Hated it.
Very right wing.
Loser Congresscritter.

I live here.
Enjoy it. Sometimes love it, sometimes don't. Have considered moving in the past, but haven't.
Suburbs, especially east and north, and in the county, are very right wing. Downtown and westside are very liberal. Overall, I'd call the area right leaning with occasional flashes of idiocy, IMO.
Congresscritter is a loser of the highest degree who's opinion sways in the wind.

Cos will always live in Denver's shadow. Its too close by to be a regional stand-out on its own. For now, access to outdoor recreation is better than Denver's but with its growth and the lack of the state's willingness to update highway systems, it is beginning to have the same mountain migration issues on weekends as Denver, only in lesser numbers. However, Cos has a number of wildland park interface areas within the city limits that can give the feel of nature while only being minutes away from residential areas. Places like Palmer Park, Ute valley Park, Pulpit Rock park, Cheyenne Canon are all natural areas with some traditional park amenities.

Job opportunities depend on what you want to do outside of real estate sales. Yes, the area is selling like mad and is expensive, but as pointed out by others, we have a dearth of agents and this market won't last. The sales experience could translate well into selling other things, but whether that will work well here depends on what you are selling.

I've often heard some speak of dating and relationship problems in CO. I suppose if dating is a recreational sport, or if the primary goal is it get married, it might be tough here for a variety of reason. I personally never had an issues, but I also did not expect multiple dates a week, with different persons, for years on end, so perhaps my perspective is different than some.

[cowboyxjon]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

Golden is too close to Denver and too crowded on the weekends to be 'less chaotic' IMHO. You might as well live ten minutes closer to Denver. My own impression as a recent transplant to the area is that it is much harder to start any social life in the suburbs here. People in general are friendly but only at a superficial level. It's hard to develop deeper bonds except with other transplants. I'm mostly talking about Littleton/Highlands Ranch so I'll let people who actually lived in Golden to weigh in on that.

I live in Golden and IMO it does feel 'less chaotic' than Denver. Sure, downtown Golden gets a lot of pedestrian traffic on weekends, but the neighborhoods are generally quiet and laid back. However, with that said, I think it could get kind of boring for someone in their mid-30s, and it's not any cheaper than Denver in terms of living arrangements. You're not saving a bundle by living in Golden vs Denver.

[wilberry]

If you are leaving CA this is where people tend to go, Phoenix but you must love crazy people, I don't think Denver has any Vacancies and Austin has a few spaces left but I hear that Boise is not yet Full, Salt Lake city but it will bore you to death.

[NW Crow]

Re: Durango (or actually La Plata county)

About 8,000 people between 25-34 years old and another 8,000 between 35-44. Set age and gender preferences, assume x% in relationships or not looking or not a match and how many candidates do you have left? Could be enough or not. Seems easier for women in general but different perspectives / experiences. If you want within a few years in age, assume 80% in relationships or not looking and reject 80% of those left, you might be left with a few dozen main candidates that many are after. Or maybe you're more open and end up with hundreds of options, if you can spot them / track them down. But it is unlikely over 1,000 local options that survive screening unless your assumptions are significantly different.


Use search tool to access past threads on Durango overall.

On jobs, check some of the internet hiring sites and judge market. About 30-35,000 jobs in county, though only a small or modest amount available at any point in time. The best jobs don't turn over as much and may be more competitive. Not all get much public exposure.

[wilberry]

I think Denver is almost full

[Westerner92]

It looks like I'm a little late to the thread, but I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents:

The main things I don't like about LA (that I'd like to avoid in a new city) are:
High cost of living (but I guess any area in CO compared to LA will be better in comparison)
Selfish people/materialism/toxic work environments in sales-type jobs
Smog/traffic
Show-off mentality
Increasingly less-safe and growing homeless population

I'd venture to say that Denver is the highest cost of living not on the coasts, though Austin might actually be giving it a run for its money these days. They're better than coastal cities, but not much better these days.

Because of the whole outdoorsy culture and closer connection to nature, I'd venture to say Denver is distinctly less materialistic and showy than most cities. It's far from granola, but very generally, people here aren't quite as into status symbols as what you'll find in finance/entertainment industry hubs. That said, if you're in sales, you're not going to escape that mentality anywhere.

Denver has the worst air quality in the nation aside from LA, Salt Lake City, and maybe the California Central Valley.

The homelessness situation is getting worse everywhere nationwide. Denver generally has it "contained" to East Colfax, RiNo, and industrial areas.

From what I understand, the different main cities offer different things but in general are all good for outdoors activities (which are extremely important to me). First question - which area has more lakes/rivers? I love lake camping and fishing. I also love the forest-feel more than anything so I'd like to have as much of that as possible.

Boulder offers the most immediate access to those things, but Golden and Colorado Springs are also right by the nature. Depending on where in town you are, Denver is 15-30 minutes farther from the mountains than Golden.

That said, Colorado's strong suit isn't lakes and water. The Front Range is high grassland, and all trees are planted here. There are tons of places to fly fish though.

Being 30 and moving alone I'll obviously have to get a new job and restart my social life. I understand Denver to be a more youthful brewery/day drinking/hang out in the park/dog/social environment which is appealing to me, especially with having to meet new people. How does that compare to the social scene/meeting people in other areas such as Boulder, CO Springs, Golden, etc?

The Springs is full of military transplants, so my understanding is that connections tend to be more fleeting. Golden is just a suburb of Denver that wants to pretend it's Boulder. Boulder is a college town with a West Coast-style tech scene and a bunch of pro athletes in the climbing/trail running/triathlon realm. Fort Collins is a much more low-key college town. I find Denver and Fort Collins to have the most "approachable" social scenes. Tons of people move to Denver for the same reasons as you, so it's really not hard to find people and make friends I've found.

Denver sounds like the strongest job market. My goal is to obviously find a suitable job that's as high-paying as possible to support and support an eventual family. Would it be harder to find a job in Denver because of the population density?

Denver will have the most job openings by far.

Finally, if I chose to commute and live outside of either main city, what would be the best peripheral cities to look at that might offer a better cost of living and less congestion?

For being close to nature i.e. west of I-25, you are going to be paying a premium pretty much everywhere. Maybe some of the towns between Lafayette and Fort Collins are cheaper than Denver/Boulder/Golden?

[pikabike]

“Golden is just a suburb of Denver that wants to pretend it's Boulder.”

Golden might be like that now, but in the 80s and early 90s it was less of a Denver commuterville than it was its own little city, with its own large employers (among them, Coors, the Rocky Flats Plant, and the School of Mines).

For a while in the late 80s many downtown storefronts were shuttered, during the general economic downturn then. Yet houses were still more expensive than in nearby towns.

The big boom started in the early to mid 90s, with a burst of ugly construction on geologically unstable hillsides. Just outside downtown, every time it rained hard, the hillside along a new subdivision slumped and blocked Hwy 93 there. Those houses did look just like the maligned “Californication.” Right in town a few years later, the tall condo buildings began sprouting. If the sea of matching beige McHouses had been ugly, this was even worse, blocking sunlight on adjacent buildings. Supposedly, retirees were buying the units.

OP can run from the things he does not like about CA, but a lot of the same things are already in or near Denver already, and they probably have worsened since we lived in the area.

[Willy702]

Originally Posted by LE2021

Hi everyone,


The main things I don't like about LA (that I'd like to avoid in a new city) are:
High cost of living (but I guess any area in CO compared to LA will be better in comparison)
Selfish people/materialism/toxic work environments in sales-type jobs
Smog/traffic
Show-off mentality
Increasingly less-safe and growing homeless population

How did Colorado or Denver get on your list? Both would score poorly if this was your criteria, then you add in stuff about water and forests, I think you might want to reconsider whatever you used to come up with places to check out.

Try the midwest, must be a dozen decent sized cities better suited for you.

[ejisme]

I can talk about Fort Collins. Our 31 y/o son lived there for about 7 years after he got his first job out of college (not CSU). He moved a few months ago to Westminster to live with his GF.

He loved Ft Collins for outdoors and entertainment options. Lots of city funded and organized activities and events. Pretty good access to the mountains for hiking, camping and fishing. Made a good friend network. He was less impressed with the dating scene. He ended up using online sites, and the dates were fun, but none lasted more than a few weeks. He always complained that the girls were constantly looking for someone new, so no one ever stuck (probably true most everywhere now). He'd make lots of acquaintances through traditional social activities (dog park regulars, run club, gyms, apartment neighbors, etc.), but nothing more than friends. Most of the downtown club and breweries were full of college-aged people. Not a rich dating scene for those a few years out of school, but still fun to visit and partake. At least that's his side of the story. Ended up finding his significant other as a friend of a friend for several years. Finally worked out for both of them! He works remote now, so easy to move down with her in Broomfield, but now their own pet-friendly rental in Westminster (at $2K per month) within walking distance of her job. There is lots of work in the area though, to include well paying sales work, in the Ft Collins, Loveland, and Greeley area.