thinking about moving to CO

Kiltim · Feb 8, 2005

I've been to Boulder. It is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Big city, but jobs might be harder to find because the University of COlorado @ Boulder is there. My cousin lives in Boulder, and she says many of the large ski resorts arent far away. Within a couple hour drive.

COmtbiker12 · Feb 8, 2005

Colorado Springs is pretty cool (where I live) Right in the middle of the city is an area that has been called Palmer Park and its pretty much several bluffs and little canyon areas full of all sorts of trails that are fully open to biking. There are also several good local shops which you can fully trust. In the summertime the trails in the foothills open up, many include technical downhill trails that few know about or care to shuttle. One in particular is over an hour and a half in ride length (not including shuttle :evil: ) There's also a billion cross country trails here as well, and very few bike-haters in town it seems like. I'd definitely recommend doing it, what kind of work are you looking into? There's a ton of computer companies down here as well as the religious organizations (Focus on the family, navigators, etc...) so there's pretty much anything available.

Denver is cool with a lot of similar riding, its a much larger city and has some fun urban areas and skateparks. Their trails are open a lot more throughout the year than down here (except for palmer park which is year round). Definitely a lot more crowded and traffic sucks a lot more than down here but its a fun city. It's closer to the resorts than Colorado Springs but not by much more than 30-45minutes depending on where you go.

Hope that helped.

N8 v2.0 · Feb 8, 2005

konabumm said:
WOW thank you for all the input, CO. Springs is what I have been leaning towards. I am in the IT field so it sounds like I should be able to find something.

Thank you again for all the ideas.

Plus there is a TON of housing in COSprings.... they WAY over-built the market there over the last several years.

snowskilz · Feb 8, 2005

www.realtor.com

Springs is much cheaper then the denver area. But the resorts are an hour longer of a drive7

N8 v2.0 · Feb 8, 2005

snowskilz said:
www.realtor.com

Springs is much cheaper then the denver area. But the resorts are an hour longer of a drive7

Isn't COSprings closer to some badass whitewater though?

snowskilz · Feb 8, 2005

N8 said:
Isn't COSprings closer to some badass whitewater though?

Hell yeah and a better dh/freeride scene. If only there was a ski resort within an hour from there...

N8 v2.0 · Feb 8, 2005

You can get a house really cheap if you move to Pueblo... which is less than an hour south of CoSprings...

heikkihall · Feb 8, 2005

konabumm said:
what about steamboat, how far is it from there ?

Steamboat is a long ways from anything

pixelninja · Feb 8, 2005

konabumm said:
what about steamboat, how far is it from there ?

Steamboat Springs is about 3 - 3.5 hours from denver. My wife's cousin lives there right now (school). Lots to do outdoor-wise, but I wouldn't go there expecting to find a job.

pixelninja · Feb 8, 2005

Denver's a cool town. Lots to do as far as outdoor activities go, and a halfway decent night life. I live 10 minutes from the heart of downtown, but I'm also only 20-30 minutes away from a lot of awesome xc singletrack. If your a downhiller, there's not a lot to be had near Denver. If you're an xc guy, you'll love it. Most of the singletrack that's near is in Golden and Morrision, so finding a place in Golden would put you even closer to the trails.

As far as jobs go, Denver has a lot of tech jobs (Sun, Storagetek, Level 3), but we did get hit pretty hard with the last recession. The economy is bouncing back nicely, but I know a few tech guys who are still out of work.

Boulder is way overpriced. If you don't mind spending $500,000 for an 1800 sq ft house with no basement, then go for it. Its a beautiful town, but pricey. And the college girls are nice too, if you don't mind dealing with all the wannabe-hippie trustifarians.

PonySoldier · Feb 8, 2005

I recommend Limon

MikeD · Feb 8, 2005

Why not look for a job in CO first, then move out according to where/what you find?

That might require a looong vacation to search for jobs, mind you...and I'm sure you won't mind at all...

Ridemonkey · Feb 8, 2005

pixelninja said:
if you don't mind dealing with all the wannabe-hippie trustifarians.

Everyone always says this. I lived there for two years and I didn't notice too many hippies. You anti-hippie types should come out to Oregon one day and get some perspective.

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

konabumm said:
what about steamboat, how far is it from there ?

Ping Pau11y - he's leaving an IT job in the summer. Maybe you could "inherit" it.....

Oh - he works in Steamboat <schaaaaaawing>

-S.S.-

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

Ridemonkey said:
Everyone always says this. I lived there for two years and I didn't notice too many hippies. You anti-hippie types should come out to Oregon one day and get some perspective.

All the hippies moved to Nederland.

-S.S.-

scrublover · Feb 8, 2005

Ridemonkey said:
Everyone always says this. I lived there for two years and I didn't notice too many hippies. You anti-hippie types should come out to Oregon one day and get some perspective.

Pffft. *Exactly* right. After growing up and living for a nearly years after school in Eugene........and now living about 20 minutes north of Boulder...........

Boulder folks don't know what "real" hippies are.

Morryjg · Feb 8, 2005

Colorado sucks. You shouldn't move out here. I hear Texas is real nice.

pixelninja · Feb 8, 2005

Ridemonkey said:
Everyone always says this. I lived there for two years and I didn't notice too many hippies. You anti-hippie types should come out to Oregon one day and get some perspective.

Notice I wrote "wannabe-hippies".

And if Oregon is anything like you say, that's one place I really don't need to visit.

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

pixelninja said:
Notice I wrote "wannabe-hippies".

And if Oregon is anything like you say, that's one place I really don't need to visit.

You gotta go to Oregon. Ignore the hippies. That place is *really* nice........

-S.S.-

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

Morryjg said:
Colorado sucks. You shouldn't move out here. I hear Texas is real nice.

Hey! Did you take that picture on your trip to Austin? Or is that the Dallas/Fort Worth area? :think:

-S.S.-

Pau11y · Feb 8, 2005

konabumm said:
about a year ago someone asked me if there is anywhere in the US you could move to where would it be? I said CO.
So the past few months I have been thinking about packing up and leaving Maryland. I figure if I sell my house I sould make around 100k profit on it. That would hold me over until I find a job. I don't have any family out there, hell I have never even been there before. I see 2 problems.

1. Not sure if I want to live in Denver, Boulder, CO Springs? I want to be close to good mountain biking, but I also need to be close to the good jobs.
2. I'm scared to death to leave everything I know behind.

Any thoughts?

Chimming in, and don't listen to Heikki.
Here's the loaddown on Steamboat. It's in the northwest corner of CO. What this means is if you ski, it's perfectly located for some of the "big" names like the 'Bird/Alta, Jackson, and Vail besides itself for tree and pow skiing (BTW SS, 5/6 mid/top. Tomorrow is looking REALLY good 'cause it's vomiting large chunks right now). For biking, it's a little too north for places like Gunnison, Salida, Durango. But if you do mainly trail riding, it's perfectly located as you have Vail, the entire northern CO, and Wyoming (highly underrated). GJT is only 4 hours away which means Fruita, and Moab (Moab +1.5 hours). For DHing, the area itself will open up for big bikes again this summer w/ rumors of 2 DH specific trails to be built (don't hold your breath on this tho). There's also Keystone (1.25h), Vail (1.5h) and Winter Park is also due to some online w/ DH specific trails (70min). The XC scene is SICK here. The local Town Challenge is soooo competitive it's like the top end of the nation's experts when you race that class. Bike wise, you'd prob want something in the 3.5 to 5 in FS of light trail bike w/ disc, depending on if you sit more on the trail rider side or XC side.
This town has two down times, mid Apr till mid June, and mid Sept to Turkey day. These are called Mud Seasons as the town slows from the changing of the seasons. Most of the jobs here are seasonal, but I got lucky w/ this position (IT Manager for the Sheraton - an over glorified support position). There are 3 big employers here: the Sheraton, the ski area, and TIC/TDC (The Industrial Company/The Commercial Division - huge construction contractor). Of these, my position won't reach $40k unless you plan on camping at the position. The college has someone already, but she's not what I'd personally call a 'geek'. But that position is pretty entrenched and it'll require an act of god to free up. The City also has several positions, but they too are all filled at the moment (in fact I think they were JUST looking for a senior sysadmin, in the $50K range too, but required 15+ years exp.) I'm leaving my position in Aug of this year to go back to school.
W/ what you'll make in the sale of your house in DC, you'll only be able to afford a condo here, albeit a nice one, or a nice down on a place. You'll be lucky to find anything descent below 1/4 mil $$s here. Chances are you'll be living some 20+ miles outside of town to afford anything of size, but that's at the heart of some of the best riding in this part of CO.
You should come and visit before committing to here as it's WINTER 6mo of the year. When I say winter, I mean it'll be one of the snowiest places you've ever seen w/ no year round of any sport. Every person in this town has a set of summer sports they do and another set of winter sports. I've been here for 15 years, and trying for the last 5 to leave. But like I told SS, for one reason or another I always find a reason to stay. This time tho, I'm leaving for sure since Mines just gave me a $6K scholarship spread across 3 years.

Edit: I'd take what MikeD says to heart tho. Move when you find a job 'cause it's NOT cheap here. It's not quite like CA, but it's not too far off. But I'm w/ you on not wanting to be in a city. Sorry but C Springs is a city, altho not the size of Denver/Boulder. If you need to be in a city, you should also consider Ft Collins (aka Ft Fun).

scrublover · Feb 8, 2005

nice pic; i'm wanting to ride that all the way through to breck this summer. i've only hit it up and back before. the secondary trail down is much nicer than the regular, IMO.

that's a ride i hit at least once a summer, sometimes twice. once in summer, once in fall when the leaves are turning.

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

Pau11y said:
<snip>I've been here for 15 years, and trying for the last 5 to leave. But like I told SS, for one reason or another I always find a reason to stay.

You were living there for the Big Year, eh? I think it was winter '96-'97 when Steamboat got *hammered* for like 3 weeks straight in January........

I had just started skiing, so it was wasted on me.

-S.S.-

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

scrublover said:
nice pic; i'm wanting to ride that all the way through to breck this summer. i've only hit it up and back before.

Highly recommended. The singletrack from Georgia Pass to Hwy 9 is alot of fun.

-S.S.-

Pau11y · Feb 8, 2005

Ok, I'm not sure if this is going to post, but check out the mountain:

I think this image should update every 10 or 15 mins.

Pau11y · Feb 8, 2005

SkaredShtles said:
You were living there for the Big Year, eh? I think it was winter '96-'97 when Steamboat got *hammered* for like 3 weeks straight in January........

I had just started skiing, so it was wasted on me.

-S.S.-

OH YEAH! Waist deep for 2 weeks straight! I didn't work much that year too and got in like 2/3 of the entire dumpage. Did wonders for my pow skiing! :love:

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

Pau11y said:
Ok, I'm not sure if this is going to post, but check out the mountain:

The Steamboat Cloud is in *EFFECT*! That's a good sign......... :thumb:

-S.S.-

And if DH Girlie ever comes back we can give her the bidness, 'cause CA is gettin' DICK

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

Pau11y said:
OH YEAH! Waist deep for 2 weeks straight! I didn't work much that year too and got in like 2/3 of the entire dumpage. Did wonders for my pow skiing! :love:

I learned to ski pow that winter at Vail. Showed up after a 30+" storm for the grand opening of the Back Bowls for the season. People were *slavering* at the rope at the entrance to Sunup Bowl.

I couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about.

Then they dropped the rope and everyone went off in a *frenzy* into the bowl. I took about 3 turns in waist deep and augered in. Took 3 more and augered in again. Then I discovered powder skiing and floated to the bottom of the bowl. :drool:

I've never really been the same.............

-S.S.-

Pau11y · Feb 8, 2005

SkaredShtles said:
The Steamboat Cloud is in *EFFECT*! That's a good sign.........

-S.S.-

And if DH Girlie ever comes back we can give her the bidness, 'cause CA is gettin' DICK

Hehehe... and I'll scare her w/ my new Funnel Web Av :blah:

SkaredShtles said:
I've never really been the same.............

Yup, that sounds about right. Sex comes pretty close, tho not as guilt free as waist deep of featherlight.

Pau11y · Feb 8, 2005

Crap, I think we've just 'jacked this thread again. Oops.

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

Pau11y said:
Crap, I think we've just 'jacked this thread again. Oops.

Naw - this is all important Colorado information................

-S.S.-

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

konabumm said:
<snip>
2. I'm scared to death to leave everything I know behind.

Any thoughts?

Yeah - don't be a wuss. You've got a Monkey support group out here.......

Oh - and once you move out - your friends from MD will be CHOMPING AT THE BIT to visit you. Hell, you'll live in Colorado - even if they don't visit you won't care anymore.

-S.S.-

LordOpie · Feb 8, 2005

Don't move here for the cities. Move for the mountain fun. I know that's what you're doing and I don't know what city life is like where you're at, but I'm going to buck the trend of this thread...

the cities here are nothing compared to a real town. I moved from Miami, Florida and went into culture shock, like I fell into a blackhole. Just preparing you in case you like culture.

So, WHY do you want to move here?

If you really want to submerse yourself into the mountains, then go there. SS, Summit County, Crested Butte -- all have winter and summer fun.

LordOpie · Feb 8, 2005

SkaredShtles said:
...even if they don't visit you won't care anymore.

yup, it's like Prozac.

SkaredShtles · Feb 8, 2005

LordOpie said:
Don't move here for the cities. Move for the mountain fun. <snip>

The cities here suck. Just like cities everywhere else. Big buildings, traffic, sprawl, craploads of people.

The mountains, however, make up for it and then some. Just being *close* to the mountains makes me happier.......

-S.S.-

Pau11y · Feb 8, 2005

Just don't get sucked into the local culture too much. In most of these mountain towns, drugs is a HUGE part of "the mountain life." Don't want to be your mother here, but watch the crew you hang w/. A lot of younger people (20s to early 30s) get here and find this scene irresistible. Then, they turn into friggin vampires, give up on the real fun for the chemical fun.

Lord Opie - the dude's from the murder capital of the world. Coming up to a place like SS is going to be an absolute culture shock. Plus, this will prob be the "whitest" town he's ever seen.

Edit: Crap! I don't think that mountain cam is updating.

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