So, I graduate in a few weeks and just got a job offer in Denver. For you colorado ags, what are some pros and cons? It would require a move from Houston away from everything I've known my entire life in Texas, So I am going to take my time on this choice.

On behalf of the 3,000 or so Aggies living up here in Colorado ... no heat, no humidity, mountains, and Von Miller!

Pros: It's awesome

Cons: Can't really think of any

Research taxes, cost of living, insurance and how it factors into your pay.

Family is only a flight away.

I tried to go there but somehow ended up in NC.

State taxes are a flat 4.63% for everybody. I lived just outside the city, so I'm not sure if there is a City income tax but I don't think there is. I lived in an apartment but from what I understand the property taxes are favorable compared to TX so it balances out a bit. It is more expensive to live there though. The first thing I noticed were the groceries.

All totally worth it though. I'd like to move back there someday if I could.

You live once. College roommate and I moved out here after graduating.

What do you really have to lose.

I moved to Denver blindly in August, fam and friends all in Tx. Ended up in Durango with a job. Best decision ever.

Do it! If you're a golfer, I have it on good authority that you can play 12 months out of the year. You'd be right next to the mountains, which is awesome for all kinds of good outdoors stuff. You'd also be a Colorado resident if you have any interest in Elk hunting... As well, most places in Texas have direct flights out of Denver International. There is also gambling right down the road in Black Hawk, so if you're from Houston it'd be just as far as driving to the boats at Lake Charles to scratch that itch. State income tax sucks, but that'd be the only negative in my book

"God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from" - C.S. Lewis

It's a no-brainer. Denver is the best city in America. I lived in Houston for 5 years, and Houston-to-Denver is a really favorable move.

PROS:
-Weather: always sunny, little humidity, great temps
-Parks/trails/exercise: I'm pretty sure Denver has the most parks and trails per capita in the nation; it is amazing how active people are here compared to TX
-Outdoors: In addition to the parks, there are so many opportunities around Denver and within 90 minutes for hiking/day trips/enjoying scenery and nature: Summit County, Golden, Evergreen, Colorado Springs, Estes Park
-Size of the city: Denver is just the right size. Denver proper is maybe 700k, while the metro area is a little over 2.5 million
-Downtown Denver is very alive and happening, especially compared to Downtown Houston. There are tons of great restaurants, bars, shops, and things to do. 16th Street pedestrian mall is great, with a free bus.
-Neighborhoods: There are several great neighborhoods within a 2-3 mile radius of downtown. Tall trees, historical buildings, and tons to do. Also, there are many great suburbs: Lone Tree (where I live), Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Denver Tech Center, Castle Rock, Parker, Golden, Centennial, Westminster, and a few more.
-Lack of crime: Denver feels essentially free of crime after moving from Houston. I work downtown, and I've never felt threatened.
-Golf is a huge upgrade over TX golf. Great courses, cheaper than Houston, and amazing views
-Beer: best beer state in the nation
-Pro sports: we have all of our stadiums in downtown or connected to it (football, baseball, basketball, hockey)
-Rocky Mountains: best skiing resorts in America within 1-4 hours
Hunting: if this is your thing, we have a much greater variety of animals here (elk, black bear, moose, mountain lions, and more)
-People: the people are laid back, want to have fun, friendly but not overly so like Texans are (which I like for the most part). It's more about what your hobbies are here vs how much money you have.

CONS:
-No Whataburger: I'm being serious.... this is really the only thing I can think of. Oh, I guess it is a little more expensive than TX. My property taxes are 1.5% less than Houston (right at .7% vs 2.2% in Houston). I got a steal on my house, and I doubt it would be cheaper in any Texas metro.... and it's in a "Best Places to Live" suburb. In general though, I would expect to spend about 30% more on a house. Renting is pretty cheap though.

I am moving to Denver and am going to be working out of a town called Ft. Lupton.

Does anyone have recommendations on where I should live? I am 23 years old and single so no need to worry about schools or family communities.

Thanks.

I could use some advice in that area too. I will be working out of south Englewood and need a cheap place to live, and I understand cheap up there isn't cheap down here. I am 24 and single so schools and whatnot also does not apply to me. I hear Parker is a nice area to live, but again I am really looking for decently priced place that isn't horribly ghetto.

Also, i've been putting my budget together so I have some hard numbers to bring up when negotiating salary. I have been looking around on the internet, but figured I would ask here since I see that cost of groceries was brought up. What do you all normally pay for groceries, internet, gasoline, and utilities up there?

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I hear Parker is a nice area to live, but again I am really looking for decently priced place that isn't horribly ghetto.

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If you're going to be working in Englewood, pretty much anywhere from south Aurora south to Parker and west over to Morrison would be reasonable for commuting. I lived in southeast Denver close to Aurora (around Parker Road/Mississippi) and commuted to Greenwood Village and it took me about 20-30 minutes.

In my experience, there weren't many places in the southern half of the Denver metro that were "ghetto" and I'd live there again in a heartbeat. People who live there say Aurora is all ghetto, but that's really the area around Colfax and out towards the airport. The southern part of Aurora is much like Parker and by that I mean generic suburbia. I was paying ~$600 for a 1 bedroom and prices have stayed the same or even gone down lately. Parts of Highlands Ranch, Englewood, and Littleton will be more expensive, while Parker, Lone Tree, Morrison and Lakewood will be a little less expensive, and some parts of Lakewood look a little ghetto. Castle Rock was a little too far out for what I wanted, and Cherry Hills Village was just way too expensive for my tastes.

If I were you, I'd look out towards Morrison. Great views since you're that more closer to the foothills, not as developed/suburbia, and you'll likely find a fairly good deal.

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What do you all normally pay for groceries, internet, gasoline, and utilities up there?

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Gas was comparable to any big city in Texas. Internet/cable/phone are pretty comparable to any big city in Texas. Comcast and Quest were my providers, they both did bundles when I was living there, with Quest bundling DirecTV with their phone/internet) Groceries were a little more expensive (fruits and veggies more expensive and lower quality as I recall) and utility bills were fairly cheap. I didn't run the a/c nearly as much as I would in Texas because even 90 degree heat there felt like 80 degrees in Texas.

[This message has been edited by superunknown (edited 12/14/2011 1:15p).]

Gordon,

Fort Lupton is an oil and gas town. Your best bet would be to live in Denver and commute. Look out in Erie. You probably don't want to live in Brighton either. Look in north Denver in areas like Thornton. Make sure to stay west of I25.

Plug,

Greenwood village can be pricey but Aurora can be a little scary in some neighborhoods. If you are from Houston think Greenspoint. Englewood can be a little rough as well. Highlands ranch is suburbia. You can find cool places downtown and in cherry creek. Just look for deals. Three is no place like Denver. Worth every penny.
You do have to face facts with Denver. It is more expensive to live here, but all in all it is worth every minute.

[This message has been edited by dbtexasag05 (edited 12/14/2011 9:38p).]

You guys can feel free to email me at rbrown at ceddenver dot com

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-Beer: best beer state in the nation that is within or east of the Rockies and also isn't named Vermont

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FIFY

db,

I really do appreciate the advice. I would like to live where most of the young professionals reside but I would rather have a short commute than live close to people my age.

How is the commute from downtown to Ft. Lupton? I'm assuming it's against traffic.

Commuting in Denver is not like Dallas our Houston. However, you need to be aware that some of the driving sucks. The highways are some what out dated and driving to some of these Towns in an oil boom can be down right slow.

I would recommend looking in Erie or longmont.

You could also look in Greeley. This is a small college town up north of Denver.

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-Beer: best beer state in the nation that is within or east of the Rockies and also isn't named Vermont

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Vermont? You can at least debate Cali and Oregon, but Vermont? I know Vermont has a lot of breweries per capita, but there aren't many good ones.



http://bigthink.com/ideas/21422
http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/bestbrewers_012011.asp



[This message has been edited by proudaggie02 (edited 12/19/2011 1:11p).]

Denver is probably the coolest city out there. You got the city life and outdoors life not too far away. Where else can you get that? Yes, all you know and love is in Texas. Take a chance. You're young, single and you'll be working in an awesome city.

The social scene is great so if you're social you shouldn't have a problem making friends. Do it dude. It'll be a great experience.

Did you even look at that GABF image before pimping it as proof of beer superiority?

Let's examine... top 3 breweries: A-B, Miller, Pabst. MGD, Budweiser, Coors Original and Old Milwaukee Light all are on the top 15 beers... yeah, these results are convincing and GABF medal counts are completely objective.

GABF is a great event, but the game is rigged and results have to be taken with a grain of salt.

Vermont is a better beer state IMO for beer snobs than CO. Highest microbreweries per capita in the country and your chance of encountering a fantastic local beer selection at any random bar are greater than CO. Not taking anything away from CO, it is a fantastic beer state.


[This message has been edited by corndog04 (edited 12/20/2011 3:06a).]

GABF is a big deal. In addition to that, I posted the list of top 100 breweries in the world. Colorado has 5, as does Oregon. Colorado, Oregon, and Cali are the top 3 beer states in my opinion. Portland and Denver are the top 2 beer cities. I could care less about Vermont..... I try to stick to Colorado and other Western/Northwestern beers, so I can't say I remember any good beer I've had from Vermont.

All that said, I am much more of a bourbon guy.

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Denver is probably the coolest city out there. You got the city life and outdoors life not too far away. Where else can you get that? Yes, all you know and love is in Texas. Take a chance. You're young, single and you'll be working in an awesome city.

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I agree with this 100%. Moving to Denver is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Friends and family always want to visit because of how nice it is here. Texas is still special to me, but I never really look forward to going back.

As far as finding a place close to South Englewood, I'd look in Centennial, Denver Tech Center/Greenwood Village, and maybe Highlands Ranch/Littleton. As far as wanting to avoid ghettos, there are very few here & nothing like the ghettos in Houston. Aurora gets the worst rap, but it's not that bad & there are decent spots in Aurora.

As far as expenses, Denver is not that bad. The reality is that Texas and the deep south are much cheaper than just about anywhere else in the country. I agree with the sentiment that you get what you pay for. Colorado is really nice for the money, as it is much cheaper than the east/west coasts. Gas might be 10-15 cents more expensive here, utilities are cheaper for me (don't need the AC nearly as much & rarely run the heat), and I haven't noticed groceries being much more expensive.

I would not recommend Ft. Lupton and as for Greeley, maybe to west side of Greeley. I would commute to Ft. L from northern Denver.

not Greeley

fort Collins or loveland

My brother lives on the west side of Greeley, nice home and neighborhood. BUT, just to the east the homes start getting trashier. Loveland & Ft Collins are a lot better, but maybe too long a commute to Ft Lupton. Northern suburbs of Denver are best. Erie is getting expensive due to proximity to the mountains and newer, hip place.

Let's go ski-man!

west greeley is ok, but not much to do in greeley

Do it! I moved back to Austin from Denver and regret it daily!

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Do it! I moved back to Austin from Denver and regret it daily!

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I met some friends (shortly after to moving to Denver in 2009) that were from Texas, lived in Denver a couple years, then moved back to Houston. They made it like 6 months in Houston before moving back to Denver.

They said if I ever missed Texas, just go visit for 3-4 days and get my fix. Fortunately, I've never missed Texas & only like to visit 1-2 times/year.

Can't go wrong in CO. There aren't many places where you can go skiing, rafting, and play golf all in one weekend.

I live in West Greeley. I wouldn't recommend Greeley, though. We're moving to Denver ASAP.

And our beer rocks.

(Never mind).

[This message has been edited by SA Ag (edited 1/31/2012 2:03p).]

I live in Colorado Springs (about an hour south of Denver), but I agree with the sentiments posted already. Denver is a great city and Colorado offers such a wide variety of stuff to do all year - skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, fly-fishing, ice-fishing, lake fishing, camping, hunting, hiking, golfing, disc golf, sports venues, concerts (Red Rocks), theatre... I could go on and on.

My wife and I miss the homeland, but when I visit in the summers, I am reminded how much the heat sucks and discourages me from getting outdoors.

I'm in Denver for a couple weeks. Anybody got some St. Paddy's Day suggestions?

St. Patty's in pretty awesome if you're downtown. I think there is a 1-2 day celebration where several blocks are closed from traffic. Might be around Market or Blake, near Coors Field.