Possible move to Colorado? Need advice

Good morning Tacomaworld!

So the cards I've been dealt thus far in 2018 may have an upcoming move within. I grew up in Los Angeles, lived in Phoenix (Chandler) AZ for a while, and moved back to Los Angeles. My girlfriend and I are considering moving out to Colorado as we are huge outdoor enthusiasts, love to snowboard and enjoy going to Mammoth many times per year (during all seasons) for recreation. I am a certified Paralegal in California with several years experience and am currently working on finishing my BA in business admin. Looking to finish school in an area where living costs are lower than LA, and somewhere I can find a good job in the field of law so I can keep working on my investment portfolio to eventually buy a house.

What are the Pros and Cons of Colorado? Are there any specific areas to consider for a couple in their 20s? Any advice is appreciated!

Cheers,

 

Are you working on your BA at a state school or UC in California? If so, you may want to consider finishing it there. For all the problems California has, we do have some of the cheapest in-state tuition college in the country. If you're doing it online, ignore my comments.

 

Soon there will bee more Californians, Texans and Arizonans in Colorado than Coloradans...

 

if soon means the last 10-15 years then yeah..
lol

 

Depending on where you are looking to relocate in Colorado, the housing situation might not be much better off than LA. Cost of living has exploded over the last 5 years and houses are typically going for well over asking price with multiple offers. I left in 2015 and had 11 offers within 24 hours of putting the house on the market. Rent is unusually high due to the amount of people moving there too. Political landscape is changing drastically too as more out of state people move in (as mentioned already). A lot of natives do not take kindly to the change that is happening in Colorado at the moment. I loved living there but was happy to leave as my work/life balance was going to crap with the amount of traffic, cost of living...etc.

 

Yea, saw it first hand. The weed just added to it ten fold

 

I am still working on my AA in community college as after I graduated HS I picked up a sales job and was making bank so I never really wanted to pursue my degree. Then a few years ago my family relocated to PHX which threw a wrench in my entire life plan so I ended up deciding to go back to finish school and try to become a lawyer. I havent made it to a UC or CSU as of yet, however I can likely finesse instate tuition for arizona because my family lives there, and do ASU online to finish my last few credits for the Bachelors. Or, perhaps get to CO and keep working on my AA because my JC has tons of online classes I can do. So I was thinking of just keeping it lowkey that I moved and keep taking online classes with my current JC in california, while working out there full time. Then once I am eligible for instate in CO apply to the state university at Boulder or something. Online is always an option too, but I am outgoing and love to socialize so going to a physical campus might be better for me.

 

my experience as well. i lived in CO twice and never wished to leave, but employment circumstances eventually forced the issue (right after 9/11 and all the travel and IT fallout). i love the place and would live there if my work allowed for it. OP if you can do telecommuting with your work then that could make it easier as long as you're properly connected. but of course if you're serious about living there you can definitely make it happen. sounds like your career side shouldn't be an issue like it was for me.

 

This is what I've heard also. I wouldnt want to live dead in the middle of the city, but I want to be within 20 miles of it. Luckily lawyers (defense and plaintiff) thrive in almost any city, so that gives me some leadway to be able to stay out of the downtown district. I just want to be somewhere off the grid, but not completely far from everything like steamboat or apsen. Boulder sounds cool on paper but I've never been.

 

Anything within 20 miles of the city center goes along with what I said earlier. Even the "far" away metro areas of Ft. Collins, Boulder, and Castle Rock are feeling the same pain as Denver. In my opinion, if you are moving to Colorado for the outdoor activities, you should be looking at the west side of the rockies or the southwestern part of the state. Driving up I70 on the weekend from Denver is time consuming, frustrating and at times dangerous. Just my 2 cents.

 

move to salida!