Moving to Denver /Boulder from NYC - thoughts appreciated

thx Rock On!

Yankee stay home!

No problem, when I get there, I'll be spending lot's of quality time with my family at and within my 'new home'.

I gave you a link back on page one - www.city-data.com. Go to the forum section, look under Colorado, then Boulder.

Go ahead and move to denver. You will hate it. Just stay out of my neck of colorado....

People move to my part of colorado all the time, and they end up staying for an average of 2 years before it gets too much for them. 9000 feet can wear you down quick. If you aren't in good physical condition and if you can't stand the cold or are prone to cabin fever after 8 months of cold temperatures, best stay in NYC. If you are a people person, it will get lonely. Then again, Denver is an exception. I don't even consider Denver as being part of the mountains. It's just another city happening to be a mile high

You & 50 million others. Unfortunately we can't all live like John Denver. Water is scarce here. If you live in a cabin in the mountains, you will need a well, and it will almost certainly need a treatment system for all the minerals and heavy metals. So you need to interact with the water purification guys in town.

There is no escape.

check out "crime stats for Colorado Springs Colorado.com " crime is high there..

thx, been reading city-data.com denver forum for a couple months now.

Hi Inanna,

I guess I'm coming to this thread a little late, but from what little I can tell about you from your name, avatar, and the fact that you want to work in alternative energy, I think you would like Boulder or Denver proper better than the southern suburbs. The southern suburbs are a lot more conservative and corporate. Also, I think that is quite a drive from the types of jobs you're looking at.

I saw an article a couple weeks ago about an alternative energy center in Golden, CO that is trying to get federal funding to expand.

Here's a link
[link to www.nrel.gov]

Be sure to go to the Red Rocks Grille in Morrison and have a chicken burrito for me!

thx Timedancer... for your thoughtful response. Southwest burbs will probably be temp, w/family to help get settled. Seems somewhere in the NW corridor near the foothils is where I'll end up, with the city nearby for a dose of 'city' from time to time. NYC wears you down after many years. Looking for a somewhat quiet time in the second half of this life, and I love the outdoors, mountains, closer to nature, vs the concrete mountains of big city life.

thx twin.. I was in Red Rock few years back for my sis's wedding. Will difenately put that Grille on my to do list.

I was born here.

Both my parents were born here.

One of my grandparents was born here.

I like it here.

Nothing will keep New Yorkers away, but I'm not going to encourage any more of them. My relatives would disown me.

get out as fast as possible!!!!!!!!

thx... I was aware of the water issues. I guess no matter where one lives in 'civilization', compromises must be made to deal with govt and public service issues.

thx for your honesty. No matter where we all come from or go to, we're all still 'people', individual from the rest with our own hopes and dreams that should be encouraged to experience all one can in a lifetime. When I moved from Maryland to NYC 25yrs ago, that was major culture shock as well. I'm glad you like it there and have family (as some of mine are in CO as well). I'm sure I'll adjust as necessary.

You're right, though I was talking about the private sector. If you are really off the beaten path, hooking up to city water will not be an option.

Beware of unscrupulous water filter salesmen. Thanks to our pro-business state government, any lying idiot can (and will) sell you junk that will do nothing. Except maybe ruin your plumbing. Be a smart consumer. But it sounds like you know that.

So, what appeals to you about Denver? Do you love to ski or snowboard? Are you jonesing for burritos and chile verde?

I moved here 5 years ago because it was the first job I was offered in two years in my high tech field where I could mkae enough money to pay my mortgage. So I'm working here and paying a mortgage on another place I own with family members elsewhere.

I spent 8 years in Manhattan and loved the cultural life and the fact that NYC was a 24-hr town. Denver is not. It's hard to find a restaurant open after 10 p.m. There is a little bit of a live theater scene, but it's not even off-Broadway. There are some museums, sort of, but a New Yorker might not think so.

What Denver is about is sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It's very sports oriented and has a heavy blue-collar feel, even though there are very few blue-collar jobs left. Most of the downtown jobs are financial and high tech but the people are fairly mindless. If Denver was a movie or TV sitcom, it would take place in L.A. with Beverly Hills aspirations. Think Melrose Place. No Woody Allen or Seinfeld in view anywhere.

It's a very young skinny place and is starving for young skinny women. If you are one and really like to party, you will have a ball here but you need to live downtown in a loft. SW Denver is kind of like Westchester but the IQ is 25 points lower. There's money, but it's older and more quiet.

I wouldn't even consider moving here unless I knew someone.

If all this doesn't sound like you, think Northern California -- maybe San Francisco. If you have some money or are over 40, Santa Barbara is paradise (even though it's farther south). I'm an old high tech hippie and absolutely loved Santa Cruz. As a matter of fact, I'm considering moving back -- earthquakes be damned!

But wherever you go, remember that you take yourself with you. And the people will be just like those you left. Sort of.

That response was to anothers post a few pages back, BUT... i'm feeling the same vibe, to get out!

You are not worthy.

Take a snow shovel.
Lots of New Yorker magazines.
And a four wheel drive.

well, at least you're consistant with your one line posts and attitude! lol.

This is hilarious and others agree, including Zebulon Pike of the Peak. That is a direct quote from him.

I met my second husband in a town north of Denver but he was from northern CA and just hated it here. Our last winter here after 2 years together, it was near 0 F for three weeks. Just before it warmed up, he declared that "Pike was right. This f--king place is unfit for human habitation and I'm leaving." When we arrived in Gilroy, south of San Jose, it was 45 and I put on a halter top!

Now, 30 years later I'm back and still agree somewhat. I bought a house and have adapted, but it's still not home and I'm trying to figure out where to go next.

thx, will be looking to purchase a vehicle, no more subways and the Denver light rail doesn't compare. I'd best sign up for a subscription of NYmag :-), better yet, the Village Voice. Snow is something I'm quite used to.

I was just there yesterday, ET. And I think they're freezing and microwaving em now! Or maybe the cook had the day off. Not too many harleys outside either. But then it was cold.

thx BluzGal... Wasn't my post actually, but I get it. Will respond to your initial post soon.:-)

I didn't know that. Perhaps I was Zeb Pike in a previous life :-)

Fwiw, it's zero degrees in my backyard right now :-(

They will take your gold in Denver.

Yes, another weird thing about Colorado as a whole. Housing is way expensive relative to pay. Just the reverse is true in Austin TX, for example.

But, forgive me, OP. I didn't read the rest of your posts before I started in. If you're looking for alternative energy work and that kind of lifestyle, Boulder is definitely the place to be. It's like northern CA without the ocean and with lots of cold air and beautiful mountains. Think Westchester with an even higher IQ and more of a social conscience. Canislatrans is right! You could have a great time there. Hard to believe that Boulder and Denver are in the same state.