Rocky Mountain California

I've been here in CO for 3 months now, and I have never lived somewhere that I love and hate so much. Western CO is great, lots of animals, awesome country, but man Denver sucks. Housing is insane, traffic is a nightmare, this area takes yuppieville to a whole new meaning. This move was definetely an upgrade from CA, but I'm not sure it's really what I am looking for. I commute 1.5 each way just to get out of the main hustle. I have lived in NM and Idaho and I liked them both alot better. I really enjoy the hunting and scenery on the west side, but with all the ski resorts I probably will never be able to afford a house in the mountains. The reality of this finally sank in yesterday when it took me 2 hours to get home because of traffic. If you are looking to relocate to Colorado, do yourself a favor and visit for a week, and avoid the I-25 corridor like the plague! ...Lol

I have checked out a few Western CO towns (Steamboat, Gunnison, Rifle, Glenwood Springs), but it seems that it would be hard to make a living and housing costs are very high. I am going to go out this weekend and do some more exploring. Does anyone have any suggestions on where a guy could find a decent construction job and not pay California housing prices? Or does Montana need to make room for one more?...lol.

Sorry for the rant, I'm done...

First in fairness to the good people of Colorado you need to appreciate that thousands of transplants before you created the sprawl. Still much better than anywhere in California.

Now a few random thoughts and reasons to consider Utah.

1) Our mountains and where Colorado wished theirs were. Not Front Range foothills but the Wasatch are 10 minutes from the city.

2) 3.2% beer. You can drink more!

3) Patches of blue in a red state. We get the best of both worlds. I would suggest looking at Ogden. Nice city with reasonable cost of living. Lots of entertainment options and you have birds to the west and big game to the east.

4) Job market. Lots of construction going on. The bad thing is we are right to work state so wages and benefits lag what you saw in California. But you actually have work.

5) Target for mormon missionaries. If you know how to work it. "Yes I'm interested in hearing more could we do it over dinner". Next week let's talk over lunch. Oh it's my 45 1/2 birthday I wish someone would throw a party. Not saying gullible people but!!

6) Roads we have more and they are wider than Colorado. Honestly takes me 25 minutes to go 20 miles during morning rush hour. Evening 45 minutes. Never have figured out why night takes longer.

7) 435 Area code. In Utah 85% of the population lives in the Wasatch Front. 5% live in St George (extreme southwest) so 10% are scattered across the rest of the state. We have 100's of miles to lose yourself in 435 land. People just get lost at times never to be found.

8) Women lots of blondes. It's in the water or something.

Come on over!!

Brother, you should come south to check out the Springs. None of the problems of Denver and a GREAT place to live. Plus If you want the Mtns you can live in Woodland Park (pretty cheap, actually) and it is still just over a half an hour to the Springs. I have lived a BUNCH of places (IN,NC,CT,MI,SC,GA,WA,CO, the UK and Italy not counting deployments) and this is by FAR the best. Active construction scene here as well.

I don't want it to sound like I'm writing off CO. I really do like it here. I think I just need to get out of Denver. I had seen Colorado before moving out here, but I was hunting and never made it out to Denver. I was pretty taken back the first few days I was here. I have lived in Utah as well and I really have nothing bad to say about it. I guess I'm just a little disappointed. I wanted out of Cali so bad I hoped the first ride that came along. Imagine my surprise when I learned Denver looks just like Sacramento. I'm gonna check out Woodland park this weekend. Thanks for the tip!

I lived in the DC area for a little bit, if you're going to live in an urban area you really have to be pretty careful about where you pick to live. You're basically wasting 500+ hours a year in your car, not to mention gas and maintenance on the vehicle. So if you're going to live in the city, make it be convenient at least. I'm glad I don't live in the city now, but just try to make the best of it while you're there. Try to live close to where you work and where you can walk to some restaurants and the grocery store, go see some pro sporting events, etc. Then when the time is right, get the hell outta there.

ISDSO,

If you want remote, there is a boom in the Dakotas with gasfield development. Housing is at a premium. Might have to live in an RV. Good work for a single guy.

However if you are looking for a place to raise a family, that is a different cup of tea altogether.

If you can hook up with a contractor who builds spec homes in Resort areas, you might be able to live close to some ski communities, Aspen, Jackson, Sun Valley, etc. That means commuting also. For instance Jackson commutes from E. Idaho, like Victor, and Idaho Falls.

Citydata.com is a good place to do research on commute time, religion, schools, race, crime, utilities cost etc for every town around.

If you want to stay in CO, you might try Grand Junction. Banana Belt here. Mild winters, but 45 minutes from skiing at 10,000' or hiking in redrock desert canyons at 4,000'. Big enough to have decent amenities, but you can still drive across town in 20 minutes.

Jwill put it well. This is a bad subject.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/08/denver-smog-crackdown-epa_n_416234.html
(this was a few years ago too, gets worse everyday we frack, and the more of you move here)

Denver doesn't suck. Look in the mirror -- maybe you suck?, not making the most of your situations? Commutes are awful because everyone is busy on phones in cars and our roads were made for 1970,not 2000 anything. (My son and I did drive from Ft Collins to Invesco to watch the Donkeys roll the Chefs - garage to J lot 55 minutes.)Why don't you pollute your way North, and check out the Fort? As Oak mentioned, GJ is nice too.
note: Urban sprawl is everywhere. Good luck on your qwest. fyi - soon as you find a great spot you can bet Readers Digest and CNBC will kick out Americas Best Little Towns of 2014, and in 5 years it will look like Sacrmento too.