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Thread: Thinking of moving: CO or CA. Opinions?

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    Member Member 21Kid's Avatar
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    Question Thinking of moving: CO or CA. Opinions?

    My wife is finishing up med school and is looking to do her last years rounds in the place we'd eventually move to. We were thinking about the Denver or Los Angeles areas. Yes, we're sick of the midwest winters. Her residency would probably be 4-5 years, so we would be staying for a while. Considering the kids would then be in high school, we probably wouldn't move for even longer after that.

    I was just wondering what opinions people have, that live in these areas. I know a few people have recently moved, and seem to really like both. I'd appreciate some honest opinions, positive and negative. I know the basics about each, but I've never visited LA, or southern CA at all really. I've only been to SF.

    other considerations:
    Wife's best friend lives about 80 miles NW of LA. And my mom lives about 2 hrs north of Denver. Neither of which is where we'd want to live. We'd prefer to be closer to the city, but still have a yard while the kids & dog are around. I know a lot more people in Denver, most of which I've met through here.

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    Corvette Enthusiast Kchrpm's Avatar
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    Colorado winters are better than Midwest winters?
    Get that weak shit off my track

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    80 miles NW of LA? So, like Ventura? Or Santa Barbara? Lovely places to live! *Personally* I think living in LA is a bunch of shit. It's not like SF or NY where the city is the destination, LA is just urban sprawl. The places you want to live "in LA" aren't in Los Angeles. And may not even be in Los Angeles county! Personally, I would live in "Southern California," but I wouldn't live in LA. I would definitely go for Ventura or far south like San Diego, maybe go back to Orange County maybe off to the east in like Pasadena. LA itself is just too much for me - and I love SF.

    I think California has a lot going for it, but if you're not excited for the weather (which it sounds like you might be) or the culture or some other aspect, I'd be as mercenary about this as possible and live where your income:expense ratio is the most favorable - at least for a while. I would move to Colorado or Oregon tomorrow *except* that I happen to have a situation where my ratio is pretty darned good. It would be tough for me to do better.

    Where was KB's moving through? Here, or some protoforum?

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    High Plains Luddite George's Avatar
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    I've lived on the south side of the Denver metro area for eleven years now. My wife and I originally wanted to move to middle to northern California but real estate prices were so much cheaper here - although still staggeringly high, compared to North Carolina, at the time.

    I can tell you for the last couple of years in the Denver area, houses sell within a few days of being listed, and often for higher than the asking price. I've done no actual market research to verify this, but I often hear people say that the Denver area has some of the highest rental costs in the country right now, as a result of there being too few houses on the market. Surely that's also tied to the cessation of home building that started after the crash of 2008 and lasted until perhaps a year ago, when I started to see new neighborhoods being built on the edge of the metro area on land that had been prairie.

    If I can answer any specific questions, either here or via PM, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

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    I'd go with self sufficient energy.

    Things may change.

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    Jedi Cam's Avatar
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    My own personal preference steers me away from large cities. Having lived in So Cal for several years, it has its advantages and disadvantages. Good weather, but air pollution. Lots of stuff to do and see, but poor public transportation. Mountains nearby, but have to sit for hours in LA traffic to get there. Some nice people there, but lots of vapid, plastic people too. Outrageous housing costs. LA was good to us, but I would not want to live there again.

    Maybe consider a smaller city, one that is not so expensive to live in? For example, Columbia has been nice to us, it its not a super-big city and it's cost-effective to live here. It's dang hot in the summer though. Greenville is a nice, fast-growing city that's close to the Smokies, with a slightly cooler climate. I think it's worth exploring other options that might not be on your radar. Throw a dart at a map.

    Denver is too big. It took 45 minutes just to drive to the airport from the Jordans' old house.

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    Corvette Enthusiast Kchrpm's Avatar
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    Cincinnati is awesome, and *almost* the south?
    Get that weak shit off my track

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    As far as hospitals are concerned, I'm not totally sure, but LA should have better and more prestigious hospitals, right?

    Also weatherwise, LA can't be beat. Not sure about Colorado winters, but they have thunderstorms during summer!

    I think the only thing I love about Colorado is the people. They seemed really friendly compared to people in LA... based on vacationing there last summer...

    Another thing to consider would be housing prices. LA is probably has the cheapest average for California cities compared to SF or even San Diego, but probably still more costly than Denver? Unless the housing shortage George mention is really that serious in CO?

    Still, housing in good school districts will still cost a lot in LA. Personally, I'm even thinking about leaving Los Angeles when my daughter reaches high school ages..., just not sure where I want to move to yet... we have awesome 'diversity' here, but it's also easy for kids to get influenced in a bad way easily...

    Anyway, I'd just see which job offers me the highest pay after adjusting to cost of living and go there. I personally like both places. I wouldn't mind moving to Denver if I can get a better paying job and bigger house and faster car...

    However, if weather/climate is the main driver in your decision making process, then LA is the obvious choice.

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    Member Member 21Kid's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kchrpm View Post
    Colorado winters are better than Midwest winters?
    Definitely Better.
    Plus there are more sunny days and less humidity.

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    Quote Originally Posted by thesameguy View Post
    80 miles NW of LA? So, like Ventura? Or Santa Barbara? Lovely places to live! *Personally* I think living in LA is a bunch of shit. It's not like SF or NY where the city is the destination, LA is just urban sprawl. The places you want to live "in LA" aren't in Los Angeles. And may not even be in Los Angeles county! Personally, I would live in "Southern California," but I wouldn't live in LA. I would definitely go for Ventura or far south like San Diego, maybe go back to Orange County maybe off to the east in like Pasadena. LA itself is just too much for me - and I love SF.

    I think California has a lot going for it, but if you're not excited for the weather (which it sounds like you might be) or the culture or some other aspect, I'd be as mercenary about this as possible and live where your income:expense ratio is the most favorable - at least for a while. I would move to Colorado or Oregon tomorrow *except* that I happen to have a situation where my ratio is pretty darned good. It would be tough for me to do better.

    Where was KB's moving through? Here, or some protoforum?
    I don't remember the name of the city. I wouldn't want to live that far out of a city. And if I did move there, I would definitely prefer somewhere other than around downtown LA. I'm not a fan of sprawl at all. Is Irvine good? or still too close?

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