I'd really like a change of scenery and thinking Denver might be that change. Have you ever looked for a job in IT in Denver from out of town? Was it incredibly difficult?
There may be a difference, depending on your background and expectations.. The bay area is swimming in companies, especially startups. Even Seattle is ‘different’ than that, and we have hundreds of thousands of software engineers here.
The Denver job market is extremely hot right now. Know that the cost of living, while not on the scale of Bay area or Seattle, has been rising rapidly. You should have no problem finding a job and you should probably be able to find someone willing to pay for your move.
Boulder has some cool GIS software jobs if that interests you. Goog, MS, and ESRI.
Tech in Denver is split between between commercial tech and aerospace and defense. So if you’re not a citizen, you will find your job market in Denver to be much smaller and more competitive than the Bay Area. Lots of high skilled people gunning for those jobs. But having a big FAANG on your resume will undoubtedly give you an edge in the interview process. That being said, Denver is the only other city I’d be in if I left California. I LOVE that city and the mountains. It’s not really a secret anymore.
I relocated a few months ago after 3 months of searching. It wasn't difficult getting interviews but many of the interview processes went on for nearly 2 months! I think companies here could get better talent if they had a 2 week interview process. Also, I found that many companies seem to be trying to hang on to the salaries they were paying five years ago. Many companies seem to benefit from individuals excited to move here and have no idea how to gauge their market value. I think a combination of data from Glassdoor, the BLS, and forums help to dial in a good figure. While, I landed a role, I still see it a step in my search for the role I want.
Can echo this sentiment. I relocated to Denver and accepted an offer for far less than I’m actually worth. Paying the price now, but there’s a lot of mobility both internal and external.
Theres plenty of jobs, no different than anywhere else still a competitive market