thinking to move to Denver

Toast
behappyman

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behappyman
4d 18 Comments

I am currently working in the Boston area and received an offer in Denver, CO, but never really been to Denver before. I flew to Denver and liked the environment there. People seem pretty friendly also. I am also an outdoor lover, and CO has always been the dream place for outdoor lovers.

The offer came from a series B/C startup, and the base is 150k. I will be discussing the offer details next week and certainly will update this post again. My background is working in the global supply chain area with around 7 YOE, and the company is in the AV industry. The job can be in hybrid mode, where go in the office 3 to 4 days per week.

My question is:
1) Do Blinders think that 150k is good enough to live a good life in the Denver area for a family of 2 adults and 2 toddlers?

2) Based on my research, Denver looks like it has a lot of great things to talk about, nothing really bad. I might fall into my blindspot area, and can people here advise me on things I should be aware of before moving there?

Thank you in advance for all the help here!

#denver #colorado #autonomous #moving #tech

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TOP 18 Comments
  • Meta
    kaiallard

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    kaiallard
    It’s hard to advise without knowing your current standard of living but 150K is still a reasonable salary in CO to support a family. The biggest challenge will be housing, which has gotten really pricy in Denver and its surrounding suburbs. As your kids get older, you’re going to be looking for homes in good school districts and that can get very pricy in/near Denver.

    If you’re buying a home and don’t mind a commute (or working remotely), I’d look at cities outside of Denver like Thornton, where you can get a lot more for your money. But you lose the fun part of living in Denver, which is having all the fun and amenities of city life with amazing outdoors nearby
    4d 2
    • Financial Services Company
      zoWS18

      Financial Services Company

      zoWS18
      I’m a CO native and can confirm this. 150K is definitely reasonable and the surrounding areas will be good for you to look into. Westminster, Golden, and Northern Thornton have some good schools and are all about a 20 minute drive from Denver. Typical house will be 600K+
      4d
    • Toast
      behappyman

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      behappyman
      OP
      Thanks for your insight, zoWS18! And actually, the company is based in Golden. Based on my calculation, the money won't remain much after spending on condo rent and toddler day care with a 150k base.

      What do you think?
      4d
  • Ria fFinancial / Product
    iajz33

    Ria fFinancial Product

    iajz33
    In my opinion, coming from CA, Denver has been quite unkempt and unfriendly unless you’re living in one of the newly developed neighborhoods. Also there’s a bit of an alcoholic culture here. But that’s coming from a guy that barely drinks. There’s not much to do in the city but eat and drink

    Also even though the outdoors are nearby, they’re still a solid 40 mins to 1 hour at minimum and 2+ at maximum but they’re gorgeous and often worth it
    4d 2
    • Toast
      behappyman

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      behappyman
      OP
      Which one do you feel the best compared CA and CO?
      4d
    • Ria fFinancial / Product
      dgtlnomad

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      dgtlnomad
      If you can make it to the central coast or the bay in CA then 100% CA

      Some suburbs in Los Angeles county are also pretty great and have access to some decent hikes + surfing in the malibu area
      4d
  • Comcast
    Pnwb34

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    Pnwb34
    Denver is one of the best and affordable places you can live in with 150k. I’ve been in Colorado for last 8 years, bought a house in 2018 and never had any issues with making little less than 150k. Lots of outdoor stuff you can do and get busy with. Breathtaking mountain views and super scenic places are within 2-3 hrs drive so I am pretty sure one would love it. It is a bit dry and can get cold in here from Dec - March but you will also see lot of sunny days overall. Lots of good schools in cherry creek and Douglas county school districts.
    4d 0
  • Cisco
    zHtX13

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    zHtX13
    150k will be difficult. Some of my family lives in this area now, and with how crazy housing has gotten in Colorado you need $900k-$1.5M to buy a non shitty house in Denver, that means like $4k-$5k/mo house payment. You need minimum $200k BASE to have comfortable life in Colorado

    It’s worth it though. I was renting in 2015 and moved away somewhere cheaper and now I want to go back. Colorado is just better than most other parts of the US. But costs continue to skyrocket
    4d 6
    • Toast
      behappyman

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      behappyman
      OP
      based on my quick research, it looks like most of the decent condos will cost around 2800usd to 3000usd, but if you go further, like literally 15 mins away from Denver, it can cost around 2300usd to 2600usd depending on location.
      4d
    • Cisco
      zHtX13

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      zHtX13
      New townhouses are $750k in Denver, non-shit build quality SFH start at $1M. The only houses cheaper than that are in areas you don’t want to live like Aurora. Also, note, everything goes minimum $50k over ask currently
      3d
  • Google
    veritas0

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    veritas0
    I live in the burbs of Boulder... I moved my family from the East Coast out here 4 years ago with a household income of ~245k and have never looked back.

    I agree with the other posters that the only challenge is housing... Your neighborhood can make or break ANY city. Other than that, the culture here (Boulder burbs, not the city) is just so much more balanced than any place I've been to... Everyone seems to have a real appreciation for nature and tends to work for causes they believe in rather than chase money in the rat race, and it seems to work out more often than not.
    4d 1
    • Ria fFinancial / Product
      iajz33

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      iajz33
      Yeah boulder is leagues different from most places in denver
      4d