SWEET, although I don't recognize that picture from any topgolf I've ever been to.

That picture at top of article? Read the caption, not top golf.

[This message has been edited by 62strat (edited 6/22/2014 5:48p).]

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dreyOO - Hollywood, you've lived a lot of different spots. can you rank them? (granted, it sounds like you had some bad luck with the weather in Denver so that might be a bit influenced)

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No problem at all on the weather in Denver. A couple of hassles here and there but nothing too major. The timing of your question is good because I'm 18 months away from my next window for making a move and I'm trying to decide what I ought to do next.

My father was in Construction and I'm in Information Technology so as projects finished or new opportunities presented themselves, I've wound up moving about every 3-4 years on average. Ranked in the order of time spent in the same place, it looks like this:
1. Sydney, Australia (6.5 years)
2. Round Rock, Texas (5 years plus 1.5 years in North Austin/Pflugerville)
3. Burbank, California (4 years plus 1 year in "The O.C." as a kid)
4. Texas A&M - College Station (5 years minus 3 summers)
5. Highlands Ranch, Colorado (4 years)
6. Al-Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (4 years plus another 1.5 years in a different city in "The Kingdom")
7. Waco, Texas (3 years - parents have been there for 25+ years)
8. Humacao/Yabucoa, Puerto Rico (3 years as a kid, returned several times to visit)
9. Valdez, Alaska (2 1/2 years - returned to visit as an adult)
10. Galveston, County - Santa Fe/Hitchcock, Texas (2 1/2 years - grade school age including 3 months in Kenner, Louisiana one summer)
11. Fort Knox, Kentucky (6 months as a Junior Army Officer)

Now, how would I rank those places? It depends on a variety of factors. Ability to earn a living, access to goods and services, access to travel, entertainment, recreation, drinking establishments, food, weather, friendliness of the locals, diversity (believe it or not, I'm serious about this), social mores/values, crime rate, cost of living and lastly just simply - did I want to be there and was I willing to sacrifice something else I cared about in order to live there.

Hindsight being 20/20, absence makes the heart grow fonder, etc., here is my ranking preference for the places where I've lived 6 months or longer. Some of them I'll just lump together as one unit.

1. Sydney, Australia - I absolutely love it. The weather is great, the people are great, there is a high level of diversity in the city and there is plenty of economic opportunity and of course entertainment. The roads and infrastructure are a sad joke and the people can't produce 1/2 the output of a worker in Austin, Texas but, life in Sydney is pretty good even though the cost of living is terrible.
2. Burbank, California - I'm going to make a fine distinction here. Burbank is part of SoCal but it is not Los Angeles. I learned how important it is to have your own Police/Fire/Water/Electric/Schools, etc. by living in Burbank next to Los Angeles. We would constantly hear about the problems LA had while we didn't have those problems in Burbank. Great community for a family with easy access to everything 20 million people in SoCal can produce. Downside - high cost of living and heavy traffic if you have to leave Burbank (which is rare). Full disclosure, - I've got a beef with the City Council but that's a whole different topic. All in all, the reputation of Los Angeles County is so terrible that there are plenty of jobs available if you're willing to live in LA County. And if you're living in LA County, my recommendation is a community with "Beach" in the name, or Burbank/Glendale (Glendale is pretty much 100% Armenian these days but they're great people).
3. Round Rock/Austin, Texas - I liked living in Round Rock/Austin. I loved the youthfulness of Austin and of course the live music scene. 15 years into my IT career and 40+ trips to "The Bay Area", many of the smartest/hardest working IT people I've ever known were in Austin. Downside - no infrastructure planning - on purpose. If we stick our head in the sand, maybe people will stop moving to Austin. Got really tired of hearing about underprivileged disadvantaged "at-risk" youth all the time. And then there were the pot isn't any worse than beer conversations. Lots of self-proclaimed geniuses in Austin. Lots of them are waiters too.
4. Highlands Ranch, Colorado - Good airport to fly out of because there was not much work going on along the Front Range. As far as a community that has everything you could ever want, Highlands Ranch is it. The real problems with Denver have all been captured on episodes of South Park. Mostly it is just the sameness of everyone and everything. On one hand that's comforting but on the other hand it's boring. Great group of Aggies in town but it's also funny how quick other move-ins to Colorado are to dismiss you because they arrived in Colorado anywhere from 30 seconds to five years before you arrived there. It was especially funny when you would watch people who would treat you one way if you gave them your 303 cell phone number versus if you gave them your 720 home phone (showing your true colors as a recent move-in). My take on Colorado is that if you have your own source of income it's a great place to live. But, if you're trying to get ahead and continue to work your way up the food chain, it can be extremely difficult because there are a lot of people there who are willing to do the same work for less money because they don't want to go back to California or Nebraska.
5. Al-Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - This is a master planned community kind of like Highlands Ranch. It was envisioned in the 1970s as a mix of industry and residential. It is now in the process of being re-invigorated as a work/education/entertainment destination for Saudis. It's going to be very interesting to see how it develops over the next 5-15 years. Saudi Arabia is a great place to raise a family and frankly one of the neat things about Al-Jubail is that you get to live next door to Saudi families. You're not isolated in some American compound. There's no crime and all the facilities are top notch. The only real challenges (besides no alcohol) are the same types of things you find with any remote location where availability of goods is an issue. I would definitely live in Saudi Arabia again. Other downside - no sense of urgency, they're on a timetable that might take decades to get something done.
6. Humacao, Puerto Rico - My judgement might be clouded because I'm on vacation here right now but it's nice. Sure, you need to know a little Spanish but that's true anywhere in the Southwest these days. The weather's nice, the infrastructure is good, the people will work and it is the United States of America. They've got Fuddruckers, Chili's and produce Bacardi Rum. So most of what I need to exist is readily available.
7. Galveston County, Texas - Granted, the entire county is propped up by the Petrochemical plants in Texas City, life is pretty simple in Galveston County. The only real challenges are diversity (look at the 2010 Census figures for Santa Fe if you want to see what a sundown community looks like) and what do people do for employment besides working at "The Plants". I guess there's the Dog Track. Low cost of living, all-around great value.
8. Bryan-College Station, Texas - the area has grown up a lot lately but I am still of the opinion that the lack of suburbs ought to tip you off to something. I think that something is that I suspect the local power rests in the hands of a few and that seems to be OK with everybody. We all know the law enforcement (especially TABC) is a little over-zealous. I think private sector (non-A&M) employment opportunities are pretty limited in B/CS.
9. Valdez, Alaska - Since I left, it has returned to its origins as a fishing village of 4,000 residents. The main employer in town is the marine loading terminal at the end of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Other seasonal work includes cruise ships stopping in during summer and during winter, Valdez is the heli-skiing capital of the world due to the 900+ inches of snow they get in Thompson Pass every year. I think you've got the typical advantages and disadvantages of living in a small rural town. Plus you've got the extreme daylight/darkness depending on the time of year and of course the potential for severe weather or Earthquakes like the 9.2 magnitude "Good Friday" quake in 1964.
10. Waco, Texas - I could go on a rant for hours here about Waco. I'll just leave you with this - the Branch Davidian Compound could not have happened anywhere else. There is no amount of money that could persuade me to live there.
11. Fort Knox, KY - the only reason you would live here is if you were in the Army so there's no point in describing it any further.

Thanks for the writing prompt. I'm not sure what my next move is but at least I'll remember to consider some of these factors before I rush into anything.

Thanks for the review. Like you, we are eyeballing a move and are fortunate enough to be pretty selective. We have young kids and value community to raise them in more than most other factors. We used to love the nightlife and gritty side of cities, but we have kids now and I'd like to get my kids away from too much riff raff. We'd also like to spend more time outdoors. So I'm thinking Colorado burbs might be a good choice. Some place that isn't sweltering Texas heat all the damn time too.

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I highly recommend making a trip to Denver to check it out, if you haven't already done so.

I appreciate HollywoodBQ taking the time to write a review, but he has a significantly different take on Denver than just about anyone else I've met here. I've literally never seen people judge/look down on anyone because of 303/720 area code, and the "I've been here longer than you" attitude is not something I've noticed. Prior to my move to Denver in 2009, I remember HollywoodBQ advising that I'd likely make it 10-15 months before moving back to Texas because that's what his friends did. After living here for nearly 5 years, I would do everything in my power to stay here. Texas would be way down on my "places to live" list. I was there last week and was ecstatic to get back to Denver. I don't know how I made it through that heat/humidity for 29 years.

As far as jobs, Denver is doing great. It's one of the most educated metros in the country, so there is competition... but you'll be rewarded if you do a good job and are in an industry that is doing well.

Drey, Highlands Ranch, where we live is the definition of suburbia and a community to raise kids in.

We moved here in dDecember, and had some of the same drivers you do. Ask away and you'll get a variety of answers from several different parts of town.


We absolutely love it here.

Greatest place on earth

Yeh as far as jobs.... My company is making ridiculous amounts of revenue right now and we've hired 6-7 salaried employees this year already... Coming from about 15 salaried employees. We also went from 80 hourly guys to about 300 his year as well. Oil and gas services/construction. We have a constant stream of upper management and exec visitors from Houston office and corporate office in Scotland.

I've never gotten the 720/303 thing either. Partly because 9 out of 10 people I meet aren't natives, so they have no room to talk anyway. I do see native stickers on cars though. That's about the extent of the 'pride' I experience.

Hell I'm still reppin' the 979 area code; I couldn't careless what some 303 person thinks. Damn good chance they transplanted here just like me.

Amazing weather about 300 days a year, most prolific beer selection in the country (per area anyway..) oil and gas is super hot and booming right now. Noble, Anadarko, Encana, Whiting... These 4 main clients of ours are throwing work at us, and we can hardly get people through the hiring process quick enough to get them in the field.

I just contacted a Texas aggie engineer for an open position... Let's see if I can add another one on the team

62Strat who did you end up working for?

I sell a lot of equipment to those guys. Are you guys doing design work for them?

It's good to see you all have had solid experiences; this sounds really appealing. Kids are really young so now is the time. We've traveled a ton and are not afraid to pick up and go.

My bro gets married up there in August so we're up there for a week ... which will turn into a bit of a scouting trip for me too.

Highlands Ranch has now made my 'must see' list. I've read up on Castle Rock but that seems a bit far out and perhaps they have water issues brewing (based on reading)? I have a few colleagues that live up in the Littleton area and another near Boulder--which seems to be pretty pricey. Plus I'm not sure I would like being surrounded by a bunch of screwball politicos...I'm pretty moderate for Texas, but I think Colorado leans more to the left. I'd prefer to raise the kids in a little more old-fashioned community.

Haha...pretty liberal everywhere man.

Congratulations! I lived in HR and moved into Cherry Creek. We downsized considerably but we really enjoy it down here. Look in Arvada, Louisville, Parker, and some parts of Aurora.

Having been here a little bit, if I had to do it again, I'd look in HR, Parker, Lone Tree, Littleton, Centennial, and Castle Pines on the south side.

I'm not very familiar with the northern burbs, but I've heard good things about the newer parts of Arvada. Broomfield is nice, but traffic into downtown was a deal-breaker for us.

Aurora has good spots as well, though it has some rough areas as well. If you don't mind master planned, smaller lots and the new urban feel, Stapleton is an option.

The southern burbs, specifically Douglas County is more conservative, but not quite Texas conservative.

Yeh saying CO is left leaning is maybe a misnomer. We are definitely segregated. Remember probably 20% of the residents here are from Texas hahah. As with any urban area, denver county is blue, and boulder. But Douglas co is red.

I work for a worldwide O&G services based in Scotland and a huge presence in Houston on Katy freeway.
If you can't work the google so well, I'll help out; we own mustang.

I live in Parker and love it. Prices have really gone up in the year we've owned. I can be on 25 or 470 in 5 minutes. I take 470 around the city to commerce city for work and have no traffic for 90% of it. It's pretty homogenous, which is a negative to some, but it's fine by me. If I want culture I can go to boulder or denver... Or if I want to be reminded of Houston I go to Greeley hah.

Any of yall Denver-area energy types know of opportunities for a federal prosecutor? I am teleworking currently while attempting to transfer, but am also looking for new opportunities, whatever they may be.

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Any interest in writing title opinions? It would probably be really boring compared to being a prosecutor, but it's good money.

proudaggie02 - glad to see you're still hanging in there as you approach your 5 year anniversary.

As far as my experience being different, keep in mind, my Colorado had a population of only 4 million (up from 3 million 10 years earlier). Your Colorado has 5+ million people so I guess it stands to reason the "founders" are even more diluted today.

Tell these guys that 303 doesn't matter I wouldn't expect to see a band naming themselves 720 anytime soon.

DreyOO - Highlands Ranch, Douglas County is definitely what you want to raise your family.

And proudaggie02 - While I was thinking about this, there is one more thing that makes my Colorado experience different than those of recent years...

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Very nice; I am jealous. I think the Avs are in good shape again with Roy & a bunch of good, young players.

Proud, definitely interested. (Boring ain't all bad.) Can I send you a resume?

Yes. I don't have as many oil/gas lawyer contacts as I once did, but I'll see what I can do.

What's your email?

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[This message has been edited by Schall 02 (edited 7/21/2014 12:46p).]

Anyone planning on going to the BMW Championship in Sep? I'm either going Thursday or Sunday or both

High praise for Wayne's Smoke Shack. It exceeded my hopes and expectations. What the brisket lacked it overt smokiness/smoke ring, it made up for in taste and preparation - it was worthy. And the ribs were fantastic .

Jock 07,

I haven't purchased tickets, but I'll go for 1-2 rounds.

Ags! I'm currently trying to make the move to the Denver area to be closer to family...still trying to line up a job though. Have 5 years experience in the commercial real estate industry - any fellow Aggies out there with contacts/leads?

agoutdoors, what type work do you do in commercial real estate?

I will be going to the Sunday round of the BMW. I got some tickets for my birthday.

Hello Fellow Ags,

I just moved to Denver and I am looking for a job. I would love to work in marketing, sales, or public relations. I am also interested in seeing what opportunities are available in the oil and gas industry because I know that is a hot industry here. Please help out however you can, I appreciate it!!

I'll be in Denver by Sunday for a week. Any cool outdoor events I should try to attend with the family? I'm up there scouting different areas so I don't mind a little driving.

Looks like you are coming at a pretty decent time with respect to temperatures - it's cooled off a bit over the last week and looks to extend out to next week as well.

We are in a bit of a monsoon pattern, so expect some scattered afternoon storms that won't last long, usually.

I'd try and take a trip to Mt. Evans - with the road to the very top. Along those lines are Trail Ridge Road (highest paved road in North America, I think), which will take you into Rocky Mountain National Park, or vice versa.

One thing we just did last week was white water rafting. It's getting to be the end of that season, but it was our first time, and we took all the kids on the beginner section of Clear Creek and everyone had fun. I enjoyed it so much I took some clients who were in town on Monday and did the intermediate section.

I'm sure I'll think of a few more ideas.

Need a keystone lunch rec. anyone suggestions?

Snow on mt. Evans today.

thanks Thriller. Mt Evans is definitely on the agenda. My kids are too small for the rafting, but it's something we'll do eventually.

I'm another considering making the move, to take Colorado back as part of Texas, does anyone have knowledge of making the switch of being an educator(wife) in Texas to Colorado? From what I can tell Colorado seems to pay quite a bit less than Houston area schools.

drey, if you need anything while you are here, let me know. I've got some free time starting tomorrow and can answer questions/help however you need.

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I'm another considering making the move, to take Colorado back as part of Texas

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We already have enough Texans.

redag06,

From what I've heard, it's pretty difficult for teachers to find jobs here. I'm basing this on conversations I've heard from a few friends that are teachers or are married to teachers.