Fairview said:

---

62strat said:

---

Do it.

That's my advice. That's what we did. We just stopped talking about it and did it.

---

This was going to be my advice too. It's a big decision but don't overthink it. We talked about it in July, came in August to look around, came again in October, bought a house and moved on Jan 1 (almost 2 years ago from Houston).

I'm not technically in Denver (about 2 hours West on 70) but same difference.

---

What city are you in?

Dan 07 said:

---

Fairview said:

---

62strat said:

---

Do it.

That's my advice. That's what we did. We just stopped talking about it and did it.

---

This was going to be my advice too. It's a big decision but don't overthink it. We talked about it in July, came in August to look around, came again in October, bought a house and moved on Jan 1 (almost 2 years ago from Houston).

I'm not technically in Denver (about 2 hours West on 70) but same difference.

---

What city are you in?

---

Eagle. We really like it.

And of course I don't know your situation.. but we were DINKS, so that's probably the easiest it could have been (other than single)
But my friend and her husband just did it with a 6 year old and 4 year old from Dallas. He searched for jobs, flew up here for 3-4 days of interviews, she did same thing, and once one of them secured it, they put house on market and did it. They went from having the idea to moving taking the road trip here in about 4 months. In October right in the middle of school year. So that's probably about the worst scenario.

Case in point, it can be done. We talked about it for 3+ years, I wish we acted sooner.

Here's a tip, if you own a home that you'll be selling, put it on the market. Nothing will make you follow through a decision like selling your house

We moved out here last summer from DFW with three small kids. I was fortunate that my work allowed me to relocate. While we do miss family back in Texas, it has been a great change for our family. It's a 10/10.

What kind of finance are you in? I work in IT at the big regional bank here in CO (FirstBank) and there are always openings, but not sure if it would be something that you do.

How is commercial construction right now? Any of you in the industry?

scout 7866 said:

---

How is commercial construction right now? Any of you in the industry?

---

I am.

2013 we did 125% more revenue than 2012
2014 we did 125% more revenue than 2013
2015 (when I joined) we did the same revenue as 2014
2016 we are on par to do 40% more than 2015.

4 years in a row of record years for this 50 year old Denver company. It's a good time to be building warehouses, that's for sure.

There are so many cranes, the news channel has a 'crane watch' page, I guess because of so much interest from residents.

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/datacenter/introducing-denver-crane-watch.html?ana=e_ae_set1&ed=2016-08-29&j=75596812&s=article_du&t=1472505422

My company is building 75%, if not more, of the red dots, 'industrial'. I think we are currently, actively building maybe 3msf, and I have bid about 500k sf a month for most of this year.

We will likely increase revenue next year, possibly 2018, too.

do you have an email i could reach you for a few questions?

If you have the time, I'd like to send you a few questions as well, 62strat. Curious about your transition from O&G to construction since I'm thinking that's my best ticket to shifting away from Houston. My email is 'username dot ag @ gmail'.

Went to Denver a couple weeks ago and fell in love with the city again. Been there 4-5 times before. Definitely would move there.

My advice as a nearly 37 y/o who graduated from A&M with a degree in Finance and couldn't wait to get out of Dodge. DO IT.

Life is too short to think about what could have been, Texas isn't that great that you can't imagine living anywhere else.

In my almost 14 years in CO, I've skied over 1000 days, spent over 500 on the river, seen sunrises and sunsets that you just can't get anywhere else. To be completely honest, I've only touched a fraction of the state. I now have a wife and two young kids and I've never been too worried about the job aspect, I have a degree from a great university, I'm not afraid to work hard, and change is good, worst case scenario I'll end up on my feet some how, someway.

My biggest regrets in life are the chances I didn't take.

Each time I glance at this thread it makes me want to move to Colorado more everyday. How's the cost of living around Colorado Springs?

scout 7866 said:

---

do you have an email i could reach you for a few questions?

---

Waterski02 said:

---

My advice as a nearly 37 y/o who graduated from A&M with a degree in Finance and couldn't wait to get out of Dodge. DO IT.

Life is too short to think about what could have been, Texas isn't that great that you can't imagine living anywhere else.

In my almost 14 years in CO, I've skied over 1000 days, spent over 500 on the river, seen sunrises and sunsets that you just can't get anywhere else. To be completely honest, I've only touched a fraction of the state. I now have a wife and two young kids and I've never been too worried about the job aspect, I have a degree from a great university, I'm not afraid to work hard, and change is good, worst case scenario I'll end up on my feet some how, someway.

My biggest regrets in life are the chances I didn't take.

---

Damn, son. When do you work, or did you sell your business? We should all be so lucky to spend so much time outdoors. 75 days a year skiing is impressive.

BirdhunterAg13 said:

---

Each time I glance at this thread it makes me want to move to Colorado more everyday. How's the cost of living around Colorado Springs?

---

Hop on zillow and look around for home prices, but I'd imagine they are a bit lower than Denver. Denver is a very hot market now, so they've gone way up, maybe much more than Texas has, (I don't know)

But when we moved here 4 years ago, I feel the housing prices were not much different than Houston. We paid ~$140/sf out in the 'far out' burbs (which are much closer than Katy/Cypress/Woodlands are to Houston) for a new build after all of our options, base price was $115/sf. Now, it's valued at about $200/sf. My house is 20 miles to downtown, and we are about as far out south as you get. If I lived another 10 miles south, I'd be closer to CO springs.

Property tax is rock bottom. I pay about $3800-$4000 I think, on a $500k+ home. Our first year it was like $3100 (home was $380ish). You have to throw these numbers in excel to get a real comparison with TX. That prop tax break equates to your money going much much further here.

State income tax is 4.6% fixed of AGI, not your gross.
Vehicle reg. is based on value and age of vehicle, and a new $50k vehicle will come with a hefty $1000 registration price.
It dwindles down as vehicle ages, if your car is 3-6 years old or so, it will likely be $200-$400.

Commodities seem the same. Gasoline is maybe 10% higher.
Utilities seem much lower (well, the mild weather means you don't use it as much). We cool and heat our 4000 sf home for $2000 a year, and we have it running way more than we need to. Many homes don't even have AC. A swamp cooler or attic fan does the trick for the most part.

My math may throw you off if you're paying attention. We have a 2700sf finished home with 1300sf basement. Unfinished basement is not included in $/sf, but it is conditioned space so it's included in my utility comparison.

We can finish the 1300sf basement for $20-$40/sf, so huge bang for you buck when you've 'run out of space' or feel you need to upsize. It will be so nice in 4-5 years when if we're feeling cramped, we can drop $40k and get another bedroom/bathroom, media room, large wet bar/kitchenette, and still have 300sf of storage space which is used now.

Working for a ski resort has its Perks.

Mind you those are just skiing days, if I counted "days on the hill" it would be probably double that.

It also has its drawbacks, fortunately I was raised to value the quality of life outside of monetary compensation.

Thanks for the info. I noticed that there's a lot of trailer homes on acreage under $300k in the Colorado Springs and pueblo vicinity. Is that just normal for that area?

Any good Ags in a position to hire a sales professional (or know of someone who is), in the IT/Software industry, in Denver? I have almost 4 years' experience in outside sales, covering multi-state territories (solar and healthcare), but no IT background.

Please let me know!

I moved as soon as I landed a remote gig. Out of Houston in less than 30days including the house sale.

We just hit our one year mark. Fastest year of my life. What a blast.

BirdhunterAg13 said:

---

Thanks for the info. I noticed that there's a lot of trailer homes on acreage under $300k in the Colorado Springs and pueblo vicinity. Is that just normal for that area?

---

im not sure exactly which detail you're asking about... is the price normal or the quantity of what you're seeing normal?

Either way, I don't know CO springs market at all. But, land is pricey in the front range, and very expensive in Denver area.

Btw, any of y'all done musicfest in steamboat? Looks kinda cool, but I don't know much more about it.

Turnpike Troubadours are at Music Fest in Steamboat in January. That's reason enough to go.

Been once and it was awesome. Can't get much better than great music and a great mountain. Seems the prices have gone up significantly since I went in 2010 from what I can tell.

Any good recommendations on buy used skis/boots? I have a month off so thinking about getting some and a pass to kill sometime. Also any thoughts on mountains that are not bad day trips? Will I hate el Dora? I've heard mixed things about it. I'm not an expert skier, just looking for something different to do during some time off.

I believe there was a networking reveille club type breakfast mentioned here a month or so ago. Any idea if that is going to continue moving forward?

Sports Authority used to have a good outlet but that's no more. Might be able to go to a place like Christy and maybe get a deal on some past season rentals. I got a pretty good deal a couple Aprils ago for some previous year model of skis and boots. Add on an Epic Local pass and hit up all the Vail resorts for some variety.

El Dude-a-rino said:

---

I believe there was a networking reveille club type breakfast mentioned here a month or so ago. Any idea if that is going to continue moving forward?

---

I'd check on the group facebook page. That's more likely to have any events for networking. I've seen breakfast, lunch, happy hour all mentioned before on top of the larger events (game watching, muster, etc.).

Looks like the reveille club page doesn't exist anymore.

Sorry. I was referring to the Texas A&M Club of Denver. Not sure of any others but they routinely post any A&M event on that page.

Thanks. I signed up.

I buy almost all of my skis year old, new, on Ebay. Cheaper than the deals I get through work which can approach cost.

Also shop demo's in the fall, can be hit and miss, but often times great deals to be had if you know what you're looking for.

Definitely don't just buy any random boot. Boots are the one thing that are worth whatever money it costs for something that fits and is comfortable. Other than that it's kind of hard to tell you what sort of ski style/shape you would like. Sort of depends on your preferences on the mountain, especially as you develop your skills in becoming an "expert" skier.

I rented many demo skis and found that I personally liked the sort of hybrid skis with camber under foot and rocker on the tips for days where you've got quite a few inches of fresh. So I ended up getting long skis that are like 102mm underfoot with this design and love them. I know I didn't really give you a good answer, but I really think it's very subjective in this matter.

Disregard what txag11 said. Just get a snowboard. Those boots are significantly more comfortable. Plus then you'd be a cool boarder instead of a lame duck skier. You'll thank me later.

Howdy y'all. My fiance and I are moving up to Colorado Springs the start of the year. We're trying to figure out if we should buy/rent, but more importantly trying to get a feel for the different areas. What areas should we avoid and what areas should we look at?

Can't wait to make the move and be up there!

Erik '12

Nice! My wife and I moved up to Co Springs in September and love it. We're just renting a house on the NE side for now until we find a place to buy. In general I would say that the northwest, north and northeast sides of town are most desirable.

Adam (2008)