Does anyone live in Colorado, Virginia, or Washington?

phoeneous

My wife and I are planning on moving out of Las Vegas within the next 3 years. Vegas isn't really a family town but we do enjoy the city life. We arent trendy people but we also dont want to live in a small rural town. Our top three concerns are jobs, cost of living, and schools. Combined, my wife and I make $110k/yr but by the time we leave I will have my mcse, ccnp and one major infosec cert which will hopefully help me land a good job in one of those states (plus my existing 6 years of sysadmin/netadmin experience). Our current house cost us $180k so I'd say $250k is our limit. We have a 6 month old and plan to have another in 1-2 years so we definitely want an area with good schools. I did a quick search on Dice and Virginia has the most job hits but all three of those states have way more jobs than Nevada. Any input is appreciated, good or bad. Thanks!

alan2308

I don't live in any of those three states, so I can't comment on them. But I will point out that salary, cost of living, housing costs, etc. do not translate at all between different areas. If I took the salary I'm living comfortably on in Detroit in say NYC, I would probably be homeless.

sidsanders

dc/md/va costs more. lots o gov work though (if you have a ts/etc or can get one). further out you get from the major areas cheaper housing gets (shocker.. hahhaha)

Psoasman

I live around the Seattle area. Home prices dropped significantly in the last 2 years around here. Depending on where you live - south of Seattle is nicer, they have good schools, both public and private.
There are a fair amount of IT positions open and the military is usually looking for contractors/ civilian personnel.

phoeneous

Psoasman wrote: »

I live around the Seattle area. Home prices dropped significantly in the last 2 years around here. Depending on where you live - south of Seattle is nicer, they have good schools, both public and private.
There are a fair amount of IT positions open and the military is usually looking for contractors/ civilian personnel.

Good to know, thanks!

netBooger

I live in Colorado and the cost of living is not bad at all. Houses are not overly expensive but it all depends on the neighborhood that you live in. There are plenty of cities to work in that have both Middle and Upper class housing and plenty of it.

As for jobs, there are a lot of government jobs where you are working with the military as a contractor. We have five military bases plus multiple other military entities out here so there are quite a few jobs.

Jobs usually fall either in Boulder, Denver, DTC (Denver Tech Center), or Colorado Springs. There are plenty of good schools in outer lying areas, just as long as you tend to stay away from the inner city.

There are plenty of big corps here too like:
IBM (Boulder - IBM - Boulder, Colorado)

Lockheed Martin (Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Boulder - Lockheed Martin - We never forget who we're working for)

Jeppesen (Englewood - Location)

CH2M Hill (Englewood, Boulder, Colorado Springs - http://www.ch2m.com/corporate/default_north_america.asp)

and many more like Avaya, Cisco, Sun, Northrop Grumman, ITT, and Alcatel-Lucent.

phoeneous

netBooger wrote: »

I live in Colorado and the cost of living is not bad at all. Houses are not overly expensive but it all depends on the neighborhood that you live in. There are plenty of cities to work in that have both Middle and Upper class housing and plenty of it.

As for jobs, there are a lot of government jobs where you are working with the military as a contractor. We have five military bases plus multiple other military entities out here so there are quite a few jobs.

Jobs usually fall either in Boulder, Denver, DTC (Denver Tech Center), or Colorado Springs. There are plenty of good schools in outer lying areas, just as long as you tend to stay away from the inner city.

There are plenty of big corps here too like:
IBM (Boulder - IBM - Boulder, Colorado)

Lockheed Martin (Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Boulder - Lockheed Martin - We never forget who we're working for)

Jeppesen (Englewood - Location)

CH2M Hill (Englewood, Boulder, Colorado Springs - http://www.ch2m.com/corporate/default_north_america.asp)

and many more like Avaya, Cisco, Sun, Northrop Grumman, ITT, and Alcatel-Lucent.

Thanks! What part of CO do you live in and if you don't mind me asking what you do and your salary range.

netBooger

phoeneous wrote: »

Thanks! What part of CO do you live in and if you don't mind me asking what you do and your salary range.

I am located in Colorado Springs and am an Enterprise System Administrator. I work as a contractor for the USAF.

aordal

I live in Aurora, CO and work in Denver. Commute isnt terrible and housing is affordable. My wife and I are in the same salary/home range as you are looking at. Plus the weather here is awesome.

dynamik

aordal wrote: »

I live in Aurora, CO and work in Denver.

I have friends there, and I love that area. That's definitely a contender for a place I'd like to live long-term.

phoeneous

Apologies for bumping this year old thread but I wanted to get more feedback if possible. We are looking to move possibly in the next 12-18 months. So far, Highlands Ranch seems to be the most appealing.

Side question, how difficult is it to get a security clearance? How long does it usually take?

Psoasman

Home prices are continuing to go down in the Seattle / Tacoma area. I live about 1/2 between them and there are a lot of nice homes for well under 250K.

btw: if you get a security clearance, there are A LOT of contractor jobs available in this area.

demonfurbie

dont discount places like new mexico and arazona there is lots of small towns and living isnt too pricy

WafflesAndRootbeer

demonfurbie wrote: »

dont discount places like new mexico and arazona there is lots of small towns and living isnt too pricy

Lots of tech jobs too if you look in the right places.

phoeneous

demonfurbie wrote: »

dont discount places like new mexico and arazona there is lots of small towns and living isnt too pricy

Arizona may have jobs but really its just Vegas with more heat. We're kind of tired of the southwest desert and want to try something new which is why Colorado is so appealing. I don't hear very many good things about NM...

pragmatic6983

I would say look at Atlanta... lot of great jobs.
However that being said, you will absolutely HATE the traffic.

Incidentally, I have travelled to Denver, CO for a customer install before and I have to say... I would move their in a heartbeat if I got offered a job making the same salary. Absolutely love CO. Great place to live. I was around the Littleton CO area, near the ViaWest Colo. It might have been another town, but it was very close to ViaWest Colo. I would say it was about 30-40 minutes outside of Denver.

I think this is a great discussion thread. Thanks for bringing it up.
I would agree with everyone else that you certainly have to factor in the cost of living, etc... but thats a no-brainer.
Best of luck to you.

phoeneous

pragmatic6983 wrote: »

I would say look at Atlanta... lot of great jobs.
However that being said, you will absolutely HATE the traffic.

Incidentally, I have travelled to Denver, CO for a customer install before and I have to say... I would move their in a heartbeat if I got offered a job making the same salary. Absolutely love CO. Great place to live. I was around the Littleton CO area, near the ViaWest Colo. It might have been another town, but it was very close to ViaWest Colo. I would say it was about 30-40 minutes outside of Denver.

I think this is a great discussion thread. Thanks for bringing it up.
I would agree with everyone else that you certainly have to factor in the cost of living, etc... but thats a no-brainer.
Best of luck to you.

Littleton is exactly where we are looking!

We are going to visit it in a few weeks to see the cities and if we like it then I'll start job hunting. Although Atlanta does have a good job market, my wife would never move there and be happy. You know the saying, happy wife happy life.

aordal

I love living in CO. I've lived in a few different states and I don't think I'll ever live anywhere else. I live in the southeast part of town.

Psoasman

phoeneous wrote: »

Littleton is exactly where we are looking!

You know the saying, happy wife happy life.

+111 for that.

Dakinggamer87

I would like to live in Seattle someday.

Psoasman

Dakinggamer87 wrote: »

I would like to live in Seattle someday.

There are a lot of good tech jobs in this area. Between M$, Boeing, Nintendo, Todd Pacific shipyards, all the Navel Bases, provide a lot of opportunities.

loxleynew

Hey I live in Boulder CO

Highlands ranch is one of the most expensive places to live in CO as far as housing prices and it all looks suburban (every house looks the same). So if that appeals to you then go for it Littleton is way better imo. On a side note louisville is really good if you are checking out towns. It's more of a family town and close to everything (20 minutes from Boulder / Denver) and 30 minutes from the mountain. It is also right in the middle of all those major job sites (IBM / Lockhead / Sun)

Most the gov. jobs out here will pay for your security clearance if they want you bad enough and it only takes a few weeks from what I've heard.

phoeneous

[bumping old thread]

The big move has come up again and we've narrowed it down to just Colorado or Washington. There seems to be a ton of jobs in both places. Any new feedback?

Psoasman

Plenty of opportunities for sys admins and engineers up here. A lot of hospital systems are hiring for that level. Pay is good, too, seeing that a Tech 2 is starting out at over $24/hour, for example.

House prices are starting to creep up a bit, but with interest rates around 3.5% its definitely doable.

YuckTheFankees

I live in CO. What kind of job are you looking for and pay range?

MSP-IT

I've lived in Colorado for the past two years, having only recently moved back to MN. Highlands ranch is definitely a desirable place to live, and relatively close to the business/corporate center of the city. Highlands Ranch is also going to be one of the more expensive places to live, but with your combined salary, that shouldn't be an issue. As with any city, there are pockets of areas I wouldn't want to raise a family, but much of the city south/south-east of Lakewood should be suitable. I would also look into the Boulder area. Boulder doesn't have quite as much of the "uppity" feeling I get from southern Denver, yet is still has desirable real estate.

NotHackingYou

I live on the east side of Washington in Spokane. It's a nice place, not nearly as many jobs as Seattle. Cost of living is quite reasonable.

it_consultant

I live in Westminster CO, I work in east Aurora and my wife works in Boulder. From a tech job perspective it is like the holy land here. Whether you are interested in working for a private firm or if you want government work (I am quasi government) there are plenty of jobs available. My friends have left Denver expecting the same level of job demand in Minnesota and were very surprised by how different it is/was. Climate wise we are similar enough to Las Vegas, we are a high arid desert with 300 days of sunshine.

Now...I had no idea that so many TE members are in my neck of the woods, we should schedule a meet-up.

phoeneous

it_consultant wrote: »

I live in Westminster CO, I work in east Aurora and my wife works in Boulder. From a tech job perspective it is like the holy land here. Whether you are interested in working for a private firm or if you want government work (I am quasi government) there are plenty of jobs available. My friends have left Denver expecting the same level of job demand in Minnesota and were very surprised by how different it is/was. Climate wise we are similar enough to Las Vegas, we are a high arid desert with 300 days of sunshine.

Now...I had no idea that so many TE members are in my neck of the woods, we should schedule a meet-up.

My wife really wants to live in Highlands Ranch, do you know of other areas that are similar to it?

MSP-IT

phoeneous wrote: »

My wife really wants to live in Highlands Ranch, do you know of other areas that are similar to it?

We're trying to help you here. What exactly is it that you're looking for?

it_consultant

Highlands Ranch is just another suburbia, Westminster, Arvada, Lakewood some parts of Denver, will be very similar. Personally; its not for me, I know plenty of people who live there and love it. If your wife wants to live there and you are otherwise fine with it, you can easily commute to any part of Denver for work. For a minute I thought you were talking about "Highlands" which is a neighborhood in Denver which is very desirable.

Highlands Ranch, Colorado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Highland, Denver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia