Relocating to Denver

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hi, 'dopers. Almost Friday.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I hate Florida.

While in the Air Force (15 years ago), I was stationed in Denver and Colorado Springs, and I fell in love with Denver and the Rockies. I wanna go back to at least the Denver greater area.

I’ve made the decision to take the big step and start looking for Employment, however you might know how it is to not be a local while job hunting. It would be nice to land a job before the move, however.

I’m in IT (software engineer) and have 15 years experience.

My questions to Colorado 'dopers:

  1. For those in similar professions – what’s the job market like? I can’t find any reports on my specific industry, and all the unemployment rates are for all jobs.
  2. Do you think it might look better for potential employment to move first and then find employment?
  3. what am I leaving out? I always leave something out.
2

I moved to Denver from Texas last October for a “change of scenery”. I live in the Broomfield/Westminster area. It’s to the northwest of town and about ten miles southeast of Boulder. If you’re in IT, there’s probably work for you up here. Broomfield is home to lots of tech and biotech corporations, as well as Sun Microsystems. I’m in healthcare, and I had a job offer when I moved, but I probably would have moved here anyway and just applied for jobs once I got here. It’s a great place.

3

Thanks for the reply. I know I’m going to face a challenge in interviewing as well as the fact that employers generally like to hire only locals.

So I’m torn between not moving until I get an offer, or saving as much as possible and just saying “screw it” and move. Then use the savings as a buffer to live on until job day.