Think I'll pack it in and buy a pickup...

How many people here have ever just decided to chuck it all and move to a new town?

I have about a million reasons not to try this now, but the most compelling reason to try it is that I don’t have a job. Of course, that’s also the most compelling reason not to.

I am so tempted to jack up every credit card I have and move out to Denver. I don’t know why. I’ve never been to Denver, but some unspoken voice has been calling me there for years. I don’t know why. It makes no sense.

Please, tell me your stories of hopes and dreams, of success and failure, of finding your dream job over the rainbow, and of moving back home on someone else’s dime.

Any thoughts (or preferably first hand experience) on Denver will be greatly appreciated too. Also, has anyone else gotten this strange allure of Denver? I’ve had it for six years and just met someone else who has had the same unexplainable urge for almost as many years.

We also had the same habbit of sculpting the Red Rocks Amphitheatre out of our mashed potatoes, though neither of us has seen it.

Ok, I’m kidding about the mashed potatoes…

It dosent happen to be saying “If you build it, he will come”

or

“Mork calling Orsen, come in Orsen”

I was thinking about doing this yesterday. But then I realised I’d have to move my cat, and she’s increadibly neurotic (like mom, like kitty) so I nixed the idea.

There was this guy in my psych class who DID do it though. He’s from Edmonton, and was a hockey player his whole life. He decided in high school, that he didn’t like the reaction he received when he told people he played hockey, that they instantly assumed he was a dumb jock. So he stopped. Graduated high school, without a clue in the world of what he was doing. Started working in an insurance company, making decent money.

One night, he had a dream he was playing hockey again. He woke up and realised that THIS is what he wanted to do, THIS is what he loved doing, and screw everyone else. So he started looking for work, and found a junior amateur leauge here in Vermont that was hiring a coach. He go the job, and moved to a new country, across the continent. Because of a dream.

I say move to Denver. At best, it’s fate. At the worst, it’ll be a good story to tell at parties. “Well, there WAS the time I moved to Denver on a whim…”

Sometimes by choice, sometimes for work. I have picked up and moved “stranger in a strange land” 4 times now. Left most of everything and started over.

It was the best thing I ever did for myself. I met so many great people, found new opportunities, ect…
Are you sure you mean Denver? It might be the quieter voice from Boulder that you actually hear. A very nice place, Boulder is.

It was 1976. Got married there. My son was born there. Denver is (was?) a happenin’ town from the financial standpoint, too. And the Rocky Mtns. are a great place to sightsee and explore. Colorado is (was?) a very progressive state. I enjoyed the entire experience, BUT- got tired of the six months or so of snow every year. I starts sometimes in October and can go on thru April.

Moved back to the People’s Republik of Kalifornia in 1980.

I have that same urge about once every 6 months, just move and start all over somewhere new - I’d love to do that!

I lived in Fort Collins area for about 3 years when I was a teenager and loved it. I thought I could never leave NC and the beaches, but when I went back to CO in October, it was sooo beautiful, I’d move in an instant. CO is a great place, don’t know to much about Denver, I prefer the outer limits of a city than to being smack dab right in it!

Good luck!

I lived in Thornton and Broomfield for 17 years and thought it was great, other than the constant snow (every month but July in those 17 years.) It’s a nice place, but then again, I was a mere youth so I didn’t have to worry about things like house prices, taxes, crime, etc. I can just vouch that it was a good place to grow up.

I have an old pickup for sale.
Shes’ a real honey.
250,000 miles is all.

I packed up and moved to Boulder on a whim when I was 21 years old. Been in the area ever since. Not quite Denver, but better.

Job-wise, you’d have to be seriously deficient not to get a job out here. The economy is going crazy. I just read a report that listed Boulder/Longmont as #1 in the nation (above Silicon Valley!) as far as hi-tech companies and jobs.

All the people complaining about the winters must be from the south. There is no winter in Denver or Boulder. It may snow a few times, but it melts within a day or two. I ride my bicycle and motorcycle all year round. The mountains are a different story, but if you’re sticking to the flatlands and you’re not from Alabama, there is no winter in Colorado.

Find a place to call my own and try to fix up,
start a brand new day.

– Neil Young

(Somebody had to finish the quote!)

Athena sez:

Sure, Boulder is a great place…FOR ME TO POOP ON!!!

Seriously, though. Boulder is beautiful, but I find there to be three major problems with the area. Namely:
[ul]
[li]The cost of living there is far too expensive.[/li][li]The granola/dreadlocks lifestyle freaks me out.[/li][li]If you have to drive to Denver to work, you better have a lot of time to spare[/li][/ul]
Those things together ended up buying me a house in Aurora, just southeast of Denver. Love it. It’s affordable, we get more weather over here, and I can still be anywhere in town in 30 minutes or less.

And, about snow, it’s mostly true. The snow comes frequently, but it’s not a nuisance as you might think. Except for a couple years back, when it started snowing at 4PM on a friday, and didn’t stop until there were 35" down at my place, sometime on Saturday evening. Good thing I had just bought a 4x4. My camaro was hidden under a pile of snow. All I could see was a flash of red for the taillights.

All told, Denver been berry berry good to me.

Let’s see, I was born and raised in Colorado Springs. Nice place but you end up living in a very conservative area filled with military and the religious people that moved here.

I lived in Grand Junction for almost 3 years. Great little city. Filled with farmers, retired people but eclectic, not a huge night life but fun. I miss it.

Then I moved to Denver (job transfer) a place I never thought I would ever live in. The thought was, hell no I will never live there. But what happened after I got there? I fell in love with the city.

You’ve got a happening night life along with concerts, Broadway shows on the road, etc. Of course our state loves sports so going to a major league team event is s fun experience.

If you are in the high tech industry, you are in a hotbed of activity. Denver is more famous for it’s telecomm industries but recently 5 or 6 of our Colorado cities were ranked among the top 20 of high tech, software related, jobs.

If you are into mountain sports, there is a lot to do within 1-2 hour drive. Denver has a lot of trails to walk or bike on and mountain biking is not far. (Denver is a big city area wise so if you live in Saudi Aurora like our fellow doper Mr. Cynical, you practically live in Kansas – hehe) so the drive times vary.

Don’t worry about the snow, it can be 30 degrees and snowing one day and two days later you are out at the park playing frisbee with your dog in January. This last winter it was very mild.

Traffic can suck, but most cities have traffic problems. Once you get to know the city you learn the areas to travel during rush hour.

Summers are usually pretty hot, well for our standards. This year I think we will be experiencing hotter than usual temps.

I now live in Colorado Springs again, do to a job change, and miss living in the big city. Luckily I live within an hour of Denver so when I get the urge I can go up there. In fact I am heading up there this morning.

Hope this helps you in your decision.

handy says, a change of scenery doesn’t change the situation.

Agreed, Mr. Cynical. Note that I don’t actually live in Boulder - I spent 6 months actually residing in Boulder before moving to Longmont. But I’ve worked in and around Boulder for most of the time I’ve been here.

Boulder is ridiculously expensive to live in. I don’t think you can buy a decent house there for less that $250K now, and that’s for an 800 square foot ranch on the outskirts.

The granola/dreadlocks aren’t the bad part of Boulder, though. It’s the grown up granola crowd. Y’know, the ones who are now making six figure incomes in technology, and spend time trying to get the city council to change all references to “Pet Owners” in city documents to read “Pet Guardians.” Don’t get me started - there’s a lot of things about Boulder that really irk me.

That said, the mountains are great. The weather is great. Longmont is great. And there aint no way in hell I’d drive from Boulder or Longmont to work in Denver. You wanna work in Denver? Live in Denver. But there’s plenty o’ jobs up here for those of us who consider Longmont right on the edge of being too big of a town for us to live in.

Oooh, oooh!! Me, me!!

Just out of high school, I took a week’s vacation in New Mexico (my first visit to the southwest). By the time I came home I had made up my mind that I was going to move, and shortly thereafter I did just that. I quit my job, left my boyfriend of several years, packed what I could fit in the back of my Mustang, and set off with a map and a few hundred dollars (my savings) in travelers checks. I don’t think you want to hear the details of my specific move, but I’ll just say that it was one of the greatest things I ever did. I have since said more than once that, in spite of my immutable opposition to compulsory anything, if there were anything mandatory I could support it would be that everyone must at some point move at least 500 miles from their familiar home territory to a totally new and uncertain (that is, the destination doesn’t come with a home, job, etc already lined up) place and live there for at least a year. An indescribably enlightening and broadening experience, not to mention tremendously fun more often than not. Challenging and daunting, to be sure, but it was immensely satisfying to make it on my own in such an atmosphere (no one to help me out, no one to go back to if things weren’t working out). Not every experience was a happy one, but without hesitation I would do it all again.

Even though I had visited once before I moved (though I had never given it a thought before that), I too felt that same call, that it was just the place I needed to go. It’s a feeling that, while inexplicable, is compelling and, I think, does not go away. I can’t say I found my dream job (since my dream job is picking money off the trees in my back yard for about an hour a day when the weather is nice), although I did eventually end up at a job, that, ironically, did indeed pay for me to move across the country again some eight years later. I did, however, find my dream mate (although it took a while), which is even better. [self-hijack] Though I don’t believe in “destiny”, maybe that’s part of what was calling me there that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I sincerely believe that sometimes our actions are guided by some higher awareness within us that sees pattern and purpose that is not perceived by our conscious mind. In other words, if that voice inside is telling you something loud enough and often enough, it may be steering you toward something important that you recognize on some level but aren’t consciously aware of yet. (Not to get too metaphysical here.) [end self-hijack]

I can’t give an opinion on Denver, as I was only there once. When I visited Colorado, maybe half a dozen times over those years, my favorite city was Colorado Springs, but I was never there longer than a day or two, which makes it kind of meaningless, and besides, everyone responds to something different. If Denver is where your spirit wants to go, then that’s where you should go.

And go you should!! No job? Sounds to me like a great excuse to move, since you have no “I shouldn’t be that irresponsible and quit this good job” reason to keep you where you are. (I did but quit anyway.) You shouldn’t have to max out your credit cards to move to Denver either, assuming you don’t have a family/kids to worry about (other issues arise there) and can bear to not move a whole vanload of stuff with you. It’s amazing how little you can get by on, and you can set yourself up cheaply after you arrive and gradually work your way back up to nicer stuff after you have the job and home nailed down. Just get enough of a bankroll together (selling most of your current possessions at a yard sales serves two purposes) to cover startup costs like apartment deposit, utility connections, etc, plus the cost of the trip itself (not too much if you eat and sleep cheap, and those are good expenses to put on plastic if you don’t have a whole lot of cash). Once you arrive you’d probably spend the first night in a motel, but the next day (or at least really soon) you should be able to find something like a furnished efficiency at a fairly cheap price. Voila, you are established and ready to begin! From there you get to start the real fun and adventure, looking for work, looking for a more long-term place to live, finding the grocery stores, picking up a few words in other languages, learning the best route to Red Rocks. During my first few years out west I did something different every single weekend, be it hiking in the mountains or exploring the Indian pueblos or riding a horse along the Rio Grande. It’s impossible to describe how enlightening and expansive the whole experience was. It ended up not being the place I wanted to spend the rest of my days (mainly because of developments in my personal life, not because of the move or the location itself), but it was one of the richest and most rewarding times of my life, and an experience I recommend absolutely without reservation. The worst that can happen is you don’t like it as much as you thought you would, so you move back where you were, or move to yet another place. Even if it came to that, I almost guarantee you that you would nevertheless relish the experience, the adventure, the challenge, and the exposure to life.

When I visit my hometown I notice that it seems that almost everyone I went to school with is either still living in Mom and Dad’s basement :rolleyes: or married with families and living maybe as much as ten miles from where they grew up. To each his own, and more power to them if that’s what they really want, but no words can adequately capture how much richer, wiser, and happier I am for having had to nerve to pick up and go and live the life I wanted. Years after I had moved, family and acquaintances confided to me that they had never really expected me to stay out west. They thought that my moving was a young, idealistic dream that would last maybe six months, and then I would be coming back home with my tail between my legs. They were wrong, and it was funny because from the day I made up my mind, I never had a moment’s doubt. And they’re still where they were all those years ago, but I’m not. I’m miles and years and worlds of experience beyond. Can you tell I’m happy about my life? It sure hasn’t always been easy, and at times it’s been downright hellish, but when I die I’ll have LIVED, and that’s damned satisfying.

So, got the truck packed yet? Need some maps? Want some packing tips? Listen to that inner voice and GO!!!

P.S. Hope you weren’t looking for people to tell you to be sensible and get this silly notion out of your head.

P.P.S. Sorry to be so wordy, but your question is something I had a strong response to. And why are you still sitting there reading this when you should be off making plans?

Actually, Denver is a horrible city. You don’t want to move here. Really. It’s bad. Don’t worry, those of us here will sacrifice ourselves so you don’t have to move. :slight_smile:

As for the snow every month except July, Mullinator, what the heck are you talking about? Maybe if I lived on Mount Evans, but Thornton isn’t exactly the frozen north. I’ve been in a snowstorm in Frisco in July, but c’mon. I’ve never seen it snow in August down here in Denver and I’ve been here for 26 years.

Gatsby, if you wanna come, come. You’re pretty much guaranteed a job if you can speak at all and don’t drool on yourself too much. I don’t know where you are coming from, so the cost of living could be a shock or a pleasant surprise.

It used to be a little hick cow town here, but we’re getting better. I think it’s a very interesting and exciting place to live. We still have a long way to go to gain the character of, say, Seattle or San Francisco, but we’re working on it.

And for the love of all the is holy, save yourself! Stay away from Boulder! :slight_smile:

I’ve done it, twice.

When I was 20 and hating Wisconsin, my boyfriend and I bought a van, loaded up our things and drove west. We ended up in San Francisco and I stayed for four years.

It was hard at first because we didn’t know anyone, didn’t have jobs, didn’t have a place to live. But the struggle, in retrospect, was the best part. Starting out really poor and building ourselves up really strengthened us as a couple and as individuals. We learned what was important to survival and what were luxuries. Ok, we did break up, but we’re still very good friends.

I moved to New York two years ago and basically did the same thing - I got rid of all the stuff I didn’t want and moved here with 6 boxes and an upright bass. Cleansing oneself from useless material possessions is very healthy and liberating.

The worst part of packing up and leaving is the anticipation and the ‘not-knowing’. But once you do it, nothing seems impossible. It builds confidence and creativity. And you can always tell yourself, “it doesn’t have to be permanent”.

Do it. Move to Denver. If you don’t, you’ll always regret it. Tell your friends you’re going on a sabbatical there for a couple months - if you end up staying, you end up staying. If you come back, no big deal, but at least you tried it.

Jobs and places to live are almost always plentiful all across America. Think of all the adventurous stories you’ll be able to tell.

You can add me to the list of movers, too! I made a drastic change two years ago leaving behind the state I had lived in all my life, my position with a company that I had worked for over 17 years, my friends, parents, and from both my (just) grown daughters.

I did this because I fell in love with another state while visiting an older couple I knew. The second day of my visit I “just knew” that this was where I belonged and would be happy.

When I returned a year later for another visit to job hunt and find an apartment, both fell in my lap. It took two months before the transistion was complete and obligations, etc., required shuttling between three states during that time, but I never, ever had a moment’s doubt of the decision to follow that “unspoken voice”.

I’ve picked up and moved plenty of times(every 6 months or so for a while), but I was young then. Now that I’m all old and shit, I like being settled.

Not that this matters to you. I would second (or third, etc.) the Go for its! Hell, you can always go back if you don’t like it.

As for Denver, I’ll take my small town over any city, any day, but I can’t imagine living anywhere except Colorado. And the Coloradans are right - in Denver and Boulder you don’t really get winter. Now, down here in the mountains we do get snow every month of the year. But it only sticks October - April. Maybe May. Sometimes June. Anyway, dry Colorado winter isn’t like cold, wet, bitter northern winters.

Plus, there’s all these cool Dopers on the Front Range. Just think, you could go out for brewskies with SingleDad, techchick and Mr. C, Necros, Athena and more.

I’m actually considering it now. Thanks to some people on the board, I’m considering applying for a job near San Francisco. I’m only applying to jobs I’m serious about taking. The person says I’d have a good shot at getting the job, since IT people are in demand. This would mean moving away from DC, which is where I’ve lived for 24 1/2 years. Kind of hard to think about, really.