Greetings from Denver

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AnalyticalEngine
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Greetings from Denver

Post by AnalyticalEngine »

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Last edited by AnalyticalEngine on Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

wolf
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by wolf »

welcome

prognastat
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by prognastat »

Welcome to the forums, what are you thinking of as far as goals are concerned?

TopHatFox
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by TopHatFox »

Thoughts on Denver, and thoughts on where you'd move & why?

AnalyticalEngine
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by AnalyticalEngine »

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Last edited by AnalyticalEngine on Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

TopHatFox
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by TopHatFox »

@AnalyticalEngine, yeah, I've actually been re-cosidering Denver itself. It seems too sprawled out unfortunately, and getting more and more popular by the day (which seems to ruin any place, making it into an LA or NYC).

What about other places in CO, like Boulder or Colorado Springs? Have you thought about other outdoorsy Rocky Mountain States, like in Tucson or other places in AZ? Missoula, Montana seems interesting to look at too.

It's amazing that it's possible to get a $100K networth increase just by buying a house in a low market and waiting for the area to become popular. Like, shit, it'd take me 2 yrs of hardwork to save that much as a comparison.

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Jean
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by Jean »

Hi AE! On the subject of place that seems great. Having travelled around the US, one place which seemed great, but underrated was northern arkansa. Mountains, rivers, cheap real estate, nice climate, great base for 1 month road trips all around the country.

AnalyticalEngine
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by AnalyticalEngine »

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LiquidSapphire
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by LiquidSapphire »

Welcome, I'm from Denver as well. Agree with your assessment. I'd definitely plan a long vacation to whatever place you're headed before you land there... I underestimated how much culture mattered to me when making this call of final resting place. Denver, to me, has phenomenal culture. Places like Pueblo, Grand Junction, simply just do not even compare. Springs, Fort Collins, are nice... but not really any cheaper. I really hesitate to even touch the SE for cultural reasons; I visited Tulsa for work and it was like another planet.

Hristo Botev
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by Hristo Botev »

AnalyticalEngine wrote:
Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:56 pm
I'm currently looking to refine my approach into something more web-of-goals oriented, perhaps even leaving the Denver area. I'll try to make a journal about these efforts soon.
AnalyticalEngine wrote:
Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:20 am
I bought a townhouse back in 2013 for $110k. Five years later, and the townhouse I'm living in now has appreciated to $260k. It's been great for my networth, but not so great if your plan is to buy an actual house instead of a townhouse. Part of my ERE plans involve owning a paid-off property, so this has been a significant hurtle. If I choose to stay here, I am looking at ~5 more years of work to afford a paid off, single family house.
Hello AE, and welcome! In the spirit of "refin[ing] [your] approach," 2 questions jumped out at me.

First, is biking to/from work a possibility? I think you mentioned the commute was 18 miles, which is a lot but not unheard of, and which may be possible to cut down as you can often find a shorter route with a bike. Also, with 18 miles, perhaps you could use the bike to make better use of the poor public transportation system by doing a bike/public transportation combination. Just something to think about if you haven't already. If it's 18 miles round trip, then in my experience that's the perfect bike commute distance. For a year I was contracted out to a client that resulted in me having a bike commute that was a little over 8.5 miles each way. I really, really miss that commute, which was by far the best part of an otherwise crappy job situation.

Second, as the proud owner of a townhouse, I must feign offense at your suggestion that a townhouse is not an "actual house." Seriously though, I'm guessing you have a sweetheart of a mortgage payment. And if you're able to figure the transportation issue out, and the townhouse is otherwise perfectly serviceable and your only objection is that you have to share a wall or two with your neighbors, why leave? Or in the alternative, why not cash out and rent some modest place closer to downtown if that's where you want to be. No doubt it's expensive, but the cost savings (and overall life improvement) of getting rid of a 1-2 hour commute would likely be worth it, especially if you're able to get rid of your car in the process.

On another note, I'm somewhat familiar with Nashville and I'd give it a +1. I'm assuming the political and cultural differences you're talking about with Nashville have to do with progressive views vs. conservative ones. I can't speak to Nashville on that point, I just think it's a wonderful city; though it is rapidly expanding and so I suspect prices are skyrocketing, especially in the vibrant (and construction crane-filled) downtown areas. I live in another southern metropolis, Atlanta, and if Nashville is anything like Atlanta (and I suspect it is on this front), then the closer you are to the city center the more you will be surrounded by like-minded progressives, if that's your thing. I live in an "in-town" neighborhood and I may be the only conservative here, and I'm only tolerated because I'm of the "crunchy" conservative persuasion. If there are other conservatives, they just know to keep their views to themselves or else suffer the wrath of their "open-minded" progressive neighbors (sorry, that last point was purely gratuitous).

Anyway, welcome again and best of luck! I hope you do start a journal.

Josey Wales
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by Josey Wales »

I have lived in Denver for the last 2 years but originally from Georgia. I like and agree with much of the assessment above. I have loved living in Denver for many reasons. The city is very dynamic with a good balance between city life and nature opportunities. Its also the smallest city in US to have 4 sports teams. However, the best nature is really 3 hours+ from Denver. Many of the hiking trails/ areas within an hour or two of the city can get very crammed. With the main point for me of being in nature is to get away from the rat race and people, but with the massive growth of Denver, many "nature" areas become parking lots on the weekend. Many popular ski resorts are overly crowded as well on weekends. I have liked Denver most personally to use it as a base to explore all of the West with cheap Frontier flights to pretty much everywhere out of Denver Airport.

I have decided that Colorado will definitely not be a place I choose to settle down though for some same reasons and different from the commenters above. For one, yes the housing market has just become outrageous. Dumpy shacks start out at 300k in most Denver metro areas and solid basic houses start at 400k. Way too much to suit my early financial independent goals.

Also, I lean much more traditional valued American culture wise and Denver is the opposite in my experience. Ever since the marijuana legalization in Colorado, the state has drifted culturally into more of liberal utopia and less of a cowboy state each year. The city is quickly becoming a mecca for very liberal ideology and those type of people are moving in droves to all be together in one big safe space. Boulder, CO is even a whole other animal that is extremely liberal. They just passed a law banning all assault rifles in the town and gun stores there are not allowed to sell anymore. American flags are sadly looked down upon as "nationalist" by many there. Many of the popular neighborhoods have more Tibetan and Rainbow flags than American for example. I am looking to move back to the southeast where this sentiment doesn't really exist. Also, I am a single male 28 who has had some great experience dating girls here but overall they are much more independent and less feminine than the South where I grew up.

Regardless of the pros and cons, I have overall really enjoyed living in Colorado (Denver and Boulder) for a couple years. So much to explore here and adventures to be had. The whole state is gorgeous with great weather year around. I have just decided against it as a place to settle down for another few years and plan to move on this year.

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unemployable
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Re: Greetings from Denver

Post by unemployable »

Denver was my dream place to live... 10 years ago. Before 2012 or so it was downright cheap. My permanent home is in the CO mountains for now but I planning on getting out in another year or two. Getting rejected from enough stuff down there basically led me to the ERE route.

I think Denver nowadays is one of those places you need to live in with an exit strategy, as in, save your money for a few years while you figure out where to GTFO to. Most of the west is far cheaper. Housing in GJ is about half of Denver and places like Montrose are even less. GJ is HOT in the summer though and a couple hours from the really good mountains. The southern Appalachians are downright cheap in comparison; $100K or so will get you a stick-built house in move-in condition on an acre of land, and if you're OK with prefab or fixer-uppers you can go far cheaper. I partly grew up in, and attended college in, the South and I'm on the Gulf Coast for the winter right now and while I'm not a Southerner I have no problem with the culture.

I moved out (t)here to hike/climb/camp and while the 14ers within a weekend drive of Denver have certainly gotten more crowded, most of the state is pretty empty, and I encourage you to get out and explore it.

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