People Keep Moving Here without Thinking
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4/18/2021
I moved here from Denver to marry my wife thinking I would be able to start a life in a new booming city. Little did I know, this was going to turn into California 5.0 [Denver/Boulder=2.0, Boise=3.0, Austin=4.0]. The thing about rising prices in CO is that unlike in Texas where cheap housing or another metro are not far away, we don't have either here!!! That is not to mention the "jobs." Seriously, the dying city of St Louis had more fortune 500s than the entire state until 3 were bought out in the last 5 years so I guess they still do just not headquartered int he city! Think of this before moving here. Yes, the nature is great but who has time for that slaving away on wages that don't keep up with rent. Rent here is now nearing what it is in Denver [$1300 for a place with no working heat or A/C in the Springs so only about $300 away from what it is up North]. You have people working at Wal-Mart for $13/hr paying $1000 per month after subsidies and 6 people to an apartment like its 1890 because rents are doing the same thing as Denver. Homelessness is through the roof. Our state has a serious construction permitting and water resources issues on top of this. Tap fees [not the actual utilities] start at $45k in total. If you aren't making $150k and willing to take a serious pay cut while moving to a state whose median cost is 120-150% of the national average, don't move here. You will not make it in the Springs without family here. This is the most common issue I see in the state in general. As for the Springs, I am already in three third round interviews in Denver with callbacks here asking if I have a TS/SCI like I have $15k to pay for a frigging security clearance. I get 5/7 callbacks for tech jobs up North and 2/8 here. By the time I have 3 job offers, maybe the school system will get back to me with an interview. I am not the only one experiencing this. I know of doctors, lawyers, and software sales folks who I grew up around in Aurora for years who tried moving to Monument to end up in a 2-3 hour commute to Denver every day. That commute costs you $100 per day in gas and wear and tear. FYI, we don't have a train or decent bus system. There is no Metra. None of this growth was planned. As for the other things. Drivers are attrocious. They increase your insurance rates a minimum of $20 per month. Food is better than Denver. So the food and mountains are the only reason for even 1 star. I'm seriously starting to think of getting a remote gig in USD and moving to Vermont/Canada/somwhere that I can actually afford a place to live without being considered a high-risk applicant despite making $45k+ per year with an 800 credit score. Even greater Portland is cheaper if you consider income to price for my industry than this state. I've lived here since I was 10. This is getting ridiculous. Fix the permitting issue [Texas grew the fastest and is more affordable so lets start with that], fix the infrastructure, stop acting like the good times will never end if you are in government. They will. Look at California and Chicago. We are all making those EXACT same mistakes.
Andrew | Colorado Springs, CO