No.Colorado Economy? Relocating

U.S.A. Colorado

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My family and I are really interested in moving to Northern Colorado early

2007. We visited No.Co in April we found it very nice and simple living. A lot of the locals say the economy is not very strong up there now. A lot of industry went to other countries so many people lost their jobs some would commute to Denver or it would take others up to 3 months to find a job. But what we saw while we were up there was a lot of 'building', new construction homes to retail shops. So, the economy can't be that bad right? Well I'm an RN (4 yrs) and DH is a Electrician (8 yrs). I hope we won't have trouble finding employment. A broker told me that high incidents of foreclosures and BK's there? Is this true. Thanks.

P.S. we are from So.Cali

Specializes in NICU.
The cost of living in CA more reasonable? Are you sure?? I lived in CA, the cost of living is triple what it is in Greeley. It is not reasonable, no matter where in CA you go!

Oh - I honestly have no idea about CA, I've never been there in my life - my brother moved to Desert Hot Springs and seems content there. Of course, it could have more to do with the fact that he has a better job there than he did in Greeley, I have no idea first-hand. Sorry if I gave any incorrect information - I am definitely not sure, just going with what he has told me based on his experiences.

I should mostly refer to Greeley in comparison to where I live in the state. Like I said, this is simply second-hand information from the few people (only two) that I have ever known who have lived in Greeley. I live in Southeast Colorado and, in comparison to Greeley (Evans, to be exact), it's like comparing the price of a Super 8 motel and the Ritz. Where I live, we bought a 5 bedroom, 2 full bath, full dining, kitchen & livingroom & complete basement house with 13 acres for $50,000 - and that was considered expensive! Anyway, sorry if I caused any confusion. :imbar: ;)

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Specializes in icu.

I believe starting pay (for a new grad RN) is just over $21 an hour at the hospital in Greeley. You can get a decent house there for around 200,000. School district has a pretty bad reputation---my kids went to school there and I would have to agree they are not so great. I've heard the schools in Loveland and Fort Collins are better but you'll pay more for housing there. Job market is pretty tight for teenagers and young adults....nurses should have no problem.

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Thanx for the info. The builder's sales rep warned us about this specific middle school in Greeley to avoid. I notice a lot of the houses there have basements are tornados possible?? Where are you located?

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I love here in Loveland, and thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. The Northern Colorado economy was hit hard with tech layoffs, but it's recovering now. The cost of living I'm sure is good compared to Cali (or at least I've heard that a lot). But what I wanted to tell you is to call Poudre Valley Health Systems (pvh.org) because they are opening a HUGE new hospital in Loveland in the beginning of '07 so I'm sure they'll be looking for good, experienced RN's here pretty soon. Hope this helps.

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I read that there were rumors of a prison in Ault some are against it and some are for it. Is Northern Colorado that desperate for jobs that they are willing to have a medium security prison in their community? My family and I are really wanting to relocate but all these 'bad news' are making us doubt, maybe will consider another area in Colorado.

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Specializes in NICU.

Hi Marshall! :) Prisons are a big thing out in the southern part of the state, not sure about Ault, but a lot of prisons have been built in this area recently. Just in the area I live in, there are 3 prisons ranging from a half hour to an hour and a half away. Canon City is also known for having a prison and I think the town of Florence as well? Not sure about that last one though. Limon also is a prison town. It is very popular because it is good income for the state and it also creates jobs, which are desperately needed in this area. Personally, I don't want to live in a prison town either, but living not too far from one really isn't that bad. Funny thing is, I always said I would never live in a prison town, but then the town I want to move to built a prison, go figure. I will probably still end up moving there, so I guess I will see how it goes. One thing is I have never seen one yet (not that they wouldn't, but so far) where they built the prison in town - they are usually out of town a little ways. Best of luck with your decision.

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I live outside of Boulder (in Erie), and I can't comment too much on the job market, but I can comment on the cost of living and housing. I've been keeping my eyes open for RN positions, and there seem to be quite a few, they just aren't the "choice" positions. Mostly night shift in various areas. In our area, there are quite a few hospitals - Exempla Good Samaritan (Lafayette), Avista Adventist (Louisville), Boulder Community, and Longmont United.

As for cost of living - not nearly as bad as CA, but the taxes are high here. Sales tax differs between towns, so it's anywhere from 8-11%. A gallon of milk runs about $3. We bought a 3 BR/2BA 1600 s.f. house last year for $262K. This is a great area to live, though. Money magazine rated Louisville as the #5 best town in America to live. We moved here from Florida last year, and we want to stay here forever! :)

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Hi there. I'm a future nurse wanna be, but live in Greeley, work for a large roofing contractor here in Greeley. We just completed a new addition/remodel of both Mckee Medical in Loveland, and at North Co Medical Center in Greeley, have contract on Medical Center of the Rockies, so future employment is good. Pay, I have no idea.

Economy TANKED is the word. Some say it's good, but it is SOOOOOO not if you own real estate. My husband works 60+ mi away in Lakewood, my Step daughter goes to school in Brighton (35 mi away) and my infant son goes to my in laws for daycare in Frederick 30 mi away. We have had our NICE house (not the best, but nice!!) in Evans for sale for over 4 months and not only have we not had any offers, we haven't had ONE showing!!! Colorado has the HIGHEST rate of foreclosures in the nation right now, with the Greeley/Evans market leading the charge! We are now trying to rent it out to somone that can use it, so we can move to Frederick and cut DH's drive in half. We see at least 30 people a week right now looking for work, the lower skilled jobs have taken HUGE hits lately with Monfort/Swift Beef laying off about 800+ people in the last year or so.

I WILL say, that I had NEVER been in the hospital for ANYTHING before and never had even an IV before my son was born last year. BUT, I delivered him at NCMC and those L&D nurses are the ones that have helped me make my decision to return to school and start all over at age 37 to become a nurse!!! They were awesome!!!! I don't know how well nurses like to work for Banner Health, but mine were awesome, so any of you out there, thank you!!!

I DO think the economy here in Greality can't go down much more, so the turn around is in sight.

BTW, I have a 4bd, 2 ba house for rent. Right by a NICE huge park in Evans.

Dragracermom!!

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so, hmm 2 private prisons in Ault. :o :o and gang/school problems in greeley. a lot of strikes but still have a lot of positives in our list, nothing is set on stone yet family and I are still doing this 'pros and cons' thing.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, M/S.

Where did you hear about the prisons being built? I am in Ft. Collins - 20 miles from Ault. I've not heard anything about them.

Just curious, have you and your husband looked for/applied for jobs yet? Any luck?

About Greeley, from what I understand there is a 'nice' section and a 'not so nice' section. A couple of my coworkers live there - they have no complaints. One of them just bought a house and raves about what a good deal she got.

Personally, I think that northern colorado is a great place to live - it is just that the job market is pretty tight right now. Hopefully it improves.

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The prisons and information about them are in the Greeley paper, or were earlier this week. www.greeleytrib.com

I agree, there are good and bad parts of town, but the prices have a LOT of disparity to them. The west side is the "new" side but houses are a LOT more expensive. The "east" side is supposedly bad, but let me tell you, everywhere I go, someone tells me that there are bad and good to each. I do like living here, would stay if my hubby didn't have to drive to Lakewood everyday for work!!!

Like I said, I have a nice house for rent. When I finally DO become a nurse, I DO plan on working at either NCMC, or one of the hospitals up this way, commute or not!! I really did have a great experience at NCMC!!!

I think overall, it's cheaper in Greeley to live, Ft Collins is beautiful, no doubt, but more expensive, as is Loveland these days. If you want to save $$, Greeley/Evans is the area to be. We had contimplated staying here, but the drive is costing us about $500/mo!

Good luck!

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I live in Ft. Collins and am in nursing school now. Other postings are right that there are far less jobs than some other areas of the country, but Poudre Valley Hospital is opening a new hospital - Medical Center of the Rockies early 2007. There are quite a few openings for RNs - particularly with experience. PVH is also planning a major addition and North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley has also recently made a major addition. With so little adequate health care - particularly hospital care - in neighboring states, NCMC and PVH are vying for their fair share (or more). PVH has additional specialty of neurosciences, where NCMC has a burn unit. NCMC is owned by Banner health. Visit www.bannerhealth.com and www.pvhs.org for their employment postings. Good luck!!!

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