How to verify/roadtest an ER budget?

[KB]

You might call a realtor in CO and see if there are any additional fees/taxes/utilities or benefits in the areas you are looking. There always seems to be something that an out of towner might never think of....

 

[bow-tie]

DW and I are toying with a relocation and semi ER, likely 2 to 4 years in the future...

How old will you be if you jump in 2-4 years? It's none of my business, but since you are closer than I am (~8-10yrs), I'm living vicariously through you...

 

[brewer12345]

How old will you be if you jump in 2-4 years? It's none of my business, but since you are closer than I am (~8-10yrs), I'm living vicariously through you...

33YO now. 2 years would be a real stretch goal/"help I am burning out" scenario. Portfolio safety at our target would require generating maybe $20k of a $50k estimated budget for several years, which wouldn't be too tough.

 

[DRiP Guy]

You might call a realtor in CO and see if there are any additional fees/taxes/utilities or benefits in the areas you are looking. There always seems to be something that an out of towner might never think of....

I had a link that was specific to buying in the Mountain West -- Colo, Wyoming, etc.

Southern Flatlanders like me might never think to ask about water rights, grazing rights, mineral rights, covenants, restrictions, encumbrances, etc. In Colo, there are a lot of beautiful places that are in some sort of set aside/reserve program, so you may own the land, but you may not be able to clear it or use it for whatever purposes you have in mind. I think it even went into the social, cultural, and and ethos differences of thinking, that are unique to that region.

I'll see if I can find the link.

 

[igsoy]

Brewer, the catch/tradeoff for cheaper COL in Denver is you will no longer have proximity to a world class city, nor water; it's harder to get good deals on airfare from here. For all the sunshine here, there is a disheartening lack of GREEN compared to where you are coming from.

You must already have some things aside from COL that appeal to you about Denver, though. I am sure the rhythm of life is much more relaxed here, as Barbara Anne mentioned.

 

[saluki9]

Brewer, the catch/tradeoff for cheaper COL in Denver is you will no longer have proximity to a world class city, nor water; it's harder to get good deals on airfare from here. For all the sunshine here, there is a disheartening lack of GREEN compared to where you are coming from.

You must already have some things aside from COL that appeal to you about Denver, though. I am sure the rhythm of life is much more relaxed here, as Barbara Anne mentioned.

I think it all depends on what you think makes a "world class city" many of those things that other would consider important don't appeal to me.


Who knows, maybe Brewer goes to the ballet frequently?

 

[DRiP Guy]

Okay, here are some links to RURAL Colo general property things to consider... maybe a lot more than anyone wanted :

Good info, esp check link on "Code of the West":
http://www.sangres.com/rurallife/index.htm

Example typical Colo covenant sheet: (caution pdf):
http://www.adobegold.com/Covenants/HiddenCanyonRanch.pdf

Wastewater:
http://www.fremontco.com/building/homeownersguide.shtml

Wet Mountain Tribune (local flavor):
http://www.wetmountaintribune.com/home.asp?i=359&p=5

Conservation Trusts appear to be getting to be major players:
http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=15735&folder_id=265

Typical Colo rural county gov site - take a look at tabs on left to see how things are handled for landfill, zoning, sheriff, etc:
http://www.custercountygov.com/

Typical tax assessor's site:
http://www.eaglecounty.us/Assessor/taxes.cfm

What drives land prices out there:
http://www.landprop.com/t.questions.html


It would be great if anyone from the area would chime in with more flavor...

 

[Helen]

Brewer, I don't know anything about Denver but I did relocate from Boston to Portland, OR. The difference in the COL was amazing. I didn't have **** when I moved here after living and working in Boston for 8 years.

Even though Oregon has a higher state income tax rate I firmly believe I pay a lot less in taxes here than I did in Boston. Plus, the dollar really goes farther. I couldn't touch real estate back there, but I bought a place on three acres with a trout stream in my back yard and paid it off in three years.

The best benefit is that there is so much more to do here for free. I can spend a weekend backpacking or go on a long hike, or go to the beach and park for free. In Boston I felt I was being nickle and dimed to death.

Plus, when I relocated I took my Boston salary with me. I switched jobs after a year and a half and think I'm still making what I would have been making back there.

The East Coast is really expensive. You may very well improve the quality of your life while decreasing your expenses.

 

[bosco]

Brewer, I don't know anything about Denver but I did relocate from Boston to Portland, OR. The difference in the COL was amazing. I didn't have **** when I moved here after living and working in Boston for 8 years.

just make sure you don't have kids that you plan on having in public school. Oregon has totally trashed its educational system. Other than that, it has a lot going for it.

 

[laurence]

Brewer, I'm happy for you and jealous at the same time. To be in that position already! I'm your age and no where near that point.

Like everybody else said, there probably isn't a "catch", you are in a high rent district right now. I would save a bundle moving from SD to Denver. I love Colorado, it's not as blue a state as NJ, but it has all types and is pretty tolerant. For some reason, this conversation seems familiar, but as long as your wife is 100% for the move, it's a no-brainer. If you play the "what's the worst that can happen" game, you quickly realize that's finding out CO isn't for you, moving back to Joisey, and adding a couple years to the ER date. Meanwhile you tried it and never wonder, "what if".

Plus, if you move to Denver, I only have to drive two days to drink your home brew.

 

[bssc]

The DW and I plan to retire to Fremont County so this is very interesting. We have a lot of friends in Denver so we can drive up there to mooch off them but figure that being out in the sticks will offer more hiking opportunities.

 

[Dawg52]

Actually, the thought is that in a few years we should have a large enough stash to semi-retire. DW and I would probably pursue our chosen professions on a PT, sole proprietor basis that could be dialled up or down as we wished. DW already does this with her counseling business, and i think I could do it with a fee-based planner business. But its nice to know there are full-time gigs out there if I need one.

Hey I'm all for it. You can then start giving me specific names when you make investment advice here. Colorado would be a great choice to relocate. One of my favorite places to visit. Good luck with your plans.

 

[brewer12345]

Hey I'm all for it. You can then start giving me specific names when you make investment advice here. Colorado would be a great choice to relocate. One of my favorite places to visit. Good luck with your plans.

Heheh, maybe I will also start a stock-picking newsletter or an ad revenue generating blog that talks about stocks. Free trials for er forum folks, of course...

 

[ziggy29]

Plus, when I relocated I took my Boston salary with me. I switched jobs after a year and a half and think I'm still making what I would have been making back there.

Yes, this can be very big. I was fortunate enough to take my Silicon Valley salary with me to Texas when I accepted a job transfer that required relocation four years ago. That's pretty much like an instant 30% raise when factoring in the cost of living and the lack of state income tax. That's what enabled us to start maxing out my 401K and our Roths.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

This is a little rough, but simple:

http://swz.salary.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layouthtmls/coll_metrodetail_217.html

Fill in your salary, where you're coming from and where you're going to. No detail, but its a data point.

 

[DRiP Guy]

This is a little rough, but simple:

http://swz.salary.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layouthtmls/coll_metrodetail_217.html

Fill in your salary, where you're coming from and where you're going to. No detail, but its a data point.

Cool site!

I like the fact it does both ends of the equation (salary and cost of living) for those relocationg and needing work, but if I do an ER out there, then all I need to know is that it is 16.6% cheaper than what I am paying now! Yeehah!

 

[P.S.]

Brewer:

not sure what kind of a lifestyle you all live...but here are threads from a mothering forum that touches on life in Denver:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=576436
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=584562
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=557431

 

[BarbaraAnne]

Brewer,

Here is a good website forum with information on moving and living in the Denver area.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/denver/

It also has forums for other cities and states.

 

[shiny]

Here is a good website forum with information on moving and living in the Denver area.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/denver/

It also has forums for other cities and states.

Wow! That's a neat site! Thanks BA

 

[brewer12345]

BA and PS, thanks for the links. Sounds like we would definately fit in.

Raw milk?

 

[Martha]

Raw milk?

Not pasteurized or homogenized. I grew up on raw milk. It tastes different. People have "political" positions on whether raw milk is a good thing.

 

[Zoocat]

I can see living in Boulder, on one of the streets in the old town near the Boulderado Hotel, that would be wonderful. I'd keep well away from the CU campus. I don't understand the enthusiasm for Denver, it strikes me as a pretty boring city, nice ballpark though.

Denver is overrun with traffic and has horrible pollution. But it's anything but boring. Downtown is getting really interesting. Lots of bars, restaurants, clubs. All the twenty-somethings want to live in downtown Denver.

Boulder is still gorgeous but is growing some and traffic can be annoying. Students can be super duper annoying. Lots of the hippie/street bums around town are pathetic and annoying.

Houses in the downtown (old town) area cost about $600K -$2M. You can rent a crummy apartment or condo for around $1300/month. Other areas are growing fast with very attractive new construction at around $300K for a 1 bdrm condo.

Ask me anything you want to know about Boulder.

 

[bongo2]

Brewer, this thread may have died down, but I'm curious how you're calculating such a huge cost of living difference -- or if it is as huge as I'm gussing from your comments. I get the impression that moving will cut your required nest-egg in half or more? Am I way off here? The COL calculators suggest that it is a 20-25% lower cost of living (from most of NJ to Denver), and basically all that comes from housing. If the housing is the difference, then I'd think you would just cut a couple hundred thousand off your requred "stash." How do you cut so much time off your years of "working hard?" What am I missing?

I also wouldn't put all that much faith in the COL calculators. When I compared St. Cloud MN to Denver one said +20%, another said +3%. It also depends on how your lifestyle changes when you move. Lower COL in an area may partially mean lower standard of living. I know one guy who moved to MN from San Francisco and swore up and down that it was more expensive to live in MN. For him this was true, becuase he behaved like he still lived in SF, and it was expensive to try and replicate that here.

 

[brewer12345]

bongo, you divined the crux of my post. I tallied up an estimated budget for NJ and Denver and I came up with roughly 1/3 less for Denver, significantly bigger difference than the COL calculators show. The big drivers are housing, health insurance, RE taxes and utilities. Most of the other stuff isn't that much different.

The other thing that cuts off time is that the stash required to stay in Nj is so large that in t he intervening time I would have to overcome a lot of extra inflation.

 

[flipstress]

Ask me anything you want to know about Boulder.

What about Nederland, CO--about 20 miles from Boulder? What is it like?

Is it more of an (aging) hipster place? Is housing a lot cheaper than in Boulder?