How to verify/roadtest an ER budget?

[Zoocat]

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?

Don't know much about Nederland. A lot of young people like living there. One problem is the winding road tjat is inaccessible during bad snowy days. A really nice mountain town that is north of Boulder is Lyons. Apparently it lies is in a pocket that gets LESS snow.

One more affordable option that is actually in Boulder is called Gunbarrel, just NE. Lots of open space, affordable condos and houses.

 

[flipstress]

Thanks, Oldbabe! I have cousins and friends in the Denver/Boulder area. I almost moved there 9 years ago. I accepted a job and all but chickened out at the last minute.

Still, it is in the back of my mind as another place to live.

 

[dumpster56]

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.

Brewer, Hey I was a NJ guy for almost 50 years. Taxes on the house were going to be 9K this year the house if I had to purchase it now for what I sold it for 513K.

The new house in North Carolina around 300K taxes 2500K a year Nuff said.

 

[Gone4Good]

Brewer, this thread may have died down, but I'm curious how you're calculating such a huge cost of living difference?

NJ/NY is ridiculous.

Example. Here is the range in annual health insurance plans quoted by ehealthinsurance.com for Denver and my zip code in NJ

Denver: $1,920 - $4,272
NJ $3,720 - $18,984 . . . . . .

For a ~38 year old couple with no health conditions and no kids I'm planning on paying between $10,000 - $11,000 per year. The $3,700 plan you see listed doesn't cover most of the major medical blow-ups you buy insurance for (chemotherapy, for example, is not covered in that plan).

 

[Charlie_Boy]

It seems this topic has gone astray and everyone is talking about moving to Colorado. So, let me warn you all. It is cold, barren, and expensive. The crime rate is high, no social life to speak of and a generally bad place to live. I recommend you stay away from here, I mean there, I mean... Oh heck, OK, its a nice place to live.

There are many nice towns and cities in Colorado. Some are cheaper than others. Unfortunately, many of these cities like Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and Ft Collins have received notice in various financial and living magazines as being places to move to. As for the expense of Boulder, why not try the south end - Manitou Springs. Now, there is a fun town suitable for many of the aging hippees that might lurk in this forum. Here are some images from the Carnivale celebration there last weekend: http://charlie.zenfolio.com/p566212809.

Now that I have settled here I wish I could keep others out. Still, to be honest, there is no better place to live. In a recent topic started when Old Babe asked where she could move to to get away from the cold and snow, I followed all the replies. I realized for all the discomfort this winter, there is no other place I would move to. So, the Springs, Denver, Manitou, Boulder, it doesn't matter what city, any place in Colorado is better than any place outside of Colorado.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

All I can offer is that I spent a few months in Colorado Springs about 27 years ago.

Best burgers and strip clubs.

Colder than crap. Pretty scenery.

Good balance, all in all.

 

[laurence]

I love the state, lots of snow in winter, but the tempurature seems to stay above that critical point where cold turns into pain (that seems to be about 20 degrees for me). My parents have a spread near Colorado Springs (o.k., it's an hour away, but that's the closest thing to it). Deer, Bear, a little creek on the land - amazing. They only spend a little time there as their home base is L.A. - what's wrong with these people?