How hard id it to pack up everything and relocate?

We have a fairly new nice house(7yrs old), wife has good job in accounting, daughter is ready to start 1st grade. Me, Im laid off auto mechanic that joined the MO National Guard last year and just got out of basic training 33 days ago.

Only debt we have is our house, 1 car and 2 school loans

Tired of the shitty weather in STL, the crappy scenery, and my wife is dying do to allergies here. We traveled out west many times and always talked about moving out there. I don't know whats stopping us, scared I guess
Yes our parents are here, but they are all retired, so they can visit whenever.

What would be the 1st thing to see about? Selling our house, or trying to find jobs out in Colorado?
We were looking into Ft. Collins, Grand Junction, or Colorado Springs.
Still open for suggestions

If we find work out there 1st, how do you go about trying to sell your house back home?? …. don't know what to do……….

I'm on my iphone, and will reply in detail later, but the wife and I moved out here for many of the same reasons:  activities, weather, COL, people, open spaces, and the dry climate for my allergies.

We choose Grand Junction.  I'll reply later, but if you can make it happen, GJ is pretty close to perfect.

Please let me know more. We were in GJ last year, stayed the night before heading to Moab. Wife absolutily LOVED GJ.

Seems perfect mix of mountains and desert

Look forward to hearing from you

Ok...here's the run down on my decision to move here, and what I think GJ has to offer over the rest of metro areas of Colorado.

I've spent a lot of time in Italy, Florida and briefly New York.  I was living in Florida and just absolutely miserable and began my search of states to move to.  I've been coming to Colorado to ski for many years, but also considered other states such as TN, TX, NC, VA, PA, and NH.  

In the end I focused on CO due to my love of skiing, the climate, the cost of living,  the people, and many other factors.

Originally I had considered moving to either Ft.Collins and even Colorado Springs.  I pretty much ruled those areas out since they were decently sized cities which I was wanting to get away from.  Eventually Ft. collins to Colorado Springs will pretty much connect as one huge metro area, and I just loath traffic, over population, etc.

I started focusing on Grand Junction after a suggestion from a friend I met on another forum.  I took a trip out here, and met up with this friend.  He, his wife, and his whole family pretty much welcomed me as a second son/friend and they took the time to show me around and explain the area.  I feel that people in general out here are more laid back and friendlier.

I also wanted access to all the outdoor activities that the state has to offer.  GJ proved better IMHO as although it was a bit further from all the major ski areas, there isn't much traffic.  It isn't uncommon to sit in traffic 3-5+ hours on a weekend on the front range heading up into the mountains as that is what everyone else is doing.

I also wanted an area that was politically conservative, and other than the Springs, GJ is pretty much it as far as larger cities ( city here is about 55K in population, and county is about 125K) is concerned.  I really wanted to live amongst like minded people.  I think GJ went 70% Republican last election cycle.  Also, the weather was a big concern for me as I am allergic to mold, which is pretty much caused by humidity.  GJ, on average, is a bit warmer than the areas on the front range(except for maybe Pueblo) and usually has a much lower relative humidity.  For the first time in my life, I've been able to breathe out of my nose.. Now, there are people that develop allergies out here, mainly from dust or the various weeds and such, but in my case, I've found relief from my allergies from Florida.

From a gun owners prospective, there isn't a better place to be.  Tons of BLM land to shoot on, and excellent gun shops (Cabelas just moved heree, and we also have an excellent local place that sells everything for $10 over cost).  I've never been to a place where more gun owners live than here.  Seems like every shoots.

With all that comes the downfalls.  Traveling by air from here can be a bitch as there aren't many direct flights from here.  We usually have 1-2 layovers and a long day of traveling.  Our family is in NY and Italy, and it's just hard not seeing the family more.  Also, being 3.5-4.5 hours from larger cities like Denver and Salt Lake City might trouble people.  Sometimes you might get the feeling of isolation, but for me, that's about once per year, and I forget about it as soon as I go down the hill into Denver.  

Well, that's some stuff off the top of my mind.  Moving out here has been a great decision for us.  Other than the family thing, it really has been great.  What I will tell you is that securing employment out here will be important.  GJ had I think the highest unemployment in the US of cities 50K or more last year.  It was hard getting settled out here, but we just did it.  We moved in 2007 during the good economic times.  We lived in a hotel until we found an apt because there ws like a zero vacancy rate out here due to the oil & gas boom.  Now that that has subsided, the economy has gone back to a more sustainable level.

My wife left a career making high 6 figure salary to follow me out here.  She trusted my judgement that this area was a good place to live.  We've come along way since living in that hotel, and it's been a fun journey.  Anyone that has a valuable skill set and is willing to work hard should have no problem finding employment out here.

Good luck on your quest to get out here.  If you have anymore specific questions, please fire away.  I certainly haven't covered everything in this post.

GJ is pretty nice- just know that you are 3 hours from Denver so it's pretty remote. That being said, I think the wine and the produce they are doing over there is pretty awesome. You have decent access to the mountains, decent weather, and outdoor adventures in every direction. :)

I came from Fort Collins. It's a fabulous town and I love it- but the cost of living is really high. The average home price is $292k- and that gets you ~3,000 sqft. It's also the most liberal part of a fairly conservative county. Shooting isn't close at hand unless you join a club or go to an indoor range. About an hour to pawnee and at least that long into the mountains. Tons of open space, fantastic bike trail system, some great city-owned parks in the mountains, Poudre Canyon is awesome. You are further away from the high mountains though. Tons of shopping and dining opporitunities, great bar scene with the college students nearby in historic old town.  Some of the best MICROBREWed beer in the entire country is made right here in FC.

That being said, there are a good amount of people here and if you want solitude you'll have to go a couple hours into the mountains to get it. You also have good access to the fantastic Rocky Mountain National Park and historic Longs Peak.  Where we lived we never felt like we had to drive more that about 10 minutes to get anywhere we wanted to go. It sounds stupid but for a beer/wine enthusiast such as myself they have a better liquor store than anything in the springs- cheaper and more selection.

Springs, well, that is where I live now. Cost of living is lower than FC, but city is large and sprawled out and you end up doing a lot of driving. The roads are poorly designed and the traffic lights are badly timed.  There is TONS of stuff to do here and if you live on the west side you have decent access to mountains and ski resorts.  Crime is bad in certain areas. There are plenty of jobs around if you have skills that are in demand. Weather- well, it doesn't get over 90 much and it's dry. It can be pretty windy here- almost all the time except the summer. People will tell  you that you don't need A/C here but I disagree- for at least 3 months. Shooting is actually fairly difficult unless you join a gun club- limited places you can shoot in the mountains.

It's the most populous county and also one of the most conservative. If you hate living in close proximity to military members or evangelical Christians, you might feel uncomfortable here. (There are over 100 christian organizations in CS, and 3 military bases).El Paso County recently stole the "most populous county" title from Denver county, 500k+ living in the springs alone.

Any other questions? 2 out of 3 places I've lived in at least 2 years.

I'd say you are crazy to pull anchor and relocate before you have steady employment lined up in the new location. I've moved a million times, but always chasing a promotion or following a new job. Make a list of potential locations and start applying for jobs.

The actual process of putting your junk in a moving truck and heading West is easy. Selling a house in this economy? I haven't had a single offer on my house in New Mexico in a year... So yeah, move to Farmington New Mexico and buy/rent my house... I'll throw in a new AR and a case of ammo.

If you really have the itch, go big!  I lived in Alaska for 3 years, it was a really cool experience (pun intended). Of course living in a one room cabin with no running water where its 40 below and dark half the year isn't for everyone. But I'd do it all again, if the right job opened up for me.

You guys have been very helpful. Thank you.

From what I read over the past year or so about places to live, Denver is out of the question for us. Ft Collins always rated in the top 10 for places to live, thats why we looked into it. We've been to CS so much , it seems like we already live there
But then GJ really took me by surprise, last time I have been there was back in 99. When we went there last year, it seemed like it grew. From the view from Colorado National monument, it looked nice. Right away my wife mentioned we should move there.

I like the springs, but the traffic sucked. And it does seem a bit unorganized.

As for "outdoor" adventure goes, we do a little here in STL, but the weather and allergies blow, so we don't get out as much as we like. So getting into the mountains every weekend is not a top priority for us, but still would be nice if we decide to.

My thing is, sell the house 1st or find job 1st

If we find job 1st, how do you go about saying , " Hey , I live in STL. Can you give me a couple of weeks to pack up and move?" or do you just take the bear minimum and go. Then come back for the rest of your stuff?

If you find a job 1st, there is no way you will have enough time to pack up, sell the house and move out there, before you start work or would you

As you can tell, we have never moved, much less out of state

I'd say whomever land a job first, would move out first and the other stays behind and dumps the house.  

Another option would be, if it could cash flow after paying the mortgage, management, etc, would be to rent out the old house.

I lived in Breckenridge/Summit County for four years, and came to hate it.  I lived in Leaville/Lake County for four years and loved it, though nine months of winter gets old.  I've lived in the Springs for a long time now, and am used to it, I guess... ya can't beat the climate here, ten degrees cooler than Pueblo or Grand Junction, and winters are surprisingly mild for the most part.  Traffic in the Springs ain't nearly as bad as in Denver.  If I were to move to the Western Slope, I wouldn't mind living in or around Montrose, or south toward Ridgway.

Out of the three areas you have identified, my vote goes to Grand Junction. Lots of oilfield activity around GJ now, and that has to require mechanics.
Denver & CS are a traffic nightmare & FULL of people, IMO. Check out Montrose which is an hour south of GJ.
I'm in the 4 corners area, and the economy here has never been great, and now it's pretty tough, so don't consider Durango, IMO. Good Luck!

I would say something like, "Hey, I live in STL. Can I start next month?"   You can negotiate the starting date.  It might take a couple trips back and forth to make it all happen. People move all the time, an employer that wants you to materialize in the new location like magic probably doesn't have a good grasp on reality and wouldn't be the kind of outfit I would want to work for anyway.

I chased my ex all over the god damn country pursuing her career. Worked out pretty well, for her. haha

I was in the same boat.  We have property in southern Co and want to move out there, but I wanted to move with a job in my pocket as opposed to hitting the bricks on arrival.  Fortunately I found a new gig that is 100% virtual office with good stability.  We're (my wife, son and I)  on schedule to move out to Erie next Spring when she gets her licensing tests (PhD Phsychology) out of the way.

What kind of work do you do? If you don't mind sharing... That sounds pretty cool!  99% of my work (data analysis) could be effectively done remotely/virtually, but my agency isn't quite "there" yet.

I do remote Unix OS/Hardware support.

I am from central MO (CoMo). Lived there for 13 years. I got a job in Longmont, CO, last April and had to start late June. We own our home in CoMO and a buddy who is going back to graduate school at MU needs a housing, so we make a deal and he rents my home while he is in school. One less thing for us to worry about (like trying to sell the house in this market while we try to move at the same time). Since I already have a job waiting for me, the area of our house hunting is more well defined. We look for area with good schools (kids in 7th and 5th grade). We found a new built home in Mead, a rural community about 12 miles from my job and is outside Longmont (actually it is in adjacent county, Weld, which is more conservative leaning than Boulder county).

My commute to work takes about 20-22 minutes, perhaps longer during the return trip since the road is more congested in the evening rush hour. Traffic is worse than MO in general. But you are from STL, so you probably is already accustomed to heavy traffic. But I do must say that CO has far more "bad drivers" than I have ever seen in MO, even in STL or KCMO area. I stick with the speed limit, but people here mostly ignore them. And they like to tail-gate you really close, even at high speed and even when the road is empty. I had a girl flipped me yesterday because I was doing 60 in a single lane hwy with 60 mph speed limit, and she was tailing me really close. If I have to brake suddenly, there is no way she would not rear ended me at that speed and distance. This is a daily occurrence. I-25 is one crazy place to drive. I have seen more road rage in that highway in 1 month I am here than in the 20 years I lived in MO. No wonder my AAA car insurance rate is so much higher here in CO than it was in MO (I also had AAA insurance back in MO). Imagine people driving like this in the winter time! Yeah, traffic is one stress factor to me in this place. Just too many idiots behind the wheel (and most of them are women based on my daily observation).

Shooting place is also slim picking. I used to live 15 miles from 3 shooting ranges in CoMO. I am a member of Green Valley, and there is a public range maintained by Conservation dept in Finger Lake. All within 15-20 minutes drive from my home. Here, the closest facility to Green Valley that I have found is in Ault, about 50 miles away. There are a few indoor ranges closer to Longmont, but the membership cost is insanely high. Try $700 initiation fee with $80 a month membership fee for family membership. Fuck that. I have gone shooting exactly once since I moved here back in June. It was a Garand match in Ault. At least they have good competition programs several times a month, from high power rifle, 3-gun match, IPSC, and others. And all these matches are open to the public with very reasonable match fee ($20 for the Garand match including ammo). People there are very friendly too. I am in their waiting list for membership drive in 2012.

Cost of living is a bit higher than in central MO, but probably is cheaper or the same compared to STL.