Moving From Atlanta to Colorado...HELP

[austratman23]

Hey Everyone...

Let me give you a little bit of background information so that you guys can help me in any way possible.

I am about to graduate police academy here in Georgia in 3 weeks and will be getting on with an agency and getting on the road. I am 21 and my wife and I have been married for about 9 months. She is finishing up here Bachelors. She has 3 semesters left. We have no kids.

Our dream is to move to Colorado in the next couple of years and settle down. We have both lived in Georgia our whole lives. I thought it would be good to get a few years under my belt and then transfer to an agency somewhere in Colorado or maybe even CSP. We aren't even sure where we would want to live in Colorado or much about it. We plan to take several trips up there before the move to see where we want to settle down at.

I wanted to get some feedback and help from you guys to see what we would need to do and how much time you think it would take before we could move.

If you guys could give me some information regarding agencies or some great places to live that would be great. Starting pays around here in metro atlanta are about 36k where as I am sure the cost of living is less than living in Colorado. What is starting pay on average in smaller towns and in big cities? I may eventually choose to go Federal as well.

When I do a lateral transfer how many hours of training am I going to have to do in order to be certified in Colorado. Are there actually special ops in agencies where you do snow patrol? I know I am very nieve but we would love to move out there and start our lives. Any informationg regarding agencies, pay, great places to live, or opinions in general would be great. I would sorta like her to finish up her schooling here in GA first which is only about a year and a half. I belive she wants to be a teacher but she still isn't sure. . Giving us a little time would be good to save up for the move and also a good time to save money for a down payment on a house. Maybe we live in an apartment or rent a house until we settle down further? Any help would be fantastic. If you would like to email me you can as well at [email protected]

Thanks for all the help everyone!

[colo.metrocop]

Well as of right now there aren't many agencies out here hiring, and if there are spots there are tons of applicants...Maybe that will change as the economy picks up a bit in a year or two. I would recommend getting a Po Po job back where your at and get some experience, like 2-3 years. I know most of the larger departments out here won't give you a lateral status unless you have 3 years as a cop. CSP does not have a lateral program, if you want to get on with them, you do another full academy. Other departments you can challenge POST to get a Colo. cert. There are a lot of small depts in the mountains if you want the snow..., most don't pay as well as the front range metro areas.

[austratman23]

Thanks metrocop. I think getting a few years under my belt is the best thing to do. What do smaller agencies pay? Lateral pay may be the best option if I am coming in with 3 years under my belt? If I don't have 3 years for lateral, would I just get paid Police offcer 4 pay?

[Monkeybomb]

I can't say about small agencies. Most larher agencies start around the low 40"s and top out mid 60's. A couple top out at around 80 thousand. Hiring is tight with a lot of competition right now.

[hit&run]

Cspd

I have been to Atlanta and would say that Colorado is much better place for family living. However, don't look at Colo. Springs PD for employment. CSPD plans on laying off about 40 cops if a new tax intiative does not pass in November. Based on early estimates it looks as though the intiative will not pass. Stand by for better news, city council is proposing a 10% pay cut to all city employees to meet budgetary needs However, the good news...when you do move to Colorado you will share in the lowest property taxes in the nation...

[austratman23]

thanks for all of the info guys. I know it seems like it will be a little while but we are just looking out and seeing whats out there. WHat are some nice plays to stay and look for leo employment? Next vacation time we are going to fly out or drive and check out some areas.

[Monkeybomb]

It really depends on what you are looking for. There is open prairie, Mountains, urban, suburban Ski towns etc. Denver is different than the Springs and Boulder is like a different country. Wetern slope is different than the front range.

[austratman23]

hmm..yah I can already tell I don't know much. I enjoy a decent amount of snowfall. Wouldn't hurt to live near the slopes because I would make that my second home..I love to snowboard

[austratman23]

okay...well I think my wife and I are going to make a trip out to Colorado in less than a month. If we want to check out Colorado and a future place to live, where should we visit. Remember that we havn't told her parents that we plan to move to Colorado within the next few years and her parents are paying for the trip for us. SO we almost have to go to a toursit type of destination. I am not sure if lauren wants to go skiing. I would love to go to the mountains so that we can snowboard. If so whats a good place, a place where we could stay but also a good location so we could drive and check out the surrounding areas? Thanks for the help

[Dep D]

Fly into Denver, rent a car, and drive west into the mountains if snow is what you want. You will get 9 months a year of winter. At night 20 degrees below zero winter....

You will be almost 3 miles in elevation. The sun is warm, and the skies are blue. You will start at about 38k a year. You will live in ok, not nice housing due to what is bought by most of the residence is their vacation home they go to 3 weeks out of the year to go skiing during christmas holiday... They usually pay about 800K and up for those residences.

You will be alone during most of your calls, but cover will show up at 110 MPH in about 10-30 minutes.

You will have two "Mud seasons" a year. Spring, which is May, not March when the snow melts, and all the dirt roads are mud, and Fall, which is late August, not October, when all the kids go back to school, and everyone is waiting for the snow to fall enough for ski season to begin.

You will love the skiing, snowmobiling, fishing, and hunting.

[austratman23]

Thanks Dep D.
As I have noticed, if I am in a small town in the moutains than the pay is a lot less than a larger city or department. I would think it would be fantastic to live somehwere secluded sorta but I would want to travel to work to work a larger department with atleast 120 officers so there is chance for me to move up in rank. I will check out that as well but I do appreciate all of the information!

[mikeymedic]

Thanks Dep D.
As I have noticed, if I am in a small town in the moutains than the pay is a lot less than a larger city or department. I would think it would be fantastic to live somehwere secluded sorta but I would want to travel to work to work a larger department with atleast 120 officers so there is chance for me to move up in rank. I will check out that as well but I do appreciate all of the information!

120 Officers in the mountain area isn't going to happen unless you join CSP. I recommend places like Fort Collins or Denver where you are close enough but still have larger departments. I don't know how close you need to be to amenities like Wal-Mart and Banks. Jefferson County would be optimal for your situation if you need the amenities and size as well as the closeness to all the different ski resorts.

[austratman23]

The agency that I am about to start working for has roughly 120 officers. I think that is a great size for me. Not to small but not too big. Does CSP have a good reputation or is it the same thing as State Patorl anywhere? Do you get paid more if you have prior expierence coming into CSP?

[Reiland]

You'll have to stay on the front range if you want a local department of at least 120. Grand Junction is the biggest city/town PD between Denver and Salt Lake and it's only around 100 (although I think Provo, UT is close). GJ is about an hour from Powderhorn, the nearest skiing. If you want to join a mountain department, they're all small, and be prepared for low pay and extremely high housing costs.

[austratman23]

thanks for more great information..thankyou everyone