Northern NJ to Denver Suburbs

I currently live and work in Northern NJ and am eyeing a possible relocation to the Denver Suburbs of CO for a new job. This would be a combo lifestyle/career move. Offer is good and has nice flexibility (hybrid). Budget is $2.25M, would be looking for a spacious home with a decent (but not necessarily enormous) yard, neighborhood feel and public utilities.

Residence wise, would be looking at the South Denver suburbs. Would be an easy commute on office days (Aurora) and generally well regarded. Thinking Littleton, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Greenwood Village, Parker, Cherry Creek, etc area. I’ve heard it referred to as “Denver Tech Center” area to give a picture. From what I’ve seen that area fits the bill pretty well. A suburban neighborhood feel with good trails/parks and decent space.

Also considering staying in NJ, which for me is a mixed bag. Love my house/neighborhood here, and working in NJ not NYC and not having to deal with that commute is great. The home appreciation is incredible and hard to walk away from. Value has pretty much doubled since I bought and it’s a strong seller’s market here, everything goes for well over list. There’s a lot of shopping/entertainment stuff too and it feels like a “happening” place.

Personality wise though, I feel like CO might be a better fit. I’m pretty laid back and not really a drinker. Very outdoorsy/active/sports oriented. I’m not concerned about politics in either location.

A lot of people in NJ are very “high blood pressure” and sort of difficult to deal with for me. I like the beach as much as anyone, but the Jersey shore beaches just are not all that great, especially with the very limited window to use them. Having NYC right there is nice but it doesn’t really hold that much appeal to me on a day to day basis. Sure I like Broadway, but would be fine visiting as a tourist a couple times a year.

Then there is the climate, by far the worst thing about NNJ. It rains a lot here, more than Seattle. The spring can be especially bad. The long stretches of overcast gray skies, which can be throughout the year, are really hard to deal with and just wear me down. CO is very sunny and seems like it would be way better. I am ok with cold/snow in the winters as long as it’s sunny. Definitely prefer dry air to the sometimes brutal humidity here too.

The flip side is home appreciation may not be as good in CO. Since there is much more space to build outward, houses don’t increase in value quite as much in NNJ.

Trying to weigh all the options here. Appreciate the input!