I was living 30 minutes outside of Denver for the last two years. Although the salary was decent for a seasoned educator, I was paying out over half of my salary for rent for a 3 bedroom house. I had nothing left over to do anything accept to sit in my nice house and look at the mountains in the distance. I had just moved from North Carolina 2 years ago in search of a decent salary for teaching. Well, I got the decent salary but didn't realize the rent was so astronomical and would confiscate most of my pay. Therefore, I just moved to a beautiful little mountain town that had a better view, a nice small community and reasonable rent. I am now able to actually enjoy all that this beautiful state has to offer. The salary is much lower, but my money goes a lot farther and I am away from all of the pitfalls of living in or near a big city.