Peace of mind move to Denver, best areas?

[farmerstealth]

Thinking about making the move to the Denver area just for my peace of mind, sick of always stressin' about gettin' busted.
I'm not moving to "get rich" by growing, just wanna grow my own in peace.
I'm lookin' for opinions on wheres the best part of the Denver area to set roots. I did live in Denver near the DU campus for about 8-9 months back in the early 90's but I don't remember where what is. (wonder why? hehehe..)
I do wanna be near the front range, foot hills, not a fan of big city living and the views of the front range I've loved since I last was there. I've heard the Boulder area is mostly young, collage, artsy types and the south of Denver is more conservative, so.... I guess I'm lookin' for something kind of in the middle. Lookin' in the 150-200k price range, I know that ain't much for Denver's real estate market but its what I got.
Not that this will help but looking for a 3+ bedroom, 2+ bath, w/garage, basement, fireplace, and a decent sized yard. (think that bout' covers it. )
Anyway, any suggestions would be very helpful.

(And on a side note, is there a time limit on having to be a resident before you can start growing?)

Again, thanks.

 

[wantaknow]

ft collins

 

[xxxBOOBSxxx]

Hey welcome!! Im also a new member here but I seen this thread and thought I should answer. I too am a fairly new resident of Colorado and let me tell you, I understand exactly what your talking about, when you say your tired of being worried...well your moving to the right place!!!! So let me tell you my opinion. Try Fort Collins, this is where I live and its sounds like a perfect place for you or somewhere near here. The price is right around what your looking for and theres a beautiful front range and rocky mountain view!! Also this is a college hot spot as well!! Well, good luck in your endeavor!!

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

I am in Colorado also. The work you do depends on where you live. Ft. Collins is nice I agree. If you like funky neighborhoods, around 35th and Federal is the Highlands neighorhood in Denver which is an old area being gentrified and getting expensive. Boulder is very expensive and the traffic is tough there. Down South around Colorado Springs is very conservative and religious. There are a lot of Army/Air Force bases and the Air Force Academy and many retired military people. If you can't stand cities, check out the small towns on the western slope. Some areas of Denver are nice and people are laid back. I agree about not being worried about my grow. When I got my MMJ card I was legal. I didn't have to look over my shoulder and I could wander around with a small bag of weed and carry some clones with no worries.

 

[Jhhnn]

I'm confident that once you trade in your driver's license that you're ready to grow, maybe sooner.

Dunno if you're retired or if you need to work, if schools are a concern, other considerations as well. There's not a lot of $200K housing in metro Denver, where the best job opportunities exist in general.

My own neighborhood, Baker, has become ridiculously expensive, as has most of the East Side.

Reference these maps-

https://www.google.com/search?q=map...map-of%2FDenver-Neighborhoods-Map-4;1575;1144

http://www.larryhotz.com/denver-relocation/denver-map/

Those prices are obtainable, mostly in the 'burbs, particularly Aurora, also in Denver proper mostly on the West Side, west of I25. The poorest westside neighborhoods are Valverde, Barnum, Villa West & West Colfax, I think. Some areas in the western 'burbs aren't terribly expensive, nor is Denver's Montbello, not one of the premier neighborhoods.

 

[Eureka Springs Organics]

Ft. Collins is a mix of drunk college kids, and conservative cowboy's, sprinkled with a few hippie type folks. I was just there, and god damn there is no way I would move there. In Denver everyone is extremely welcoming. I have met very few people that are actually from Colorado.

Go up to Ft. Collins, and you get the "native" stickers. Ironically enough I have yet to see an American Indian with one of these stickers. It is typically a pick up truck with a white guy in it. Hypocritical you think?

Denver is the best! Let the Ft. Collins folks start to bash. Your budget will get you a crack house on the east side. With your budget you are going to have to go to Lakewood, arvada, wheat ridge, etc. In Denver, with that budget, it is going to get you an 800 sq ft. 2 bedroom 1 bath that may or may not have been a meth lab.

You can get more in a crap neighborhood, but you won't want to.

The highlands are a great place, but you are going to have to bump up your budget by 150k.

Low end non-lethal neighborhood you are going to go 250k-275k for something small.

I just moved here 3 months ago, and housing is WAY more expensive here.

It is however worth every single god damn penny!

 

[aridbud]

Why limit yourself to manic Denver?? Lots of smaller towns/communities/cities....each with their own vibe.

Vacation out here for a few weeks....test the waters by looking at several places before settling in D.

I lived near DU when I was 21-22....nice area. Every city has good and "other side of the tracks" neighborhoods.
You won't find acceptable housing at that price around Denver proper. Go to the burbs.

 

[farmerstealth]

Thanks for the replies folks.
I'm lookin' at taking a trip out there this late spring or early summer with a friend, hes never been west of the Mississippi and has an old girlfriend that's been out there 6-7 years, she says she loves it big time, probably stay 10-14 days and scope things out.
I may just look into buying a few acres somewhere in the foot hills between Denver and Ft Collins and dropping a nice manufactured home on it.
Any of y'all know what kind of car scene there is in that area? Clubs, shows, cruise ins, race tracks, ect....

Again, thanks for the responses'.

 

[farmerstealth]

Oh, and I was a member here for a couple years, but I hadn't logged on in a while so I think my account was canceled or something. I had the same screen name though.
Go figure.

 

[fishinnutt]

Check out Littleton, you will find something in your price range (right around the early $200,000) and it's close to everything pretty much.

 

[satva]

For areas of Denver with 3 bedroom 2 bath house, with basement, garage and garden in the $150 - 200,000 range. I know the north Denver suburbs will work. Starting in northwest Lakewood, traveling northeast Wheat Ridge, Arvada, , Westmionster, and Thorton all have houses in that price range and are all 15 minutes to 30 minutes drive to Union Station in downtown Denver, the hub of Denver's public transportation system. South Broadway is the Marijuana dispensary belt and probably 20 - 40 minutes from those areas. I haven't bought a bag/bale since 1978, but I'm pretty sure there's a way to grow marijuana in your basement

Also Nederland, if you don't need to work and like isolation, cold, and snow. Old town Arvada is about 15 miles south of Boulder and 15 minutes drive to downtown Denver. Arvada is in-between the Denver art museum with world class art exhibits and the Boulder bubble of $1 million dollar - 3 bedroom, 2 bath basement and garage homes. Longmont is about 15 minutes north of Boulder and the $1 million price tag drops to $350,000 and $250,000 in Arvada and lower in Thorton, Wheat Ridge, and Westminster.

I'm looking to buy a 1/2 acre with a nice house in the farm belt northeast of Boulder and south of Longmont, maybe 40 minute drive to downtown Denver. I retired 8 years ago, I'm a home boy, but my girlfriend is a go-go girl, Boulder, Niwot, Lafayete, Denver, Longmont, Nederland, Arvada she does the rounds. Good luck, real estate prices have been appreciating since 2012 in the Longmont, Boulder, Denver area. My girlfriend's daughter just bought a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, garage, no garden house in Boulder for $690,000. The same house in Arvada 15 miles south would be $350,000, a bit more in the city of Denver, a bit less in Thorton or Westminster.

It a good time to invest in Denver real estate. Due to the fires and drought in the summer, big snows in the winter, and the recent huge floods, its becoming more risky to live in the mountains, and lots of folks want to sell their houses for a loss and move to the lowlands. I just drove 1 hour and 25 minutes in a snowstorm from Nederland to Arvada, not what I call fun. My friend has a gorgeous house high up in Nederland, 3 bedrooms 3 baths, huge kitchen, a $600,000 - $700,000 house with $2 million views. If you live in Nederland, its too far to commute to Denver on a regular basis. Nederland is, or was a place where growers went to live to be left alone, but then they legalized marijuana, so now you don't have to live in Nederland to smoke in your back yard.

I used to smoke in my backyard in the 1970's but then things got weird, for 40 years, and now I'm back to smoking in my backyard - cool huh?

Good luck.

 

[justpassnthru]

Information regarding Fracking in CO and water/air contamination.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Colorado_and_fracking

Clean Water Action: It appears there is a moratorium on fracking in Ft Collins that ended in 2/2013
http://www.cleanwateraction.org/co

I have concerns of the water in Ft Collins. I was there in 2006 and there were some homes boarded up and signs on the HWY about contaminated water/air. The water issue is the one that seemed more dangerous.

Maybe, it has all been burned and washed away from floods and fires, IDK. Stopped and bought a local paper and there were some articles of the residents fighting for cleaner water.

I loved the Fort Collins area enough to look around long enough to not consider it, due to the water issues and contamination. The details of that issue...I forgot. So, If I were you, I'd go and look and scratch around a bit.

The other areas that seemed ideal, were around the outskirts of Colorado Springs. I liked the area around Black Forest, quite well. Oh shucks, just read 360 homes burned there, last year. If I were you, I'd go check it out and start doing some research at the assessors office and find out who owns which parcels that are vacant and not being rebuilt. Then contact the owners and ask if they intend to sell. Some will get pissed but, you will be doing a favor to some others, to take it off their hands.

Sounds like you might find a 'fire' sale, around there. Here in Cali, after a good burn, the land sells for cheap! You will probably find a couple acres around there. Most homes are mobile homes, in that area too! Might be right up your alley.

Always buy as cheap as possible. I've seen parcels that were worth well over $75K sold for $15K and less, in ral 'fire sales.' You just have to find and contact the owners. Often, many never return. Even check the properties that the tax is not being paid on.

The time you do in research, could save you tens of thousands of dollars.

As for Ft Collins, just found this; http://www.fcgov.com/airquality/radon-health-faq.php#13

How many Fort Collins homes need radon mitigation? Since your cost-benefit analysis says the average radon level is 3 pCi/L, does that mean the average house does not need mitigation? Why, then, is the City pushing radon-resistant new construction?

The confusion about radon exposure levels in Fort Collins has arisen because of the way we have estimated lung cancer risk, and we hope the information below will help clear it up. USEPA and other health authorities recommend fixing a house if its radon level is above 4 pCi/L. Statistics on short-term tests in Fort Collins show that about 70% are at or above 4 pCi/L. Short-term tests are usually done on the lowest living level of the home under closed-house conditions - i.e., the worst-case scenario. These results are often used to determine whether to mitigate radon in an existing house. A study of Fort Collins homes using more-realistic, long-term tests showed a similar result: 75% of homes with basements had levels above 4 pCi/L in the basement. However, looking at first floor, long-term tests in the Fort Collins study, the number of tests above 4 pCi/L drops to about 25%.
For our cost-benefit analysis of radon-resistant new construction, we needed an estimate of people's day-to-day, long-term exposure to radon. Basement levels are too high for this purpose. Therefore, we used long-term, first floor measurements from the Fort Collins study, which are lower than the level found in basements, and are close the average of all floors measured in the study. The average ground-floor level in the Fort Collins study was 3.0 pCi/L.
However, the original question is still valid - if only 25% of the first floor, long-term tests are above 4 pCi/L, does that mean that radon resistant new construction is not needed in 75% of the homes? Arguably, yes. However, many people put in a radon mitigation system based on high readings found in the basement, and there is some logic to that approach. Perhaps family members spend a lot of time in the basement; or perhaps the homeowner prefers to have every level of his home below 4 pCi/L rather than depend on the averaging effect, which occurs when family members eat on one level, sleep on another, and play on a third. For that reason, the benefit of having a passive radon reduction system that reduces radon by about half would help many homeowners who would otherwise end up paying a lot more for an after-construction radon mitigation system. [Source: Fort Collins Natural Resources Department]

Around Ft. Collins to Colorado Springs I found military, religious, College kids and LOTS of retiree's. It has a pleasant mixture of people.

Good luck in your hunt and hope you find, exactly what you are looking for. jpt

 

[RoadRash]

I'd like to find a town or towns in Colorado where you are within an 'easy drive' (or trainride) of a good ski area - and where property is affordable ($150K to $200K for home with basement, basement is optional.)

And - big enough to have a good gym or YMCA with a public swimming pool.

 

[supermanlives]

public pools are full of pee... beware of children

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

I think your best bet is on the Colorado Western slope on the other side of the mountains. Denver city is just constructing a lot of light rail. They used to run a train to Winter Park for skiing, but since I don't ski I don't know if they run it anymore. Around Denver housing is above your budget unless you move to a questionable neighborhood. Traffic on the front range is brutal especially on weekends when a lot of people go up skiing. Maybe check out Gunnison or Salida both on the western slope. But be warned they are very conservative but have the things you were asking about.

 

[justpassnthru]

Maybe check out Gunnison or Salida both on the western slope. But be warned they are very conservative but have the things you were asking about.

Gunnison is a very pretty area and mostly a college town. I stopped in a bar for lunch to get the local gossip. Got a barrel full. Said the town is almost a ghost town when the college is closed. It was a very pretty area and much closer to the areas for fun. Work was difficult to get, according to the locals. That was in 2006. jpt

 

[habeeb]

sorry, I have to put in my opinion.

colorado is a DUMP HOLE. and I feel I'm valid to say this living 20 of my life there. by all means go for it, but keep something in mind. Even, yes laugh if you want, even dog the bounty hunter says colorado is a bad place.

Last time I went to visit my dad, well actually, the last three times, all I saw was grey's and dull color.. the place is dead, and has been I would assume, I just didn't know it till I saw better, and changed. I literally got sick thinking of my family living there, and was highly disturbed being in there..

just because they allow the plant, doesn't mean you should go running to the "light". . I find it far better to grow in secret then move to a dump hole to grow and have "safety", guess how you can have safety? keeping your mouth and ego shut. I know this as I've lived in 5 places and am here to tell you.. what you want in CO is a sense of security, which can be had with a different state of mind..

tell me how many people in CO have had police come to there house since this new "law" to check up on them.. tell me.. if you feel safe and secure, that's the only way it can go. envision it to create it.. that's all CO is to people, but then you can have the ugly, cold, shit dump place in which you can grow.. your choice

 

[Eureka Springs Organics]

It is -13 this morning.

 

[fishinnutt]

sorry, I have to put in my opinion.

colorado is a DUMP HOLE. and I feel I'm valid to say this living 20 of my life there. by all means go for it, but keep something in mind. Even, yes laugh if you want, even dog the bounty hunter says colorado is a bad place.

Last time I went to visit my dad, well actually, the last three times, all I saw was grey's and dull color.. the place is dead, and has been I would assume, I just didn't know it till I saw better, and changed. I literally got sick thinking of my family living there, and was highly disturbed being in there..

just because they allow the plant, doesn't mean you should go running to the "light". . I find it far better to grow in secret then move to a dump hole to grow and have "safety", guess how you can have safety? keeping your mouth and ego shut. I know this as I've lived in 5 places and am here to tell you.. what you want in CO is a sense of security, which can be had with a different state of mind..

tell me how many people in CO have had police come to there house since this new "law" to check up on them.. tell me.. if you feel safe and secure, that's the only way it can go. envision it to create it.. that's all CO is to people, but then you can have the ugly, cold, shit dump place in which you can grow.. your choice

I respect your opinion and your right to it, but that is no description of Colorado. Colorado has more sunny days per year than most places, more 4 season activities than most, the winter here is often times non-existant in the metro area and I haven't heard of anybody having their gardens inspected.

 

[Eureka Springs Organics]

I respect your opinion and your right to it, but that is no description of Colorado. Colorado has more sunny days per year than most places, more 4 season activities than most, the winter here is often times non-existant in the metro area and I haven't heard of anybody having their gardens inspected.

I agree with all of this. Being in the business that I am in I know a lot of growers. No one has their grows inspected.

Denver has over 300 sunny days per year. It is one of the most sunny places in the Country. That includes places like Phoenix.

Seems to me if you go to some podunk rule mountain town with a lot of Conservative people then it may be possible to find the Colorado you speak of.

However Denver it is the exact opposite of what you speak of.

I have never met so many welcoming nice people in my life.

With 300 or more days of sunshine, and legal cannabis how can anyone not be happy?