Peace of mind move to Denver, best areas?

[who dat is]

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.

Just about anything within a half hour of a ski resort is going to be expensive. Go ahead and rule the entire front range out if you are looking for an easy drive with minimal traffic. Gunnison might be alright as somebody mentioned as it is near Crested Butte but I don't know about the real estate market there. Somebody else also mentioned Salida. I have a special place in my heart for that town. I would not call it conservative at all. It is a really funky, hip, artsy town that is really bike friendly. The arkansas river is right there and the town is a huge rafting, boating and fishing town in the summer. You also have the Sawatch Range right there with the collegiate peaks that are beautiful. That being said there are also the "Native" type people that have lived there their whole life that like to thump their bibles but that just adds to the vibe. There is a nice mix of people in all. Monarch ski mountain is just up monarch pass from salida which is a 30-45 minute drive. I think Salida is growing fast though and real estate is going up. Buena Vista right up the road is a similar situation but cheaper real estate could be had up there. You'll definitely find more of the "Native" local types up there but Salida is maybe 30 minutes down the road if you need to escape for a bit. Leadville is also 30 minutes up the road in the opposite direction for some crazy throwback wild west town.

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 can't begin to imagine where you could go in Colorado where it is alway grey and dull. Were you living in cracktown or something? This is a horrible depiction of this state. Even the dumpy little middle of nowhere towns are sunny most days. I can imagine if you were from somewhere like Walden or something but get real. Even if you live in a shit town there is somewhere cool within an hours drive if you need to get out and explore. I have traveled this state extensively and these are my observations. I have been to the eastern plains which might as well be Kansas and would avoid them as there is nothing out there but ranches and farmland.

*Edit* - I have also never heard of any cops randomly cruising around and knocking on doors. Who has time for that garbage?

 

[who dat is]

Forgot to mention Golden and Evergreen getting out past Denver to the west. I don't know as much about the real estate in Golden but I imagine some cheap rural land or housing could be found if you look hard around Evergreen.

 

[Jhhnn]

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.

Truly.

Licensed growers get inspected occasionally.

Personal home growers? Never. There is no record of their existence, no known place to inspect even if the law allowed for it. It's an anonymous activity, Colorado legal. Plant counts should be observed to cover any highly unlikely possibilities.

Bitter cold this morning, more of the same all week. We get this some years, short stretches of semi-Canada, but not many. It was up in the 50's last week, with abundant sunshine. We get more of that than not in the winter, I think. Rarely cracks 100 in the summer in Denver, with low humidity generally year-round. People accustomed to higher humidity sometimes get itchy skin, bad. Dove soap is your friend.

The high country is different, an extension of northern climate zones. The western slope has more grey days & the southeast quadrant of the state is hotter, dryer & more arid, a transition zone between the great plains & the desert southwest. Lamar sizzles in the summertime.

What people from older parts of the US don't realize is that there really aren't any truly bad neighborhoods in Denver. The worst block in 5 Points is a lot nicer than anywhere in East St Louis, last time I checked.

Race isn't nearly as big an issue as some places in this country. Prejudice is relatively low. Minorities have been given a better break, and that shows in our neighborhoods.

 

[satva]

Salida, Glennwood Springs, and Buena Vista are favorite local vacations close to great hot springs. Salida is located in between the Sangre Cristo Mountains, the San Juan Range and the Sawatch Range - magnificent.

We drove the Boudler, Denver, Buena Vista, Salida, Pagosa Springs, Taos, and Sante Fe loop around October 1. The High mesa is gorgeous in the fall, aspens were bright gold. There was 6 inches of snow in Pagosa Springs and it was wintertime going over Wolf Creek Pass, 20 degrees Fahrenheit. These are small remote high elevation towns 3 1/2 - 4 hours from Denver and much colder year round with a very very short growing season.

However outside of Phoniex, these are some of America's sunniest cities year round. Its 0 degrees in Denver today and colder in those high elevation towns

 

[xxxBOOBSxxx]

# Eureka Springs Organic: Wow!! To the dude bashing Ft.Collins...You don't have any idea what the hell your talking about. Ive lived all over the country and Ft.Collins is one of the best places ive ever lived. You probably like Denver so much because of the "public" housing you live in. lol So you can stick it where the sun don't shine. Oh and you can look it up..Fort Collins is rated one of the best places in the country to live...So suck it!!!!!!!

 

[Eureka Springs Organics]

# Eureka Springs Organic: Wow!! To the dude bashing Ft.Collins...You don't have any idea what the hell your talking about. Ive lived all over the country and Ft.Collins is one of the best places ive ever lived. You probably like Denver so much because of the "public" housing you live in. lol So you can stick it where the sun don't shine. Oh and you can look it up..Fort Collins is rated one of the best places in the country to live...So suck it!!!!!!!

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and you made my point for me.

Is "public housing" code word for people that are not white? Nice job on being racist.

All I have to go by are my experiences with Fort Collins. Puke on the sidewalk, getting blocked in by college kids so that I have to pull through a yard to get out, and a College girl letting her dog take a shit right in front of the door to a restaurant, and not even thinking about picking it up, And this was literally just one afternoon in FOCO.

Maybe 15 years ago it would have been for me, but not anymore.

There are different places for different people. Denver just happens to be the place for me right now, and then I will move on to another place. I get bored easy.

P.S. The sun shines over 300 days a year here so my ass gets plenty of viatamin D.

 

[sodalitas]

My experience (4 years in Lakewood, directly west of downtown Denver) is this is more sunny than my decade in Tucson AZ. (Except 50 sunny days are near 32f)

I have a 3 Bdr 3Ba slab ranch, Zillow shows it's worth $260k.
It's a middle class neighborhood, built in the 60's.
(When I say middle class, I don't necessarily mean white, I mean I don't have a meth lab and crack heads next door.)
I'm paying $1,100 rent for this house one block east of Bel Mat mall (Lakewood)
I'm about 15 minutes east of Red Rocks Amphitheater.
I was a licensed R.E. agent back when I was flipping homes about a decade ago.
Please feel free to contact me at your leisure.
Sk
;-)_~~

 

[sodalitas]

(Bel Mar Mall, not Bel Mat)(Typo.)

 

[sodalitas]

Man, I shouldn't type before having coffee.
I'm in Lakewood, 15 minutes WEST of downtown.
Halfway between down town and Red Rocks.
Just east of Bel Mar (outdoor) mall on Alameda & Wadsworth.

 

[sodalitas]

3Bdr 2 Ba slab ranch. (Well, it's got a crawl space underneath, but no basement)

 

[paint4420]

Having come from the east coast in the snow.and salt belt. I have to say denver sucks.. what ever u do (who ever reads this) denver is a shit hole. Nothing to see here the mountains are constantly in the way of having a nice view of flat nothingness. Theres far to much blue sky and sunshine. The culture and pot smoking are so boring that it makes my mind numb. Art is non exsistant no one comes here to play music. Red rocks is nothing but a rock in the ground. Did I mention how horrible the winter activities are. Who want to go take a 4x4 wheeling to 13-14000 feet? Too much fresh air up there.

Nope this place sucks stay away... im gonna move to somewear good like florida were the meth laws are softer than the weed laws

 

[spunion]

I'm getting ready to move out of Denver, and probably Colorado altogether. Here's some stuff to keep in mind...

*There is a neighborhood for every type of person, spend a weekend or entire week here getting a feel for the city and exploring to find what fits you as an individual

*Unemployment keeps rising because everyone is moving here for legal pot

*Housing market sky rocketed and you'll pay 50-150% more than you would have just 2 years ago

*If you're truly just growing personal, you shouldn't be worried about getting busted no matter where you live

*Up to 6 plants in Massachusetts is only a misdemeanor, just tossing it out there

 

[spunion]

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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadville,_Colorado

edit: may not have a gym or YMCA, not sure, but its a cool small town with a ton of history and very affordable, plus its actually in the mountains instead of a massive valley like that western slope lame suburb towns

 

[aridbud]

To each their own in moving to a place they want to call home. Some love it, some hate it. Depends on a lot of factors.

 

[xxxBOOBSxxx]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and you made my point for me.

Is "public housing" code word for people that are not white? Nice job on being racist.

All I have to go by are my experiences with Fort Collins. Puke on the sidewalk, getting blocked in by college kids so that I have to pull through a yard to get out, and a College girl letting her dog take a shit right in front of the door to a restaurant, and not even thinking about picking it up, And this was literally just one afternoon in FOCO.

Maybe 15 years ago it would have been for me, but not anymore.

There are different places for different people. Denver just haens to be the place for me right now, and then I will move on to another place. I get bored easy.

P.S. The sun shines over 300 days a year here so my ass gets plenty of viatamin D.

Dude your the one bringing up race you dumb shit.

 

[wantaknow]

greely just might suit you too !

 

[Jhhnn]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadville,_Colorado

edit: may not have a gym or YMCA, not sure, but its a cool small town with a ton of history and very affordable, plus its actually in the mountains instead of a massive valley like that western slope lame suburb towns

My family had a summer cabin outside Leadville. I grew up going there & fishing nearby. Do not move to Leadville unless you enjoy winter, a lot. It sits at 10,000 ft elevation replicating an alpine subarctic climate. You'll freeze your ass off. Gardeners in Leadville grow lettuce, peas, cabbages & root crops because the season is ultra short.

All the jobs are over the mountains in Summit county or Vail, & the drive is treacherous in the winter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadville,_Colorado#Climate

Moving to Leadville all starry-eyed is a ticket to disappointment or worse. Just know what you're getting into.

 

[spunion]

If you're just going to be growing its fine. The climate is displayed in the wiki I linked. You can always add layers when you're outside, and wouldn't need to worry about air conditiong during summer.

The only thing that would deter me from moving there is the size of the town combined with being single.

You've also got closer access to Aspen than most Coloradans, not my favorite resort, but its a nice ammenity.

 

[Ttystikk]

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'.

Hope you're still around, you're the kind I like to see coming out here, good vibe. Everyone has been offering great advice- I grew up in northern Colorado and I've lived on the western slope, in the mountains and many parts of the Denver metro area. I'm pretty happy in Ft Collins. Take it for what it's worth...

And yeah, there's lots of us classic car/hot rod/gearhead types around here!

 

[Ttystikk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadville,_Colorado

edit: may not have a gym or YMCA, not sure, but its a cool small town with a ton of history and very affordable, plus its actually in the mountains instead of a massive valley like that western slope lame suburb towns

Oh HELL NO, don't condemn a poor grower to life in Leadville! In summer it's a great place to jump off into the mountains and in winter it's great for skiing, but to grow? Ya nuts?