I will be driving from CS to Boulder tomorrow! Hopefully I can make it to Denver to see the Ags beat MIzzou with you fine CO Aggies.

Any of you on here runners? I'll be in Denver over thanksgiving and want to get in some miles. (21 one day and 10 the other)

Hahahahahhahahahah....

Just a quick 21 miles huh?

Yep. You want in or have ideas on where I could run? Last time I was in town I did the trail that runs near downtown.

How about no.

But, what part of town are you staying in?

Family lives in lakewood & aurora. But I'll drive if it's something i should try

Will there be a watch party in the Boulder area?

Fainting Goat in Denver

How has this thread died? Keep the dream alive, folks!

On our way right now! Not sure Denver is ready for my boys...

I am here to reinvigorate this thread, as we may be relocating to Denver this summer. We're just now getting serious about it, and browsing homes online (after having read this entire thread). I really don't know much of what I am looking at, but have seen enough to know I would love a view and some trees. I think that means the west side of town (Golden area?) , but wonder what the commute downtown would be like?

I'm from Dallas, and not a fan of whatever the du jour suburb is with the new homes and 'good' schools, as they seem to have a shelf life.

Oh, and I would need someplace to plant the piece of Kyle Field sod I received for Christmas.

All of which to say is a defer to the collective wisdom of TexAs, which hasn't yet led me astray.

So you are one of "those" people from Texas.

The drive from Golden to downtown will suck. I70 will be a cluster in the winter and 6th avenue to get into downtown crossing over 25 is a nightmare.

If trees are your thing anything west will probably get you what you want. The trick is always nailing that morning commute. However, when winter hits all bets are off.

Do you know what your housing budget is?

We just moved in over the weekend. Here are some of my thoughts on our experience finding a place to live.

My wife works downtown so we were keeping the same commute in mind. We were told right away that you don't want to live north of town and commute down I-25 if you can avoid it.

We looked at all areas west and south of downtown, including Arvada, Wheatridge, Golden, Ken Caryl, Littleton, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, and Parker.

I'd echo db's question and add a few of my own.

- how long a commute are you comfortable with?
- do you want newer houses or are older established neighborhoods good?
- when you say you want a view, can you be more specific? I ask because we found the view in golden to be worse than other areas because you're actual too close to see the mountains.

Denver future/current residents, what industry are you in?

I'm used to "within the loop" Dallas commute - 30-35 minutes, give or take. I'd be willing to add to that as needed for the right house. Both my wife and I would presumbaly be working downtown, so carpooling is possible. (Does I-70 or 6 have an HOV lane? That makes a big difference in parts of Dallas.)

Housing budget depends, but lets say upper side of middle class is our limit. We tend to prefer developed neighborhoods (trees are my proxy for that from my Dallas-centric viewpoint). I'm intrigued by some homes in see in/around 'Genesee' - that is, just south of I-70 west of town.

When I say a view, I mean not of town or necessarily of a specific peak, but openness - that is, "nature," and not people. I am willing to live futher out if I feel like I'm not in town anymore. In Dallas, that means an hour plus commute.

(We live pretty much in the heart of Dallas now. We like urban areas or "inside the loop" of Denver, but are intrigued by homes in the foothills - hence my first blush mention of Golden.

My wife's job brought us here - she works for Xcel Energy. I work out of the house so I can and do follow her everywhere.

*whipped*

Again with a weekend-under-our-belt grain of salt...

For us, we were probably in a similar price range. The interesting thing was how much more house we could afford because of the insanely low property taxes compared to Texas. Of course you make up for it elsewhere...

We started looking at schools first. Since we wanted to keep our kids in Catholic schools for the time being, we didn't really look too far west, including western Golden, genessee and Evergreen. There just weren't schools there for us and we didn't want to commute to school AND work.

From the areas we saw, Centennial,Englewood, and maybe Parker might work, though Parker will certainly stretch your commute time. You might even be able to get a larger lot in certain parts of Parker..

I really like the Evergreen and Genessee areas for beauty, I just don't know a thing about the commute and will have to defer to the denver vets on this thread.

[This message has been edited by Thriller (edited 12/23/2013 5:31p).]

We're several years away from kids starting school, but do have to consider daycare options. (We're fansof Primrose School, which has options in the Denver metro area. Not beholden to them, but would at least want something comparable.)

You guys are making me sick with jealousy!

Finding a job up there is probably going to be priority #1 for me for 2014. Hopefully, I'm asking for similar advice within the year!

Schall,

I can't help you with the schools. All I can really say is I love Highlands Ranch/Lone Tree area.

Thanks, DB. How are the commute options from Highlands Ranch / Lone Tree? We'd both be working downtown.

^
I live in Lone Tree & am probably 8-10 minutes closer to downtown than the "average" Highlands Ranch commuter.... assuming 25 is the route taken. I can be on 25 in 3-4 minutes, and I can get to my office downtown in 22-25 minutes if I leave by 6:30-6:45 in the morning. If I leave around 7:15, it's more like 40-45 minutes usually. There's also a light rail station 4-5 minutes from my house (45 minute train ride).

Now that I think about it, the people in the central/western part of Highlands Ranch could probably make it to downtown in 30 minutes (assuming low traffic) by taking Santa Fe. There's also a light rail station near 470 and Santa Fe.

[This message has been edited by proudaggie02 (edited 12/29/2013 12:02a).]

quote:

---

Denver future/current residents, what industry are you in?

---

Oil/gas

Schall,

There aren't a whole lot of bad places to live in/around Denver. There are many great neighborhoods around downtown, there are many great neighborhoods within 15 minutes, and there are plenty of nice suburbs within 15-30 minutes. Come check it out & see what you like best.

I love where I live, but I often see new neighborhoods that tempt me. It's a great place: beautiful, low stress, and people like to have fun.

Please don't let this thread die

It won't die. We are all busy skiing. We will be back briefly them we will be back on the golf course.

Also we are knee deep in marijuana.

Voodoo Doughnuts!

We are here and getting settled in.

Things I love: the air, the mountain views, the hiking outside my back door. The snow (more on that later), the new school, new restaurants/breweries to try. Gambling an hour away.

Things I don't love (so far): The snow on my north facing driveway, traffic on 470 anytime around rush hour, not having an opportunity to go skiing yet.

I really, really need to go skiing soon. Can anyone recommend a good private instructor for a few lessons to take a green/blue skiier (only been a few times and only blue when I'm living dangerously) to a decent skiier able to handle all the blues and maybe thinking about an easier black run?

Favorite new place (we haven't been to many yet) - Crave Burgers in Highlands Ranch.

Crave?

Time for Proud and I to introduce you to The Cherry Cricket.

I've been there, but it was between meals and I had more beer than food. I remember a pretty good beer selection and some appetizers.

Thriller- do yourself a favor & eat at Big Bills Pizza at County Line and Holly. Best pizza I've ever had, and everything on the menu is great.

Big bills over Parrys?

Both of those sound great for dinner tonight, but may have to wait until the pregnant wife has the baby and loses the constant acid reflux.

Ugh, I think I'm outnumbered by my brood and we'll end up at Red Robin or something similar tonight.