Thinking about moving out to CO

[COLOelkman]

Back to the OP, if I were starting over, I'd look at Evergreen, Golden, Morrison, Kittridge (between Morrison and Evergreen). Work might dictate otherwise. I'm in Lakewood and I like it fine but every place has pros and cons. I'm close to the mountains but not far from the city if I really want to venture out which is somewhat infrequent for us. Good luck on your plans!

 

[Trogon]

I hail from Lakewood as well and have found it to be a good compromise between affordability, access, and quality. We managed to find half an acre horse property with a creek with easy access to light rail and highway that was affordable (the compromise was a turd of a house). Our area has more of a rural vibe, but its still in the city. That said, there was drive by shooting a few months ago a couple doors down from us. I nearly dropped my cigar when i heard the shots - turned out to be some wannabes racing around shooting out the window into the air.

Arvada is nice as well. The old downtown is getting pretty popular and probably has the most "community" feel in our area. Golden is pricey and basically an extension of Boulder these days, culture wise - so I would avoid.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

 

[LostInSpace278]

If you're not to stuck on the Denver area you may want to look north. I moved from Kentucky to Colorado in '09. My wife grew up in Loveland and I was the one that left everything behind.
I moved out here during great depression, after the place I had worked for 12 years, shut it's doors. Colorado was not hit as hard as Kentucky and the school system was leaps and bounds above most everything Kentucky had to offer. I've been out here 8 years in June and have never looked back. I sometimes miss Kentucky, but I was back there a couple of months ago and could not wait to leave.
Like I said, I live in Loveland and work in Broomfield. My commute is @45 minutes. In heavy traffic I can make it home within an hour. If you live in the metro area and live 15 miles from your work, it can take you much longer than that to get home.
I am 15 minutes from the Great Plains, 15 minutes from the mountains. If I want to visit a major metro area, I can head north or south, Cheyenne or Denver...

Where you settle is really up to you, but come out here and take it all in before you jump into a decision.

 

[JWP58]

The real question is, do you wear hemp sandals and tie dye? If you do, the front range is for you (also consider a man-bun hair do, skinny jeans, and get a fixie bike)

 

[COlineman78]

The real question is, do you wear hemp sandals and tie dye? If you do, the front range is for you (also consider a man-bun hair do, skinny jeans, and get a fixie bike)

Funny that what you are describing first makes me think of Nederland, not the front range. However Boulder is a close second followed by Fort Collins.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Reading all this myself. We're in the very NE corner of Boulder surrounded by open space so we stay out of most of the day to day stuff and just experience the area. However we've been renting and the housing boom is driving things up and causing serious chatter in the house about figuring out somewhere to relocate to. Bummer because the neighborhood/school/views/access to trails is solid, just comes at too high of a price tag.

 

[fngTony]

Funny how some bash the front range like it's completely anti hunting. I make the 3rd Lakewood guy in this thread. I'm sure most Kifaru employees live close to wheatridge. Lots of rokslide members live on the front range. My point is there are plenty of like minded people here.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

I'm in Mead, in between Longmont and Loveland. I work in Westminster. Not too bad of a place to live. I'm from Fruita, outside of Grand Junction. Mead and Fruita both have there pros and cons. fng, I would agree with your statement that there are like minded people here.