Does anyone commute from the mountains to Denver? (Golden, Evergreen: apartment, rent)

[SouthXSW]

I love the mountains and would love to live up there but still commute to Denver for my job. Not necessarily downtown but somewhere in the metro as I work on-site at construction projects which can be anywhere. What about the Dillon/Silverthorne area? Would that be a crazy long commute each day? I know the weekend traffic on I-70 is horrible but what about during the week?

[sunsprit]

A fair number of people do this, and you'll likely come to recognize your fellow commuters in the daily traffic.

But it's a substantial committment in time and travel expense every day, and there's a number of days each year in inclement conditions that will make the trip long and hazardous. Figure on about an hour, minimum, travel time on the good days ... each way. It can be a lot longer on days with poor weather.

IMO, you'd be better off to live closer to your work ... perhaps along the I-70 corridor closer to Denver, or the 285 corridor. You can have the benefits of mountain living without such a long daily commute and the expense.

[tfox]

Commute from Dillon/Silverthorne to Denver? That's crazy. Look into Evergreen or Conifer. While by no means a short commute, it is doable.

[SheridanL]

Evergreen to Denver under 30 miles...Dillon to Denver under 70 miles.
I'd pick Evergreen.

[blobbin]

It can take an hour to get from one end of the metro area to another. The OP here is not referring to Denver, but the Denver area as a place of potential work and given his line of work, construction, and where most of that is, well away from the city to the east of E-470, this would be an insane commute even at the best of times with no weather or construction, and that is just the I-70 to the western edge of the metro area. Add terrible amounts of time if you are working north, south or especially the more likely construction areas to the east and southeast.

1.5-2 hours would be the norm from most of the metro area with average traffic and without weather. 30-40 minutes less if you are working around traffic at say 4AM and 9PM.

I think most people who don't know Denver and move from the flat land states think they want to live in the mountains. In reality most people quickly learn that the proximity to the mountains from most of Denver is what makes the city great in that you have all of the services of a city with easy access to the things that the mountains offer.

[Scott5280]

Don't do it. either work and live in Summit County or work and live metro. I could tell you horror stories traveling over the pass from Summit County to Denver daily and that was in the 90's with half the traffic. Consider living in Conifer/Golden/Morrison/Evergreen.

[SouthXSW]

Thanks for the advice. The reason I asked is I know someone with a condo in Keystone that would be willing to let me live there for several months while looking for an apartment/house in urban Denver. I would still be working in metro Denver though and would have to make that commute each day for the short duration I was living in the mountains. I was just curious if it could be done for a few months, likely in the summer/fall, and what the weekday traffic is like on I-70. It's either live for free up there while working and actively looking for a place or just rent a small apartment in Denver while doing the same thing.

I could really use the money saved by living up there for free (just have to maintain the condo and keep it clean) but it may equal out with the price of gas commuting back into Denver each day. Is there any kind of park and ride where I could drive into Silverthorne or Georgetown and take a bus into Denver?

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by SouthXSW

I love the mountains and would love to live up there but still commute to Denver for my job. Not necessarily downtown but somewhere in the metro as I work on-site at construction projects which can be anywhere. What about the Dillon/Silverthorne area? Would that be a crazy long commute each day? I know the weekend traffic on I-70 is horrible but what about during the week?

Yes, that is crazy. 1 hour 20 mins. in good driving conditions. Double that for snow and ice, if I-70 is open. So that's 2 hours 40 min. per day minimum commute time. Many days a year you wouldn't even be able to make it at all.

Driving directions to Silverthorne, CO
1 hour 21 mins
I-70 W
68.8 mi

Denver, CO to Silverthorne, CO - Google Maps

[Idlewile]

Yes, agreed, that's crazy. It's made tougher because it's not like Keystone is right off of 70. Too bad too, I know free rent in a nice setting is always appealing.

[JohnHAdams]

Free rent? Why not try it?

You can use the savings to get snow tires, chains, and purchase a lot of gas.