Moving to Denver (Boulder, Littleton, Golden: appointed, rentals, lofts)

[dave80jc]

My girlfriend and I are planning on moving to Denver next summer. We are both in our mid-20's and maybe not necessarily looking for a place to spend the next 40 years of our lives, but I wouldn't rule that out as a possibility depending on how much we like it. We currently live in Philly. I do love it here despite the fact that the last time I checked there have been 250+ murders here this year. I guess we are just looking to try something new and see how we like it. I am originally from central PA which is very rural so I grew up doing a lot of outdoor things, and I am hoping that while I can still live in a city with plenty of things to do (which I also like) and the ability to earn a nice income that I can get back into fishing/bike riding/skiing/etc.

I am in public accounting, so my research tells me that most of the companies that I would be working for are located within a few blocks of each other on 17th street (in a Business District of some sort maybe?). Because of this, I would like to live in Lodo or somewhere close, that I could walk to work or take a short ride on a bus. One of the regrets that I currently have about where I live in Philly is that I do not work in Center City (Philly's main downtown area for those that don't know) but rather the NW part and that I drive out to the suburbs to work everyday. When I make the move, I want to be able to walk/bike/take a bus to nearly everywhere that I would need to go because I am right in the middle where everything is.

I'm also not afraid of the snow. I've lived in PA my entire life and have dealt with snow/ice/sleet/freezing rain ever since I have been driving. I actually like it and am looking forward to some amazing skiing experiences since I haven't yet had the chance to make it out west.

Having said this, my questions are as follows:

1) Other than Lodo, where should I look into living? I guess we will probably rent short-term if possible until we find something to buy once we have a better feel for the area. We really like the lofts that seem to be fairly common. Are these mostly only located in this area, or are they as common in other areas as well? Also, am I right in expecting that I can find a 2 BR somewhere around $300k-350k in this area, or am I going to have to go higher still?

2) If I do find a place in Lodo, how hard is it going to be to get out of the city on a Friday afternoon if I want to go to the mountains for the weekend or something? I guess for skiing purposes I would purchase the Colorado Card so that maybe I'd just do day-trips to the resorts though.

3) How is the shopping at Cherry Creek and Park Meadows (in Littleton I believe)? How long would these take to get to? My girlfriend is particularly interested in this question as the King of Prussia Mall outside Philly is the 2nd largest in the country I believe - their anchor stores are Macy's, Sears, JC Penney, Bloomingdales, Lord&Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, etc. so you get the picture.

4) When does the typical ski season begin and when do the mountains typically open 100% of their terrain? Since I am in public accounting, one of the problems that I have is that my busy time at work is usually the peak ski season here in the northeast. I live too far away from VT to get there quickly for some good skiing so I haven't even made it out the past two years. It seems like there are quite a few good places to ski with a 2 hr drive of Denver, which is going to be nice.

I guess this is it for now. Sorry for the long post. I am coming out to visit in December or January to check things out and then should be planning on coming out again in May or June to start my interviews.

[2bindenver]

It's not hard to get to the mountains on Fridays - it's just slow.

Cherry Creek - 10 minutes, Park Meadows - 30 minutes, Flat Irons - 35 minutes, Southlands 40 minutes.

Some open as early as Mother Nature will allow. Mother nature plays a big part in how cold, how much snoe, and how much man made can they make..believe me, they make it as fast as they can.

[dj32]

Aside from Lodo, I would look at Golden Triangle, City Park/Uptown, Highlands, Riverfront Park, potentially Capitol Hill. All are fun neighborhoods with walkable shops, bars, restaurants with reasonable access to Parks (in case you get the requisite dog ) Lodo/Riverfront may be a bit pricey however, I think more owners are trying to rent them out at the moment so you may get an ok deal- not sure. Check Craigslist for rentals.

I think 2Bindenver answered your other questions- getting highway access is very easy from all these neighborhoods.

Best of luck and keep us updated. Denver is a great city for 20 somethings!

[BarryK123]

I live in Phila (Bucks Co. actually) and we'll be moving to Denver in the not too distant future, too. We were last there in April. My wife and kids (2 teenage girls) salivate over Cherry Creek Mall and say K of P doesn't even come close. As a guy, I don't appreciate the subtle differences

One interesting thing my kids noticed is all the people at Cherry Creek were tall and thin, unlike the rotundos we have here in Phila - too many cheesesteaks, I guess...

If you've never skied Colo, once you do, you''ll never want to go to Blue Mtn or Camelback again!

[Katiana]

To answer question #4, it can be January till the ski areas have 100% of their runs open.

I have been to Cherry Creek and King of Prussia and I think KOP is bigger. Maybe not, though, but Cherry Creek is not that impressive, IMO.

[jleonard64]

I grew up in KOP and have spent time in Cherry Creek- KOP is bigger but Cherry creek is more of an outdoor mall and not as big. Same high class shopping and includes condo residences. I think the winters will be better as well, not as wet, rainy slushy- real snow!

[tfox]

I'm not much of a shopper but I do appreciate Cherry Creek's location. You can't be more central, and for those of us who live in Denver it's perfect. You can certainly find bigger malls in the area, but the other locations are generally quite far away, mostly too far to drive. (the new Southlands being the most extreme example though I've never been there.). The one exception might be Colorado Mills, which has good prices and is easy to stop by on the way back from the mountains.

As for neighborhoods, if you can afford LoDo, then go for it. For me personally, LoDo is a great place live NEAR, but not necessarily IN. It's expensive, for one thing, but it's also got too much of a "party" crowd and atmosphere for me. (Maybe I'm just too old now). I actually think that the various city-center neighborhoods that 2bindenver mentioned have more life in some ways, because many people from those areas work, live, shop, and play in their local neighborhood. There's more community.

[dj32]

There are 2 shopping areas in Cherry Creek North- The Mall which is better and better everyday and will have an amazing new Nordstrom in October (along with Neimans,Saks and all the high end stores your girlfriend will care about).. There is Cherry Creek Shopping district which has blocks of atsy boutiques, restaurants including extremely expensive designer (but also fun eclectic, hipper stores) stores. ... I dont' think she will be disappointed in the shopping here.

[alexisnicolem]

(I am from Bucks county, and went to Shippensburg Univ.) I moved out here 8 years ago, and while I thought Denver was going to be too small initially -- it is now THE perfect size.

1)I live in the "Uptown area" with my hubby right now. We have a loft. It's central to everything and a little more upscale. We will hope to get mid $250+ for our 1100 SF loft at the end of the year when we put in on the market.

2) Honestly, traffic sucks. I commute to the tech center every day -- and am always stuck in traffic. if you want to get out of town for skiing, do it when other people are working or leave really early. You know about 'beach traffic'? It's the same in the mountains...

3) Cherry creek is really close, Park meadows is not as close, but is a nice shopping experience. So is Flatirons Mall near Boulder. I grew up going to KOP mall, the Denver area shopping is a better experience. Flatirons even has an outdoor fireplace...she won't miss a thing.

4) Not a big skier, but would refer you back to #2.

You will love it if you move here. I moved here sight unseen, being a city-girl...and have never looked back. I have even grown to love the mountains more than the beach!

Hope that helps!

[dave80jc]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I'm really looking forward to coming to visit soon, and planning on moving out next July/August as long as I like it. As I said before, I do love Philly but I feel like there is so much in the country that I haven't seen/experienced yet (never been west of OH unfortunately). I don't really care for the beach that much. I actually prefer the mountains and outdoors although I'm sure that people who live near the rockies would be more inclined to refer to them as "hills." I also am sick and tired of the constant humidity and looking for a change in climate.

I assume that we would be able to afford the Lodo area or at least some place near there. Our combined income should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $110k and we should have close to $25k to put down on a house when we move and I am expecting that my income alone should increase 20-25k over the next 2-3 years. This should be plenty enough to rent or buy a loft in that area right? Even if our budget is going to be a little on the tight side for the first year, I'd much rather buy in that area because I am sick and tired of spending so much of my day driving/sitting in traffic/etc. I am willing to spend a little extra to have the luxury of not having to deal with that.

The other question that I forgot to ask is are there public transportation options that make DU easily accessible from Lodo and the neighboring areas? I am planning on going to school on a part-time basis to obtain my master's degree.

Again, thanks for the replies so far.