Moving to Denver from Boston (Parker, Brighton: real estate, low crime, how much)

[espie777]

My wife and I may be moving to Denver from Boston shortly. I will be commuting to Denver airport 5 days a week. We have no kids and are looking for a quiet, rural area no more than one hour or 40-45 miles from the airport.

We love the way some of the log cabin style homes look in Golden but they seem to be 60-70 miles from the airport (too far to commute). We can afford a house in the $200-$300 k range. Can anyone suggest suburbs within 30-50 miles from the airport that are quiet, low crime and offer the log cabin style type of homes in the wooded areas like the ones I see in parts of Golden? Or am I being unrealistic looking for something like that close enough to commute to the airport?? I appreciate any advise anybody has to offer.

[gpraceman]

You can always buy some land and build a log cabin style house. For wooded areas, you are talking the foothills or into the mountains, which would still be quite a drive. Otherwise, I'd say look around Brighton. It is close to the airport and you can still get some acreage. However, it is very flat with not many trees.

If you can put up with more of a commute, you can look around Parker, Franktown and Castle Rock to the south of Denver. You can find some nice wooded areas around there. They have easy enough access to E-470 to the airport. E-470 is a tollway, so it will cost you about $7.50 one way in tolls (if my memory is correct). Depending on the time of day, you can take other highways to get to the airport and not have to pay any tolls.

[espie777]

Thanks gpraceman..... I appreciate the responce. I would get reembursed for tolls through my work so I could take E-470 to the airport. I have been looking at real estate online and found some houses in Golden that mapquest says are about 45-50 minutes from the airport however it shows a direct route through Denver. Do you know about how much longer or shorter it would take to drive E-470 around the city from the west side of Denver in the Golden area to the airport?

[2bindenver]

Look to the eastern plains - Bennett, Deer Trail, Ft Lupton, Strausberg.

If you want more of a mountain experience stay north of 1-70 for an easier commute.

Maybe get a house in the city & a cabin in the mountains?

[.gif]

dia is probably too far to the east for you to have a home in a quiet, wooded area. you would have to endure a very long commute. there are a couple of areas in greenwood village where you can escape the city and feel like you're surrounded by nature, but those would be way out of your price range. you might look in castle rock.

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by espie777

I have been looking at real estate online and found some houses in Golden that mapquest says are about 45-50 minutes from the airport however it shows a direct route through Denver. Do you know about how much longer or shorter it would take to drive E-470 around the city from the west side of Denver in the Golden area to the airport?

I'm more familiar with taking the southern leg of E-470, not the northern, so I don't know what the drive time would be to the airport. Though, depending on the time of day, the route through Denver may take you way longer than taking E-470.

There are several areas south of Denver with easy enough access to the southern leg of E-470 out to the airport that would give you a wooded feel. It think it would probably be easier than the Golden to DIA commute.