Thinking of moving to Denver-help on meeting people (Colorado Springs, Boulder: loans, relocating)

[skimoore55]

Hi. I am thinking of relocating from San Diego to Denver or Charlotte. I am 29/f and really into the outdoors. I have a good job where I can work from home and travel to clients by air every once in awhile (so airport is necessary). I've always thought about living in Denver b/c of the access to my favorite outdoor activities, climate, access to big city sports/culture/nightlife, and affordability (vs SoCal). Problem is, I don't know anyone who lives there. Would it be easy for me to meet people if I'm working from home and don't already have a social network there? I'd like to get involved in any kind of outdoors clubs, so any suggestions would be great. Also, what area of town should I look in if I want to buy a condo that is close to parks and recreation and nightlife? Any help would be great!!!

[tfox]

I think it will be fairly easy to meet people here. There's lots of transplants just like you who are eager to meet people. People aren't likely to come to your apartment door, so you'll have to get out and meet them -- if you're shy that might be a little hard to come out of your comfort zone. Most people here I've found are always excited about the idea of "meeting their neighbors" even though most of us get busy and never get to it. If you invite your neighbors in and/or out -- they'd most likely love to go. Also, doing outdoor activities together is a great way of meeting people. One way to do that is to get involved in groups and clubs.

All this is probably true in Charlotte or anywhere, as well. My impression is that Denver is full of energetic people who like to get out and DO stuff, so if that's you then you should be able to find plenty of activity partners and within a year or so you should know a lot of people.

As for where to live, from what you said it sounds like you would enjoy a city center neighborhood or even live downtown. Don't worry -- Denver's downtown is for the most part clean and vibrant, though it's not quite as safe as living in the outer suburbs. Since you said you like parks and recreation, you can try living in one of the great neighborhoods around Washington Park, Cheeseman Park, Sloans Lake Park, or City Park. All of these parks are close to Denver's center, though probably not walking distance to downtown (biking distance though). If you want to be right in the middle of the action, you can try living even closer in as well. I'm sure you've heard of LoDo -- it's the historic section of downtown and has great nightlife, but expensive too. The east side of downtown around the State Capitol (Capitol Hill) is generally cheaper though a bit dodgier (though much improved from even a few years ago).

[COCountrygal]

Hi,
Welcome! What outdoors activities do you like?
There's the Colorado Mtn Club and they have multiple things going every day of the week: backcountry/downhill skiing, hikes, extended trips, mountain biking... fees are steeper than other clubs but worth it, as the club offers very budget-priced classes and carpools. Well worth it! Feel free to email me with more questions
If you are into whitewater paddling, there's local clubs. Again, I can help/post - just let me know. There's also skiing clubs, adventure racing clubs, walking clubs,.... Rocky Mountain Sports (that you can pick up at REI and other outdoors stores has a listing of events).
I come from the east and find Denver a hard transition. It IS a big city. For outdoors, I would - without hesitation, base myself west of 25 in Boulder, Morrison/Evergreen area (small towns), Golden, Ft Collins, Lyons (small town), or Colorado Springs. I live in the latter and within a **5** mile drive, I have over 20 different hikes of varying difficulty that I can do! The areas I named would be similar. I could never claim that in New England! Colorado Springs also has a bigger airport.
Charlotte is changing and Outside magazine recently had a write-up on that city (as a great place for outdoorsy folks to live). You might want to get your hands on that magazine. Ft Collins was also listed.
If you're thinking of moving here, I'd definitely suggest a visit first to check out the western parts of the front range.
Best to you!
Annie

[denverguy]

Try the Sierra Club in Denver. It is easy to get to the great outdoors from Denver. Charlotte was my backup city to move to. Charlotte is now a large modern city, but traffic is worse than Denver and folks are not as friendly as Denver. Driving over the Rockies gets some getting use to, but you can take Amtrak or the Ski Train to take a day trip. Light rail will run from Denver to Boulder soon. If you want to see all that is going on in Denver, try denverinfill.com.

[Topo]

Can someone offer some zipcodes to these places u mentioned......??? I would be interested in the same type of atmosphere, Only I don't know when searching and finding apartments if the area is good or not. If I could put a zipcode into the search it would be so much easier to sort it out.

Thanks

[TinajaCo]

Try 80218, 80203, 80206 for Cheeseman Park, 80262 for Capitol Hill, 80210 for Washington Park, and 80204 for Sloan's Lake (although this will also bring up some rougher areas near Solan's Lake, so you may want to note the locations of search results).

[Whitey]

I used this Forum when I first thought about moving to Denver from Lincoln, NE. I've now been here for 2 months and it's a pretty easy place to meet folks. I'm a 29 year old Male and I've met tons of great guys and ladies when going out for a few cocktails and while doing outdoor activities. I'm really impressed with all the nice people I've met.

Good Luck!

[bashleyf]

I'll be in the same boat as you. I live in San Diego too and am thinking of moving to the Denver/Littleton area. I'm not sure about making friends, but I know that the numerous times I've visited the area people have always been really friendly. You can try the website www.meetup.com They have a bunch of different groups that you can join that often meetup and do things together. They have singles groups, married couple groups, dog lovers...a lot more.

[LisaCACO]

this is so funny! my little sister is moving to denver in august from san diego (following us as we move at the end of this month) and is looking for apartments and zipcodes, so thanks for starting this thread. she'll be pleased to see other san diegans there (she's lived there all her life so this will be a big change). she also works from home, so she'll be interested in getting out and socializing.

[erikuchanster]

Hello,

We are going to be relocating from the San Francisco Bay Area to the greater Denver area. I have loads of questions, but I guess the real one is after housing is all set up and business is up and going, is activities, groups, social events (not much of a club and bar scene person). My fiance and are both very much outdoor lovers (thus a major reason to move to Colorado). What types of groups are there for outdoors activities? We both enjoy skiing in the winter, and hiking, camping, and mountaineering during any season.

Any information regarding the ins and outs about the area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million!
Eric & Jen