Looking to move West, is Denver it? (Lakewood, Boulder: low crime, schools)

[parks71]

Coming from Florida, I'm sick of this flat hot place. I love to ski, snowboard and mountain bike and I'm sick of spending 5000 plus a year to do it.

A few years ago I was in Denver and went to Keystone. I believe it was about 2 hours from the airport. I am looking to move some where that is close to the slopes and has plenty of jobs in the medical feild.

Whats the closest slopes to denver and is there some where affordable to live that might be 30 mins from denver and 30 mins from the slopes with decent schools and low crime rate?


I think Salt lake City suits me better for location because its so close to the slopes but I dont know about all that mormon stuff and I only want to move once.

If Denver is not the place, Id love to hear ideas. Thanks

[themoz]

I'll give you my perspective on SLC- there are area's that are less-LDS that others within SLC city limits like the The Avenues. You could also consider mountain resort towns like Park City. But, I think no matter where you go you'll feel the "influence" of the LDS Church. It's hard to get way from. I know people who are not members of the Church who get long just fine here, but they're the types who let things just roll off their backs.

The slopes are amazingly close. I live along the Wasatch Front and can be in the resort parking lot in 20-35 minutes depending on the resort. The inversion (polluted are trapped in the valleys) during the winter can also really be a drag.

I'm also considering moving the Denver. Definitely more liberal, more religious and social diversity. The pollution isn't as bad, but the slopes aren't as close. That's the trade off.

My vote would still be for Denver for someone moving from outside the Mtn West who wants more diversity and thinks a predominant group of people (religious or otherwise) would bug them.

[Katarina Witt]

The closest to the slopes with plenty of jobs in the medical field is Denver. You could live in Golden and be 30 min. closer to the mtns.

[raj0194]

Good luck parks71 on your decision. I'm moving from ORL to Denver in about 2 weeks. Like you I love snowboarding. Plus I always wanted to move out west to a place that is very active. Denver is a beautiful city. You can have the city life with the mountains close by. I'm sure more of the people that live in Denver right now will give you better info.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by parks71

Whats the closest slopes to denver and is there some where affordable to live that might be 30 mins from denver and 30 mins from the slopes with decent schools and low crime rate?

You should take note that the real problem with getting to the slopes is not so much the distance from Metro Denver, but rather the traffic. In the height of ski season, the traffic is dreadful on Saturday morning going up and on Sunday afternoon coming back. When I say dreadful, I mean that it can easily take you four hours to get back from Summit County to Denver on a Sunday evening. It's so bad that I usually try to ski on weekdays, or plan on leaving before dawn on Saturday morning and cut out at about 2pm in the afternoon.

The closest slopes are probably at Eldora, 45 minutes west of Boulder, with little traffic. That area is small and probably not your best primary option, but good to keep in mind. Echo Mountain is a small terrain park only area in Evergreen, which is great if terrain parks are your main interest.

IMO the best of the close options is Loveland, which sits right up on the divide. Unfortunately, you have to brave the weekend I-70 traffic to get there, but on a weekday, you could make it there in about an hour from downtown Denver, less from Golden.

After Loveland, the next closest are probably Winter Park, off by itself on US-40, and four resorts in Summit County, which is just over the divide off I-70, including Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Breckenridge, and Copper Mountain. All those are roughly 90 minutes from Denver on a weekday.

In your case your best bet is probably to try to find a place to live in Golden or Western Lakewood, remembering that I-70 is your route to the slopes. Denver does have some suburbs in the foothills that might be a bit closer, Evergreen for one, but they offer little to nothing in the way of employment, so you'll end up commuting back to the Denver area anyway for work.

[parks71]

Thanks for the info, that traffic has me a bit concerned, I hope theres ways around that. Still much better than where I am now. Thanks for the info.

[vegaspilgrim]

To echo what some others have said: don't move to Denver just because of the skiing. That might be one reason among several, but it just doesn't make sense for that to be the #1 reason. Otherwise you're going to end up unhappy and frustrated, when you're sick and tired of commuting to the slopes (as tfox has informatively described), if unfortunately gas hits $5 or more a gallon down the road or you don't have enough time/money to go skiing and you're unhappy living on the Great Plains. Move to Denver if you like Denver, and look at the skiing as an added bonus you get by living there.

[parks71]

Considering Denver due to the views, quick trips to the slopes, mountain biking, hiking. I also like a good night life so a fairly large city is probably need. Denver or SLC seem to be the only options, am I missing some?

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by parks71

Considering Denver due to the views, quick trips to the slopes, mountain biking, hiking. I also like a good night life so a fairly large city is probably need. Denver or SLC seem to be the only options, am I missing some?

There are ski areas in every state in the west, including Arizona and New Mexico. Albuquerque is about as far from some quality skiing in northern NM as Denver is from the I-70 resorts. Investigate smaller cities as well-- Boise, Reno, Spokane. Look at cities in Montana too. Look at all your options. And don't be afraid to think outside of the box a little. Did you know that there's a ~12,000 ft mountain with a ski area 45 minues from the Las Vegas strip? http://www.skilasvegas.com/. Obviously that won't compare to skiing in the Rocky Mountains, but it's something interesting to consider.

[POhdNcrzy]

Vegas, thanks for that post. I didn't know about those mountains.

(Always on the hunt for new mountains to get acquainted with....)