Fiance living in ft collins/working in cheyenne... I work at Buckley AFB (Denver: house)

[jbosto]

So my fiance and i will be moving to colorado soon. She will be working in cheyenne, wy, but planning to live in Ft Collins (she only drives to work 5-6 times a month). I will be working at Buckley AFB, and planning to live in denver area... We thought about me possibly making the commute from Ft Collins to Buckley AFB everday... but i think it would be too much... Please let me know if i am wrong.

So i am planning on living somewhere that wouldnt be too much of a commute to/from Buckley, but close as possible to Ft Collins. I was thinking somewhere downtown might work out pretty well. Does anyone else have ideas?

My main goals are to not have to travel too far to work, and be able to have a simple drive for us to see each other. Thoughts?

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by jbosto

So my fiance and i will be moving to colorado soon. She will be working in cheyenne, wy, but planning to live in Ft Collins (she only drives to work 5-6 times a month). I will be working at Buckley AFB, and planning to live in denver area... We thought about me possibly making the commute from Ft Collins to Buckley AFB everday... but i think it would be too much... Please let me know if i am wrong.

So i am planning on living somewhere that wouldnt be too much of a commute to/from Buckley, but close as possible to Ft Collins. I was thinking somewhere downtown might work out pretty well. Does anyone else have ideas?

My main goals are to not have to travel too far to work, and be able to have a simple drive for us to see each other. Thoughts?

My money would be on being near Buckley. Don't overlook using CO Hwy 85 up to Cheyenne, instead of I-25 which is very busy. Hwy 85 is a very good drive, did it half a dozen times when staying in Greeley to attend the Rodeo's in Cheyenne. Its on the side of town you need for Buckley, so I'd suggest you look at towns in the corridor.

[jazzlover]

Denver/Aurora to Fort Collins on I-25 can be an awful drive, depending on traffic. From Fort Collins north to Cheyenne, the traffic thins considerably. (The poster's girlfriend has got the better end of the deal there.) The biggest problem can be wind and blizzarding in the winter on that stretch. If the roads are good and traffic is light (seldom), you can make Denver to Cheyenne in about an hour and 45 minutes. If traffic gets snarled up, you can frequently add another 45 minutes to an hour to that.

As for US Hwy 85, it is an alternative, especially coming out of Aurora, to I-25. Unlike I-25, it is not a totally controlled access highway. The speed limits are lower, there are traffic lights every so often, and a number of uncontrolled intersections. For those reasons, it has a somewhat grisly reputation for bad accidents from Denver all the way to Greeley. Many of the highways that connect I-25 and Highway 85 are two-lane affairs with quite a bit of traffic--they share 85's grisly reputation for accidents. Like I-25, US 85 north of Greeley sees much less traffic than south. By the time you get north of Nunn, traffic can be pretty sparse, but it is also a two-lane highway. Also like I-25, the closer you get to Wyoming, the more likely wind and winter blizzarding gets.

I drove both roads prettty frrequently over the last several years. I-25 is faster if you aren't trying to drive in "rush hour" (which seems to run from about 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM between Denver and Fort Collins). If traffic is jammed up on I-25, US 85 is an alternative, but it will take a good 2 hours to get to Cheyenne that way.

By the way, I knew people who lived in Cheyenne and commuted to Denver every day. They would drive to the park and ride in Windsor and take RTD south. For them, an 8 hour workday meant being away from home for 12+ hours, though. Like the situation the original poster described, they did it because one spouse had a job in Denver and one spouse worked in Cheyenne. They also preferred to raise their children in Cheyenne.

[sunsprit]

I'd agree that the Hwy 85 corridor ... preferably South of Greeley ... offers the best combination of access to BAFB and the infrequent commute to Cheyenne.

I-25 ... anywhere on the North side of Denver ... represents a horrible rush hour driving situation trying to get to BAFB on a daily basis.

[Tom Emmerling]

Your fiance needs to be extra careful driving to Cheyenne in the winter. The drive from about Wellington North is terrible even with just a little snowfall. My wife was on the Wellington Fire Department and if it snowed the slightest bit they were out all night on traffic accidents. I also would not suggest a drive from FC to BAFB. That would get old fast!!!

[jbosto]

thanks for all your help. Sorry it's taken so long to reply, we've had a very busy month...

At the moment we are looking at possibly living together in loveland at the centerra apt complex (on hwy 34, right off i-25).

Since it is so close to i-25, we would be able to skip out on alot of lights and city traffic. She would only have to drive to Cheyenne about 1-3 times a week, but i'll be driving to Buckley AFB mon-fri. I am planning on using E-470 to go around traffic. Gas cost and toll fees would be annoying but we're thinking it would be worth it financially to only pay one rent, and definitely worth it to be able to live together.

There is also a good chance i could transfer to Boulder within a year, and her possibly transfer to Denver within 2-3 years. So at the most it would only be for a year..... This is what we're looking at right now, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thoughts or suggestions anyone? Thanks again

[Tom Emmerling]

There are some really nice apartments in the area of Hwy 34/I25 area. My wife and I lived in that area several years ago and liked it. It is easy access to I25. There is an airport near by but it did not seem to bother us much. Good luck to you.

[bethie_73]

We have a house in Evans. We moved there from FT Collins. I really preferred driving up 85 compared to the traffic on I25. The commute from Ft Collins on I25 was a killer IMO.

I have lived in Centerra Apt in Ft Collins and had no issue with them, I would think they would be similar in Loveland, and that is a nice area. As you get there you will find a few ways to get to Buckley, but living in Loveland, that pretty much rules out 85, you have to drive pretty far east on 34 to get to it.

The drive to Cheyenne (possibly to FE Warren?) isn't too bad, bu it can get nasty in the winter, as I"m sure you read in the weather post. Renting is a good option to see if you like the area and how the commute would be.