Where to Move for Nature Living Not far from the city? (Denver: house, to buy)

[Smithy11]

My wife and I are considering moving to Colorado, but we're not sure what would be a good place. We would like to live out in Nature and have access to beautiful forests, streams, and some kind of lake for swimming and maybe boating.

We're not so much into a dry, desert-like environment, favoring something more green.

I think this picture pretty much tells most of the story of what we're looking for: http://www.rockymountainmagazine.com...ional-Park.jpg

In addition to the beautiful nature, we would also like to be within 45 minutes or so of a major population center (preferably 100k+ population). Honestly, I think I'd like to be within an hour of Denver so that we can enjoy some of the amenities of the big city.

I should say that we're looking to live in the country somewhere: We want to buy some land and build a cozy mountain cabin in a wooded area, and we're not really into suburbs or having neighbors close by.

Can anyone suggest some places that might fit the bill?

[Snikt]

Evergreen, Conifer, Estes Park

If you want something exactly like in that picture very close to your house and no or few neighbors, you're looking at 1 million + to even start

[Mike from back east]

Not much boating here, but there is a little. If boating was a BIG part of my life I'd not move here.

I'd put the boating thing on the back burner when looking for a place here, make the house the primary focus.

Most lakes, especially those in the mountainous areas, will be too cold for swimming as they are filled with snowmelt. Grand Lake, with a town by the same name, is a decently large lake in an area with a lot to do, but a lot of the trees up there are dead from beetle kill.

Almost certainly you'll be trading off the pros and cons of Colorado to find what you want at your price.

[Snikt]

Example:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...7_M23219-00912

Grand Lake / Granby isn't 45 min from Denver either though, Estes Park would even be pushing it

[Smithy11]

Originally Posted by Snikt

Evergreen, Conifer, Estes Park

If you want something exactly like in that picture very close to your house and no or few neighbors, you're looking at 1 million + to even start

Price isn't really an object. Also I should say that there is a little bit of flexibility with city proximity. We're looking for a beautiful idealic area and will buy land and build. Are Evergreen, Conifer and Estes Park good places for that?

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Not much boating here, but there is a little. If boating was a BIG part of my life I'd not move here.

I'd put the boating thing on the back burner when looking for a place here, make the house the primary focus.

Most lakes, especially those in the mountainous areas, will be too cold for swimming as they are filled with snowmelt. Grand Lake, with a town by the same name, is a decently large lake in an area with a lot to do, but a lot of the trees up there are dead from beetle kill.

Almost certainly you'll be trading off the pros and cons of Colorado to find what you want at your price.

Thankfully, boating isn't a huge thing for us. The Lake Granby / Grand Lake area does look promising (just from the perspective of having some large bodies of water), but the amount of dead trees sort of gives pause to that excitement. Is there somewhere in that general area that doesn't have that problem?

[rushhournewb]

It's really not that idyllic around here. Not to burst your bubble, but "lush green forests" really don't exist. It's kinda dry here actually. There are lakes, actually reservoirs, but "lush" is the last word I'd use to describe local stuff. Yes, you can travel to certain parts of Colorado that are "lush" but they're usually really remote. Lotsa dead trees, too. It's the cyclical pine beetle kill thing working.

I know you didn't use the word "lush" but people from back east or south have what I would call "lush" forests and that's not what we have here. OTOH, we don't have many bugs because it's so dry!

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

There really aren't that many places that are beautiful, idyllic, isolated and within 45 minutes to an hour from Denver. That's because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who want exactly what you want. Highway 285, which goes from Denver to Conifer, has been widened to four lanes to accommodate all the daily commuters. Don't even consider Estes Park; it's more like an hour and a half from Denver.

Even in Conifer and Evergreen, you are still going to have neighbors but at least there are areas where you aren't on top of each other. You could look beyond Conifer to Pine and Bailey. You may also consider looking in places like Golden Gate Canyon in the foothills between Denver and Boulder.

[Mike from back east]

Yes, mostly reservoirs around the state, though Grand Lake is one of the few natural lakes, and deep. Pix of the area are here.

[BarryK123]

If you want lush green forests, check out Oregon.
The problem with the wilderness here is it burns frequently.

[Snikt]

I just got back from the Big Island, if you want no neighbors and lush landscape that's a pretty good choice