Moving to CO; working from home; question about where to live (Denver: to rent, condo)

[TravelBuddy]

My husband and I currently live in a suburb of Chicago but I will be transferring to Colorado because of my job. I need to be close to the airport...probably no more than 45 minutes or so...and we'll both be working from home so high speed internet is essential. We're planning a trip in November to see the area in early winter.

We don't have children at home so schools are not a concern. We want to rent a townhome initially until we've been there a year or so. I would love to live as close to the foothills as possible. Boulder and Golden look like good choices.

We know no one and since we'll be working from home we'll definitely want to develop friendships. Hobbies are scuba, photography, hiking, biking, and we're just getting into X country skiing.

My husband is well into AARP territory and I am in my early 50's. We're making to move specifically to Colorado because we love the mountains and a less urban environment than Chicago.

Any suggestions on where to spend our time in November or thoughts on best places to live?

[Mike from back east]

You will almost certainly end up in the Denver metro area, so I'll move this to that forum.

If your airport travel is very frequent, the 45-minute desire is reasonable. But if you only travel a few times per month, I'd forget about that as a hard and fast requirement. Living near the foothills and being only 45 minutes to the Denver airport are not compatible wishes.

I'd suggest living over in/around Golden, or a town near Boulder, but for the sake of affordability, not IN the city of Boulder.

[TravelBuddy]

Thanks, Mike. Trips to the airport shouldn't be more than 2 or 3 times per month. What are the pros/cons of living south of Denver (Castle Rock area) vs west (Golden)?

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by TravelBuddy

Thanks, Mike. Trips to the airport shouldn't be more than 2 or 3 times per month. What are the pros/cons of living south of Denver (Castle Rock area) vs west (Golden)?

Castle Rock is a bit of an "outer island" that's outside of the usual metro area, mostly a bedroom community for Denver. Both CR and Parker are good spots for access to the airport, and you could usually get to the airport in 45 minutes from those two spots.

Living in Castle Rock, you will get intimately familiar with I-25 and the congested streets around it. Living in Golden gives you ALL SORTS of options for local travel, shopping, eateries, things to do, etc. Along that side of town, don't overlook Littleton (with a tiny old town and light rail stop) or Highland Ranch (with it's four marvelous rec centers and close to many amenities).

Not sure about TH's in CR or Parker areas, mostly known for SFH developments.

Golden is both a college town (the well-respected COLO School of Mines) and a working town (Coors Brewery). Nice downtown, right next to the foothills. Might have some TH living, but if the price is right, I could see a small in-town SFH that's walkable to a few things.

If I had my pick, I'd take Golden for what I consider better proximity to Denver and all it's attractions. From CR and Parker, you have to wade through miles of southern suburbs to get to Denver proper. By using I-70 from Golden and going straight through Denver, it's 35 miles to the airport, while it's 43 miles to the airport from CR.

[Dewmik]

I'd recommend Thornton. That's a mid point between the airport and Boulder area. I would say stay away from Castle Rock (my home town) because the Traffic to the air port plus the rout to the air port from CR has a toll road (E470) and from Thornton area it is free. However if you fly out of Colorado Springs instead of DIA that's a better and closer drive to CR. CSA is also allot of time cheaper.
Castle Rock and Douglas County is more of a historical area that I'm addicted to, my family went there in 1858. So if that's a consideration I change my recommendation out of bias.
What ever area you chose you re in a win win situation for outdoor recreation. North has the Boulder Valley, South has the Pike National, and Colorado Springs has great parks like 7 falls as well.
If you do chose CR I highly recommend the burrito at the B and B (4th and Wilcox). It's one of the best restaurants of it's kind in Colorado. Even the queen of England has had there food and as far as I know she never broke wind as a result.

[Katarina Witt]

45 minutes to the airport gives you a lot of options. You could go as far NW as Louisville, which is only 5 miles from Boulder. You could try google maps, plugging in some addresses, too.

[TravelBuddy]

This is such good advice. I'm thinking...as much as I can tell from the viewpoint of a keyboard...that the west side has more of what we want. I can aways drive to the non wind-break restaurant in CR - my husband will love the idea and thanks for the tip - and there's no need to live among congestion on I 25. Now I'm focusing research on the western areas...LaFayette, Louisville, Broomfield, Golden, Littleton. Thanks for the tips!

[davidv]

Originally Posted by TravelBuddy

This is such good advice. I'm thinking...as much as I can tell from the viewpoint of a keyboard...that the west side has more of what we want. I can aways drive to the non wind-break restaurant in CR - my husband will love the idea and thanks for the tip - and there's no need to live among congestion on I 25. Now I'm focusing research on the western areas...LaFayette, Louisville, Broomfield, Golden, Littleton. Thanks for the tips!

Add Morrison and Lakewood to your list. Both of those communities have areas with townhomes near C-470 making it pretty easy to access the airport (C-470 to I-70) as long as you stay north of Belleview. You would be pushing the 45 min limit though (these are all non-rush hour times).

[whoisjongalt]

If you love the mountains, I'd also suggest the Genesee area in the foothills just west of Golden. It's beautiful and there are condo's / townhomes just off I-70 and only a few minutes from the "town" of Golden. I think it's called Genesee Village.

[thealansanders]

I think you are being sold a bill of goods here. None of the places mentioned west of town are within 45 minutes of the airport at any time except maybe 3 am on a day with no weather and only then if you are willing to break the speed limit.