Job in Boulder but Considering Living in Denver; Seeking Advice/Input (Longmont: cliquey, apartment)

[PossiblyDescending]

I just accepted a really great position in the north Boulder area and I was wondering if you all could help me figure out where to live next.

I moved to Colorado two years ago for a job in a northeast suburb of Denver. I bought a house up in the mountains shortly after arriving and have been making a really long commute ever since. It takes me about one hour to get to work in the mornings and about one hour and fifteen minutes to get home in the evening.

Even before accepting this new job in Boulder, I was planning on selling my mountain house and moving down into the city. The commute was really starting to get to me in terms of time, money, and the increased wear and tear on my vehicle from driving the rough and winding mountain roads on a daily basis. I bought a brand new car in Dec 2016 and have already racked up over 10,000 miles!

The secondary reason for wanting to move down is social. I'm semi-young (30) and single and feel like living up in the mountains by myself is not really the best choice for meeting a partner and making friends. I'm glad I spent some time living up here as I had always dreamed of doing it before moving to Colorado. At the time, I really thought I would be happy living alone and isolated but as time passes, I've found that I want to be around people my age. It's been a bit of a learning experience for someone who fancied himself an introvert.

Staying at my current job is absolutely not an option. It's been a really poor experience, I've already accepted the new job, and I'm very happy to be moving on. Plus, it's a great job with a great company and I could see myself working there for at least 10 years if not the rest of my career.

Could you all recommend any good locations that might fit and not result in a horrible commute? I'm not sure about living in Boulder as I can't afford to buy an SFH there, I've heard the people can be cliquey/standoffish, and the college atmosphere would not really be a positive for me.

I was thinking about buying a house in Berkeley or Highlands and making the commute. I've been checking Google Maps during rush hour for the past few weeks and it seems like it will run about 45 - 50 min from Berkeley. Housing budget would be up to about $400k and rental budget would be about $1500. Planning on selling my house, renting for a beat, and then buying again shortly thereafter.

Thanks in advance.

TL;DR Accepted a new job in Boulder but want to live in Denver to be near other semi-young, single, working people. What neighborhoods would you recommend?

[Augie Daugie]

You can probably something in your budget in the Chaffee Park neighborhood, which is slightly closer than Highland and Berkeley, but much cheaper...but still very close to everything in the city.

[Count David]

TBH, I don't think you'd be solving your commute issue by moving to NW Denver.

[sunsprit]

as one who did this commute for years ... many years ago in the era of the toll booth at Broomfield (commuting from North Denver, 38th & Federal area), and then again for 2 years in the late 1990's (Hwy 52 just over the Boulder county line into Weld county) ...

I know from experience that you'll be spending as much, if not more, time in this commute on fair weather days as you're spending now. "Rush Hour" traffic lasts for hours in the AM and PM on this route.

During inclement weather days, the commute becomes problematic with those folk ill-equipped to do the drive (either by vehicle or lack of driving skills) and can turn into a snarl at the drop of one little fender bender or a couple of "looky lou's" that slow down even for an accident on the road in the other direction.

The bottom line is I wouldn't recommend doing this at all. If an hour commute and the mileage you're driving now is daunting to your life, then you'd be better off moving as close to Boulder as you possibly can.

As DavidA points out above, you'll not be solving your commute issue by moving to Denver.

You can still visit the Denver attractions at your discretion during those times you have available to do so from places closer to Boulder.

PS: we recently had to do a commute into the Boulder area coming from way North of Boulder. The traffic into the area was slow-moving every time we did the trip unless it was off-hours, such as midday or late in the evening.

[alloo66]

Consider catching the bus to work. FF1 or GS are good options.

[NorthDenverGirl]

Look into Uptown Broomfield and the surrounding area. You could get a townhome and you might be able to rent a 1 bedroom apartment at Arista for the price you are looking.

This little area is right between Boulder and Denver and has shops, a tap house, restaurants, coffee shop etc. There are a lot of young people living here and it would certainly help with your commute.

Midtown is another area, this is a newer area northwest of downtown Denver, lots of young people buying in there too and it has a brewery, coffee shop etc as well as a town common area.

When it comes to buying a single family home there are some older neighborhoods just across 25 from the Uptown area that would fit your price point so that you could still feel like you had easy access to the area. You can also easily drive into downtown Denver.

Areas like the Highlands will get you that long commute again and a much higher price point than what you are hoping for.

[Katarina Witt]

^^Midtown would be farther than the Highlands. I agree with sunsprit. This commute just isn't worth doing. There's no "against traffic" traffic in the corridor between Denver and Boulder. There are places in Boulder that cost no more than places in the Highlands. People are people everywhere, standoffish/cliquey, outgoing and welcoming, etc. There are college students all over Boulder, but the farther you get from campus, the farther you get from the undergrads.

[emm74]

I can't imagine voluntarily taking on that commute, esp. if you already hate your current commute. At best, you'd save maybe 10 minutes, but the reality is that the Denver to Boulder commute is seldom "at best" and mostly it's going to be about the same, maybe even worse than you have now, unless you are able to work completely non-standard hours.

[brown_dog_us]

Longmont is calling....

[PossiblyDescending]

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for the honest responses. It sounds like no one would willingly take on this commute just to be near the city. From all the forum searching I've done, it seems like that's the prevailing response.

For my current commute, I have to hop on 36 at Sheridan going inbound in the morning and outbound in the evening. The traffic on the other side of the divider is almost always worse and almost always backed up in the evening at the I25 S/36 E interchange.

I've considered Broomfield, Lafayette, Louisville, and Longmont but was worried about it being too suburban and family oriented. Oh well, guess you can't have it all. The last piece of info. that may be relevant is the commute from my current house to my new job will be about 50 minutes.

Thanks again for the help. You guys are the best!