Best parts of Colorado to live

[COmedic17]

Castle Rock -

Elizabeth -

Franktown-

 

[COmedic17]

^That is a nice list of front range suburbs, COmedic. Little suburbs/exerbs on the plains... all part of the front range suburban sprawl. None of those offer the CO mountain life, and are 2-3 hours from any ski lift or 14er.

Except Golden, but that is Denver. It isn't downtown, but it is just where the metro runs into the edge of the foothills. It is closer to the mountains (and the I-70 mountain traffic disaster). Also very expensive these days...

Louisville and Lafayette are with half an hour from Eldora ski resort. An hour to Loveland ski resort.
It takes me 45minutes to maybe an hour to get from castle rock to copper mountain, Loveland, Breckenridge etc. none of these areas would take anywhere near 2-3 hours to get to a ski resort.

If he lives in someplace like Dillon in summit, he's going to get that snow to shovel that he's trying to avoid.

Golden is also nothing like Denver. I drive through golden regularly and it has a very smaller suburban / mountain town feel to it.

 

[chaz90]

It takes you 45 minutes to get from Castle Rock to Breck? Do you own a helicopter?

I really like a lot of the front range, but it doesn't sound like that's what Remi is looking for in regards to small town/out of the suburban sprawl.

 

[Summit]

Louisville and Lafayette are with half an hour from Eldora ski resort.

I guess I forgot that mountain existed. But, really, not even driving Code 3 on dry + empty roads. You literally would have to drive double the speed limit the entire way.

It takes me 45minutes to maybe an hour to get from castle rock to copper mountain

You are so full crap it it is funny. Maybe if you had a Bugati Veyron and a closed course on dry roads... but you'd have to slow on the curves. It is over 100 miles from CR to Copper. You would literally have to average 145mph the entire way (speed limit is 55-65mph).

Look, any front ranger has to really consider driving in suboptimal conditions. There are so many people on I-70 at all hours, and so much construction, that even in non-peak hours, an aggressive driver is doing good to average the speed limit the whole way, and at peak travel times, you can double or triple the optimal travel times. Throw snow in there in the winter, and even with great snow tires and AWD, the moronic drivers double or triple the optimal travel times. It is a fact of front range life.

Golden is also nothing like Denver. I drive through golden regularly and it has a very smaller suburban / mountain town feel to it.

It is a college town that turned into a suburb as the expanse of Denver flooded right up to and around it 20+ years ago. It is a suburb surrounded by other suburbs on 3 sides, and the foothills to the west. It is not a mountain town. It is culturally dominated by the Coors Brewery and Colorado School of Mines. You wouldn't call Golden a mountain town if you lived both places. College town maybe... but it is just one of the nicest Denver suburbs.

And there is a reason that the recs that chaz and I gave were for places in the 6500-8000ft or "bannan belt" areas. Clearly Remi wouldn't like Dillon.

 

[COmedic17]

Eh maybe not breck. Looked it up and realized that's one of the further ones. But it doesn't take long at all to get to Loveland or copper ( where we typically go). I just drive up through golden then cut through evergreen.

Additionally, according to my GPS, from the couch I currently sit on, at my residence, I am 68 miles from copper/Frisco. That's a very far cry from "over 100 miles away". Additionally, time to travel depends on traffic. But it has NEVER taken me "at least 2 or 3 hours" to get to summit county. Ever. Never as in not once. Additionally, I live between Sedalia/ the direct center of the town of castle rock, but I sincerely doubt that extra 10 or so miles makes THAT much of a difference.

 

[COmedic17]

I guess I forgot that mountain existed. But, really, not even driving Code 3 on dry + empty roads. You literally would have to drive double the speed limit the entire way.


.

False.



According to Google its 32.5 miles from Lafayette to eldora. 21 from boulder. A far far cry from several hours. Eldora is right by Nederland.



And seriously? School of mines making a town some type of college town? Do you know the admission reqs for mines? Or how small it is? It has a grand total of 5200 students, whom have an average ACT score of 31, with a 3.9 avg GPA. It's an engineering school. Nothing close to Some some crazy party school. CU in boulder is a party college town. I have literally never ran on a student of the mines for ETOH, drugs, or any of the typical "college town" crap.

And golden has a population of *drum roll* 19000. It's not big. It's not a mini mountain village like ward, but it's def not large.

 

[Summit]

But it doesn't take long at all to get to ... copper ( where we typically go). I just drive up through golden then cut through evergreen.

I have concluded that geography is not your strong suite. You drive from Castle Rock to Golden then "cut through evergreen"? That makes the opposite of sense.

Additionally, according to my GPS, from the couch I currently sit on, at my residence, I am 68 miles from copper/Frisco. That's a very far cry from "over 100 miles away".

I bet it is 68 miles from your house to Copper if you had a helicopter.

Following on the previous point that you are not good at geography, you are apparently unaware that "as the crow flies" distances are poor estimates of driving distances when mountains are involved. Why don't you ask google for driving directions?

Answer?

ABOUT 100 MILES (hint, Breck is about the same and Loveland is about 75mi)

Additionally, time to travel depends on traffic. But it has NEVER taken me "at least 2 or 3 hours" to get to summit county. Ever. Never as in not once. Additionally, I live between Sedalia/ the direct center of the town of castle rock, but I sincerely doubt that extra 10 or so miles makes THAT much of a difference.

If you ALWAYS get to Summit in less than 2 hours from Castle Rock, you never drive during weather, or on Fridays evenings, Saturdays/Sundays during daylight, or make the drive during snowstorms, and are either new to CO or do not drive often enough for an accident to screw you over.

According to Google its 32.5 miles from Lafayette to eldora.

Yes and according to google it takes an hour. Not the 30 minutes you claimed. Thus my comment that you would literally have to average twice the speed limit.
CO119 is a super twisty 2 lane road!

And seriously? School of mines making a town some type of college town? Do you know the admission reqs for mines? Or how small it is? It has a grand total of 5200 students

Yes. Yes. Yes. and Yes.
And 5700 students... Golden is <20K so yea that makes it a college town. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is not a mountain town.

 

[Summit]

I really think a lot of skiers in Denver actually wished they lived in SLC, but they like beer and/or pot.

On that note, the front range housing/rental market is truly insane on account of all the people moving to CO because of the legal pot.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Just to clarify, I'm not against snow by any means.....I actually love the snow. I grew up between Rochester and Buffalo, NY where lake effect snow kicks your a** all winter, and I really never even minded it. Just would rather not move someplace where the snow is known to be consistently excessive.

Thanks again for all the info!

 

[Summit]

Just to clarify, I'm not against snow by any means.....I actually love the snow.

Chaffee County would be my first thought for you (Buena Vista / Salida)... maybe Lake County
Higher cost options: outside Estes Park, western Eagle County, or west Boulder County

These options will mean very little shoveling of snow (only on the biggest mountain storms mean shoveling in the valley) and doesn't get too hot (80s in during the summer) and there is a good range of activities all year.

Here is Edwards, CO (7300ft Eagle County):

And this is probably as much snow as there ever is in Buena Vista (8000ft Chaffee County):

Really nowhere in CO do you have to shovel that many days, even in the highest country. It is sunny most of the time. But in the high areas of the high country, like Breckenridge, you can end up with with snow on the ground Nov-May in severe winters + long shoulder seasons, which means long ski seasons and short hiking/biking/4wheeling seasons. Locals drive to Moab or fly to Mexico in the shoulder seasons. Depends on the year. This year, there was mountain biking at 9500ft on Southern slopes in MARCH!

But this is a more normal MAY view for Summit:

 

[youngblood]

Not sure where all these short drive times for skiing are coming from, but your looking at 2hours if your lucky to go skiing on the weekend. I suspect this year it will get even worse with the population rise.

Townwise, Conifer sounds like a great place for you. Takes an hour to get to downtown Denver, close to the front range, small town feel, etc

 

[Tigger]

I really think a lot of skiers in Denver actually wished they lived in SLC, but they like beer and/or pot.

On that note, the front range housing/rental market is truly insane on account of all the people moving to CO because of the legal pot.

The first part I agree with wholeheartedly. The second part I think is more attributable to the small tech boom happening in Denver right now. The 21-35 crowd is more likely to move to Denver than any other major city right now aside from NYC and LA.

Also. Castle Rock to Copper in less than 2 hours? Maybe in the summer at 3am when they aren't doing construction (never). It takes me two hours from where I sit right now (Florissant, CO, don't move here @Remi it's not much of a place) and I'm already a 45 minute head start into the mountains and don't deal with traffic ever.

Places that I think I could survive in that are not "resort" towns: Salida (maybe Buena Vista but it is dead in the summer), Pagosa Springs (pretty darn small), Gunnison (smallish, has a college, and that might be it. Woodland Park is a pretty mountain town outside of Colorado Springs that's only a half hour but is frankly a bit too right leaning for me. Don't discount the western slope and SW Colorado either. Durango is a great town with plenty of culture, which is good since it's seven hours from Denver. I don't know much about Grand Junction but it's also pretty self sustaining.

COMedic's list of towns are great family suburbs. If you want to be close to the majority of the jobs, that's where I'd pick if I wasn't going to just live in Denver.