I'm hoping to move to Colorado in the fall, likely the Denver-Aurora-Boulder area. Are any Fanatics who live out that way willing to share their opinions? What should I know about living in Denver/Colorado?
Living in Colorado
- Thread starter ornryactor
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If you plan on getting a card, try to get in a hospital visit in Iowa before you go. This is very important if you want a card as quickly as possible.
I lived in Erie for 6 years, which is 20 miles north of Denver and 20 miles east of Boulder. Great place for a family and great location. 30 minutes from downtown, 30 minutes from Boulder, 30 minutes from the airport. 30 minutes from decent hiking and an hour from Estes Park.
I had some friends live in Aurora and I would not live there but that is personal opinion. FWIW- Boulder and Aurora are not really in the same area, there ar on opposite sides of the City and probably an hour apart.
As far as living in Colorado...I miss it every day. LOVED living there. Weather is great, people are great and of course there is plenty to do. Downfalls are cost of living (Californians have impacted this over the last 15 years) and traffic if you have to deal with it.
I lived in Fort Collins (about 1 hour north of Denver) for 3 years while I attended Colorado State. Like others said, the weather was awesome (but strange at times - you might wake up in the morning to cold and snow, but it might be sunny and 65 an hour later). In the summer weather is usually predictable - sunny, low humidity, 80s-90s with a chance of storms in the afternoon. Winters aren't nearly as cold as winters in the midwest. On average, the daily high temperature is usually above freezing. Temperatures rarely went below 0. Blizzards aren't all that common, but when they happen they can be really bad. My first year out there, Fort Collins got 21 inches of snow from a single storm, and I got stranded in the Denver airport for 60 hours.
I can't speak from personal experience for the Denver metro area, but I didn't find the cost of living in Fort Collins to be significantly higher than living in Ames. The only thing I noticed was my insurance premiums were higher.
One issue I ran into was getting a driver's license - they have enacted very strict laws with regards to what forms of identification are acceptable for getting a DL. Check ahead of time with the Colorado DMV to see the specifics, because I can tell you that if you do not have exactly what they want they will turn you away at the door. If you plan on using your birth certificate as one of the forms of ID, it must be the official birth certificate from the state (NOT county, city, hospital, whatever) in which you were born. Also, if you register a vehicle that you purchased out of state the process for registration is a little different than in Iowa. You have to get the vehicle insured in the state of Colorado before going to register it, and you also have to get a VIN verification from a auto dealership (no charge). When I was living there the emissions laws had expired for gasoline vehicles, but they may have been brought back by now, so you might have to deal with that as well.
There's lots to do for recreation. There are several reservoirs in the foothills, a lot of national park or national forest land along the front range. Lots of ski resorts if you're into that kind of thing. Tons of local breweries. Denver has museums, professional sports, and great restaurants. Red Rocks is a great place for outdoor concerts in the summer.
I'd move back to Colorado in a heartbeat, although I'd probably try to live in a slightly smaller city like Loveland or something. It sure beats the hell out of living in ******** Illinois.
I can't speak from personal experience for the Denver metro area, but I didn't find the cost of living in Fort Collins to be significantly higher than living in Ames. The only thing I noticed was my insurance premiums were higher.
One issue I ran into was getting a driver's license - they have enacted very strict laws with regards to what forms of identification are acceptable for getting a DL. Check ahead of time with the Colorado DMV to see the specifics, because I can tell you that if you do not have exactly what they want they will turn you away at the door. If you plan on using your birth certificate as one of the forms of ID, it must be the official birth certificate from the state (NOT county, city, hospital, whatever) in which you were born. Also, if you register a vehicle that you purchased out of state the process for registration is a little different than in Iowa. You have to get the vehicle insured in the state of Colorado before going to register it, and you also have to get a VIN verification from a auto dealership (no charge). When I was living there the emissions laws had expired for gasoline vehicles, but they may have been brought back by now, so you might have to deal with that as well.
There's lots to do for recreation. There are several reservoirs in the foothills, a lot of national park or national forest land along the front range. Lots of ski resorts if you're into that kind of thing. Tons of local breweries. Denver has museums, professional sports, and great restaurants. Red Rocks is a great place for outdoor concerts in the summer.
I'd move back to Colorado in a heartbeat, although I'd probably try to live in a slightly smaller city like Loveland or something. It sure beats the hell out of living in ******** Illinois.
The best things about Colorado are the mountains and the weather. The summers are hot but not too hot. We have a few days each summer in the upper 90's, low 100's. The winters are cold but not too cold, we have a few days where highs are in the teens and lower. We can also get a lot of snow but it does melt quickly compared to the midwest. My favorite time of year is the fall.
If you like an active lifestyle, this place is paradise. There's a reason why CO is usually the fittest/skinniest state. I haven't visited any place I would rather live. We have world-class skiing, backpacking/camping, mountain biking, road biking, fly-fishing, hunting and kayaking. What we don't have is a lot of big open water so not a lot of boating opportunities. We also don't have an ocean so there's no surfing.
If you like an active lifestyle, this place is paradise. There's a reason why CO is usually the fittest/skinniest state. I haven't visited any place I would rather live. We have world-class skiing, backpacking/camping, mountain biking, road biking, fly-fishing, hunting and kayaking. What we don't have is a lot of big open water so not a lot of boating opportunities. We also don't have an ocean so there's no surfing.
If you can afford Boulder, I'd recommend living there. It's a great town but some people don't like the politics.
I'd avoid Aurora. The best places to live there are too far away from all the good stuff and the bad places are pretty bad.
If you're going to live in the Denver metro, I'd recommend the western and southern suburbs or very close to downtown. The western and southern burbs are closest to recreational activities. If you're looking for more cultural/nightlife/sports stuff, downtown or the Highlands.
I'd avoid Aurora. The best places to live there are too far away from all the good stuff and the bad places are pretty bad.
If you're going to live in the Denver metro, I'd recommend the western and southern suburbs or very close to downtown. The western and southern burbs are closest to recreational activities. If you're looking for more cultural/nightlife/sports stuff, downtown or the Highlands.
I concur. I live in the southern suburbs and work downtown. I take the light rail to work daily to avoid the traffic and gas prices. Lots to do, I love it here. If you wanna play here, let me know, I know most of the bands in the area...
Agree with many of the comments before. Weather is great, best I've ever lived in. Lots of sunshine. Lots of outdoor stuff to do, around the calendar. Great music scene, more so in Denver/Boulder than in Fort Collins. Great beer scene. Major airport so you can fly anywhere fairly cheaply.
Not sure what kind of job you have, but as far as location goes the closer to the foothills the better. Boulder is an awesome town filled mostly with not awesome people IMO. Some people love it, I feel like I would have twenty years ago much more than now. I would not recommend Aurora, it's basically suburbia hell of Denver, and I've heard it's really taken a turn for the worse lately with crime. Western suburbs of Denver I've heard are decent overall.
Not sure what kind of job you have, but as far as location goes the closer to the foothills the better. Boulder is an awesome town filled mostly with not awesome people IMO. Some people love it, I feel like I would have twenty years ago much more than now. I would not recommend Aurora, it's basically suburbia hell of Denver, and I've heard it's really taken a turn for the worse lately with crime. Western suburbs of Denver I've heard are decent overall.
Northern suburbs are nice as well and have really grown in the last 10 years. Louisville, Broomfield, Thornton, Erie, Louisville,etc. Some have done it right when they grew. I really loved Louisville. I don't think you have as much traffic on the North side(no Tech center) either but it is still there. But you can't argue that the southern/western suburbs are nice as well.
I for one was not a fan of Boulder and would never ever live there. I liked being 20 miles away, and could go in and utilize what it had to offer but I know I could never live there. Just too difficult to get around and the regulations/taxes/politics were too much for me. Not to mention realestate prices. On the other hand, I had friends that paid the extra proerty taxes to live on theBoulder county side of Erie just so they could say they lived in Boulder. I did live in Boulder County for 3 years. Wasn't bad.
If I was young and dumb and looking for fun, I would move to downtown Denver in a heartbeat. Ton's to do downtown and they have redone some areas that are awesome.
So true. I miss walking into a liquor store and having the huge selection of microbrews. Gosh I mmiss Easy Street Wheat.
If you want to live in Boulder you better get used to the hippies and tree huggers along with paying 400K+ for a home. It's a nice town just not very affordable. Aurora is not bad as long as you avoid living near Colfax Ave. It's just like any other city it has good and bad parts. Aurora is only 20 minutes from downtown Denver and Boulder is about 35-40 depending on traffic.
Dang, that's a TON of useful feedback. Thanks so much!
My story in a nutshell: basically, I'm following my girlfriend out there. She travels to Colorado every year and really wants to live there, so she's moving when her current lease is up in October. I like her well enough to move, and Denver surprised me with how much of my 'ideal city' checklist it has to offer.
I'm currently a music teacher in K-12 education, so I'm looking either for a music teaching job, or for a student affairs position at a college/university (housing, admissions, study abroad, advising, etc.; even executive assistant if nothing else is available). Unfortunately, since both my career paths are in the education field, I likely have to find something now, and it would start with the school year in August. I have a few leads, but it's kinda tough to find anything.
As far as location goes, I'm definitely looking to be near entertainment/nightlife/food/culture, rather than out in a residential suburb. Downtown sounds good by default. I'm a big fan of getting around via walking or public transit, as long as it's useful, but I expect to have to drive to work.
Any reliable places/sites to find 1BR apartments a teacher could afford? I'll use Craigslist; are there any other good sites covering the Denver area?
My story in a nutshell: basically, I'm following my girlfriend out there. She travels to Colorado every year and really wants to live there, so she's moving when her current lease is up in October. I like her well enough to move, and Denver surprised me with how much of my 'ideal city' checklist it has to offer.
I'm currently a music teacher in K-12 education, so I'm looking either for a music teaching job, or for a student affairs position at a college/university (housing, admissions, study abroad, advising, etc.; even executive assistant if nothing else is available). Unfortunately, since both my career paths are in the education field, I likely have to find something now, and it would start with the school year in August. I have a few leads, but it's kinda tough to find anything.
As far as location goes, I'm definitely looking to be near entertainment/nightlife/food/culture, rather than out in a residential suburb. Downtown sounds good by default. I'm a big fan of getting around via walking or public transit, as long as it's useful, but I expect to have to drive to work.
Any reliable places/sites to find 1BR apartments a teacher could afford? I'll use Craigslist; are there any other good sites covering the Denver area?
I recommend apartments.com and craigslist. They cover two different sources for housing. Apartments.com will be your larger complexes run by property management companies. Craigslist will typically be "private" landlords. If you want to live close to downtown, you're looking at least $1k for a 1 BR. Rent gets cheaper the further away from downtown you get...to a point. Anytime you're close to a large working area (downtown, DTC/Meridian/Inverness, etc) rent goes back up. It's the spaces in between that have the better rent.
Denver has good public transportation (RTD), including a few light rail lines. The major RTD lines (bus and light rail) all service the downtown area if you end up working there.
Of course, the best schools typically aren't near downtown areas but there are exceptions. The Auraria area has three colleges (Metro State, UC-Denver, CC-Denver) and is very close to downtown. Regis University is near downtown but not close. Denver University is south of downtown but not in the burbs. The other actual college campuses are in the burbs - Golden, Boulder and some scattered community colleges. The better Denver K-12 schools are more spread out but there are a few great schools close by. The better school districts are in the burbs (Cherry Creek, Douglas Co., Littleton, etc.) also.
Take all of this with a grain of salt. I'm pretty familiar with the southern portions of the metro area. I know the areas from Downtown on south. Someone may have better information on points north of downtown.
Denver has good public transportation (RTD), including a few light rail lines. The major RTD lines (bus and light rail) all service the downtown area if you end up working there.
Of course, the best schools typically aren't near downtown areas but there are exceptions. The Auraria area has three colleges (Metro State, UC-Denver, CC-Denver) and is very close to downtown. Regis University is near downtown but not close. Denver University is south of downtown but not in the burbs. The other actual college campuses are in the burbs - Golden, Boulder and some scattered community colleges. The better Denver K-12 schools are more spread out but there are a few great schools close by. The better school districts are in the burbs (Cherry Creek, Douglas Co., Littleton, etc.) also.
Take all of this with a grain of salt. I'm pretty familiar with the southern portions of the metro area. I know the areas from Downtown on south. Someone may have better information on points north of downtown.