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Relocating to Denver Area - Advice?

By MotoX178,
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MotoX178

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So I finally signed the papers with my employer and I will be relocating to the Denver area sometime in November.  I have been eying CO for sometime now and done a bit of research, but I could always use more advice from the TT crowd.  I have read through some of the longer threads on here as well as other sites to get a good idea of the area.  Luckily for me I can live anywhere around Denver since I will be supporting sales in the region and working from a home office. 

 

Some of the areas that look appealing are.. Centennial, Parker, Littleton, Arvada, & Broomfield.  I have been told to avoid Aurora by many people and I can live as far north as Longmont.  I'm a single guy in my late 20's and would like to be in an area where I can meet new people my age.  I am well over the college town scene and also trying to avoid heavy liberal zones.  I would really like to be within a short distance (<1hr.) of one riding area if possible, that's why I was focusing on south of Denver to be close to Rampart.  I would appreciate any suggestions or advice you guys have.

 

Also, if anyone one has lived at any housing complex they can recommend (or suggest I avoid) that would be great.  I have heard rumors some places that offer garages restrict them to cars only, no work benches or storage.  :lame:

 

 

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arc323

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I live in westminster which is near Arvada. We are looking at homes in the Littleton area and a huge plus to that area is its proximity to rampart. In the areas that you mentioned you have thunder valley and IMI motorsports which are <30 minutes away. I live 15 minutes from IMI and I go there if I just want to get in a quick ride. Rampart is legendary but gets pretty crowded on the weekends. There are many trails near idaho springs which is ~1 hour from any of the areas you said you were looking at living. Upper Apex rd in golden is decent and has a good mixture of fast trails and technical rock climbs. I go there often. Out by Buena vista there is a place called four mile which has a lot of good riding.

Stay away from Aurora for many reasons but mainly because you are further away from the mountains. If you're buying you are going find that home prices are higher in Littleton. There are only 7000 homes for sale in the denver area right now as opposed to 30000 back in 08-09. A home in Littleton will be about $30k higher than the same home in Arvada or westminster or Broomfield.

Do you prefer trail riding or mx?

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MotoX178

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I live in westminster which is near Arvada. We are looking at homes in the Littleton area and a huge plus to that area is its proximity to rampart. In the areas that you mentioned you have thunder valley and IMI motorsports which are <30 minutes away. I live 15 minutes from IMI and I go there if I just want to get in a quick ride. Rampart is legendary but gets pretty crowded on the weekends. There are many trails near idaho springs which is ~1 hour from any of the areas you said you were looking at living. Upper Apex rd in golden is decent and has a good mixture of fast trails and technical rock climbs. I go there often. Out by Buena vista there is a place called four mile which has a lot of good riding.

Stay away from Aurora for many reasons but mainly because you are further away from the mountains. If you're buying you are going find that home prices are higher in Littleton. There are only 7000 homes for sale in the denver area right now as opposed to 30000 back in 08-09. A home in Littleton will be about $30k higher than the same home in Arvada or westminster or Broomfield.

Do you prefer trail riding or mx?

 

Thanks for the info, it definitely helps to know where the riding areas are.  I prefer single track but also like to mix it up and hit MX from time to time.

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SnowMule

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I'm in Littleton.  Decent area, hard to go wrong out here.  Parker/Centennial are going to be a little more $$.

 

Rampart's ~40mins from my garage (by bike), a little under an hour by truck. 

Central City is a little over an hour by bike.

717, I'll either ride there through Rampart (my house, street to Rampart, then dirt damn near the whole way to Woodland Park for lunch, then back home) or if I drive out there, it's about 90mins. 

 

Couple of tracks, if that's your thing.  Most of the ones I know about are out on the north side of town (Milliken, VDR, IMI). 

 

Personally, I'd buy based on your commute rather than distance to riding areas.  Long commutes suck, BTDT.  (I'm ~7mins by moto from the office.)

Unit next to mine just got pulled off the market today, not sure if it closed or what, but it's been available since this spring.  There's a couple other units in the complex.  Decent place, 2-3 bdrm, 1-2 bath, 1-car "attached" garage (some are physically connected, some like mine are part of the same building but I have to go outside to get to it).  Sounds like you're in the same position I am though (age/demographics).  Rentals/apartments are going to be a lot more picky about what you can and can't have in the garages, condos/townhomes are a bit more lenient since the garage is often a limited common element. 

 

I can be here in a little over an hour from my garage

DSC_3800_-L.jpg

 

DSC_3832_-L.jpg

 

Rampart:

FILE0943-L.jpg

 

FILE0113-L.jpg

 

Good winter riding around here too. :prof:?

DSC_5735-L.jpg

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redhurricane

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I'm also in the Westminster/Broomfield area. works well for us. Rampart/Central City/Left Hand Canyon are all less than an hour from me. Better trails, 2+ hours. the good stuff is worth the drive. Since a commute is not really a critical part of your choice, I'd move here, rent short term to find out where you really want to be. We arrived in 2006, rented a house in Erie for 5 months then bought in Westminster just north of a regional Lake. The closer you get to Boulder the more liberal it will be, as well as more costly.

this was a helpful resource for me when I was choosing a city to live in:

http://www.city-data.com/

If you're in your mid 20's, Denver has a pretty big range of options to meet people.

If you'd like to talk more about things here, shoot me a PM and I can share my perspective.

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SilvFx

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Grew up in Arvada/Golden, live in Denver Tech Center.

 

Take a hard look at Golden.  Up and coming.  Good for single people.  Right next to the moutains so it is a quick to get up to the mountains.  Lots of new condo/townhome construction near downtown Golden and near Clear Creek.  I call it the poor man's Boulder (which is a fantastic place but very pricey and incredibly, mind numbingly liberal).  Golden is more conservative, but young liberals seem to be moving there now that Boulder is out of reach -pricewise.  Climbing, rafting, kayaking, mountain biking out your back door.  It is about a 30 minute commute to Downtown depending on traffic.

 

One downside to the west side of town is that if you are commuting to downtown or to the east...sun is shining in your eyes on drive in to work and on drive home from work.  And the sun shines a lot here.  Another downside is wind - south and east side of town is significantly less windy than Boulder, Golden, Arvada, Westminster, etc.  Never realized it til I moved to Denver Tech Center. Growing up in Arvada on a ridge overlooking Rocky Flats and going to college in Boulder, I now realize that this may be one of the windiest places on planet.  And.....I hate wind.  I can take every other weather condition, but the number of days that the wind is just howling all day in the western suburbs is double or triple what we experience down in Denver Tech Center.

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MotoX178

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I'm in Littleton.  Decent area, hard to go wrong out here.  Parker/Centennial are going to be a little more $$.

 

Rampart's ~40mins from my garage (by bike), a little under an hour by truck. 

Central City is a little over an hour by bike.

717, I'll either ride there through Rampart (my house, street to Rampart, then dirt damn near the whole way to Woodland Park for lunch, then back home) or if I drive out there, it's about 90mins. 

 

Couple of tracks, if that's your thing.  Most of the ones I know about are out on the north side of town (Milliken, VDR, IMI). 

 

Personally, I'd buy based on your commute rather than distance to riding areas.  Long commutes suck, BTDT.  (I'm ~7mins by moto from the office.)

Unit next to mine just got pulled off the market today, not sure if it closed or what, but it's been available since this spring.  There's a couple other units in the complex.  Decent place, 2-3 bdrm, 1-2 bath, 1-car "attached" garage (some are physically connected, some like mine are part of the same building but I have to go outside to get to it).  Sounds like you're in the same position I am though (age/demographics).  Rentals/apartments are going to be a lot more picky about what you can and can't have in the garages, condos/townhomes are a bit more lenient since the garage is often a limited common element. 

 

I can be here in a little over an hour from my garage

DSC_3800_-L.jpg

 

DSC_3832_-L.jpg

 

Rampart:

FILE0943-L.jpg

 

FILE0113-L.jpg

 

Good winter riding around here too. :prof:?

DSC_5735-L.jpg

 

 

The riding out in CO looks amazing.  I will probably invest in a KTM 500 or something similar to plate so I can ride directly to the trails.  I would really enjoy the ability to go for a quick loop after work during the summers.

 

 

I'm also in the Westminster/Broomfield area. works well for us. Rampart/Central City/Left Hand Canyon are all less than an hour from me. Better trails, 2+ hours. the good stuff is worth the drive. Since a commute is not really a critical part of your choice, I'd move here, rent short term to find out where you really want to be. We arrived in 2006, rented a house in Erie for 5 months then bought in Westminster just north of a regional Lake. The closer you get to Boulder the more liberal it will be, as well as more costly.

this was a helpful resource for me when I was choosing a city to live in:

http://www.city-data.com/

If you're in your mid 20's, Denver has a pretty big range of options to meet people.

If you'd like to talk more about things here, shoot me a PM and I can share my perspective.

 

 

A few people have suggested a short term lease for when I first move out there.  I think that is the route I will take, and it seems like 6 month leases are fairly common.  I received my final schedule today and should move out there the first week of December.  Luckily I get to visit ahead of time for training and will use that to explore the area.

 

 

p.s. if you like it here once you move  - keep your piehole shut.  Dont be posting all these spectacular photos and other bullshit on Facebook and Reddit where everyone can see what they are missing.

 

 

That seems to be a recurring theme from everyone!?   Luckily I don't participate much in social media and I should be able to keep my mouth shut. ?

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kmx 193

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Don't know too much about Denver, I'm down in co springs I've road rampart a bit it has some good trails and views. I know thunder valley is up there somewhere I've been wanting to go for like 2 years just haven't went. Also I went to aurora for the first time about two weeks ago and the area seemed fairly nice.

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rangersgoalie

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I just bought in Parker about a year ago,  Prices aren't any more then the rest ofo Douglas county unless your out away from a town.  and its cheaper then most surrounding towns - Highlands Ranch,  Centennial, Litleton, ect. and your close enough to everything - denver is 20 min on a good day, mountains about an hour ect.   Plus with our HOA we have garbage, and rec center/pool access - HR does that as well but I'm not sure about the rest. 

 

but like was said above its based on a commute,  I'm door to door 10 min to work. thats whats worth it. 

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arc323

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I'm also in the Westminster/Broomfield area. works well for us. Rampart/Central City/Left Hand Canyon are all less than an hour from me. Better trails, 2+ hours. the good stuff is worth the drive. Since a commute is not really a critical part of your choice, I'd move here, rent short term to find out where you really want to be. We arrived in 2006, rented a house in Erie for 5 months then bought in Westminster just north of a regional Lake. The closer you get to Boulder the more liberal it will be, as well as more costly.this was a helpful resource for me when I was choosing a city to live in:http://www.city-data.com/If you're in your mid 20's, Denver has a pretty big range of options to meet people.If you'd like to talk more about things here, shoot me a PM and I can share my perspective.

Is left hand canyon open right now? I know it closed in February due to floods. I've never been there but I hear its great riding. When's the last time you were up there? Thanks.

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DASFUEHRER

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So I finally signed the papers with my employer and I will be relocating to the Denver area sometime in November.  I have been eying CO for sometime now and done a bit of research, but I could always use more advice from the TT crowd.  I have read through some of the longer threads on here as well as other sites to get a good idea of the area.  Luckily for me I can live anywhere around Denver since I will be supporting sales in the region and working from a home office. 

 

Some of the areas that look appealing are.. Centennial, Parker, Littleton, Arvada, & Broomfield.  I have been told to avoid Aurora by many people and I can live as far north as Longmont.  I'm a single guy in my late 20's and would like to be in an area where I can meet new people my age.  I am well over the college town scene and also trying to avoid heavy liberal zones.  I would really like to be within a short distance (<1hr.) of one riding area if possible, that's why I was focusing on south of Denver to be close to Rampart.  I would appreciate any suggestions or advice you guys have.

 

Also, if anyone one has lived at any housing complex they can recommend (or suggest I avoid) that would be great.  I have heard rumors some places that offer garages restrict them to cars only, no work benches or storage.  :lame:

Welcome to CO. Hope the transition goes smoothly. Once you're settled in and ready to ride, let me know. Always looking for ridding buddies. Hard to find people who ride regularly. ?

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dougrender

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Is left hand canyon open right now? I know it closed in February due to floods. I've never been there but I hear its great riding. When's the last time you were up there? Thanks.

 

Negative. Closed indefinately. No one ever characterized it as "great" though.

 

I hope you own a trailer and tow vehicle. That's how I get by...

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