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Do you live in Colorado?

By MotoDox,
in Rocky Mountains

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MotoDox

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Hey whats up buds, i have a question. I live in Indiana, and have been set on moving to colorado for years. Is there anybody thats reading this live there? I would like to hear about the area you live in how you like it, where to ride. Where good places to live. I heard colorado springs has alot of crime compared to other cities.. i want to be able to just go out back and ride for hours open area, close to the mountians cause i also love boarding. I would love to hear what your opinions are and any info! Thanks bros!

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Benloos349

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Born and raised in Colorado. Its a great state for riding dirtbikes, nearly year-round if you are a track rider. and a good 7 months of riding offroad in the mountains. I live in Parker which is about 30 minutes east of Denver and its really nice here, very little crime and about 30 minutes from Rampart range, which has some really fun singletrack style trails. And its within an hour and a half of 6 good motocross tracks that are prepped all year. Then you can load up the bikes for the weekend and go get lost in the mountains. Its a great state for any outdoor sports as you will notice just about every car has a ski or bike rack or is hauling some sort of camping equipment. Colorado Springs is alright.... lots of crime(its getting pretty far south)... I wouldn't make it my first choice of living. Boulder is really nice as well and there are some awesome trails up there. Anywhere in metro Denver is nice though, southeast aurora, highlands ranch, littleton are all nice places to live as well.

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MathProf

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I have lived in the Springs for 15 years.

Colorado Springs was just voted one of the safest cities to live in. South East side is rough, but that is compared to the rest of the "safest" city.

It is getting bigger than I would like and given the choice I would pick somewhere less populated.

There are lots of hiking, biking trails all over the place.

A better place to live would still have to be a Colorado town.

There are a lot places to ride year round. Track is the winter, trails in the summer.

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joethunder

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I was born in Colorado Springs but was moved to a little town called Oak Creek when I was two. It's an awesome place to live, but is becoming increasingly ant-dirtbike sadly. Awesome trails all over the place in CO though!

Wow, that is surprising. I lived in Steamboat for a long time 88-97 and Oak Creek was always full of snowmobiles, trucks, and dirtbikes. What happened? People move there because it was cheaper than Steamboat and decided they need to change it? Does Oak Creek still have an Enduro race each year?

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Grand Master

SilvFx

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450Thumpin....I will try not to sound like your Dad....but it's hard to not do that. I am 49, born and raised In Colorado. Family came out here in the 1880's to Northern Colorado. Wife, 3 kids, and living in Denver Metro area.

You need to have a plan and maybe pay a visit before you pick up and move out here. Traditionally, the Colorado unemployment rate has been lower than the national average. Over the last several years it has gotten nearly as high as the national average due to people losing their jobs elsewhere and saying....."&%$#@! it now I'll move to Colorado since I've always wanted to move there". And, then they find it damn hard to find a job, especially a high-paying job unless you have unique skills to offer. There are a lot of very well educated people out here that are working less than their potential (i.e. take a crappier lower paying job than they would elsewhere to enjoy the quality of life).

Where you are able to live can also depend on your work experience and your unique skills that you have to offer. What type of work are you looking for? If you want to be able to ride almost out your back door, that pretty much rules out the entire front range of Colorado and limits you to the smaller mountain towns. Which, I would love to live in, but I cant make a living in those towns and keep my same standard of living.

These are generalities, but here is what you will find in Colorado:

Eastern third of state is flat, dry grassland. Think dry windswept prarie. The front range along the edge of the Rocky Mountains (Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins) is very populous and has traditional large city issues, like you would see in Indianapolis or Chicago. Unless you are on the western edge of these cities right by national forest or BLM land (and there isnt much of that), there is no riding out your back door. Since a lot of folks want to live in Colorado, you will find real estate prices about 2-3 times higher than small cities/towns in Indiana. Rest of the eastern third is dry farming or irrigated farming. Not much economic opportunity and you wont even know you live near the mountains cause you cant see them.

Middle third of state, very mountainous and rocky. Some places very snowy, Some places very dry, windy and rocky depending on what side of the continential divide you live on and what elevation. If you are in a ski resort town, the cost of living is outrageous and you might need to be independently wealthy or work 2-3 jobs and have roommates (which might be fine for a 23 year old). The non-ski towns can be hardscrabble and dont offer a lot of economic opportunity and probably still require multiple sources of income or multiple jobs to make it work.

The western third of the state is mountains and canyons, some very beautiful, but generally dry (at least for a midwesterner). Not much population lives in these areas and economic opportunities are very limited.

The riding opportunities in the western 2/3rd of the state are unlimited and immense, you just have to be able to get to them (have the time off from work) and be able to afford the equipment to transport to these riding areas. I have always taken them for granted and assumed every other state had as much. After reading TT for several years now, I am finding that the opportunities are pretty unique to the Rocky Mountain west and Colorado.

Tell us what type of work you are seeking and what type of skills you have and maybe we can point you in the right direction, or at least recommend a couple places that you should research further and maybe explore in person before you pack up and move.

Oh....and Colorado is one of the greatest places in the world to live. If you move out here and love it, dont go telling everyone how great it is. We have too many people moving here trying to enjoy the greatness and the growth is destroying everything that makes it great. That is why you are getting some of the comments you see above.

Hope this helps. Keep asking questions and reading everything you can so you can make an informed decision that fits into your long range life plan < Dad mode off>.

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ears2244

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Couldn't have said it better myself SilvFx. Colorado is an awesome place to be but employment plays a huge roll in where you live. In my trade you have to move every few years. The only thing CO did to me is make me realize the riding you take for granted. Just glad I had the opportunity to live there for a few years and stil close enough to visit.

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Bkew

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No...forget it Colorado is closed...Try Detroit or Cleveland- great places for moto and low crime rates. Plus, the riding out here is horrible.

+2 Just Kidding

On a real note I moved here when I got out college (20+ years ago....ssshhh) IMHO it has changed a lot but I know I could not live anywhere else other than back "Home" in Montana.

Silvfx broke it down almost spot on.

Now I dont think it is hard to get around Denver or the areas to ride but that is just me. In Montana I would drive FOR EVER before you to to a place or see anyone LOL. Here you can drive 45-60 mins south or west of Denver and get to some great riding places. A bonus is there are many places to that you can camp and stay over weekends which is nice.

For work I did have to live in Cali about 5-6 years ago (Temecula) which I was not the hot spot it is now for bikes, but even then it took forever to get to good riding place with all the traffic and land restrictions.

If you like MX or just ride them for fun, I would say there is at least 7-9 tracks within an hour of downtown Denver. So depending on the location you are looking at in the metro area if varies.

Now I have like 4-5 tracks I can get to in 30-40 mins from house which is nice /honest it was not planned when I showed the wife the house ?

To me it really depends on what you looking for other than riding as that is a big part of life. There is alot to do here and there are a lot of good friendly people here, granted there are a few shares of bad ones too but that is everywhere. Overall it is one the best places to live and I think it was just listed in the top 5 for living or something to that effect.

So as previously noted....Sorry we are closed =)

Edited by Bkew
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dirtbikeendo

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I think I can help on this topic. I moved to a small mountain/resort town west of denver and have lived there about 1.5 years. Absolutely love it for the many things it has to offer: Summers are awesome and mild. Good singletrack riding less than 10 minutes away, camping, relaxed people (too many hippies though), skiing, boarding, snowmobiling, and the view out my front door is awesome.

There are some drawbacks though. If you move to a small mountain town you will more than likely have to work whatever jobs you can until you find something more year round or permanent. Most jobs are seasonal but if you actually work, you will be fine. Other issues include your standards for women steadily declining until you find yourself going home with the town doorknob... and after the alcohol wears off, you wake up next to a buffalo... Just make sure you keep the penecillin handy.

Most discouraging though is the long winters. I enjoy the winter sports but right now I really want to just ride my street and dirtbikes... which is why I am dreaming about riding and actually posting something on TT. Most of the time denver moto tracks are rideable throughout the winter although recently they haven't been. I also ride some singletrack that is less than 2 hrs away and it's usually rideable year round. So really, I shouldn't complain but I had to get my gripes in while I am cooped up in this cold weather trying to warm myself with whiskey.

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SpiderG

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75 and sunny yesterday, 28 and 4" inches of snow this morning...Colorado at its Best!

Bryan

Lived in Colorado Springs since 1963 and one thing I've learned is planning ahead for outdoor activities can result in disappointment and frustration. But if you're someone who has a spontaneous nature you'll enjoy it -- hey, it just stopped storming and got sunny out...everyone drop what you're doing and grab your gear pronto!!! we're going riding. :bonk:

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Grand Master

dmac1

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Left Denver 8 months ago. Been looking back since. :bonk: Of course, 75 today was nice.?

Dude! Where did you move to? Back to Cali? Bummer cuz I was hoping to meet you some day. I used to live near you in Highlands Ranch.

To the OP....I lived in Highlands Ranch for about 12 years. It is a nice master planned community in southern Denver with easy access to most everything. We had the best neighbors we've ever had (I'm 56) and loved it. But we tired of the congestion, and some new, inconsiderate neighbors moved in and that plus the desire for some space led us to look for some space. We now live near Elizabeth on 5 acres with lots of Ponderosas. It is essentially east of Parker. There is lots of open space out here and it is beautiful and is like living in the mountains, but without as much wind and snow. Had we picked a different place, we could have gotten an awesome view of the front range, but we loved the place we got so I gave up on the view. Speaking of view....you will pay for it if you get one. Look at enough houses and you'll figure out what the premium is.

Someone previously mentioned Boulder. When I didn't live in Colorado I thought Boulder was cool. I was big time into rock/snow/ice climbing then. Now you couldn't pay me enough to live there. Some call it the People's Republic of Boulder. Example...if you want to ride their mtn bike trails, but don't live in Boulder, there is a fee to park in their lots. 99.9% of everywhere else you want to mtn bike there is no fee to park. Its ridiculous....god forbid we congest their precious trails. They even wanted to toll the federal highway that runs though town to keep everyone out...but I digress.

One suggestion if you're moving to the Denver metro (or probably Co Springs metro)....find a job and live on that end of town. In other words, I wouldn't want to live up north and have a job down south and have to commute down I-25 every day.

Personally, my favorite place to ride is western Colorado or eastern Utah. If you like that, try to find a job in Grand Junction and you'll be pretty much able to ride out your back door in some of the most amazing terrain on the planet. Ever go to Moab Utah? Suggest you take a trip there before you move. Jobs are scarce there but riding is awesome in that entire region.

There are a number of great towns thoughout Colorado, but as has been mentioned, if you need a job, that will likely determine where you live and the front range (i.e. up and down the I-25 corridor from the Springs to Ft Collins) is where most of them are.

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Grand Master

NoFiddyPilot

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Dude! Where did you move to? Back to Cali? Bummer cuz I was hoping to meet you some day. I used to live near you in Highlands Ranch.

To the OP....I lived in Highlands Ranch for about 12 years. It is a nice master planned community in southern Denver with easy access to most everything. We had the best neighbors we've ever had (I'm 56) and loved it. But we tired of the congestion, and some new, inconsiderate neighbors moved in and that plus the desire for some space led us to look for some space. We now live near Elizabeth on 5 acres with lots of Ponderosas. It is essentially east of Parker. There is lots of open space out here and it is beautiful and is like living in the mountains, but without as much wind and snow. Had we picked a different place, we could have gotten an awesome view of the front range, but we loved the place we got so I gave up on the view. Speaking of view....you will pay for it if you get one. Look at enough houses and you'll figure out what the premium is.

Someone previously mentioned Boulder. When I didn't live in Colorado I thought Boulder was cool. I was big time into rock/snow/ice climbing then. Now you couldn't pay me enough to live there. Some call it the People's Republic of Boulder. Example...if you want to ride their mtn bike trails, but don't live in Boulder, there is a fee to park in their lots. 99.9% of everywhere else you want to mtn bike there is no fee to park. Its ridiculous....god forbid we congest their precious trails. They even wanted to toll the federal highway that runs though town to keep everyone out...but I digress.

One suggestion if you're moving to the Denver metro (or probably Co Springs metro)....find a job and live on that end of town. In other words, I wouldn't want to live up north and have a job down south and have to commute down I-25 every day.

Personally, my favorite place to ride is western Colorado or eastern Utah. If you like that, try to find a job in Grand Junction and you'll be pretty much able to ride out your back door in some of the most amazing terrain on the planet. Ever go to Moab Utah? Suggest you take a trip there before you move. Jobs are scarce there but riding is awesome in that entire region.

There are a number of great towns thoughout Colorado, but as has been mentioned, if you need a job, that will likely determine where you live and the front range (i.e. up and down the I-25 corridor from the Springs to Ft Collins) is where most of them are.

I had to land in Lost Vegas of all places. :bonk: i think I'd rather pay the high taxes & cost of housing in Cal that live here. But, the pretty much year around riding is nice. Gotta find a brightspot somewhere!

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