BEST/WORST PLACES TO LIVE IN CO?

I'm going to chime in late on this topic. The worst place in Colorado is Pueblo and a hidden jewel is the small town of Florence which rated the 7th safest small town in CO. If you considered cost of living and safety it would be #1. Its also located in the ''banana belt'' so its a little warmer in the winter. Its a town of 5000 people and is 20 minutes from Canon City. There are a few prisons on the outskirts of town which could bother some people. For a small town its has plenty of stores from a full grocery store to napa to sushi and lots of others. Both Canon City and Florence have a housing market with live in fixer uppers for 45k to houses with 20 acres for 200k.

Jobs can be had in Canon City or Pueblo(just dont live there). Traffic is not a problem in the area which is worth its weight in gold.

 

Hey everyone,

I've been watching this thread for a few weeks and plotting out all the locations you suggested in preparation for moving out there in December. I am transferring offices (finance / accounting) so finding work is not an issue, but I do need to be within 30-40 minutes of Denver. I'm looking for a single family home to rent over a condo or apartment complex for under $2500 a month. That being said, I'd appreciate any thoughts you have on the areas just west of downtown (Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Edgewater) or any other suggestions in that vicinity. It looks like I can get a pretty nice bachelor pad in that area for a decent price, but want to make sure those areas don't suck.

 

I live in that area, wife n i just went out for a beer in edgewater last night with sloans lake right there, brewery some decent eats its a good hood! I think highlands is good for bachelor as it has everything and just outside of downtown! I personally like the quiet small town feel of wheatridge none of denver west sux!

 

I live in Arvada and love it. Light rail is opening next year but even still it takes me ~20min to get to downtown for work. there are lots of nice new homes going up and plenty of established neighborhoods as well. A slew of restaurants and a handful of breweries. I'm ~70 miles to Winter Park, Keystone, Breck, A basin, Loveland and have tons of options to take a short drive to hike or fish.

 

Thanks for the info and recommendations. I'm actually in Denver this week for work and had a chance to drive through Arvada and Wheat Ridge the other day before heading out to the front range. It killed me not having my truck out here and stuck driving a Nissan Sentra past all the passes on 40 north. Did I read correctly that you can drive the Continental Divide trail?

Just based on driving through I like the smaller feel of Wheat Ridge a little better than Arvada, and would even consider a smaller town. Hopefully I'll have a little more time to explore before I head out on Thursday. Thanks again!

 

Cool, Wheat Ridge is a bit older but has some real nice nighborhoods. I like the houses just North of Lutheran Hospital (38th to 44th and Kipling to Wadsworth) You should look at Golden, Morrison and Littleton too

 

Let me ask an ignorant question real quick: Do the southern parts of Colorado typically see less snow/have slightly milder winters? I have only visited northern/northwestern parts of Colorado.

 

What do you mean "Southern"? Front range, or mountains? It's spotty. Wolf Creek is in "Southern Colorado" and it usually gets the most snow in the state. Pueblo is in "Southern Colorado" and they don't see much at all. Just cold and wind.

 

Well I guess that was a crappy description! lol I should have said west of 25/87, and if northern areas see more or not.

 

Just depends, as he said Wolf Creek is usually snowpack leader but the last couple years the Northern and Central mountains have been better. As whole, the Front Range is milder than most would expect, just don't tell anyone this.

 

I'm in Fort Collins, technically west of 25, and pretty far north (Cheyenne 46mi is actually closer than Denver 65mi). Generally speaking we get less snow here than where I grew up in Indiana. In fact, we often get less snow than Denver does. It's always hilarious when I go back and talk to family/friends because they're all 'oh you must get a ton of snow out there' and it's like yeah, if you drive up into the mountains. Altitude and mountain rain shadows in the weather patterns have more to do with snowfall here than north/south. We actually have quite a bit of high desert up in the northern parts of the state.

 

I posted in this thread back in June about moving back to CO from TX. Well have been here, Fort Collins area, for a little over a month and love it. Now, if my house in Houston would close, we can buy a new one here.

 

Anyone in Longmont with some constructive criticism to offer? We are thinking about getting an apartment there for 6 months to decide if we want to live closer to FoCo vs Denver.

 

Longmont is a good start.

 

Not a fan of Longmont. Lived there for a year and moved south to broomfield. Loved broomfield

 

QFT. Well said. Snow amounts vary so greatly it really just depends on where you decide to live. Hell, even different areas of my town (Colorado Springs) can vary by up to 8-10" of snow in a single storm. My house is at 7000 ft. Drive 15 minutes to south Springs, and you're at less than 6000 ft.

 

We are just looking to "get there". We will both be moving with jobs but might look locally once we get settled in. Denver was very busy and a little too much city for us where as FoCo seemed to be closer to what we are looking for. Longmont was basically a zoomed out view of google maps and picking "something in the middle, and figure it out within a year of moving". We are not night life people, very boring. As long as the place has stable internet and a grocery store within a reasonable drive, we can manage.

But noted the comments for the long term, maybe building a house there isn't the best option. Thanks for that.

 

Im with you on FoCo, the woman and i are talking about moving there and get out of hellish phoenix

 

If you're getting into PT, move to Colorado Springs. Military people are always getting hurt and there's 5 bases here. You should have plenty of work lol

 

Hey Hey, I don't think so! you gotta stay in that beautiful heat!