Looking For A Colorado Native!

mingez · Oct 5, 2005

Looking to move to the Denver, CO area from Boston. From what I hear, finding a job shouldnt be too difficult, but i'm having a hard time deciding on a location! My husband and I love the mountains and wouldnt mind having the wildlife at our back door. Have to be close to a bigger city though, for work purposes of course. We heard Evergreen may be up our alley, but I heard the winters are mild and my husband just loves the snow! Is there any place near evergreen that gets alot of snow, as he loves to snowmobile? We wouldnt mind travelling an hour or two. I almost have him convinced but promised him I would find him some snow! Im sure someone out there help me find some snow!!
Thanks a bunch!

Evergreen is beautiful. But how much of a trek do you want to have to get to the city? Plus, it's a village, so not much by way of shopping, groceries etc. Plus, for me, the commute into Denver would make me crazy.

If you want to be right on the edge of the mountains and the City, I'd recommend Golden or Morrison. I'd prefer Morrison. Just gorgeous there. Golden has more of a night life, more shopping, and is right next to the city.

Morrison: (i put it in the lower left so you can see the proximity to city) http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=&city=Evergreen&state=CO&zipcode=&country=US&title=%20Evergreen%2c%20CO%20US&cid=lfmaplink2

Golden:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?address=&city=Evergreen&state=CO&zipcode=&country=US&title=%20Evergreen%2c%20CO%20US&cid=lfmaplink2

If commuting for supplies and work isn't an issue, then Evergreen, Idaho Springs, Nederland. You could also look into living near BlackHawk and Central City. Conifer is beautiful! Try there.

sddlnscp · Oct 6, 2005

I agree - Golden would be a good choice - right outside of Denver (recently had a training there and I like it there). It seems to me (at least in the areas I've lived), that you probably won't be lacking in snow if you live in Colorado. :) I lived for 7 years in the Keystone/Breckenridge area, then moved out of state for several years, and have lived the past 12 years in southeast Colorado (the flatlands - close to southern KS). We don't get quite the magnitude of snow out here, but we have never had a completely snow-free year either. Anywhere immediately West of Denver is probably a good bet for snow. The farther north you go, usually the more snow.

I am the opposite - I hate winter & snow (brr, colds, slippery roads, icy conditions, scraping windshields - yuck, yuck, yuck!) - I should move away to AZ or NM during the winter months and come back Spring through Fall. :rotfl:

Good luck - enjoy CO!!! :)

misschelei · Oct 6, 2005

I left my heart in Colorado!!!!!!!!! The winters are mild (usually in the 50's). When it snows it looks like powdered sugar but it melts right away due to the elevation. Even the 3 feet we got a couple years ago was gone in a few days.

We lived there for 3 years. We had to come back so my dh could go to nursing school (programs all backed up there). But as soon as he's done we are going back!

My mom followed us out there. She has a gorgeous home in Golden. The town is nestled right against the foothills and you have a straight shot to Denver. My mom's house is still considered Golden but she technically lives about 4000 feet above it near Blackhawk. Her home was very reasonably priced and she has a million dollar view of Mount Evans right off her deck. It's amazing! If you search for homes try "suburban mountains". That will give you the type of atmosphere you are looking for. I am not too keen on Evergreen. It is high priced and crowed. Plus the communte down I-70 will get irritating at best and downright dangerous at worst.

The job market is terrible unless you are professional of some type. One simple job my mom applied for had 800 applicants. I had no problem finding nursing positions but my step dad is a teacher and even he had a hard time finding a place.

If you wouldn't mind traveling to work as you said. I have a special love for the Grand County area. So much to do there. Chaffee County is another area of choice for us.

When we embarked on this adventure my husband quit his job, we put everything in storage and I took 2 travel assignments to the area just to get the feel of things. We put 30,000 miles on our car and covered every inch of that state. It was very helpful to see everything first hand and talk to people who live there.

We wound up living in the southwest suburbs of Denver near Golden. It was perfect for us because we were 20 minutes from Denver and right on top of the entrance to the Rocky Mountain playground.

Hope this helps.

M

Annesy · Oct 7, 2005

Hi There,

I am not a CO native, but I do live in Evergreen. We absolutely love it here! I am in nursing school in Denver, and my husband works in Golden. I have worked as a CNA at various hospitals in the Denver metro area, of which there are many, so I've done various commutes.

If you want snow and wildlife, this is the perfect place. We have elk, deer, bears, and probably many other creatures that lurk about in the dark, unseen. Our neighborhood backs up against Arapahoe National Forest, where we hike, ski, mtn bike, and I am sure you can snowmobile. A lot of people in our neighborhood zip around on snowmobiles all winter, to get the mail, to drop off kids at the bus, to visit the neighbors, etc.

About Evergreen:

-It is very large. The north side is more developed, (north of downtown Evergreen and the lake) and is much closer to I-70 and Denver. The south side is rural and much less expensive. We live in south EG.

-The north side of Evergreen has more expensive homes (many in the millions). It has a really fun little downtown with galleries, cafes, shops, live music venues, a winery, and bars. There is also a gorgeous log community center right on the lake. We have numerous open space parks with trails, and two big rec centers with indoor pools, gym, spinning, a climbing wall, etc. We have three giant grocery stores, banks, and all of the services any larger town might have, minus the hideous strip malls and what I consider the ugliness of your basic bland suburban neighborhood.

-We got over 250 inches of snow last year. We skied in our backyard!

-The commute in winter time can be a challenge. It takes me easily an hour to get to the hospital, but we live in a far south west corner of Evergreen. People on the north side can be in Denver in 20 minutes. Our roads are not always plowed as early as I need to leave, so it has taken me longer than an hour. I have considered spending the night in Denver the night before a 12 hour shift, just to not have to worry about the morning drive, but I haven't yet.

-We have more than an acre, a beautiful new house, and awesome neighbors. I couldn't be happier, but I am not an urban city type of person. I love the altitude (9000 feet), the aspens, the clean air, and the characters that live near us.

If you want the name of our realtor, I would be happy to pass it on to you. It's a "buyer's market", with plenty of choices, and many bargains to be had. We moved here from Orange County, CA, so it seemed to us that the houses were being practically given away. I am sure you would have a similar feeling coming from Boston.

We rented a condo in Golden for about two months, so we could look for our house, and check out all of the surrounding towns. It would be hard to do from across the country.

Good luck with your move,

Anne

mingez · Oct 7, 2005

Hi There,
I am not a CO native, but I do live in Evergreen. We absolutely love it here! I am in nursing school in Denver, and my husband works in Golden. I have worked as a CNA at various hospitals in the Denver metro area, of which there are many, so I've done various commutes.
If you want snow and wildlife, this is the perfect place. We have elk, deer, bears, and probably many other creatures that lurk about in the dark, unseen. Our neighborhood backs up against Arapahoe National Forest, where we hike, ski, mtn bike, and I am sure you can snowmobile. A lot of people in our neighborhood zip around on snowmobiles all winter, to get the mail, to drop off kids at the bus, to visit the neighbors, etc.
About Evergreen:
-It is very large. The north side is more developed, (north of downtown Evergreen and the lake) and is much closer to I-70 and Denver. The south side is rural and much less expensive. We live in south EG.
-The north side of Evergreen has more expensive homes (many in the millions). It has a really fun little downtown with galleries, cafes, shops, live music venues, a winery, and bars. There is also a gorgeous log community center right on the lake. We have numerous open space parks with trails, and two big rec centers with indoor pools, gym, spinning, a climbing wall, etc. We have three giant grocery stores, banks, and all of the services any larger town might have, minus the hideous strip malls and what I consider the ugliness of your basic bland suburban neighborhood.
-We got over 250 inches of snow last year. We skied in our backyard!
-The commute in winter time can be a challenge. It takes me easily an hour to get to the hospital, but we live in a far south west corner of Evergreen. People on the north side can be in Denver in 20 minutes. Our roads are not always plowed as early as I need to leave, so it has taken me longer than an hour. I have considered spending the night in Denver the night before a 12 hour shift, just to not have to worry about the morning drive, but I haven't yet.
-We have more than an acre, a beautiful new house, and awesome neighbors. I couldn't be happier, but I am not an urban city type of person. I love the altitude (9000 feet), the aspens, the clean air, and the characters that live near us.
If you want the name of our realtor, I would be happy to pass it on to you. It's a "buyer's market", with plenty of choices, and many bargains to be had. We moved here from Orange County, CA, so it seemed to us that the houses were being practically given away. I am sure you would have a similar feeling coming from Boston.
We rented a condo in Golden for about two months, so we could look for our house, and check out all of the surrounding towns. It would be hard to do from across the country.
Good luck with your move,
Anne

Wow, you almost make me want to move there. Man it's beautiful up there! But that commute... Still it's just breathtaking country up there.

Abbienursingstudent · Jan 7, 2006

Hi grasshopper1972,

I've been in Colorado all my life and I love it. I grew up in Grand County and I'd highly suggest it, except there isn't a hospital within an hours drive and if you like 8 months of winter, then maybe it's for you. There's so many places you could go. Durango is Beautiful, the winters are pretty mild and Telluride isn't that far away but it's a little more expensive to live there. Glenwood/Avon/Rifle would nice too because there's a few great hospitals and of course tons of outdoor recreation. Steamboat Springs is beautiful and there's a very good hospital there. They get a lot more snow there though and it's colder there longer. I'd do a search on Google to get more accurate information. Those areas have great schools too if you have/plan on having kids too.

Hope that helps!

P.S. the living expense may seem high, but it's usually very well compensated by the pay. McDonalds in Apsen starts employees at $9-$11.

spidermonkey · Jan 7, 2006

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cb0027 · Feb 11, 2006

Please post where you end up working in CO. I am a native who is living in Boston. However, plan to move back to CO within the next few years. I had a rough time getting a job out here, everyone tells me that CO is full of jobs. I grew up in Southern Colorado, far from the snow. Yesterday my parents said it was close to 70F. That's what I miss most.