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landlockedbrewer

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I have some big developments in my career. I am probably going to be moving to Denver in the next 6-8 Mos. I was hoping someone could give me some direction on the best area for me to live.

My prospective office will be in Greenwood Village

I love riding my mountain bike and road bike.

I am single, but my children will be visiting frequently.

I enjoy the tattoo world

I love music

Craft beer is my life, professionally and every other aspect.

I really enjoy lots of outdoor activities and being able to walk or ride to most places 3-7miles.

How's public transportation in these areas? I do have a truck, but if possible/convenient I would use public transportation. I know there's a rail system. Just not sure how accessible.

My favorite place so far in colorado has actually been woodland park. I really liked the atmosphere, scenery, and people. Much to far to commute though. Lol!

I hope you guys can help. Sorry it is a little off topic.


Beer Slave Extraordinaire

"Fortune Favors The Bold"

www.Facebook.com/Landlockedbreweryconsulting
 
I grew up in Aurora, not far from Greenwood Village. Denver is a big place, even bigger if you don't want to drive....it is really spread out. The suburbs are a pretty big area in themselves. There are lots of businesses, stores, etc. in strip malls, but it may not be a real "walking friendly" kind of place....especially come winter time.

They do have a light rail....called the T-Rex, I believe. Traffic has gotten ridiculous there, and I hear there are delays/crowding with this system too.

It all depends if you want to live IN the city, it is quite urban and there are all sorts of hip restaurants, bars, etc. If you are an outdoorsy type, there are the foothills and mountain towns. If you plan on having the kids visit frequently and want to stay out of the city, the suburbs are good for that...houses and townhomes as far as the eye can see!
 
I agree that the first thing you'll want to consider is city vs. suburbs. Coming from the midwest this probably won't surprise you but much of Denver proper still has an essentially suburban look to it (i.e. single family home with small yards instead of row-houses and larger apartment buildings and condos). Of course downtown has some skyscrapers and there are some larger residential buildings, but there's more of a mix of housing types than in the other cities I've lived in (NYC, San Francisco, DC).

If you want the fastest possilbe access to the mountains you may want to consider the south-western suburbs and towns (I'm not familiar with that area at all really, so can't offer any specific recommendations). But you shouldn't automatically assume you need to live outside of Denver for your (or your kids) safety, as Denver is overall a pretty safe city to live in (neighborhood crime stats can be found here). I've got two kids under three and feel quite safe living with them in our neighborhood in Northwest Denver, and there are many other neighborhoods in the city we would have been happy living in as well. Of course if you're looking to do mainly great outdoor activities with the kids, that may again direct you toward a suburb/town as close to the mountains as you can pull off while still commuting to Greenwood Village. But that will push you further from Denver's plentiful music/beer/tattoo resources!

As far as traffic goes, 25 and 70 can be really bad at rush hour. Not necessarially worse than the cities I mentioned above, but not great. So it would probably be worth investigating what public transportation drops off in Greenwood Village to see if you could live somewhere to your liking and do light rail or bus to/from work, which are really the only times you'd probably need to sweat traffic (unless you're planning to go up to the mountains every weekend, but I don't think there's a great method for beating that traffic other than leaving and coming home at non-peak times).

Oh, and biking is a great way to get around Denver. There will of course be snowy/extreme cold days, but lots of folks commute by bike routinely. So it might be worth checking bike trails in the Greenwood Village area.
 
I live in Littleton and I would recommend it. You can ride the light rail to the city. The 66 mile canal trail goes right past my house for walking or biking. It's close to Greenwood Village. No city parking hassles. It's a suburb for sure but it's nice. You PM me if you want more info.
 
Denver feels big for sure when the traffic is bad. Living near a light rail station is a nice option and there are plenty of streets with bike lanes for commuting. If you live in the city you will have to drive to get to mountain bike trails. Golden is a good spot if want to be close to the foothills, but you will pay for it with long drive/train commutes to Greenwood Village.

Good luck with the move, Denver is a great city, fantastic new breweries open up all the time.
 
Being a semi recent transplant from SoCal, traffic is a non issue. My commute from Castle Rock to the Lowry neighborhood is 25 miles and usually 30-35 min only because of surface streets for a good portion of the trip.

You mention craft beer as if it'll be your profession; are you opening or going to work at a brewery here?

What's your housing budget? That can open up or close off a lot of options.


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Being a semi recent transplant from SoCal, traffic is a non issue. My commute from Castle Rock to the Lowry neighborhood is 25 miles and usually 30-35 min only because of surface streets for a good portion of the trip.

You mention craft beer as if it'll be your profession; are you opening or going to work at a brewery here?

What's your housing budget? That can open up or close off a lot of options.


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Yes, I've been working in the craft industry professionally for years. I have recently went into consulting from working in breweries. I am working with a company that is launching a new product for small brewers that will free up a lot of cash to become more competitive against the big guys. Denver is going to be the best place. Plus this company is based in Denver.

My housing is going to keep me comfortable in the $1500 range until I purchase one.

I've been looking at Castle Rock. How do you like it?

I have a fair amount if friends in Denver and spend a lot of time there, just not in neighborhoods. I'm just trying to feel out the whole area and try to make a compromise of what I want , commute time to work and recreational activities.


Beer Slave Extraordinaire

"Fortune Favors The Bold"

www.Facebook.com/Landlockedbreweryconsulting
 
I love Castle Rock but I've got two young kids and my wife so it's perfect for us. It's heavy on families and kids. The recreation part is great as well. I can be on miles of mountain bike trails in five minutes. Plus commuting I-25 is great. But many in Denver think CR is basically as far as New Mexico.
Heading west or southwest in Littleton is nice but you'll be driving city streets. Same thing going east in Aurora and it's a lot flatter out there.


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Avoid living in Aurora... especially an apartment. Thank me later.

GV is perfect with the light rail right there. Access to downtown Denver is cheap and easy. Traffic is a nightmare here so take the rail when going downtown. The furthest south station (Lincoln) is a 10 minute drive from Castle Rock

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Avoid the corners. Basically, each corner direction from the city has a major unique environmental "issue". I know a fair amount about Rocky Flats NW of Denver, which was a major nuclear bomb facility for ~30 years and will apparently always be heavily contaminated with plutonium. Some are of the opinion that previous releases have migrated plutonium contaminated dust all the way to S. Denver. Some of the radioactive waste was also reportedly shipped to the Lowry Landfill in Aurora (SE of Denver). The Rocky Mountain Arsenal plant NE of Denver also has some issues with historical contamination related to nerve gas manufacturing or something similar. Finally, the Lockheed Martin facility SW of Denver has had some water contamination issues through the years.
 
Lake Powell maybe Havasu but it ain't in Denver. Denver has puddles and crappy reservoirs.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Question number 2. Which lake is the best? Criteria: least crowded, waterski, jet ski, friendly, the biggest.
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The immediate Denver area definitely isn't much for lake/river recreation. If you're looking to water ski within the city proper Sloan's Lake in NW Denver allows it (I've never seen jet skis there though). Not a huge lake though and definitely not a bunch of people hanging out on boats socializing if that's what you were looking to do.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Question number 2. Which lake is the best? Criteria: least crowded, waterski, jet ski, friendly, the biggest.

Thanks again


Beer Slave Extraordinaire

"Fortune Favors The Bold"

www.Facebook.com/Landlockedbreweryconsulting

Unfortunately that lake doesn't exist. Our "lakes" or better yet, large puddles, are all crowded. The 2 most popular are Cherry Creek Res and Chatfield Res, both are over crowded with d-bags who have no concern for safety of other boaters.

As for question #1 I would look at the DU/Englewood area. You can find some nice stuff over there, it can be a bit on the higher side but it'll be a nice compromise between work/Denver/mountains and still get around on public transportation.

I'm in the industry as well, toss me a PM when you get out here, I'll buy you a pint or two:mug:
 
after a LONG hiatus, I'm ready to get back to brewing after this next move.

So I bring up this: My buddy and I are looking to share a 2 bed place in golden. I really like golden.

That being said, I realize it is more expensive than even boulder from what I've looked, which kind of is a bummer.

any tips on what to look for and what to avoid in the area?
 
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