Skinny Bam

So my best friend and I are moving just outside of denver around end of december/january 1st from Arizona for a couple reasons:

1) Our closest mountain in AZ is 2 hours and kinda sucks so we end up driving 3.5 hours to our slightly better mountain which is still as you can imagine not the best. The worst part is most of our 30 days we got in this season were day trips, which means 7 hours in the car for 7 hours of riding and work the next day. Ya, you could call us dedicated.

2)We have both lived in AZ for almost our whole lives and are ready to experience summer where you can go outside and actually have more than 2 seasons.

So our first priority for our apt/condo is access to the mountains( we both already got epic passes) and 2nd still within range of lots of work opportunity.

With my research I am leaning towards moving to lakewood as its on the west side of denver but still relatively close to possible jobs and the rent is pretty cheap from what ive seen (right now we pay 1000 for a 3 bedroom condo)...my roomate will be xfering to Pf changs which there is one right in lakewood and i will probably be looking to work at Charles Schwab or some retail bank since thats where my experience is.

So I guess what im looking for is suggestions from people familiar with the west side of denver and what areas you think would be best so I can ride as much as possible but still not be too far from work.

Riding is my #1 priority but unfortunately need to make money at some point as well


BTW I am saving enough $$$ so i can just ride and chill the first 2-3 months while i get settled so job availability right away is not a concern.
And i would be interested in possibly sharing rides to summit since im sure i will be driving by myself a decent amount in the first 2 months cuz my buddy will be working while im just kicken it


Any tips or suggestions you guys have is appreciated

Skinny Bam

No one living in Lakewood or surrounding areas?

I guess the reason im asking for what its like is because i was planning on taking a few day trip in november to check out a coupe different apts and what not but would like to just save the $$ instead...

biocmp

It sounds like you've done your research. Lakewood/Golden area is good because you are right next to 70 and can ride it straight the mountains.

Is there anything else you want to know? I live in Golden right now, actually moving to central Denver.

I think you are making a good move, assuming you can find steady employment. I came here from the midwest and it was the best decision I ever made. I love it here: plenty to do, plenty of groups to join for nearly any activity and the people here are very laid back and generally upbeat.

Skinny Bam

I guess i was just trying to get a general feel for lakewood since ive never been and here in AZ sometimes a few blocks can make a big difference. accessibility to denver area? hows the nightlife? any ghetto areas i should stay away from?

thx for the advice

biocmp

Hopefully others will chime in because I've been here little more than a year. Lakewood is nice, it has it's old development and new development parts. It's really contiguous with Denver.

So any nightlife concerns should be put to rest. 10-15 drive and you are in downtown Denver. 45 mins and you are in Boulder, very relaxing place to be.

Nothing against anyone living on Colfax but most people would tell you to stear clear of Colfax as you move closer to Denver. There seems to be quite a few "incidents" very close this street.

Other than that, you'll have to wait for others to chime in. Lakewood is nice enough and so is Golden. They run into one another so either will work for you and both will dump you on 70 relatively quickly.

I wish I had specifics but I don't really hit the nightlife. I'm more oriented towards hanging out with a few friends rather than raging all night. Best of luck

jbernste03

I'm trying to move there too in the next couple of months. Need some advice

snowklinger

Actually anywhere along i70 or 6th Ave from Morrison all the way east to downtown, if you are near those arteries, zipping up the hill is almost as accessible as any other part of town. I live in south Littleton, I love the area, pretty close to 470, 15minutes and I'm at the bottom of the hill heading up i70.

On the flipside of that, if you can get near the interstate in Evergreen, you are even closer to the mountains, and you can commute all the way to the middle of downtown quickly on i70 and 6th ave (this is a 6lane divided "street" 65mph u can go 80 on).

Fuck Boulder.

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is it late october yet?

Skinny Bam

Thanks for the replys guys, ya like I said riding is by far #1 priority so nightlife isnt that big of a deal just dont wanna be in the middle of nowhere where we cant go out every now and then, and by going out i dont mean like club scene, a chill bar is good for me.

And i was looking at evergreen a little bit as well because of the mountain access but it kinda seems like there would be less employment opportunities/less businesses which eventually may mean id have a farther drive to work, anyone know if this is true?

Ill have to look at what kind of banks are in that area...

Other thing i was thinking too, has anyone moved to denver area in the winter like were about to? Im hoping the drive wont be too sketchy in the U-haul if we go through new mexico instead of the i-70 route

Skinny Bam

snowklinger how are far is your place from the vail resorts?

I think when i mapped it out from lakewood it was something like this:

A-basin and keystone - 1 hour and 15 mins

Breck - 1 hour and 30 mins

Beaver Creek and Vail - 2 hours


Granted all these seem easy to me since im use to doing 3.5 hours each way on day trips but every mile counts right?

snowklinger

The thing is, if you can be near i70 in Evergreen (some people in "Evergreen" live 35 minutes from that exit) you are as close to downtown as any of the suburbs, that exit, to the bottom of the hill (Golden) is 8miles. So working downtown from Evergreen is a mellow commute. I work in Evergreen and drive 60miles rt on my work days, and usually further into the mountains on my days off. Getting a Loveland pass this year, my work in Evergreen is near i70 as well, I can get back to work in 35 minutes from the Love.

Yea it will be sketchy if you are in a hurry. Otherwise try to wait out storms and its mellow, they manage the passes on all the interstates well.

The effectiveness of modern snowtires cannot be understated or undervalued. Good snowtires>chains

Accurate considering you ride weekdays like myself, and no weather. Weekend warriors can add 4-6 hours , however there are some tricks to beating the weekends.

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is it late october yet?