Say you lhad to live in Denver, CO on a barely six figure income. What do you think about your prospects for quality of life, raising kids? Get much hunting or fishing in on weekends?

Pretty tough unless you commute and live way to the East of there. Colorado got invaded by California.

Okay, here goes-
I lived near Denver, and worked in downtown Denver, for many years- no more, thankfully. So, if you:

1. Don't mind being in a stronghold of California-style liberalism,
2. Don't mind the homeless and panhandlers downtown who have turned much of it into a tent city,
3. Don't mind riding on public transportation that smells of urine and unbathed bodies,
4. Do not intend to go downtown after dark to a restaurant,
5. Don't mind endless traffic in rush hour, made worse in the winter,
6. Don't mind driving for many miles to find a crowded shooting range,
7. Don;t mind the higher crime, gangs, etc. that go along with large urban areas,

then Denver is the place!

From what it was to what it now is has been a quantum leap,,,,,down.

A lifelong friend of mine who used to be a solid conservative, moved to Denver a few years ago, and now we can't even talk to him. He denies it all day but he's a cool aid mainlining liberal and I'm pretty sure he has a vagina now.

With that said, I am surrounded by progressive idiots where I am. The difference is that they all hate me so I take that as a compliment.

I'm sure you can find some good people there but they're becoming a minority.

It’s a big city. And it has all of the amenities of any big city. And it has all of the drawbacks of any big city. But, you can be in some fantastic mountain country within a very short period of time, unlike most big cities. The more time you spend outdoors, in the beautiful country that ‘is’ readily available, the better your quality of life will be...for you, your wife (if you have one), and your kids. No matter where you are, how you look at it is pretty much how you’ll see it.

They have a beautiful brown cloud you can actually suck on.

Your first language will be Spanish.

You know you could live in one of the bedroom cities south of Denver along the I-25 corridor, say Castle Rock or Larkspur, and cummute, then it might be OK. Specially if you will be working in the tech center, which is on the south side of the metro area.

I commuted from Colorado Springs to Lakewood for eight months. That's too far. But half the distance wouldn't be that bad. There are no hunting and very few fishing opportunities in the Denver metro area. You will have to drive to play from most any of the cities. I live in Colorado Springs and I drive to play. So it would be the same for you.

BTW you will look west to the mountains when you first get here. That's only natural. But remember that I told you to eventually look east to the plains. You can hunt antelope, mule deer, whitetail deer, pheasants, quail, and turkey, on the plains east of the Front Range.

Not any more.

Once again you are about 20 years out of date.

I'm a Denver native, and I agree.

Add:
Two seasons on the Front Range winter and construction.
Traffic jams going into the mountains on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Traffic jams coming from the mountains all day on Sundays.
If you happen to meet the rare native, the first question is "Where did you go to school?". If you reply with a college, you're not a native. The question refers to high school.
Boulder is known as the "People's Republic of Boulder".
Douglas County is better than most of the front range.
Stay far away from Sheridan, Westminster, Commerce City, Denver, Morrison, and Boulder.
Colorado Rockies baseball has more people rooting for the visiting team.
My hometown is dying on the vine. Sad.

Where is your work based in Denver (more like tech center, or more like Westminster?) What is your willingness to commute? What critters do you like to hunt?

That might help us help you.

The traffic IS bad. Actual downtown Denver has a homeless issue and a bunch of libs.

Weather is great, hunting can be good, lots of good people too.

Can't disagree with anything anyone here has said.

However, to answer your questions, by living in the suburbs of Denver, whether north, south, or east, the quality of life can be very good. You just need to stay out of the city and off the interstates so you don't haveto deal with the liberal city pukes or the traffic. There are some very good schools and a lot of charter and private schools where your kids can get an excellent education. Lots of good activities for kids as well. Of course, you have to keep in mind that the State and local governments are predominantly liberal. It never used to be that way, but now it is reality.

As for hunting or fishing on the weekends, it can be done, but it is a pain in the a**. You'll spend a lot of time driving and sitting in traffic, since as others have said, the weekend traffic on I-70 heading west at the start of the weekend and heading east at the end of the weekend is horrific. Your actual time to hunt and fish will be minimal. If you can swing three day weekends or even four day weekends then it isn't too bad and gives you more time to actually hunt or fish. The main point being that there isn't much that is very close, especially for hunting. You need to get a minimum of about 2 hours away and more like 3 hours away to have any hope of decent hunting on public land and even then it won't be that good. Private land is a different story.

Good luck to you.

Denver is a schithole. Not a joo york schithole or an LA schithole but a schithole none the less.
if you like being on the road with intoxicated and stoned drivers yer headed the right direction.
if you like trashy roadsides , heroin overdoses in public library's, semen friendly politicians and a corrupt city/state goverment you'll love it.
If you like large volumes of traffic going in the same direction EVERY weekend for recreation Denvers your town.
if you enjoy the spanish language and sanctuary cities , bam, Denvers your new home.
if you like a cost of living index thats 28+ points higher than the national average and a median home price of $426000 you should hurry before it gets even higher.
if you like 131 days of poor air quality per year, get here and suck it up.

personally I think you are retarded for even considering it.

I have relatives that live there. I hate the place so bad that I have not visited them in years.
I had to work up there about a year ago for two months. What a hell hole.
I live south of there about an hour and a half in Pueblo West. I can be at Pueblo Municipal indoor shooting range or to the PWSA range in about 15 minutes. The Pueblo Reservoir is about twenty minutes away and in less than an hour I can be in the mountains or step out my door and be in the prairie. Why would I live in Denver?
Rider
P.S. I step out the back door and Pikes Peak is perfectly framed by the Granddaughters playhouse.

WOW!

I had no idea I've been living in such a crappy area for the last 41 years.

Thanks to all that enlightened me!

Yea, sounds like NYC, Chicago and SF all rolled into one!

Do your best to live in the northern part of Denver..... if a commute to Frederick, Mead or Windsor is acceptable, do that.... you’ll be closer to Wyoming.

And outside of the "Five Commie Counties".

laffin’

850 miles of paved bicycle and pedestrian only paths throughout the metro, fishable waters in the South Platte and Clear Creek, Chatfield and Cherry Creek Reservoirs, Waterton Canyon (often see bighorn sheep, mule deer, black bears, mountain lion, and elk)...all right there.

Later in the season you can throw your decoy's out on the same South Platte.

And if you don't mind stocked fish, stop off at one of the ponds on the way home and limit out while waiting for the traffic to subside.

Been in CO 17 years now. A LOT has changed in that time. You will have a hard time with that income in this place, but people do it on a lot less than that here. Just depends on what quality of life you want, and how long of a commute you can deal with. You might find an affordable place on the east, for north, or far south side, but you'll be an hour or more away from the start of the mountains...on a good day. I'm in the housing industry and the growth has been good for my business, but I truly would not be able to afford to live here if we were moving here today. Mountain traffic is beyond horrible now. I70 used to be bad Friday's and Sundays, not it's bad almost all the time. We have completely given up skiing or day trips to the mountains on the weekends. It's F...ing insane how backed up traffic can get. If I was moving today, I'd be looking at MT, ID, WY, or maybe northern NM.

First thing I would say is DON"T.

I live outside or Colorado Springs. It is everything Bighorn posted. Denver is X10. I don't know of any major city that isn't though.

BTW Castle Rock is fast approaching it

I will second bighorn and saddlesore. I agree with them.

You hate everything.

The OP needs to give us much more information. Where are you coming from? That way we can compare it to something you're familiar with. Do you have to live in the city itself? Where would be your work location. I live in a far western suburb of Detroit but I very seldom have to go into the city so what it is doesn't affect me.

Wrong, just drive down from Wyoming. That brown cloud is still very visible.

We'll be seeing you up here, everyone else form Colorado comes up for the weekends.

Been in denver and aurora 71 years. The rush hour lasts all day. The weekend traffic takes all the fun out of going anywhere. What work? There is a tech center south, and a rival one in planning east in Aurora. Housing may crash with this recession. The money you may bring from your old home sale may make it possible. That is part of the Calif problem, selling ubflated houses and moving in

You do have access to lots of national forest given time. Most of the eastern plains is private land. It aint the city the wife and I grew up in.

All the way from Colorado springs to fort Collins is called the front strange for a reason

I left CO 14 years ago and still miss many things about it.

Yes, Denver is big andbgetting bigger. The front range is a bastion of liberals. Homeless was bad and gettigng worse. Housing is expensive.

Its a city.

Lots of great stuff too though. Beautiful state with great weather.

Id look west and see how bad he commute is. 15-20 years ago it wasnt too bad from idaho springs or even georgetown. Under an hour usually. May be much worse now.

I'm a Denver native. The biggest problem with accessing the mountains is the road network. Due to the terrain, weather, and building costs, you are limited in your choices of road access to the high country. As a result, traffic is a mess. If you plan on quality hunting or fishing, it can be found within a couple of hours of Denver...depending on traffic. In that sense, the only advantage Denver has over areas in the midwest is that you only haul your stuff a couple of hours less than you do now.

Denver is different than other area due to the sheer number of people who move here and are determined to turn it into the hellhole they escaped from . Due to the nightmare traffic, there are entire sections of the city I never consider going to for shopping, or any other reason for that matter. Many people who moved here bought old houses with a one car garage and brought two or more cars with them. The suburbs are better, but commuting is difficult.

Mass transit is a joke. A tax on everything you buy goes to support a system extremely limited in meeting the needs of anyone who isn't interested in commuting downtown.

Parts of Denver are indeed nice, and you will pay a hefty premium for the location. Many parts are overrun with illegals, homeless, and druggies. It truly looks third world. Denver public schools are a joke. Look to suburbs, charter, or private schools.

The best part of Denver is its weather. No hurricanes, few tornadoes, no major earthquakes. We do get massive snow storms which are usually followed by warm weather to melt it. Hail, lightning and afternoon thunderstorms are common. Humidity is low. In fact, Denver used to be home for people with respiratory troubles due to the dry climate.

Denver is my hometown, but I'm looking elsewhere...soon.

"Brown Cloud" used to be the normal state down here. Now we get very few of them, maybe a handful a year..

Wear it proudly, OutlawPatriot. I do.

And never pass on an opportunity to pisz in their Fruit Loops. They would damn sure do it to you.

I was stationed in Denver for a while and visited many times over the years. Man, it ain’t the same place anymore.

It has taken an exponential nose dive since about 1997

Have a retired friend that went back to Colorado after they made weed legal. He made a fortune (over 2 million) from automobile insurance claims by getting rear-ended on a constant basis by texting weedheads. He now lives in South Dakota.

Any weekday,you need to drive south about 1/2 a way to Castle Rock. Turn around as you will see that brown cloud over the city as you approach

There is some good fishing in some of the lakes in the metro area.Last time I checked you have to buy a permit to fish them besides a state fishing license. Anybody know if this it is still true. I am thinking of Quincy

Went to school in Trinidad in the mid - late '70's, lotsa mexicans and lotsa dopers and those were the days before pot was legalized. In southern Colorado access to the NRA Whitington Center in Raton, NM provides lotsa opportunities for the sportsman.

I attended gunsmithing school in Denver in late 79's. Most of us at school agreed there was nothing wrong with Denver then that a small tactial nuke would not cure.

Would need one 10X that now. "Denver" runs out north of Ft Collins now..... don't know how far soulth it goes- probably Co. Spr.

My son lives in Denver - can't afford to buy a house - prices are sky high.

My brother lived in Golden (fine view of the Coors brewerey from the bedroom window I used when visiting). When they retired, they resold their house- a nice one- for enough to pay off the morgage, and buy property at Twin Lakes (a couple hours west), with a big wad left over. and Twin Lakes ain't cheap, but worth it. To good for Libs like he and his wife, actually. Friggin elk come through his yard nearly every night.

My feelings about Denver? 3,000 miles distance is about right, tho I could live in Twin Lakes area, Libs and all. Those Aspenholes to the west are another story....

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like most larger cities except for weekend commute and weather.

I live in semirural GA. Work would be in Lakewood.

Then you’ll definitely hate it if you live in semi rural GA.

Phuq the Front Range.

IMHO, you'd be out of your mind.

You're going from semi-rural GA to a spot where 100's of thousands of Kalifornicators are running to get away from the liberal policies they helped to install, along with the whackos running the state.. and they're quickly accomplishing the same thing in CO, including taxing working people to death.

Look at it from another perspective. You've heard of "Follow the Money". Well, turn that around. Have you checked the salaries of state, county, and local govt workers in California? Different from where you're at, right? Where do you think the money for those salaries comes from? And, what do you think is going to happen when enough CA liberal leftist voters have completely saturated CO?

Their idea of low income housing is more than I can afford.

My condolences. Personally I wouldnt live there if they were paying me 250k a year.

Lakewood is a suburb to the west of the city of Denver. Not too bad considering. Colfax (Hwy 40) is a major road. As such it attracts transients of all sorts. Parts of Lakewood are nice, quiet, and have good size lots. A little of everything. Golden, Edgewater, and Wheat Ridge are possibilities. The southwest side of Denver is also a possibility for location, but not for public education. Denver used to have a requirement for city employees mandating they live in Denver. Many police, fire, and utility employees lived in southwest Denver.

Stay away from the city of Sheridan. Prices are low, but it's a dump. Englewood and Littleton are possibilities depending on your work and the house location.

Aurora, Thornton, Northglenn, Brighton, Commerce City, Parker, and most anything north of I-70 or east of I-25 will aggravate the crap out of your commute.

Good luck with your search.

Did y’all mention all the Dope dispensary’s there !

You'll find yourself takin' the midnight train,...

Cities With The Most Dispensaries
Marijuana Dispensaries Per 50,000
1. Missoula, Montana 18.1
2. Medford, Oregon 17.0
3. Pueblo, Colorado 16.6
4. Eugene, Oregon 16.1
5. Denver, Colorado 14.9

https://i0.wp.com/www.verilife.com/...State_of_Weed_Final.png?w=1200&ssl=1

Oklahoma has 9 cities in the top 30...!

All of the above is true. I have lived in the westside Denver suburbs since 1982. Lived in Colorado Springs and Pueblo for 3 years before that. Have lived as an adult in the Boston suburbs along the south shore also, just for comparison sake. The growth along the Front Range since the 1970's has been appalling. There are bedroom subdivisions even being built 80 miles east of Denver in Deer Trail! That said, if you avoid the newer, larger suburbs (built in the last 20 years, including Highlands Ranch) most older residential areas have multiple "pockets" of niceness surrounded by not so nice pockets. You can live on a nice quiet tree lined block with good neighbors, and 3 blocks away the houses are trashed, and the neighbors similar. At least the older neighborhoods have more than 10 feet between houses, and front and back yards bigger than a postage stamp. So, especially in the Lakewood area, you can find a nice place to live that will not stagger you with its price. You just have to look and get lucky. Even modest rental houses are commanding $2K per month rent, so buying now while the interest rates are historically low makes sense.

That said, if you live and work on the west side you can avoid the terrible traffic north/south on I-25, and can bypass the more intermittent heavy traffic east/west on I-70. The west side puts you 25 miles closer to the mountains. We have a dozen or so decent restaurants in Golden, Lakewood, and Wheatridge, and unless you want to splurge at a new and trendy restaurant downtown, you dont have to go there. I suspect the east side--meaning Aurora--has its nice "pockets" as well, I am just not familiar with them. Denver proper is for those of us who count themselves as "dazzling urbanites." The rich do just fine, but on your budget I would avoid it. It has some very nice neighborhoods, similar to areas in Marietta Georgia, but way too pricey, and you are subject to the liberal Denver city council which is like living in SFO or LAX. No AR's allowed to Denver residents.

If you are going to work at the Federal Center in Lakewood, I would look west from there. Go up into the foothills along 285, or 74, or 72 and see what you can find. Last of all, learn to avoid being on the roads during rush hour, or on the mountain highways on the weekends. Do your skiing, hunting and fishing during the week if at all possible. There is a lot of God's country here, it is just getting harder and harder to get to it.

I'm not thinking the Denver tourism association is going to be hunting any of you guys down to write pro-mos any time soon. LMAO

I lived just south of Denver from 1999-2006. It wasn't THAT bad. I moved back to the front range (north of Denver now) in 2012. It f!cking sucks now. The entire front range sucks. As soon as I can sell the house, we are out of CO for good. CO is run by California scum sucking liberal garbage. It's sad, but fact. The only thing that could save CO is a load of daisy cutters dropped strategically.

ETA - 100k here is LOW.

If your working on the west side, look further west. Idaho Springs is a cool little mountain town 30 miles west of Lakewood. If you can avoid peak traffic, easy 30 min commute. If not, might take an hour.

Boy, ain't that the truth, greenies everywhere.

You mean Eastern Colorado.

Yeah, sure - in the summer

I’ve just visited a couple of times in the last few years and coming from semi rural Georgia you will be shocked by what a chithole the front range is and what un mitigated arseholes the Californians are. I don’t think I met any actual natives. The brown air is real ! Driving into the Denver metro area is like driving into a tailpipe. Unless this is a forced move by some kind of military commitment or a short term assignment with a big career payoff I’d say no way !

I have fond memories of Colorado from years ago but moving out of the "front range"was the best thing I've done in years.
You really need to look at Craigslist for apartments and homes for rent in the burbs, Lakewood, Arvada, Wheatridge, Littleton, Aurora.
Know what you're getting into, it's not gonna be easy on a single income.

My sincere condolences............................

MM

I grew up in CO. My family homesteaded in CO before the Civil War. I was born in 63 and it was a great place to grow up in. I still have family in CO. You could not pay me to ever live there again. I don't even like going back to visit. The CO of my misbegotten cowboy youth is extinct. What exists there now is an eastern province of CA.