Well... it looks like Maude and I are moving to Denver. I have lived in LA/OC/SD most of my life (other than MI and TX and a few stints abroad), but this does look quite permanent. One thing about LA is that you can always move away, but moving back tends to bite people in the ass... Anyway, we will try not to Californicate Colorado as much as we can...

Background - we are outdoor fanatics (hiking, climbing, running, camping, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, biking, hunting, sailing, kayak, scuba, canoe, etc) - pretty much anything that doesn't require gasoline and we enjoy it... and even then...

My top 10 questions are the following (and I realize this is the internet and I need to distill most of the information to some degree, but it will be interesting to see what comes up):

- where do you live within Denver?
- do we need two cars? do I need 4X4 or AWD?
- what are taxes like?
- how bad are the winters?
- I assume outdoor activities are everywhere, but do you have to work hard to avoid the crowds (like in CA)?
- any culture in Denver (museums, art scene, theatre, etc)?
- are there climbing clubs/associations that can introduce us to the area (as opposed to stumbling through the Rockies with my SP printouts)? what are the people like?
- any republicans left in CO?
- can I still be a Lakers fan?
- anything else I should know?

Thanks for your help. If some of my questions are phrased wierd, please don't think anything of that. Im not really an internet kind of person and this is actually the only site I "belong" to. I've been informed that we're moving and these are the few things that have been rolling around in my head. Nothing really that important, I just thought it might help out. Thanks again!

I live in Littleton or SW Denver. Prefer this side of town for the access to the mountains. I don't know if you'd need 2 cars or not. I find it easier to have 2. 4X4 is not a necessity but certainly comes in handy when you want to go up into the backcountry. I don't consider the winters to be bad. Living in the foothills sometimes get s you a little bit more snow than the city but when the sun comes out things melt away pretty quick. If you live at a higher elevation it can hang around for a little longer. The mountains always have good snowfall. I don't think I would call it fighting the crowds but there are places where you will have to deal with people. I-70 into and out of the mountains is horrible on the weekends no matter what time of year. Plan to leave early or sit in traffic. Dowtown Denver has culture. I belong to the Colorado mountain club and have had great success with meeting new people for outdoor activities. There's supposedly republicans left here but they seem to be few and far between. Sure be a Lakers fan, but you'll probably have to become a Broncos fan. Hope this helps a little Good luck.

Dude, I don't live in Denver but have family and friends there so I spend time there whenever I can. It is a great city. I would buy a 4wd/awd but if you didn't need it in Cali, you may not in CO. But there will be more places you can reach if you do. I am happy to say that there are indeed Republicans in CO. ..and you can always be a Lakers fan, especially after moving away. Good luck with everything.

I grew up in SoCal but lived in Denver for 4 years. I like the western part of the metro area better than the eastern part.

The winters are mild compared to much of the country. Although snow is common in the winter it is also very nice (50s) much of the time. There are usually only a few weeks of temps below zero in the winter. The spring is my favorite time of year when there are thunderstorms and snow storms.

Avoiding the crowds is easy. There are many places close to Denver which are seldom visited. As long as you stay away from the front range 14ers you will miss the crowds.

14ers.com is a great resource. It has a very active forum, I have hiked with a few people from there. They also have great directions and info on the 14ers.

You should not be a basketball fan period

"Anything else I should know"
The Broncos suck

Dude,

Best wishes to you and your family on your pending move. Here's my 2 cents:

- where do you live within Denver? Can't help you here, I don't like big cities.
- do we need two cars? do I need 4X4 or AWD? Don't know about the 2 cars, that's up to you and your family, but I could not imagine being an outdoors person in CO without a high-clearance 4x4. For that matter, in an Albuquerque low, getting to the grocery makes at least AWD mandatory...then again, I live at 7,600 ft. on the Palmer Divide, so my perspective is a bit different.
- what are taxes like? Depends on where you live: Incorporated, unincorporatated, etc.
- how bad are the winters? The winter weather comes in fits and starts. Yeah, we might get a big snow dump...yeah, the overnight lows quite frequently go below zero. But, yeah, it also might be sunny and 63 degrees in January.
- I assume outdoor activities are everywhere, but do you have to work hard to avoid the crowds (like in CA)? Staying away from I-70 might be your biggest challenge in avoiding crowds.
- any culture in Denver (museums, art scene, theatre, etc)? Again, not a city person - will defer to someone else to provide input on this topic.
- are there climbing clubs/associations that can introduce us to the area (as opposed to stumbling through the Rockies with my SP printouts)? what are the people like? The CMC is nice, but if you are anywhere right of far left of center, you'll learn to avoid political conversations with other members.
- any republicans left in CO? Visit El Paso county, south of Denver. Denver Bumper Sticker: Obama: Change you can believe it. El Paso County Bumper Sticker: I'll keep my guns, my money and my freedom. You can keep the "Change." You get the point.

Cheers and safe moving,

Sarah

see below. Have lived both in Boulder & No/SoCal. Considering moving back to CO in the fall.

The Dude wrote:Well... it looks like Maude and I are moving to Denver. I have lived in LA/OC/SD most of my life (other than MI and TX and a few stints abroad), but this does look quite permanent. One thing about LA is that you can always move away, but moving back tends to bite people in the ass... Anyway, we will try not to Californicate Colorado as much as we can...

Background - we are outdoor fanatics (hiking, climbing, running, camping, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, biking, hunting, sailing, kayak, scuba, canoe, etc) - pretty much anything that doesn't require gasoline and we enjoy it... and even then...

My top 10 questions are the following (and I realize this is the internet and I need to distill most of the information to some degree, but it will be interesting to see what comes up):

- where do you live within Denver?
- do we need two cars? do I need 4X4 or AWD?
- what are taxes like?
Less than CA though Larimer Co is reaming me on property tax b/c I have vacant land.
- how bad are the winters?
Depends. Sometimes you'll get the snow dump followed by 60F days. Sometime the snow lingers for weeks.
- I assume outdoor activities are everywhere, but do you have to work hard to avoid the crowds (like in CA)?
I found a lot of the CO trails often more crowded than CA. Stay off the trade routes and you'll do fine.
- any culture in Denver (museums, art scene, theatre, etc)?
Denver has a great up and coming arts scene. Check out the Santa Fe district's First Fridays event. Also CU Boulder has a great international film series.
- are there climbing clubs/associations that can introduce us to the area (as opposed to stumbling through the Rockies with my SP printouts)? what are the people like?
Colorado Mt Club; Also American Alpine Club has their office in Golden so there are plentiful events. I just picked up some Latitude 40 topo maps and the CO Scrambles book and did my own exploring. Can't speak too much to Denver but Boulder residents tend to lean toward the ultracompetitive side.
- any republicans left in CO?
Take a field trip to the megachurches of CO Springs.
- can I still be a Lakers fan?
- anything else I should know?
When I lived in Boulder I missed the cheap, plentiful produce and diversity of ethnic restaurants of CA. There are some hidden restaurants around Denver you just have to dig.

Thanks for your help. If some of my questions are phrased wierd, please don't think anything of that. Im not really an internet kind of person and this is actually the only site I "belong" to. I've been informed that we're moving and these are the few things that have been rolling around in my head. Nothing really that important, I just thought it might help out. Thanks again!

- where do you live within Denver?

Southwest/Littleton area, close to access to the mountains and local hiking trails. Lots of local recreation activities. Grew up and have lived here all of my life (save for two years in Ouray and a year in Colorado Springs). West side is better, certainly for fast access to the mountains. Live on the west side and it could be another hour's worth of city driving when coming home from the mountains, depending on where you live.

- do we need two cars? do I need 4X4 or AWD?

2 cars is a good idea, though not mandeatory.

- what are taxes like?

Taxes are higher in Denver than in surrounding cities, although they're catching up. Denver picks up trash and has recycling. It's no compensation for the higher taxes, but it's nice (beats looking for a trash company to haul your shit away).

- how bad are the winters?

This is a matter of perspective and I'm not a good one to answer this question as I hate winter. I grew up in it, climbed mountains in it, worked in it. I've grown tired of it. To be fair, I agree with statements above. Denver has nice winters compared to other places. If you're not crazy about snow (some times lots of it), you might not like it here.

- I assume outdoor activities are everywhere, but do you have to work hard to avoid the crowds (like in CA)?

Certain places can be crowded at certain times, but it is not an overwhelming factor like CA.

- any culture in Denver (museums, art scene, theatre, etc)?

Denver is brimming with culture. You'll be overwhelmed at the opportunities. There's always something going on, if not in Denver, then in one of the other cities that make up the metro area.

- are there climbing clubs/associations that can introduce us to the area (as opposed to stumbling through the Rockies with my SP printouts)? what are the people like?

As mentioned above, folks really like the Colorado Mountain Club. There are several local based websites that are very good. 14erWorld and 14ers.com are highly recommended.

- any republicans left in CO?

Colorado is still a conservative republican state, outside of the metro area centers. Colorado Springs is a regilgious center and quite conservative for a city of its size. Western Colorado, with the exeption of Aspen and maybe Telluride to a smaller degree, are still strong Republican/conservative.

- can I still be a Lakers fan?

Don't know about that, but Denver is a big sports town. I'm not much in to sports, but yeah, the Broncos suck. If you like sports, Denver will love you.

- anything else I should know?

Denver's rush hour can suck just as bad as any other city's (though it's nothing compared to a "mild" gridlock in CA). Get a job that avoids rush hour commutes.

Awesome advice!

Its funny, I was worried about produce. Funny someone brought that up

Sounds like Littleton? Anything bad with Littleton?

No, Littleton is great. Close access to the 285 which runs through South Park

I live in Denver, not far from downtown and West of I-25. This is as far from the mountains that I care to live. Ideally I would much rather live closer to the mountains. I have 2 cars, both being 2wd. I get around just fine, but It's irritating not having a 4wd. There are many places I cannot go that I would love to go, so it restricts my hiking to some level. As far as staying away from the busy areas, stay away from the 14ers and a few select 13ers on weekends. Other then that you could hike up any 13er, or 12er on any given weekend and see 0-10 people heading up the same mountain. 14ers save for the week days.
Some of the mountains you want to stay away from on weekends are: James Peak, Mount Audubon, Mount Sniktau and in the Gore Range Buffalo Mountain and also Herman Gulch.

As far as sports, stick with the teams you already root for! It makes it interesting arguing with the die hard Colorado Team only sports fans here. A little bit of controversy to stir things up is always fun.

This thread might be helpful:

http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB2/viewto ... ght=denver

harryquach wrote:No, Littleton is great. Close access to the 285 which runs through South Park

i have some friends in littleton - they like it. My spin is that what you gain with being close to the 285 corridor you giveup with access to the northern sector - (RMNP and Poudre Canyon, etc). I lived in Arvada for quite a while (NW suburb) and liked it real well. I was close to I-70 for access to Summit County as well as pretty close to 285. Had good access to downtown and could get to the northern mountain sectors easily as well.

hmmm... lots of good stuff here. I haven't been to Denver in years and most of the time I spent there was in college heavily over-served so my memory and actual reality might be a little off... looks like im going to have to beat the pavement and get a feel for the layout and see what comes about. I like the Littleton idea, but the NW Denver idea has its perks too...

Thanks again everyone for your help and great ideas. Looking forward to making the move. See you out there!