Turns out there’s a significant chance I’ll be moving to Denver come October, because I have a job offer there*. I’ve passed through Denver a couple times, but have never spent much time there.
What’s the public transportation like? I don’t have a car, and I’d really like not to buy one. I have no idea where I’d be living or what sort of commute I’d have, but generally speaking, is the bus system comprehensive enough to live comfortably car-free?
And, speaking of living and commuting…how’s the housing situation? My number one priority is affordability, because I’ll just be getting a (tiny) living stipend and not an actual paycheck. Is it possible to find a cheap place to rent that’s not in a dangerous neighborhood?
And finally - I dunno, tell me about the city. Is it a nice place to live? I know I like mountains and I’m well aware of how, uh, exciting the weather can be living at high altitude, so I know about the snow and the inevitable sunburn and getting to laugh at tourists as the pant their way up a flight of stairs. Is there a decent social scene for us younger folks? Anything I should know to think about in terms of whether I want to spend a year there or not?
*Apparently assuming that a particular government agency gets the full Americorps grant that they’re expecting, and unless I get something else I’ve applied for.
I liked living in Denver, I was actually over in Golden but same thing.
Public transportation is ok; there is a light rail and ok bus coverage but I don’t know too many people that use it mainly because you need a car to get into the mountains easily. There are busses up to some of the ski resorts but they are crowded.
Housing has come down substantially and depending which of the suburbs you live in it’s quite possible to live in a nice place cheaply. Hell, if you’re in the area I own a condo that I rent out in Golden ($900/month for 1000 sqft, 3 bed, 2 bath).
Denver is consistently ranked as one of the best cities for singles and young people. The downtown bar seen is pretty good and getting to a sporting event is ridiculously easy. As long as you like being outdoors there is great stuff to do year round.
My only complaint with Denver is that it is a big city and while it is my favorite of them there are just too many people for me and even getting away from the city there are still a lot of people. One thing to keep in mind about Denver is the weather changes right about every half hour, so if you don’t like what it is go inside and take a nap it’ll be different when you come out.
The RTD system is pretty good throughout the Denver metro area, though it also depends on where exactly you’d be (granted that you don’t know that yet)–that is, by “Denver” do you mean the literal city of Denver or somewhere in the vast and sprawling suburbs (Artist’s conception of Denver 50 years from now)?
When I was in college, and shortly thereafter, I lived in Boulder, which was an incredibly fun city and definitely commutable. I had 1) a nice studio I was paying $500 for and 2) absolutely no need of a car. What you can’t take a bus to you can bike to very easily. Things are slightly different elsewhere; in Aurora, for instance, the public transit is still ok (pretty much all busses) but I’d say it’s somewhere between “difficult” and “not worth it” to get by completely without a car and the city apparently pays a bounty for pedestrian skins or something because it’s hard to walk in, too.
You get used to the weather pretty fast, I think (though the pechant for “sunny t-shirt weather” immediately followed by “several inches of snow” can be a bit jarring) but the area in general is quite nice, especially if you do like the mountains. I decided to make my fortune on the West Coast and left Colorado for San Francisco. I made it… fourteen months? I think, before I decided I had to come back.
I live in a northern suburb of Denver (Northglenn) and work in a Western/Southern suburb (Lakewood.) Public transportation is not too bad as long as you’re not going far, but the sprawl around here is unbelievable, and it can take quite a bit of time to get from one side of town to the other, even if you have a car. If I decided to take public transportation to work, I’m looking at a 1.5 to 2 hour trip (it’s about 20 minutes by car, 30-40 if it’s rush hour.) Personally, I can’t imagine living here without a car, but that may just be me.
I honestly don’t know much about the housing market - I’ve been in my current apartment for five or six years now - I’m not terribly happy with it, but my current life circumstances are not conducive to moving (husband’s unemployed, my job situation is in flux.) I’m under the impression that it’s not much better or worse than most other places.
Despite all that, I love living here. I love the HUUUGE sky and the variable weather and the absolute lack of humidity. Depending on what exactly you’re looking for, downtown Denver has a good nightlife with lots of clubs and restaurants and whatnot in relatively safe environs. We have some excellent cultural venues (Denver Art Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver Zoo, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, etc.) and some of the best scenery on earth.
I lived in Denver for 2 years. About 3 months in to moving there - I was in a car accident and chose not to buy a new one. Getting around Denver is very doable - but there are definite good and bad sides of town.
And everyone is right, there is definitely more definition needed to what “Denver” you are talking about. I started in Thornton, which is actually also considered by USPS to be “Denver” but is definitely the 'burbs. When I had my car wreck, I moved near Cherry Creek and was able to get on the RTD quite easily.
You can buy a monthly pass online - although you need to map your routes to see which one you really need.
If you live just near Chery Creek like I did - there are a lot of apartment complexes, and therefore pricing is pretty competitive. But Cherry Creek itself can be pretty pricey. You get what you pay for. And I don’t scare easy.
Nightlife is what you make it - always something to do if you get out and go. I recommend meetup.com to help you make some new friends fast . . .
It is beautiful. And definitely worth the experience. Enjoy!
I live here now. Well, I live in PARKER which is South South East metro area, but I work smack dab in the middle of Downtown. I use Light Rail and LOVE it, especially since my employer is a part of the Eco Pass program. I essentially pay $450 for a 12 month unlimited pass. I figure it saves me $2500-$3500 a year in gas, wear, and parking for my downtown job. But coverage is really hot and cold. If you’re on one of the corridors, you could easily get along without a car, and there’s a lot of new apartment construction on those corridors advertising just that.
I don’t know what your income is, and I don’t know what those apartments go for, so that’s research you need to do.
Denver is sometimes just a little too cold, and sometimes just a little too hot, but otherwise a STELLAR place to live. 300+ sunshine days a year and more than enough to keep a person entertained. But it IS a big city, and there’s good and bad and expensive and cheap sides to it.
Color me surprised that you can live in Denver without a car. Maybe if you lived and worked in the same place, or lived and worked on a rail line, but getting anywhere else seems like it would be an incredible pain.
I moved to Denver right after college because I wanted a city where I didn’t need a car, and it worked well. (This was in the 70s BTW.) Public transportation is good, not great, but there were and are a lot of bike routes. In the years since I moved here many of these have been coopted by rollerbladers and people with jogging strollers but there are still a lot of miles with no auto traffic, and the buses now let you hang your bike on them for a bus/ (or train/)bike commute.
I did not have a car from 1973-78, and no family car from 1992-94 (this was with a husband and two kids; however, my husband was a professional driver and had access to his work vehicle if we needed a lift). If you live in the central city–that is to say, Denver or Glendale, and not out in the 'burbs, you’re not more than a few blocks from a bus or the light rail, and generally within walking distance of grocery stores and other shopping. I have a couple of friends who live in the inner city and have never owned a car. Without a car, you do sometimes depend on friends for rides, and of course we rented cars to go traveling within the state–not that you have to, there’s a ski train.
Housing: The cheaper places are in the aforementioned burbs but I see lots of vacancy signs on apartments and houses in my neighborhood. Some of them offer one month’s free rent, so it looks like housing is available.
There’s not really a “bad” side of town. There are neighborhoods with more crime, but within those neighborhoods are blocks with neighborhood watch and blocks with crack houses. I lived on a block that went very bad, just a couple of blocks away from million-dollar homes (my block recovered, but it was a bad time).
Lots of night life. I’m out of that loop so can’t really comment.
From my perspective, it never gets hot enough here. This is not a plus. But it’s rarely bitterly cold, either.
Denver is one of the places I’ve considered moving in the very near future. It has everything I want (stuff to do, hockey to watch, single women to ogle) and very little from what I can tell of what I don’t want. I’m in a profession where I can work nearly anywhere, so long as I speak the language.
So what’s the single scene like if you’re 40(ish)??
i was 33ish to 35ish when i lived there - and a “fluffy” (read: fat) woman. And even though my 1st roommate told me that Denver was full of fitness freaks and I would be out of my element - I never had a problem getting dates.
I used yahoo personals - and regularly had 200-300 profiles to scroll through of “matches” - and most that i contacted responded.
I used OKCupid to find my Dewey out here in NC and he’s been an angel (cue choral music) so I’m not sure - but y’know - I think you’ll be fine
