Quality of life/climb/balance Boulder VS Denver
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Hey guys, any advice appreciated. I'm moving from Oklahoma to the denver/boulder area and wondering about opinions on the vibe and proximity to climbing in both these areas. |
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Bravo Foxtrot wrote: It’s all an enormous metro area....doesn’t really matter, in terms of access, whether your van parking is in “denver” or “Boulder”. The eastern suburbs are farther from the mountains and some of the climbing, the western ones are closer. Boulder is expensive and has a unique vibe. Denver is also expensive, perhaps slightly less so, and also has a unique vibe. There is world class climbing every 20 miles along the front range from south of Colorado Springs all the way to Fort Collins depending on what you like. Boulder is likely going to feel like the epicenter of that but the reality is, there are dozens of places to live all of which have 20 minute access to some terrific climbing and 40 min access to all the rest of it. I don’t live in a van but I would guess that the communities like boulder and golden are going to be better for van life than Denver proper. Also, the foothills are starved for skilled labor. Contractors and handy-man services are 6 months booked so if you want to lay tile or do cabinetry, you should have no trouble finding that kind of work. And who cares about gym access unless you want a membership so you can cop a free shower. You can climb here year round, outside, regardless of COVID, essentially for free. Good luck. well put, and yeah im trying to dial in my shower beta especially considering COVID and using public spaces. |
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They both suck, SLC is the new Boulder |
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Not Not MP Admin wrote: They both suck, SLC is the new Boulder i know man! so ive heard. many a people on the road have told me about such land. And then theres bishop... fucking paradise. But right now im thinking CO. What about air quality in SLC? |
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Bravo Foxtrot wrote: The simple answer to your question is probably Boulder...unless you really want a downtown city-living experience. Of course, if an apartment in Lakewood is all you can afford, you are still no more than 30 mins from several, legendarily good climbing areas. will be camping in the van till the winter. Is lakewood like 5-700$? |
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Bravo Foxtrot wrote: I honestly have no real idea Beyond what Zillow and a sense for the neighborhoods will tell me. Lakewood was just a quick and dirty example of a west-side suburb...like wheat ridge, or Arvada, that will be cheaper than Boulder but also within minutes of the downtown AND of Eldo, Clear Creek, North Table Mountain, the flatirons, etc. on the other hand, the dynamic is different in Boulder, because of the university and the high prices, so finding a shared house might actually be easier there. I’d be surprised if you could find a single-dweller home or apartment for anywhere close to $5-700 but I also don’t know what your expectations are so, maybe. In my experience, living all over the country for the last 30 years, anywhere Denver to the west coast is going to seem shockingly expensive compared to anywhere else in the country except the major east coast metro areas. The deeper you are willing to go into the southwest Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, West Texas, the more reasonable the prices... but the climbing and culture can vary a bit, obviously. Your mileage may vary on all of this. It’s easy to sit here and opine without having any real skin in the game. SLC is an outdoorsman paradise, Boise is remarkably cool and not overwhelmed with itself yet. Tucson is terrific. Portland and Seattle are both pure rubbish...overpriced, overcrowded, full of themselves in every way...kinda like the Denver metro. Dude i know. I lived in bellevue outside of seattle for a winter season and i was like "BLACK HOLE SUN, WHY DON'T YOU COME, AND WASH AWAY THE RAIIIINNN" every god damn day. Good gyms though. Shitty van life. |
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Tristan Bradford wrote: Police/camping: Living in a van parked on the streets in boulder is already difficult. Anything bringing even more attention to your van is not going to work in your favor. Home owners here aren't into it. (don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger) People who live near public land aren't into it either, and the public land is not quite near town. City parks near the TH's are also monitored and closed between 11pm and 5am for parking. Hopefully you've seen, https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/111085217/car-camping-and-van-dwelling-in-boulderBest idea is maybe to find a shared place to live. Home Depot is hiring. Other than that, it's kind of a nightmare out there to find a job. The city furloughed 70% of its own workforce. Dunno about prices in the Denver 'burbs, but housing is crazy expensive, everywhere. |
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Tristan Bradford wrote: Slightly worse than Denver's. They were on a air quality warning just the other day. Denver's current problem is that more people are moving there than it can hold/sustain. Boulder has great air quality, but then you live in Boulder... |
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You're looking at Boulder for sure. The van life thing is a bit sketchy but lots of people I know make it work. Unless you want suburban sprawl or quasi-urban amenities, Denver is out. |
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To reiterate what someone said above, van life is getting harder and harder in and around Boulder. Simply too many people doing it and not being good at it. I know neighborhoods that used to be easy and are being cracked down on hard with ticketing and towing |
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ShireSmitty wrote: To reiterate what someone said above, van life is getting harder and harder in and around Boulder. Simply too many people doing it and not being good at it. I know neighborhoods that used to be easy and are being cracked down on hard with ticketing and towing It might be in part people being shitty at living van life in Boulder, but Boulder is also becoming increasingly intolerant of poor people, diverse people, working class people, eccentric people etc etc. The city is really making excellent strides towards cementing itself as an exclusive enclave for the rich white trustafarian with no day job (co-mingled with an occasional bay-area tech worker or cannabis exec). And those types are sickened by the sight of people living in vans. |
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Mike McKinnon wrote: Grand Junction. Cheap, not crowded and close to amazing climbing. It might suck to be 21 in that town though Cause of the geezers? |
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jason.cre wrote:I agree with all of this, except thinking that this is new. The city is really making excellent strides towards cementing itself as an exclusive enclave for the rich white trustafarian with no day job (co-mingled with an occasional bay-area tech worker or cannabis exec). And those types are sickened by the sight of people living in vans. This isn't quite the scenario, as there's a 25,000 student body in town. More and more students have to commute from the 'burbs to the campus, which: that's sounds crazy to me, but it can't be everyone. Also with COVID no one is going to really need to be on campus. Perhaps this will drastically change the way CU operates in the next few years. |