summitt wrote:
Tri2HaveFun wrote:
I live in Colorado Springs and it meets everything on your list except for maybe #3. I'm not familiar with the local pay rate for your fields. If you can find the right job this is a great place. I moved here from the Chicago area 37 years ago. Traffic is starting to be a problem, but nothing compared to what it was like in Chicago...even 37 years ago. We have a decent triathlon community despite no local races. Biking is good, both road and MTB. Running is awesome and there are a good number of world class trail runners. Economy is stable, education is good. Plenty of access to the mountains and skiing without going through the crowded Denver area.
Fort Collins is great as well. It's like what Colorado Springs was about 40 years ago.
I live south of Denver and Denver has become a traffic nightmare. I agree with the other poster that something should have been done 20 years ago. I went to the mountains this past weekend and we left around noon to come back and traffic, while moving slowly, was pretty much bumper to bumper from the tunnel to the front range. Denver was great 20-30 years ago and now is just sprawl and too many people have moved here. When I retire, I'm moving to the other side of the mountains, maybe Durango, Steamboat or western slope.
If skiing along the I70 corridor isn't important, then I would suggest Fort Collins. Springs in nice by the Broadmoor and a few other places.
Truth. I lived in the Vail area back in the 90's when you could drive to a Denver and back in under 2 hrs each way.
I spent all last week working out of Denver and traveled from Ft Collins to C springs. Traffic is horrible 24/7. I couldn't move there and deal with the congestion.
We drove to Durango on Friday morning via 285. One lane of steady traffic all the way to the Salida turn and then thinned a little to Alamosa turn. My son goes to school in Durango. That is a hard place to get to and not very big. Housing isn't cheap either, so I don't know that it meets many of your requirements.
We came back thru Alamosa and Pueblo to avoid the traffic as much as possible. That seems like a decent area. Also Grand Junction would be pretty high on my list if CO was calling.
Another poster mentioned Missoula or Bozeman. Both are excellent options, but Those are polar opposites on the political spectrum. So know which way you lean before putting them on your list.