Which of these areas/cities is best for my criteria? (Denver: buy, living)

[dtmoss14]

I want a fairly isolated, forested/mountainous area with a nice downtown. It can't be more than 1 hour away from Denver.

Some places I was thinking of are:

Golden and Boulder

Bailey

Ken Caryl

Evergreen

Lafayette

Grand Lake

Allenspark

Idaho Springs

Estes Park

Manitou Springs

Monument



Thanks for the input!

[onthamove]

all those places work for you really i mean they are all in the mountains and forested, i personally like evergreen but idaho springs isnt too much further from the metro area

[Idunn]

Geography narrows down your list considerably.

Ken Caryl and Lafayette are not in the mountains. To this you might also add Golden, Boulder and possibly Monument. Golden and Boulder are on the edge of the mountains, so maybe close enough for you. Monument is forested and has the appearance, but not really in mountains.

You can count out Grand Lake and Manitou Springs because no way you're reaching Denver in an hour from either. Estes Park would be pushing it; the drive longer than an hour but to north Denver perhaps close enough for you. And you could add Allenspark to the later category.

As for the rest, it really depends on where in Denver you must be. For instance, Monument or Bailey could work for you unless the commute traversing Denver to someplace on the north side of town. Then, forget it.

As much of this possibly speculation at this stage, advise you try some actual driving and see what you think. For one thing each of these communities is different and in cost and much else you'll have a far better idea of what suites you from the ground.

Best of luck.

[sunsprit]

Isolated, mountainous ... and with a downtown commercial area not further than 1 hour away from Denver?

Does NOT exist.

You may find an isolated piece of property in the foothills, say up 285 heading to Conifer ... that would meet most of your needs, perhaps Indian Hills, or a place in the hills West of Golden ,.. but there won't be a downtown shopping district on your doorstep. Maybe along the I-70 corridor, by Lookout Mountain or Evergreen ... but a lot depends upon what you consider "isolated" ....

[Katarina Witt]

I join the throng to say, "does not exist". Golden and Boulder do have their own downtowns; I haven't been to downtown Golden in a long time, don't know what's there (I think not a lot for necessities of daily living). Boulder's can support all your needs, but is almost an hour from Denver itself. Nederland is ~ 1/2 hr west of Boulder. Does not have much of a downtown where you can actually buy anything you need, e.g. clothes. You can buy groceries there. Would be close to 2 hr to Denver. Estes Park is ~ 1/2 hr from Boulder; also close to 2 hrs from Denver.

[alroman]

What about Morrison?

[kristenfromdenver]

If you don't need the extreme in isolation you could find a place more isolated in Golden, Idaho Springs or Evergreen. Depends how close you need to be to the town's downtown area. Morrison is also quite adorable and pretty close to Denver

[dtmoss14]

Well I need to be fairly close to basic needs. (Restaurants, groceries etc...)

I don't need extreme isolation....

Evergreen looks nice.

So does Idaho Springs but I have heard it isn't a great place due to location and crime?