denver, burbs, rural, surrounding areas - let me get this straight (Colorado Springs: how much, school)

[PsyMom]

hi there everyone

i have been reading and reading and reading... there are many good threads here with much information...

i am from san diego, east county area... have lived in portland SE proper, phoenix both city, east county and rural suburb sprawl queen creek... i am currently living in the midwest and i have GOT to get out of here...

i just want to get one thing straight right now... in san diego, it is solid city all around the county until you get way out there... i could drive 1 1/2 north/south and still be in city/burbs... i could drive an hour or so east/west and still be in solid city/burbs... until you reach alpine and then it starts to become more rural in nature...

am i correct to assume it is the same around the denver area? how much solid civilization is there between denver and colorado springs? how much empty space is between denver and evergreen or all the way to golden?

thx

[Brian_M]

Evergreen is further West than Golden.... so you get a little break in the suburb in going from Golden to Evergreen. There's also space south of Castle Rock on down to CO Springs (with an interruption here and there).

That said, there's a good bit of 'green space' built into Denver/areas, along with some larger lots (Wheat Ridge has lots large enough to support a horse or two).

Denver is still very much a victim to urban sprawl. I remember driving from Denver to Golden in '92 when I was considering going to CO School of Mines, and noting that there was very much a separation between Denver and Golden (not now).

[bhcompy]

To the west of Denver, you're pretty much solid up until you get into the hills/mtns in my experience. But when you head south, east, or north(somewhat) you can be in a rural/semi-rural area pretty quick depending on where you're starting from. And as others mentioned, the build in green space makes you feel less walled in like you are in SD(or LA where I am). The Douglas County suburbs are good examples of this

[Mike from back east]

Between Denver and COLO SPGS there is a lot of open space, land that is set aside for no growth. Essentially nothing between Castle Rock and Monument, a distance of 20 miles, with the tiny exception of a small area called Larkspur.

Castle Rock is an outer burb of Denver metro area, has some open area around it, east and west of I-25.

Monument is an outer burb of COLO SPGS, with a good deal of open space around it.

[nvared]

Where are you living now in the midwest? I grew up in Kansas, and lived in Denver for awhile. You might want to check it out, because I think Denver has a midwestern feel to it. It reminds me a lot of Kansas City, MO except you can see mountains in Denver.

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by PsyMom

in san diego, it is solid city all around the county until you get way out there... i could drive 1 1/2 north/south and still be in city/burbs... i could drive an hour or so east/west and still be in solid city/burbs... until you reach alpine and then it starts to become more rural in nature...

I can't imagine where in San Diego you lived that you could drive 1.5 hours in any direction and not end up in either the Desert, the Ocean, Orange County, or Mexico.

As for Denver, drive an hour and a half and that will get you to either National Forest/Mountains (west), Prairie-land (east), Wyoming (north), or just south of DT Colorado Springs (south).

[tfox]

In practice, you don't really leave "civilization" at all on the front range corridor (I-25) from the south end of Pueblo all the way to Wellington, a town on the north end of Fort Collins. Yes, as Mike said there are a few islands of protected, open lands, like those 20 miles in between Castle Rock and Monument, and that open land is a great asset, but you never will get the impression that you've entered into wilderness. Even within Denver metro, there are some protected areas of open space, like Boulder County's greenbelt areas, Cherry Creek State Park, the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal wildelife refuge, and the former rocky flats open space areas, but again, these are mostly islands in a sea of development.

I-70, on the other hand, is not quite as built up. East of Denver International Airport, it's pretty wide open agricultural lands all the way to Topeka, Kansas, pretty much. West of Golden, once you're in the foothills and mountains proper, much of the land is protected national forest and open space lands, with small towns interspersed. While the I-70 corridor (and the parallel US-285 corridor) are still fairly built up compared to the rest of the Rocky Mountain West (at least within a couple hour radius of Denver), it's still quite a bit less developed than the front range corridor.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by nvared

Where are you living now in the midwest? I grew up in Kansas, and lived in Denver for awhile. You might want to check it out, because I think Denver has a midwestern feel to it. It reminds me a lot of Kansas City, MO except you can see mountains in Denver.

I grew up in KC and find Denver to be quite different. Actually, very different. Different (more pleasant) climate, better scenery, liberal leaning rather than conservative leaning, more of a big city feel, and minus the Midwestern accent. But it's not at all a bad place. I just don't feel they're very similar cities.

[PsyMom]

Originally Posted by treedonkey

I can't imagine where in San Diego you lived that you could drive 1.5 hours in any direction and not end up in either the Desert, the Ocean, Orange County, or Mexico.

As for Denver, drive an hour and a half and that will get you to either National Forest/Mountains (west), Prairie-land (east), Wyoming (north), or just south of DT Colorado Springs (south).

i grew up in santee when it was still mostly rural and there were cows across the street from me... lived in el cajon and la mesa/san carlos areas... and if i drove the speed limit, it was about twenty minutes to alpine and a half hour to the beach... so, about an hour from the beach to the mountains and there is civilization all along the way...
if i started at the mexico border and drove all the way up the coast to oceanside, it took an hour and forty five minutes driving the speed limit... and again, while there are parks and canyons undeveloped, it was still solid civilization all along the way....

i was just wondering because while i enjoy easy access to remote places, my family is not ready for truly rural living... we are in central illinois right now, in a small village outside of bloomington/normal...

mesa az, outside of phoenix, appealed to me, it was big and was a burby city, and i could drive half an hour one way and get to phoenix, and drive a half an hour the other way and get to the superstition mountains...

thanks everyone for your responses... i am looking to move in two months with a family of six...

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by treedonkey

I can't imagine where in San Diego you lived that you could drive 1.5 hours in any direction and not end up in either the Desert, the Ocean, Orange County, or Mexico.

As for Denver, drive an hour and a half and that will get you to either National Forest/Mountains (west), Prairie-land (east), Wyoming (north), or just south of DT Colorado Springs (south).

I just checked this on google maps. From downtown Denver to Cheyenne, Wy, right across the border, is 104 miles, takes 1hr 43 min. Not as far as I thought, but you're in city/suburban area practially the whole time. (See tfox's post.)