Moving to CO

[ViperGeorge]

I currently live in MA and am the New England VCA's Event Coordinator. I've just received a great job offer from a firm located in Cherry Creek. It is a job that I will accept. So I'd like to ask some questions of members of the CO club.

First, if I work in Cherry Creek, where should I look to live? I don't mind driving up to 30 minutes (rush hour 30 minutes) but would like some privacy and a lot of garage space. At least three but more would be great. A nearby Viper tech would be nice.

Cars that I currently have include a 2008 Stock Viper Convertible, a 2006 Paxtonized Viper Coupe with Corsa exhaust and one OEM cat, a 1968 Shelby GT350, a 1955 Tbird, a 2007 stock supercharged Saleen S281, and a new 2011 Grand Cherokee. I may very well sell the 06 to buy a new ACR.

How tough is CO vehicle inspection? Do they bust your chops over mods? Are there certain shops to got to that are better than others?

Does CO have income tax? How expensive are vehicle registration fees? What about insurance?

What events does the CO club hold? My wife and I have been active in the NE Club and would like to continue our involvement.

Any other suggestions? I look forward to meeting you all.

 

[LifeIsGood]

I've only lived here for 3 years, so my knowledge of the area isn't the greatest...hopefully some others will also chime in...

Cherry Creek is an older area of Denver. It's pretty central and only a few miles from downtown (professional sports, museums, concerts, nice restaurants, etc). My suggestion would be to find a real estate agent. I will call the agent that we used to see if she is knowledgeable of that area.

The only viper tech that I know here is Glynn Pribbenow (cell 303 910-1925) and he is currently at Broadway Dodge which is about 10 miles from Cherry Creek.

I'm going to have my first inspection in about a month since adding Belanger headers and a Corsa exhaust...I'll let you know how it goes.

In my opinion...fees, insurance and income tax aren't high here...seem to be middle of the road...more than in Alabama, which is where I moved from, but still not high.

Here is the link to our 2010 events calendar...

2010 Colorado/Utah/Wyoming VCA Event Schedule

 

[ViperGeorge]

Lifeisgood, thank you for the reply and link to your region's calendar. I'll look forward to meeting you when I get settled in. How many of your region's members are going to VOI? Maybe I can meet some of them there.

Thanks also for offering to contact your real estate agent, the company will however provide me with one but I think it would be good to be able to focus their search a bit. Is the Viper Tech you named good? That would be an important consideration for me in terms of location.

How did you find the transition from AL to CO? Are you happy you moved?

George

 

[Detlef]

Hey George,

I moved here from California and other than the occasional snowy winter, I have had no regrets. Modded cars can have problems with emissions in Denver. Currently where I live there are no emission testing but talk about it coming back. However I am over an hour north of Denver so farther than you are willing to commute.

I think at least 12 cars are going to VOI from CO. Look us up in SLC as we are the regional hosts for this event.

 

[LifeIsGood]

How many of your region's members are going to VOI? Maybe I can meet some of them there.

As Detlef (VP of our region) mentioned, there a number of Colorado members attending the upcoming VOI.

Is the Viper Tech you named good? That would be an important consideration for me in terms of location.

I've only used him to inspect my viper before purchasing it. He was very thorough. He comes highly recommended by other members.

How did you find the transition from AL to CO? Are you happy you moved?

There is good and bad in all moves. We like the weather here (less humidity) and the winter sports are fun, but leaving so many friends behind has been tough.

I'm sure the real estate agent you get will fill you in on stuff, but here is a few things...

The north facing side of all houses won't get much/any sun during the winter, so the snow/ice won't melt very easily. Once the sun hits the snow/ice anywhere else, it melts very quickly. The reason I mention this is because if your driveway faces north, then you will have to shovel it, get a snow thrower or have a snow removal contract with a local company. It won't melt on it's own for a very long time.

The views will depend on how close you are to the foothills. We live on the southwest side of town and can only see the foothills. You have to live a little further away from the foothills (east) to get views of the real mountains.

 

[Boxer12]

I have lived in CO for 25 of the past 30 years, and recently am moving back from Indiana. I have been looking for homes with garage space for my 'collection' as well. It is not easy to find close in to the city unless you are willing to spend the money. If $2-3 mil is in your price range, you can look in the Cherry Hills or Denver Country Club areas, and will surely find a nice home with a nice 4 car garage. I work in Cherry Creek and can get to my office in 40 min from Evergreen (where I am looking, in the mountains). There are two tracks, both are far East (Byers and Limon). (Saudi)Aurora [named for its lack of trees] is to the East, and is the third largest city in Denver. Lots of new transplants have moved into the Stapleton area, newly rebuilt where the old airport used to reside, where houses range from low $100's to multi-millions. Metro Denver is made up of several counties, all with their own makeup. Denver County is liberal Democratic and has the highest tax rates. Jefferson Cty (West), Adams (North), and Douglas (South) are conservative Republican. Arapahoe (East) is middle of the road. Other than that, then I need more details to make a recommendation.

 

[ViperGeorge]

I have lived in CO for 25 of the past 30 years, and recently am moving back from Indiana. I have been looking for homes with garage space for my 'collection' as well. It is not easy to find close in to the city unless you are willing to spend the money. If $2-3 mil is in your price range, you can look in the Cherry Hills or Denver Country Club areas, and will surely find a nice home with a nice 4 car garage. I work in Cherry Creek and can get to my office in 40 min from Evergreen (where I am looking, in the mountains). There are two tracks, both are far East (Byers and Limon). (Saudi)Aurora [named for its lack of trees] is to the East, and is the third largest city in Denver. Lots of new transplants have moved into the Stapleton area, newly rebuilt where the old airport used to reside, where houses range from low $100's to multi-millions. Metro Denver is made up of several counties, all with their own makeup. Denver County is liberal Democratic and has the highest tax rates. Jefferson Cty (West), Adams (North), and Douglas (South) are conservative Republican. Arapahoe (East) is middle of the road. Other than that, then I need more details to make a recommendation.

Thanks, great info. While the new job is great I think that $2-3 million is a bit out of my range (like way out). Given this I likely won't be looking in the immediate Cherry Creek area except maybe for a rental until I do find something to buy. Of course maybe I will just rent long term and keep my house in MA which I love. My wife will want to make frequent trips back east to visit my daughter who lives in Boston(I will go too when work permits) and this will give us a base of operations. Not to mention three more garages.

Our current home is 4 bedrooms, 3700 sqft, with a 3 car garage, and 2.6 acres. Most of the 2.6 acres is conservation land so it is treed and wild and can't be disturbed. Nice to look at but can't use it to build a garagemahall.

Like trees so it sounds like Aurora would be out. Do like to go to the track but I don't mind driving even a couple of hours to do so. Really want a place that is private, hate to be out cooking something on the barbie and having the neighbors' rug rats making a racket. Not that I'm an isolationist but I do like a quiet, private yard.

Fully republican here and would like a place where I don't have to get a second job to pay for taxes. Again could see driving up to 30-35 minutes during rush hour. You know a real 30-35 minutes not "its 30-35 minutes when school's out, the moon is full, and its Tuesday, otherwise its an hour". Of course a shorter commute is always welcome.

 

[TheMilkman]

TheMilkMan here, Colorado native, well 40 of the last 43 years here.

Cherry Creek as has been said is in Central Denver, south of Downtown. If you live north of town or Northwest toward Boulder you would have to deal with a nastier commute as you have to pass downtown. The prices in the City and County of Denver have a wide range, but are older houses and tend to not have garages, or one car sheds out back. There are exceptions. I believe the tax rates are highest in Denver as well. If you head south to Douglas county (Parker, Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch) there are places with larger lots and bigger houses even ranches etc, although I personally would avoid HR for some of the same reasons to avoid Aurora. I'm sure the realator will help you find the right place.

Enjoy the 300 days of sun. Sure it's -20 outside, but at least the sun is shining.

+1 on not getting a North facing driveway. I didn't shovel once last winter with my south facing driveway, and the person across the street had a permanent skating rink install after the 1st snow.

If you have kids the some of the best schools are south like Cherry Creek and Douglas county.

 

[Boxer12]

3 car garages are plentiful in the burbs, not so much in Denver metro which has been built out for years. An acre is pricey, let alone a couple acres. Try Greenwood Village and widen your search from there if you don't find anything. Don't expect a lot of land. Look for a house on a greenbelt (what they call common park-like belts in subdivisions). You won't find any open land within 30 min commute of Cherry Creek unless you go south around Cherry Creek Resevoir. I would contact Kentwood (realtors) or Remax Masters in DTC area. If you want a name, PM me.

 

[Coloviper]

PM Sent!............................................

 

[ViperGeorge]

I just signed my wife up as a Venom member with her region as Colorado/Utah/Wyoming. I'm still registered in New England. This way we have both regions covered until our move is final.