Colorado

     Jenee and I moved to the Denver Metro about five years ago. We had lived in California all our lives, and we had always talked about getting out of state. Interestingly enough, we had always considered Seattle or Portland.
     My brother Tim has been living in Manitou Springs, Colorado for something like twelve years, and just as I was graduating from CalPoly he had heard that Mantiou Springs was looking for a Planner. I had actually already accepted a job at a firm in Monterey, but as soon as the opportunity to move to Colorado arose we jumped on it. Manitou Springs is a very cool little town of 5,000 (elevation 6,500 feet) west of Colorado Springs, at the base of Pikes Peak. I worked there for a year and fell in love with the town, however, for someone right out of school and eager for experience, there was far more opportunity in the Denver area.

Our House
     Jen and I bought two bedroom, two bathroom, 1,225 square foot, townhome in Littleton. Littleton, a modest town of 45,000, is 13 miles southwest of Denver at the foothills at 5,400 feet above sea level. We live in a small community of single family homes, townhomes, and condos, right on the Platte River. We decided we liked the location because downtown Littleton (very cute) is right across the river from us, the Platte River Greenway trail (a 20 mile bike and hike trail complete with lakes, wetlands, and 700 acres of open space) starts out our backyard, we have river and mountain views, and a light rail connecting to Denver is about a 15 minute walk. Furthermore, we are upwind and upriver from Denver, and the traffic is far better.
Click to enlarge

Down by the river
Our backyard
Frontyard

Living room
Living room 2
Living Room
Bedroom

The guest room
Hallway
Master bathroom
View from our balcony

Guestroom view
Rollerblading
Platte River
Rollerblading

First snow
First snow
Downtown Littleton

Denver

     Denver is a really cool city. Speaking as an urban planner, Denver is really exciting. There has been some amazing redevelopment here; some which has actually become a model for redevelopment studied by planners from all over the states. In particular, the lower downtown district was brought back to life in an amazing mixed-use, pedestrian friendly mall with shops, cafes, restaurants, and numerous really cool loft apartments on the upper floors of turn-of-the-century buildings. The entire middleline of 16th Street was turned into open space; bricks were paved into the middle of the street, and tables and chairs were placed there to encourage people to "hang out,". It seems to have worked, because every time I go there I see mobs of people recreating, playing chess, and people watching.
     And for folks like Jen, there is a wide variety of thrift stores, record shops, vintage clothing stores, dance clubs, live music, and other cool urban amenities.