Denver area riding/jobs?

[Cowbell]

Well my gf is trying to get into grad school in Denver and I'm thinking if she gets in I will probably move out there with her. She will know by later March so I figured I'd better start planning ahead. I was wondering what kind of job oppurtunities are out there. I have a degree in Diesel Tech and I've been working at a Case IH/NH dealer for 3 years. Also have experience with concrete work. Just wondering whats out there and maybe a few places to start looking in to?

As for the riding I've heard it's some of the best. How far does a guy gotta drive to get to the good stuff?

 

[Rprecision]

I would suspect a mechanic, heavy equipment, is probably always in demand. Then again the economy in colorado is begining to catch up with the rest of the country. We have been sheltered for a while.

I have a friend who has been keeping busy doing nothing but heavy equipment repossession. The local Cat lot is as full with equipment as I have ever seen in my life. Case is the same. Many excavation companys big and small are struggling and or going under. That would as I am sure you realize be bad news for your trade.

Winters always slow down as I'm sure they do in MN. Summertime it usally picks up.

I would be nervous making that kind of change right now. Sure, the economy SHOULD come back but when and how far remains to be seen. On a brighter note, the denver area is large and offers other oppertunities. May not be what you want but.............

 

[jecornel]

Dot?

My buddy works for CDOT on the western slope- he likes the schedule, 4 10s Tuesday -Friday. I think you have to be a Colorado resident to work for them. He told me they are short mechanics as they can work for Haliburton for a lot more money.

Where is your gf going to skool? My buddy is doing grad skool at DU and he also works there, marketing for the skool.

 

[trackvs2wheels]

Sabin...

Definitely make that move man!! I just arrived here in the Denver area in late July from the wonderful suburb of Eden Prairie, MN. The weather out here is absolutely amazing man...I cannot even explain how big of change (good change that is) that is has been

When you get out here we can do some late season riding too!!!! I live in Parker, which is south of Denver about 20 miles or so! Hopefully by then I will have some areas scoped out for us to ride at

 

[NoCoastNesse]

blah blah blah, blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah.......

onto the important answer

"How far do you have to drive"

This is a very important thing to look into before moving here....you could be 30min from powder stashes or 1 hr from even getting close to the mountains...depending on where you live. So choose wisely. EAST=CHEAP but add an hr or more to your drive time.

*TIP* There are only 2 Highways that get you further into the mountains then about 10 miles, and you WILL HAVE to take one of the 2 for riding. Highway 285, and I-70. Locate yourself as close to the mountains and near one of these roads for the best access to the mnts.

 

[milehighassassin]

Denver was listed as like the #4 large city to live in during a recession.

There should be plenty of jobs for you. Railroad might be an option, there are serveral Diesel service places, Haliburton operates on the Western Slope and up North.

 

[CO_MapMaker]

Polish up that resume and send out as many as you can and see how many responses you get. Employers in Denver love to hire employees from the midwest. I had my job in place before I moved here.

Don't know about diesel mechanics, but construction work is definetely slow around here. Seems like alot of the excavators have alot of equipment sitting in there yards.

Are you bringing that monster ramp with you??

 

[rotax]

oh, yeah, did anyone mention the 4-6 hr drives on stop n go traffic over i70 during ski season?

4-6 hrs for an otherwise 45m-1h drive...gg really.

after lookin at a map today, i think springs would be a good area to avoid the i70 madness...
you can cut straight accross into central CO mtns...at least by what I see on the map.

denver sucks, the traffic sucks, and skier traffic to the mtns sucks...aside from that, its great!
oh wait, theres a greeny/environmentalist infestation here too..and if you plan on snowmobiling or using any type of off road vehicle, you'll be hated by them. Reguardless of how polite and courteous you are when you pass them by.


i think i'd enjoy life much more if i could live and work on the western slope...or in BC..

 

[duke1n]

Where is your gf going to skool? My buddy is doing grad skool at DU and he also works there, marketing for the skool.

Considered the skool of duke1n U?

 

[milehighassassin]

4-6 hrs for an otherwise 45m-1h drive...gg really.

You are saying that from Lakewood you can get to a riding area in 45 minutes? If that is the case you are the reason it takes the rest of us 4 hours.

People crash because they are going to fast and slow everything down.


Back to the topic... Yes it can take a while to get up and back but planning is everything. Leave early, come back late. If you are trying to head home at 4:00 it is going to take forever. Come home at 8:00 and it is amazing how much easier it is. Stop and enjoy a good meal somewhere.

Better yet, ride during the week.

 

[rotax]

You are saying that from Lakewood you can get to a riding area in 45 minutes? If that is the case you are the reason it takes the rest of us 4 hours.

People crash because they are going to fast and slow everything down.


Back to the topic... Yes it can take a while to get up and back but planning is everything. Leave early, come back late. If you are trying to head home at 4:00 it is going to take forever. Come home at 8:00 and it is amazing how much easier it is. Stop and enjoy a good meal somewhere.

Better yet, ride during the week.

With good traffic and running the speed limit +/- 5 MPH, on decent roads and not stopping for fuel/food, I can get to a few riding spots within 1 hour from 6th Ave. Late season I was making it to Jones well under 1 hr..w/o any obnoxious speeding.

Honestly 1-2 hrs drive is just fine with me...I just absolutley hate driving in traffic...thus, I can not stand skier traffic. I am one to wake up early and avoid it, I have no problem with that, but you WILL hit skier traffic at some point during your season...
Really, they need to fix that whole issue...instead of telling people to 'avoid' it.
We talked about this last sat...but wth don't they run more buses or shuttles from Denver area? If you remove even 20% of the ski vehicles it will make a noticeable difference at the end of the day. And thats one of the simplest and easiest ways I could think of. If they would come up with a way to run a train of some sort, that'd also work and make a noticeable difference. Granted implementation is going to be costly..but once done it would make up for it.

If i could ride a train or shuttle up and back and have my snowmobile ready and waiting at my destination (read: MY snowmobile) I'd definately consider that option.
Who doesn't like splitting the cost of fuel and letting someone else do the driving?



/deep breath...man is it saturday yet, i wanna go ride.

 

[milehighassassin]

I agree with you 100%, something needs to be done NOW, because it will take 5+ year for a project to be completed. I think they should run more shuttles/busses as well. I think they should prohibit truckers from the road during peak ski times. Early morning, Westbound on the weekends and afternoon Eastbound on the same days.

I also think some ski areas should be stepping up to the plate to help pay for these improvements. How about they charge $5 a ticket for every ticket they sell that will go to the road improvements. Hell charge a 1.5% tax on rentals, clothing, food, gas, etc to help pay for it. I am 100% against at toll, road and I believe that would be unconstitutional.

BTW,... I drive up there EVERY weekend for work and then head back home either late Sunday night or Early Monday morning. That drive can completely suck most times.

 

[rotax]

I agree with you 100%, something needs to be done NOW, because it will take 5+ year for a project to be completed. I think they should run more shuttles/busses as well. I think they should prohibit truckers from the road during peak ski times. Early morning, Westbound on the weekends and afternoon Eastbound on the same days.

I also think some ski areas should be stepping up to the plate to help pay for these improvements. How about they charge $5 a ticket for every ticket they sell that will go to the road improvements. Hell charge a 1.5% tax on rentals, clothing, food, gas, etc to help pay for it. I am 100% against at toll, road and I believe that would be unconstitutional.

BTW,... I drive up there EVERY weekend for work and then head back home either late Sunday night or Early Monday morning. That drive can completely suck most times.

Yeah toll seems silly, it wont stop me from going snowmobiling, why would it stop skiers from skiing?

The trucker idea would help, that can be alot of the slow down "passing truckers", but at the same time they've got deadlines etc etc blah blah...whos to say the skiiers (recreationalists) are more important than getting cargo to some place on time... That'd be an interesting battle.
Maybe tankers, as they are the ones that shut down the tunnel completely. Hmm..

 

[Cowbell]

I guess I'm not really sure which school she is trying to get into. She's going for some sort of psychology though if that helps. That is also something to take into perspective on where I'd be living. I'm sure she won't want to live too far away from campus. This is all still just a big maybe because I guess its pretty hard to get into grad school for psych. Who knows? Doesn't sound like it will be too hard to find a job so that's a plus.

Wish I could find out now so I would know whether or not to put my house on this great housing market.

As for the ramp...haha I don't think I'm gonna want to pull that thing 900 miles along with all my other crap.

Thanks for everyone's input so far. Any more would be nice too! If anybody knows of people lookin for help let me know. No hurry though.

also: This may be a stupid question for some of you so sorry for my lack of knowledge on your territory but is there much farming out that way? Guess I've really never thought about that.

 

[skibreeze]

Most farming is on the western slope.

 

[milehighassassin]

Most farming is on the western slope.

Brighton has quite a bit as well.


But yes, most is on the Western Slope