Contemplating taking a job there without officially visiting. Can somebody explain the area as far as living around nicer parts of town, ease of downtown access, public transportation, skiing, etc.

Looking for Intel like: the woodlands and Katy are the nicer family areas for Houston. 290 has the worst traffic, east side is ghetto, etc

TIA

I'd first ask, where are you working? That would have the biggest impact for me. You can pretty much find a good place to live anywhere in Denver but you can also be miserable with traffic too.

I work on the west side (Lakewood) and live in west Littleton so my commute is really easy on C470 (15 min). I'm really close to the foothills for hiking and mountain biking and easy access to I70 for skiing and mountains. It does take me 50 minutes to get the airport so if I did that a lot, I'd be miserable. Littleton is known for good schools but there isn't a lot to write about night life, but I'm not in that phase of life. I can drive to the light rail and be downtown in 30-40 min, but I don't do that too often.

Commerce city area

If working in commerce city, living west or north would be closest. Personally, I live south in Parker. It's a lot newer than most parts of town, if that's your thing. There is a whole slew of new construction in commerce city in and around the old airport. You'd be a few minutes from work, a few from airport, and quick to head west.

I'm not familiar with Denver but for a lot of cities the judgmental maps are pretty spot on & should give you a general idea of where you probably will or won't fit in... Take a look and I am sure the Denver guys will confirm it to be accurate or not.

hah, the 'most dangerous place in denver'.. should say 'the thickest neckbeards in denver'. This must be a few years old.

Doesn't even come close to showing any suburb. I must live where the cowboys and indians live.