I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to regularly get from the mountains to Denver. Maybe someone here could help?
I just moved here, I got a job as a software dev downtown, and I'm planning on living within at most 5 miles from the office. I plan on biking to work/grocery store/gym/any regular trips, and on the few days a year that's not feasible, I'll do public transportation.
The reason I moved out here is for the mountains; I love backpacking and hiking, and I want to get into some of the other stuff that is available out here like climbing and rafting. So I'm trying to figure out what makes the most sense to get me out to the mountains most weekends.
I broke it down like this (assuming 40 weekends per year in the mountains):
Bustang Bus
20 round trip rides to Idaho Springs - $150
10 round trip rides to Frisco - $108
10 round trip rides to Vail - $153
$411 total
Probably the cheapest, downsides would be sticking to someone else's schedule and only being able to go along the I70 corridor unless I wanted to hitchhike, which would take even more time
buy car
car - ~$4000
gas - ~$1000 (40 weekends * 200 miles per weekend / 25 mpg * $3/gal)
insurance + registration - ~$1500 (not exactly sure on this one.)
$6500 total
So over 10x the cost, but with the benefit of being able to drive anywhere. I also looked into renting a car over the weekends, but since I'm under 25, that cost nearly what buying a car would.
I'm also thinking about in the next 2-3 years converting an old cargo van and living out of that while working remotely, so I'm not sure about making the long term decision to purchase a car.
I'm new in town, and I'm obviously planning on making friends who share similar interests and who may have cars, but I also don't want to mooch, and would like to be able to get a solo weekend in every now and again.
Does anybody have any input, great ideas that I haven't thought of, or insight? Thanks!