You'll get more bang for your buck with housing living in Golden or Lakewood or Applewood. You can also commute by bike in Golden and depending where you are in Lakewood you could be pretty close to Golden for bike commuting.

The commute on 93 from Boulder to Golden is a high traffic road and can be very dangerous in the winter with high winds and blowing snow. I don't go to Boulder often because of the highway although I love my LBS there.

El Nino is giving Denver a milder winter with more snow and less snow in the central mtns. We've been here 5 yrs. and every winter has been different.