I now live north of Denver and can easily take a couple of buses or a 45 minute car ride to the airport. Overall I feel very safe in Colorado and highly recommend it! (as well as Massachusetts, but worse cost of living and weather there for sure)

You can get a fair cost of living outside of the big cities proper in Colorado, and the dry cold is not nearly as bad as humid cold (I'm from Greater Houston and don't like the cold, either!)