South Fort Collins vs. South Denver suburbs (Colorado Springs, Aurora: rentals, credit)

[skidoo1066]

Planning on moving to CO with a remote job. My wife and I want to move back to the mountain west again. We're looking at either the south Fort Collins/North Loveland area, or Highlands Ranch area.
* We have 3 kids under 10
* we love to have fun and don't do the busy-with-plans-every-second lifestyle
* the mountains are a major reason we're planning on CO, I do a lot of trail running/hiking/skiing/etc. and I want to take the kids up often, so easy mountain access is a must
* we'd like a newer house in a nice, newer neighborhood (unpopular opinion: cookie cutter houses can be pretty nice houses...)
* we have a horse and there needs to be a stable for boarding nearby

It seems like the FoCo area might be more relaxed and enjoyable for our lifestyle, and is cheaper, but the (awesome) mountains take SO long to get to - 2hrs to the top of RMNP from FoCo vs. 1hr to Loveland Pass from HR.

Thoughts?

[otowi]

If the mountains are the big draw for you then Colorado Springs is a better option than either of those in terms of easy mountain access, but of those two I'd side with Fort Collins/Loveland, personally. You can get to Horsetooth, etc., pretty quickly.

[Mike from back east]

A lot depends on your budget to buy or rent . . .

[COcheesehead]

We used to live in south Denver. Instead of going west into the mountains on 285 or I 70 with everyone else, we’d head south into Pike National Forest. Little traffic. Fewer people on the trails. While everyone else was zigging, we zagged. It made all the difference.

[LHS79]

Just don't plan on commuting.

[skidoo1066]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

A lot depends on your budget to buy or rent . . .

Renting in Highlands Ranch is within the budget, Castle Pines seems to be a little too much. Up by FoCo, though, we could get an even nicer place for less so...

[bluescreen73]

The problem with Fort Collins is that outside of RMNP the northern part of the Front Range is really meh, and with the exception of the Never Summers your access to the other high ranges is terrible. You really only have 3 routes through the mountains - Trail Ridge (closed in the winter), CO-14, and US-287/WY-230 (which is just a longer route into North Park). Plus there's also the "what happens" if your remote gig goes belly up? The jobs picture in Northern Colorado isn't all that great - especially if you're in tech.

I'm personally not a fan of Highlands Ranch. For me the only advantage to living there is proximity to the mountains.

I'm sure our (non)resident curmudgeon will be along shortly to tell you why Denver is awful (even though he's never actually lived here or anywhere in CO since the late 1970s) and why you should live in Encampment, WY (or Singapore) instead.

[lem316]

Denver area will be best overall access to the mountains.

I'd look at suburban Jefferson County, from Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood and unincorporated Jeffco (80123, 7 and 8)

[ponyupgrl]

The topography / landscape / vibe of the Fort Collins area vs. Douglas County / Jefferson County will feel different. Have you driven around both areas?

Good news on horse boarding is that you should have lots of options in both areas - lots of horse people all over Colorado. If you are looking for a facility with a specific discipline focus and / or trail access directly from the facility, you may start to get more limited.

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Following. Our original goal was CA but we realized that Denver is a much better fit after visiting.

We are basically in the same boat with 3 kids under 5 yrs, remote job, outdoor interests and are fine with a cookie cutter home (minus the horse). Plans underway to move to Denver this Fall - close to Littleton near distant family.

We are going to be renting for the first year and narrowed it down to the below areas (schools, parks, groceries, walking trails etc):
1. Highlands Ranch (South Denver)
2. Lone Tree (South Denver)
3. Littleton (South-West Denver)
4. Centennial (South Denver)
5. Stonegate & Parker (South-East Denver) - A bit far from Littleton
6. Castle Pines (Too $$$) South of Denver
7. Lakewood (Iffy schools?) (East Denver)
8. Arvada (North-East Denver)

How does it compare to your research? Most of these places have Townhouses or SFHs rentals within our budget (~<= 2.2k). Only thing I noticed was the abundance of rental agencies on Zillow.

Denver folks - is that the norm?

In addition, Denver county gives preschool tuition credits for residents which is great. However, the rents are higher or Aurora areas seem iffy - so I think it is a wash.

Good luck OP!