Tell me about Superior, Colorado (Denver, Boulder: real estate, house, construction)

[godhand123]

I'm looking for a place to move to with my wife and kids. I'm keying in on areas to visit in a few weeks and I really like the looks of Superior, Colorado.
- Good schools
- Location close to Denver and Boulder, not too far from potential jobs and adventure
- Looks like a family friendly area, suburb with lots of kids
- Can find a comfortable place (for a family of 4) for <$800k ish

What are the pros and cons of living in Superior?

[hikernut]

We lived in Louisville, right next door, for about ten years. I agree with your overall assessment. There are lots of outdoor activities, and it's a family-friendly area. Denver area traffic in general has gotten pretty bad, so I'll recommend trying some test commutes to areas you expect to find work.

I assume you are aware of the fires that hit the area in late 2021? The western parts of Superior (and parts of Louisville) were hit pretty hard, mostly the older part of the town, plus some of the retail in that area. There will be lots of construction traffic in the area for years into the future.

If you're not familiar with the Front Range, note that the weather is erratic. This is both good and bad, in my estimation. Good in the sense that you don't get tend to get weeks of bitter cold in the winter with no relief. There are always some days where it's warmer and sunny. On the bad side is the frequent high winds in the fall and winter, and to a much lesser extent the occasional freakish storm that drops 2+ feet of snow (not every year, though).

One other note... when we were house hunting our real estate agent steered us toward Louisville instead of Superior. I honestly don't remember the reason. Over the years I did hear some talk about expansive soils in Superior, but I'd expect any such problems would be evident by now (on a house by house basis).

[BabyBoomers2]

I guess you have lived in "winter" conditions before? It can/does get freezing cold. We live north of Superior, but, one morning (7AM) this past April, it was minus 12 degrees (-12) and, last year (Mar/April 2021) we, in northern Colorado, wound up with 28 inches of snow within two days.

And, you do know, and if not, I will let you know, that the I-25 traffic is getting worse and worse. I'm fully retired and my wife works from home, so we have nothing to worry about. But, at times it can be like being in Los Angeles traffic.

[godhand123]

Thanks for the responses! Very helpful.
As far as weather/climate goes, is this area (Superior/Louisville) a lot colder than other areas around Denver? Sorry if this is a goofy question, but I'm not familiar with the different areas (Front Range vs others) and microclimates if there are any.
We grew up in Chicago so we know the very cold weather, but we live now in the Bay Area. We prefer not to have gloomy/freezing winters for long periods, but understand some of that may come with living in Colorado.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by godhand123

Thanks for the responses! Very helpful.
As far as weather/climate goes, is this area (Superior/Louisville) a lot colder than other areas around Denver? Sorry if this is a goofy question, but I'm not familiar with the different areas (Front Range vs others) and microclimates if there are any.
We grew up in Chicago so we know the very cold weather, but we live now in the Bay Area. We prefer not to have gloomy/freezing winters for long periods, but understand some of that may come with living in Colorado.

Winters here really aren't gloomy at all. Occasionally cold and very snowy, yes, but also fairly sunny.

Do not discount the wind. The closer you are to the foothills, the more likely you are to be impacted by Chinook winds. They're usually 45-60mph, but in extreme cases they can gust as high as 100mph. Chinook winds gusting around 100mph were responsible for driving the Marshall Fire. Not to be alarmist, but with climate change, I think there's a strong chance we see situations like that occurring more frequently in the wildland-urban interfaces near the foothills along the Front Range.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by godhand123

Thanks for the responses! Very helpful.
As far as weather/climate goes, is this area (Superior/Louisville) a lot colder than other areas around Denver? Sorry if this is a goofy question, but I'm not familiar with the different areas (Front Range vs others) and microclimates if there are any.
We grew up in Chicago so we know the very cold weather, but we live now in the Bay Area. We prefer not to have gloomy/freezing winters for long periods, but understand some of that may come with living in Colorado.

It's not continuously cold and cloudy like midwest winters (I grew up in the midwest).

I doubt there's much difference in temperatures across the Denver-Boulder area. I believe the wind is worse as you move west and get closer to the foothills. There are more than a few high wind days each year, and on the worst days the gusts can hit 60mph to over 100mph.

I haven't seen the area since the 2021 fire. You'd certainly want to drive around to see how you feel about it. Of course it will eventually get rebuilt, but I expect this will take at least 5-10 years.

[godhand123]

Very good points about fires and wind. That's enough to get me to move further east. Much appreciated!

[BabyBoomers2]

We have experienced some inches of snow on Halloween week. We had never seen outdoor Halloween decor covered in snow before moving to Colorado in 2002. That snow doesn't happen every year, but we have seen it happen.

[godhand123]

Do the fires and high winds affect Golden Colorado as well? How about Broomfield?

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by godhand123

Do the fires and high winds affect Golden Colorado as well? How about Broomfield?

Golden hasn't been impacted by wildfires (yet), but the town sits right at the foot of the hogback. High winds will happen there. Colorado 93 between Golden and Boulder is closed a couple times a year in the winter due to high winds.

Broomfield is just east and south of the Marshall Fire area. There was some concern about the fire spreading into the northwestern part of Broomfield, but the winds died down and it didn't move that far east.