Info about kid friendly towns in Boulder area (Denver, Broomfield: cul-de-sac, HOA) - Colorado (CO) - City-Data Forum

stratham · 05-20-2009, 12:58 PM

Thinking about moving to Boulder area. Wondering which towns are best for elementary age kids. Looks like Superior is the most affordable but is there a negative reason for that or just the economy affecting that area the most? Do you find neighborhoods with cul-de-sacs like we have in the northeast where the kids can safely ride their bikes and play with friends? Is the weather really as great as I have heard in that area? Mild winters about 50 during the winter and 300 days of the year the sun is shining? What is the job market like there? Any better than other parts of the country right now or equally as bad? Any other info about towns in that area to aspire to or to avoid would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Stratham

tdelker · 05-20-2009, 01:40 PM

Superior is nice, but stay North of Coalton if you can. Houses built better. It is more affordable because it isn't as nice as Boulder, but you get a better house. It's a little 'sea of houses' in Superior, but not terrible. All of superior is pretty safe. Great schools. We moved from there to Lyons, north of Boulder. We LOVE lyons, but it's a bit backwater in some ways. However a lot of new families near the high school.Weather - we have good and bad weather. Summers can be really hot and very dry. Spring can be slow coming. Winters are generally mild, but can be pretty snowy too (think Winter 2006-2007). But we really like the climate.Jobs? What jobs? Colorado is in general doing slightly better than the rest of the US but it aint easy either. Really depends on your line of work.

Micktooth · 05-21-2009, 07:56 AM

We love the Louisville/Superior area. Good schools and very safe. BTW, I have 2 kids, 15 and 13. Louisville was recently ranked the #3 place in the entire country to raise a family! Best Places to Live: Top 100 - Louisville, Colo. (3) - Money Magazine The weather is pretty nice all year round. We don't usually get as much snow as people may think. The Today show recently proclaimed the Denver area as the #1 area in the country to rebound from the housing crunch. I think you will love it here. Come on out and see for yourself.

POhdNcrzy · 05-21-2009, 11:55 AM

Sthratham,

The weather on the Colorado Front Range makes you roll out of bed, look out the window, jump up and down and scream "I LOVE LIFE", and then go off and start your day.

Don't let anybody fool you about that. Unless you are a person who just hates any snow at all and can't take a little cold weather now and then.

qfrost · 05-21-2009, 01:11 PM

The weather on the Colorado Front Range makes you roll out of bed, look out the window, jump up and down and scream "I LOVE LIFE", and then go off and start your day.

Now THAT's exactly why I want to move there.

Brain Drain · 05-23-2009, 12:01 AM

Superior has a lot going for it. It's close to Boulder and there are hiking opportunities nearby. You can get to Denver more easily than from Boulder given the good access to US-36. Schools are good to excellent, but there have been complaints about crowding especially at Eldorado K-8. There are a lot more families there per capita than in Boulder, which tends to attract greater than its share of singles and childless couples in my experience. Superior also has a good network of (concrete -- why all concrete!?!) trails and parks, with public pools open to Superior residents. You also get a lot for your money there in terms of a home, when compared to Boulder or even Louisville.

What's not to like? There are no recreation centers there -- nice indoor facilities with a gym and a place to work out. You need to go to nearby Broomfield or Louisville for that. They don't have a library in Superior, although now there's a multi-year agreement in place to use the Louisville library. Superior is also HOA land, where they mandate on what days and under what conditions you can have a garage sale. I guess you avoid people parking RVs on their lawn with all of the rules in place, but some would prefer to have more freedom. I get the feeling in Superior you need to get in your car for pretty much everything.

I agree with the earlier poster about living north of Coalton. Those neighborhoods are a bit older, so the trees are taller and that lessens the sea of houses feel. You're also further away from Rocky Flats where they built plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs for many years.

We have young kids and have thought about moving to Superior and getting much more for our money than in Boulder, and also being in a community that is more family-centric. These feelings tend to come when you're dodging the vagrants in Boulder's downtown library when you're with your 4 year old. Some could jokingly say that dogs and their guardians (that's what the Boulder code calls dog owners) take precedence over families in many ways in Boulder.

This may be a wild generalization, but in the end I don't think people dream about moving to Superior. It's more just a safe place where it's good to raise the family with a lot of good amenities, access to jobs, and newer and better priced homes. Most probably move there for their family, whereas people in Boulder tend to move there more for themselves.

Here's a final example -- in Boulder it always seems to be a chore to get enough volunteers to participate in their child's activities -- whether it's being a chaperone at a field trip day or coaching a soccer team. On the other hand, we've heard stories of Superior classrooms (though not witnessed firsthand) where parents have had to take a number because there are so many parent volunteers.

I'd be interested to hear what other Boulder, Louisville, and Superior parents have to say.

Good luck!

mattq331 · 05-23-2009, 09:14 AM

I would agree with many of the comments here about Superior. We moved our family from Lafayette to Superior (South side) a few years ago in search of a community where our kids would find others to play with. This has been largely successful.
Eldorado K8 is, by and large, a good school. One weak area is its inability to address the needs of kids who do not fit the "cookie cutter" mold - specifically those with special needs. Also, my kids have often commented on how at recess the children at Eldorado tend to cuss and fight more than they did at their previous school in Lafayette. Why that should be I have no idea.

Another area that concerns me as a parent is the clear sense of entitlement some kids - but particularly their parents - display. The chaos outside Eldorado school when kids are being picked up/dropped off is appalling. Some parents blast through the 4 way stop, and have even resorted to flipping off kids and other parents who "get in their way". Nice.

On the positive side however, the families we have met have been welcoming and generous. The network of trails - not all concrete - lead to some nice open space where it is possible to see great horned owls, hawks, eagles (in the winter), pelicans, coyotes and all sorts of critters.

The weather - yes its good. Just watch out for that wind!

Katarina Witt · 05-23-2009, 09:22 AM

Louisville is a more established community than Superior, with a cute downtown (not a ton of shopping, but lots of restaurants, and a less "cookie-cutter look to it, IMO. (Some would argue that; there are cookie-cutter neighborhoods, to be sure.) There are lots of community festivals and the like in Louisville, weekly summer concerts at the bandshell in downtown Louisville, a nice library and rec center.

Schools are good, but I'd agree with the sentiment that it's hard for kids who don't fit that cookie-cutter mold. I have two friends who have kids marching to a different beat who transferred out of Monarch High School, one to Boulder High and one to Centaurus in Lafayette.

There are plenty of "entitled" parents and kids in Louisville, too. But all in all, it was a great place for us to raise a family.

POhdNcrzy · 05-29-2009, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qfrost

The weather on the Colorado Front Range makes you roll out of bed, look out the window, jump up and down and scream "I LOVE LIFE", and then go off and start your day.

Now THAT's exactly why I want to move there.

Hey wait a minute qfrost, it says you are in south Pasadena, CA! You already have big-sunshine great weather where you are....

qfrost · 05-29-2009, 04:39 PM

You know, I moved from Indiana to here 20 years ago, and I've been trapped here since. My wife went to DU and lived in Denver for 10 years. To answer your question would take more time than I guess most would want to read, but the short version is, yes, we have sun. But we have NO weather - no thunderstorms, no wind, no seasons, nothing but monotonous day after day. Then we have poor air quality, enormous amounts of traffic, housing prices I can't touch (a 3 bed, 2 bath is easily 800k+, and we're not talking mansions or high-end here). I don't want my daughter having to grow up around so much concrete. Add to that our love of skiing, John Denver, my Broncos, and all things outdoors.....well, you get the idea. We feel like we're just visiting here, and really want to put down roots in Colorado.