Need Help....Relocating to Colorado (Denver, Lakewood: to rent, houses, school districts) - (CO) - City-Data Forum

scruise007 · 10-13-2009, 11:56 AM

My wife and I are looking to relocate to Colorado. Although I hope this does not make a difference, my wife was born and raised in Puerto Rico and has been in the states for approx 10 years. I am caucasion and we have 4 daughters.
We have been living just outside of Atlanta for approx 10 years and are looking to move west. We both love to hike, bike ride and love the outdoors. We both want four disctinct seasons and I definitely want a white Christmas.
My wife would be able to keep her job with her company once we move. She travels a lot so we do not want to be too far from the airport. As I am a Director of Finance & HR for an advertising agency, I would have to leave my job here and find another one in Colorado. We are both in our early 40's and are looking for a community like the one we live in now. We are looking to be close to the mountains and also near other outdoor activites. Looking for that small town feel. Because we are moving we went ahead and sold our home and are now renting a 4 bedroom, 4 bath home on about a half acre. It takes us each about an hour to get to work and an hour to get home. We are currently renting and will probably have to rent for a while in Colorado. Our daughters range in age from 7 to 17 and we would need to find some good schools.
I have been reading a lot about Parker, CO., Lakewood, CO., and Loveland, CO. We don't have any money growing on trees out back so we would need to find a location that is not too expensive.
If anyone can offer some advice as to which cities or areas might work best for us, it would be greatly appreciated. We do plan on making a trip to Colorado probably after the first of the year.
Thank you.

Mike from back east · 10-13-2009, 12:27 PM

Tons here to choose from, but we need more specifics from you.

Sounds like a key thing is Denver airport, which is way out east of the city, but how often is travel. A couple flights per month isn't really a reason to locate out in far eastern burbs.

There are great areas all over the region with much cycling and outdoor activities. Hard to get any small town feel in a major metro area that is mostly typical suburban in nature. Closest I can think of are parts of older Littleton, Golden, and IIRC some of the areas up near Boulder (Louisville?).

Other key things are where is her job located? Tell us where her firm is located, as precisely as possible, then we can zero in some suggestions that don't have her in a commuting mess 5 days a week.

For newbies, we always suggest renting 6-12 months before choosing where to live and that is an option you could consider.

We have several threads listed in the index on schools, which I'm sure is a factor. There are several very fine school districts around the Denver area.

Waiting to hear back......

scruise007 · 10-13-2009, 12:52 PM

My wife will be working from home when she is not traveling. She will be gone from Sunday nights to Thursdays about 3 weeks a month so the airport will need to be semi-accessible? Right now, we live about 45 minutes from the airport so its not that bad.
We prefer more open spaces where the houses are not on top of one another.
Will there be 4 distinct seasons? and possibly snow for Christmas? Let me know if you need additioanl info.

Thank you

CosmicWizard · 10-13-2009, 01:27 PM

There can be 4 distinct seasons, but winter and summer tend to dominate. Spring and fall go by pretty quickly. Snow on Christmas is a possibility but not a foregone conclusion.

scruise007 · 10-13-2009, 01:29 PM

Thanks! Just looking to better the odds than we have here in Atlanta. Plus, If there is even the mention of snow here, the city tends to panic and start shutting everything down. thanks again..

Mike from back east · 10-13-2009, 02:36 PM

Beginning to sound like Parker or Castle Rock is the place. There is toll-road access to DIA via Hwy E-470 or there are other routes, a commute of 40 minutes or so.

You'll get the better part of 4 seasons here and you can get a bit of small town flavor in Parker and/or Castle Rock, with decent lot sizes. You can get homes on 5 acre lots as far south as Monument / Black Forest with a 1-hour DIA trip.

scruise007 · 10-13-2009, 02:40 PM

Great! thanks... I'll start pulling some info on Castle Rock, Monument / Black forest! Thai has been some great info! I really appreciate all your help!

jazzlover · 10-13-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Beginning to sound like Parker or Castle Rock is the place. There is toll-road access to DIA via Hwy E-470 or there are other routes, a commute of 40 minutes or so.

You'll get the better part of 4 seasons here and you can get a bit of small town flavor in Parker and/or Castle Rock, with decent lot sizes. You can get homes on 5 acre lots as far south as Monument / Black Forest with a 1-hour DIA trip.

Sorry, Mike, but anybody who thinks Parker or Castle Rock resemble anything like a "small town" has never lived in a true small town. Parker and Castle Rock are suburbia, pure and simple, surrounding the carcasses of small towns that existed 30 years ago or so, but have been devoured. I know--I remember when both places were true small towns. They haven't been that for decades.

Mike from back east · 10-13-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scruise007

Great! thanks... I'll start pulling some info on Castle Rock, Monument / Black forest! Thai has been some great info! I really appreciate all your help!

In addition to threads listed in our index, try realtor.com with the names of the towns or zip codes to see houses, lot sizes and prices.

CosmicWizard · 10-13-2009, 03:42 PM

jazzlover wrote:

Sorry, Mike, but anybody who thinks Parker or Castle Rock resemble anything like a "small town" has never lived in a true small town. Parker and Castle Rock are suburbia, pure and simple, surrounding the carcasses of small towns that existed 30 years ago or so, but have been devoured. I know--I remember when both places were true small towns. They haven't been that for decades.

I can't speak for the OP, but I'd venture a guess that the OP is referring to the current, and commonly accepted definition of a small town rather than the 1970s version. Just a guess on my part. Not everyone guages their life on how things are today as compared to the 70s. I imagine that quite a few people actaully like the way things are today, and have no desire for things to be the way they were in the 70s.