Has anyone moved from California to the Castle Rock area? How do you like it? Any suggestions for a safe family city? (Denver: fit in, transplants)

[formercalifornian]

I live in Centennial just north of County Line and west of I-25. After almost three years, I'm still very happy with our choice; however, I stand by my previous advice to start with your place of employment and work out from there. The metro area has many wonderful neighborhoods that offer the same types of amenities!

What brings you to Denver?

[babovka]

Hi formercalifornia,

We are moving to Denver very shortly and are looking for just the type of neighborhood you describe. We are considering Centennial, Highlands Ranch, and Lone Tree primarily. My main concern with Centennial is that the neighborhoods will be filled with empty nesters, but what you describe sounds like there are lots of kids and activities. Would you mind DMing me the name of your subdivision? We have two kids, 5 and 11 and my husband will be working in the Tech Center, so the location would be ideal and I would much prefer mature trees and landscaping.

Thanks very much!

[2bindenver]

At first you should cast a wide net. Then after driving and or walking through a neighborhood, keep it or toss it.

Most buyers, when they narrow their search too quickly, end up disappointed, because they eliminated areas that are a better fit.

[babovka]

Yes, I agree with this, but one must know where to look, so suggestions on neighborhoods which seem to be a good fit would be great to include on my list! Other specific neighborhood suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

[Melanzana92]

I can speak well for the Castle Rock area.

The town's schools are all part of the greater Douglas County School District, which encompasses all of Douglas County (basically south of C/E-470 and north of Monument). The school system is at the same level as Cherry Creek but happens to have funding issues due to overspending and greedy people who didn't approve the bond - that's another story. The district has started using money more wisely.

If you move to Castle Rock, consider that Mesa MS and Douglas County HS (east of I-25) are far better than Castle Rock MS and Castle View HS (west of I-25). I'm a DCHS graduate, but I'm not saying this just because I'm biased. It's the truth; Castle View HS' drug problem is so bad that they made the news, and that school is only a few years old. Castle Rock MS has issues with teachers being pedophile-ish. On the other hand, Mesa MS is brand-new and seems to be doing great so far. My younger sister currently attends and is taking honors classes, putting her on track to participate in DCHS' advanced placement program. DCHS offers AP as well as IB programs. DCHS kind of looks like a bad school since the building is rather old, but renovations have been taking place to change that and I think it looks unique. All of the new schools in the district were built within the last 20 years and they all look exactly the same...

So basically as far as schools go, any of you readers will want to look at living on the east side of I-25. If you must live on the west side, you can still send your kids to DCHS, but you must get your kid there yourself / your kid must get there themself.

As far as stores go, we have the standard Walmart Supercenter in the middle of town, but we also have a Sprouts, which I suppose is similar to a Whole Foods but cheaper? I've gone to Sprouts a couple times and it's a great little store! We also have 2 King Soopers grocery stores (local Colorado thing) as well as a Safeway. AND every Saturday during the summer, we have a nice farmers market where you can buy great fresh produce right in downtown.

Trails, etc... We have LOTS of them. Nearly every main road has a sidewalk adjacent to it on at least one side. I live far from downtown (5 miles / 10-15 minutes) and can easily ride my bike there and back. Only about a half mile of it is sidewalk-less, but that section can be avoided anyways. Getting around town on bike is VERY possible. The only challenge to biking around town is the hills - it's a breeze for me to get downtown but to get back home takes some serious energy. But think - it's good for you!

Our downtown is very attractive. It's small, but well-preserved and filled with nice stores and eateries. It's a great place for a little outing or whatever!

Parks - we have tons of them. They are EVERYWHERE and natural open space is not hard to find. In my neighborhood there is a sidewalk that leads from a park, past a couple houses, and into a canyon-like place that is very peaceful and would be a great spot to get away from anything!

We have very easy access to Denver and Colorado Springs since I-25 goes right through town. Don't want to drive into downtown Denver? No problem. Get off I-25 at Lincoln just 10 minutes north of Castle Rock and take the light rail right up there.

The only downside is that driving remains far easier than biking (you can do anything on a bike here but you need to have the time [and energy!]), the town sometimes feels too spread out and cookie-cutter like, and it's farther from mountain locations than other areas of the Denver metro since it's farther from I-70 than most Denver suburbs.

Anything else that anybody would like to know, I would be happy to help! I moved here from Oklahoma, not California, but it quickly became home and now I'm stuck in OK for school (biggest mistake of my life - CU Boulder here I come!)

[blobbin]

We have some east coast friends who lived in Orange County for around ten years and when they were forced into a move to the south metro area for job related reasons we suggested they look at everything from Highlands Ranch to Castle Rock. They settled in Castle Rock two years ago and could not be happier with the area, the schools, the people ... really everything. They have a fantastic house and got it for a great deal.

The only problem is finding a middle ground to meet up for dinners. We hate the slog down there and they don't seem to like the commute north. We usually settle on something in HR and everyone is happy enough.

[notready]

Based on what has been written, the subdivision I would look at off County Line is Willow Creek, a little farther west is Homestead. I don't think I saw any mention of price range.

[formercalifornian]

I do live in Willow Creek. It has been a great place for us, but I should mention that it is a very age-diverse neighborhood, so there are a lot of empty nesters. If that concerns you, it might be best to look elsewhere. That said, I think one of the neatest things about WC is the number of three-generation families living here. I have several friends who grew up in WC and returned once they had children of their own.

The location really can't be beat for Tech Center employment. It's just a hop, skip, and a jump to the light rail. Most of the year, my husband rides his bike to work. We live very easily with only one car.

The elementary school is older and doesn't have the same bells and whistles as the newer DougCo. schools; however, I've found the teaching to be absolutely top-notch!

One strange thing about this neighborhood, though, is that WC kids are split between two different middle schools, West and Campus. Both are great, but the split causes a lot of angst for fifth grade families every year. Fortunately, the middle schools allow open enrollment, so if one appeals more than the other, you have options. Buses for both schools pick up in the neighborhood.

Other similar neighborhoods in this area include Hunters Hill, Walnut Hills, Homestead, and Fox Ridge. Fox Ridge and part of Homestead are in the Littleton School District, while the others are in Cherry Creek School District.

WC houses typically seem to fall between $300k and $550k, although I've seen them as low as $275k for a single-family 3 bed/2.5 bath.

[haltseven]

@ formercalifornian - Could you also dm me your neighborhood? It sounds lovely and I would like to see it during this latest relocation trip. Thank you!

[kwalk65]

Just curious, but when you moved from Castle Rock, where did you end up relocating? I notice you say "south end of the tech center"....for someone without local knowledge, where is that?

thanks