Moved from Long Island to Boulder Area 3.5 years ago. Who has questions? (Denver: high crime, homes)

[elemental]

We too visited every forum reading for hours, asked questions of anyone from CO or who knew someone from CO and now after 3.5 years of being here, feel confident in answering questions about the differences, the areas, etc. You can gain some perspective by reading my prior posts, then ask whatever you like. If someone had thrown this out there and been candid years ago, we may have made some different decisions. We're 10 minutes east of Boulder on the Lafayette border and are glad we are East of Boulder. Boulder isn't for everyone, but is for many. There are so many choices that it's not like Boulder or nothing. Each community surrounding it has great qualities and some drawbacks. Nothing's perfect. If you're coming from the Island of Long or someplace nearby, I'll have real insight into the differences.

[babaya]

Hi elemental,

New Jersey here. My wife and I have been seriously considering moving to the Greater Boulder area for a few years now. We are looking at a June 2011 move. We are both in our early thirties and have two young children. By next June that will put them at ages 3 and 1.
I've been trolling these boards for a while and have noted all previous advice. I guess I've concluded that Superior/Louisville area is a good area for families with the benefits of visiting Boulder for etc, while not actually being in Boulder. Also, not far from Denver either. Is this correct?

What advice, if any, would you offer? What "different decisions" would you have made?

[elemental]

Yes, louisville and superior are both family friendly areas outside of boulder with great proximity to Denver. There are a few additional cities worth looking at: broomfield, erie and longmont. All are within striking distance of both major cities. Lastly, if we had spent more time in Fort Collins, we'd probably be living there. It was much more familar than Boulder or any of the preceding cities.

The different decisions I spoke of would have included spending more time in each city prior to committing to purchase a home; really interacting with the people and observing to a greater degree. To some, moving is no big deal. To a family who tends to put down deep roots, it's more of a concern. Doing it right the first time will save a lot of heartache.

[bigglynals]

Hi! Wow, you have some great info! We're in Durango now & plan on moving up end of Sept. I have a 5yr girl. My husband could be working in Denver, but plans to find a permanent job in Boulder w/ in a yr. So we want to find a place (rent @ 1st) in between Boulder & Denver. We've visited & loved Louisville (1st choice). My ques for you, my fellow coloradian:
- what other cities are family friendly (parks, stuff to do, bike trails, etc.)
- what cities have the best reputation for schools? (big for us)
- what cities to stay away from? high crime?

Thanks!!!

[WiW]

Hello Elemental,
Thanks for the kind offer to share your experiences. We plan to move from NJ to the Denver/Boulder area in 2011. We started off thinking that we wanted to move to boulder, but after researching it, we feel that the options are wide open with Denver city & norther towns/suburbs as options. We plan to visit next month for 3 weeks to check it out.

What other boards/forums did you check out besides city-data?

[tennisbikehike]

Originally Posted by elemental

We too visited every forum reading for hours, asked questions of anyone from CO or who knew someone from CO and now after 3.5 years of being here, feel confident in answering questions about the differences, the areas, etc. You can gain some perspective by reading my prior posts, then ask whatever you like. If someone had thrown this out there and been candid years ago, we may have made some different decisions. We're 10 minutes east of Boulder on the Lafayette border and are glad we are East of Boulder. Boulder isn't for everyone, but is for many. There are so many choices that it's not like Boulder or nothing. Each community surrounding it has great qualities and some drawbacks. Nothing's perfect. If you're coming from the Island of Long or someplace nearby, I'll have real insight into the differences.

What about Superior, Louisville? Which is best? Superior has a lot more homes for lower prices. But Louisville seems genuinely nice and a good deal and stable.

We love outdoors, family community, nice people - professionals.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by tennisbikehike

What about Superior, Louisville? Which is best? Superior has a lot more homes for lower prices. But Louisville seems genuinely nice and a good deal and stable.

We love outdoors, family community, nice people - professionals.

Both Louisville and Superior are good places with lots of kids. Louisville has more services, e.g. recreation center, library (with Superior now paying some money to it), concerts in the parks, stuff that a more established city has. Superior is getting there, though.

[Tishomingo]

Hi Elemental,

I admire your generous attitude. I was wondering if you knew what area around Boulder would be more of an "out in the country" place where we might purchase a good horse property.
No big ranch or anything. Just 5 to 10 acres with a barn and some pasture land. Is that even possible there or is everything brown?
I'm from Western Washington and everything is green, green, green here, but we are so sick of the rain, lack of sunshine, and unfriendly people.

Thanks,
Tishomingo

[Neditate]

Originally Posted by Tishomingo

I was wondering if you knew what area around Boulder would be more of an "out in the country" place where we might purchase a good horse property.
No big ranch or anything. Just 5 to 10 acres with a barn and some pasture land. Is that even possible there or is everything brown?

There are many horse properties surrounding Boulder. Check out Erie, Niwot, Longmont, the area just north of Boulder (east of Hwy 36), south of Boulder and west of Boulder (Nederland). Every which way, horses surround Boulder.
"Everything" is not brown but it will not be green all year round.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Tishomingo

No big ranch or anything. Just 5 to 10 acres with a barn and some pasture land. Is that even possible there or is everything brown? I'm from Western Washington and everything is green, green, green here, but we are so sick of the rain, lack of sunshine, and unfriendly people.

You will need to bring plenty of "green" with you to buy it.