Pine Brook Hills (Boulder) and Boulder Heights..? (Denver, Broomfield: houses, neighborhood)

[2kids2dogs]

Hey All,

Relocating to Denver or Boulder for husband's new job in Broomfield. I spent a day with a realtor in Boulder and am not impressed with the housing options--go figure. I did think that Pine Brook Hills looked nice though and at least gave you something of a view--usually you pay extra for that.... On the contrary, these houses seem more affordable (OK, I know $1M+ is not "affordable" but Boulder has it's own relativity) than other areas closer to "town". I'm guessing it's the snow factor in the hills?? Anyone with personal knowledge, please explain b/c we'll be back out there house hunting soon and I'm trying to give Boulder another shot before giving it up for Denver.

Also--any info. on Boulder Heights would be great. I'm not sure where it is but it includes the Foothills Elem. school district so I figure it's got to be close to d/t Boulder.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by 2kids2dogs

Hey All,

Relocating to Denver or Boulder for husband's new job in Broomfield. I spent a day with a realtor in Boulder and am not impressed with the housing options--go figure. I did think that Pine Brook Hills looked nice though and at least gave you something of a view--usually you pay extra for that.... On the contrary, these houses seem more affordable (OK, I know $1M+ is not "affordable" but Boulder has it's own relativity) than other areas closer to "town". I'm guessing it's the snow factor in the hills?? Anyone with personal knowledge, please explain b/c we'll be back out there house hunting soon and I'm trying to give Boulder another shot before giving it up for Denver.

Also--any info. on Boulder Heights would be great. I'm not sure where it is but it includes the Foothills Elem. school district so I figure it's got to be close to d/t Boulder.

I'm not sure where Boulder Hts is, either, but Foothills Ele. is in northwest Boulder.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

I'm not sure where Boulder Hts is, either, but Foothills Ele. is in northwest Boulder.

Boulder Heights is up Lefthand Canyon; (north of Sugar Loaf, Sunshine, Wall St). You can take Lee Hill Dr west to reach the area.

[Carrie_Blair]

Boulder is my absolute favorite city in Colorado. My family and I lived there for several years but just ended up moving to Denver for my husband's job. It's a great place to raise a family so I wouldn't give up on it yet.

Boulder Heights and Pine Brook Hills don't seem too far on the map, but they are not easy or super fast commutes into Boulder and definitely not into Broomfield. Even mileage might not seem too bad but you and your husband will be spending a lot of time driving places.

It's definitely harder to live in these areas during the winter months as well. The roads up the canyon can be a bit treacherous.

Our great friends live in North Boulder near the North Boulder Rec Center off Broadway and Evergreen and their children attend Foothills Elementary. They love the school. You really can't go wrong with any of the elementary schools in Boulder. They are all fantastic. My children attended Mesa Elementary in South Boulder and both Mesa and Bear Creek, in Table Mesa, are rated Excellent based on CSAP scores.

I would take another look at South Boulder. I would also consider Superior or Louisville. Superior is a big subdivision community so you may or may not like that. Louisville is great because it has a mix of old and new. Old town Louisville is very quaint. Louisville is going to benefit tremendously because the plans for the light rail will go through Louisville. Property values will only continue to increase over the next decade.

[Katiana]

Not many million dollar houses in any of the above mentioned places. If that's what you're looking for, keep looking in Boulder and perhaps Niwot.

[bouldergranola]

I'm with Carrie_Blair. SoBo is a great family neighborhood and the schools (and the families) are wonderful! Although we live in Broomfield, my children attend Bear Creek and Southern Hills Middle School. We would move to SoBo in a second if it was affordable for us.

I'm not sure what you're looking for in a home but there are a lot of great houses in SoBo like this one.

[livecontent]

I have a relative who lives off of Lee Hill Road. Nice, area but difficult at times because of the weather. Be warned--there are issues with water and it would be advisable to have any well tested before making a purchase. In addition, look closely at the septic system and consider also yours neighbors because some are not maintained. This can influence future cost and any water you draw out of a well.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by livecontent

I have a relative who lives off of Lee Hill Road. Nice, area but difficult at times because of the weather. Be warned--there are issues with water and it would be advisable to have any well tested before making a purchase. In addition, look closely at the septic system and consider also yours neighbors because some are not maintained. This can influence future cost and any water you draw out of a well.

Boulder Heights properties all use wells. Pine Brook Hills has a municipal water district; Pine Brook Water District – Home Page

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by suzco

Boulder Heights properties all use wells. Pine Brook Hills has a municipal water district; Pine Brook Water District – Home Page

Good Point to bring up. Yes, I am aware of that--the problem is with the wells--my relations have water trucked up the canyon and the cost is not the water--it is the cost of transport. Their well went dry many years ago. The state was studying an initiative to require in all mountain purchases that wells be tested and that septic systems meet certain standards before a property can be sold. I do not know what happen with that proposal.

Unfortunately many people do not maintain the septic systems and the land allows drainage and overflow of these systems to areas of well water. And even worse, people do not continually test their well water for contaminants and pathogens so they are unaware if their are changes to their water supply.

[2kids2dogs]

Thanks for the info--very helpful and something we would not have known to look into!