Family Move to Gunbarrel or Boulder- need advice! (Longmont, Louisville: renting, day care)

[mjdcolorado]

My family is moving to the Boulder area, and I would like advice on whether you would think Boulder or Gunbarrel are more family friendly areas? My husband and I love Boulder, but now that we have a child, I find myself worrying more about safety, my kids ability to hang out with friends without me needing to worry too much, good schools, and just general piece of mind living in an area that i know we can stay for a long time. We looked all over Colorado, and there are lovely areas we found, but none that we loved as much as Boulder. We also like Gunbarrel, but wonder if it's too "sleepy" for a young family? We heard many young people are moving there, but is that true? I would love to meet new young families like ours to hang out with, and I'm not sure if that would happen in Boulder or Gunbarrel?

Advice?

[OhioToCO]

First of all, Boulder and Gunbarrel are so close geographically, that I don't think it will matter in terms of meeting new people and families whether you choose one or another. Unless, of course, you only want to meet your immediate neighbors
I live in Heatherwood which is a part of Gunbarrel, in a way. It's a great family community - lots of young families with kids, strong neighborhood feel. Same thing, I imagine, is in Gunbarrel Green, Gunbarrel North and other neighboring subdivisions. We are a family of 4, two kids - 8 and 14. I can answer any questions through DM, or you can search for threads here - I once wrote a post about our decision to buy in Heatherwood.

[LisaBoulder]

I used to live in Gunbarrel and it was nice, but I found myself constantly driving down the diagonal to either Boulder or Longmont. If you're considering Gunbarrel, you might also want to check out some of the neighborhoods in East Boulder. Arapahoe Ridge has similar houses to Gunbarrel Greens and Heatherwood. Eisenhower elementary is in the middle of the neighborhood and there's a park too. Other choices may be Keywaden (sp?) Meadows which is south of Baseline. The south Boulder/Table Mesa area is also very family friendly.

Good luck with your search.

[bovinedivine]

I agree with everything said so far. The drive down the Diagonal can get wearisome -- especially as your child(ren) grow and want to do things in Boulder or Longmont. Are you the kind of family that wants to walk, bike, stroll, or bus to just about everywhere? (And by everywhere, I mean work, pre-school/day care, school, church/synagogue, recreation center, a wide variety of natural food markets, shopping, medical/hospital, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.) If so, you would have a greater range of options in Boulder proper than in Gunbarrel.

Once you get beyond the CU/student housing areas, many Boulder neighborhoods offer the family-friendliness you seek. Since you want to put down roots, think down the road to when your child is a tween, an adolescent, a (Gasp!) driver. My children learned early that you truly don't need to drive around Boulder; so much so that my son didn't even want a driver's license until he was 20. Of course, this was back in the day, before the "helicopter generation" became the dominant parenting style...

[mjdcolorado]

Thanks so much for all of your advice, it really does help as we are trying to decide what kind of area will work better long term. You have no idea how much this helps me! We like to be close enough to things so that when we want to go places, they aren't too far, but like the seclusion and quiet of a "burb" type area with trees and families. We like Gunbarrel because it seems so peaceful, but with nothing closeby I imagine we'd be driving EVERYWHERE, which I think may make us feel isolated over time. I just don't want to be in the middle of the Boulder craziness, and I don't know the areas well enough to know which are more family friendly.

Your advice is helping me a lot!

[Marc Wishner]

Gunbarrel is nice..especially if you can find a home on the west side of it which is about 5 minutes closer to Boulder. We brought up 2 boys here and enjoyed being just outside of town ( trails, families vs. students etc.) but minutes to anywhere.Definitely a bit less hubub but good shopping ( large King Soopers in the neighborhood) and a few OK restaurants but new brew pub and Hampton Inn on the way. You can take the 205 bus in to town easily and the bike ride is not too far, but you do drive a bit to school stuff as the kids age. Not so bad and homes are less expensive and larger.

[OhioToCO]

Yes, I'm definitely driving most everywhere, but it's not a terrible drive.
Some popular destinations for us:
East Boulder Rec Center - 15 minutes.
Boulder Library and anywhere west of 30th street - 20 minutes
Louisville Library - 15 minutes (I switched to Louisville library because it's 5 minutes faster to get there )
King Soopers - 5 minutes
Fairview High School (the older on just started as a freshman) - 20-25 minutes - the farthest destination in town

When we just moved to Boulder I liked the idea of biking or taking a bus everywhere. Then I compared housing prices (and this probably the biggest factor!), the noise, the safety - and we chose to stay in Gunbarrel. If you like the peace and quiet, then Gunbarrel will please you. We may be isolated from town, but this has its merits - less passing cars, easier to let children loose around neighborhood etc.
But I tell you what - once kids are grown - we are moving to Boulder proper or Louisville, that's the dream for now

[Ron Rovtar]

Hi MJDColorado: Boulder is a great place to live. So is Gunbarrel, which is partially in Boulder City and partially in the unincorporated part of Boulder County. It also is split between the Boulder Valley Schools and the St. Vrain schools. Gunbarrel is a short ride to the main part of Boulder City, but nothing like some larger city commutes. You will find homes are generally less expensive there. In Boulder City you will be closer to everything that is going on Downtown, at some of the shopping areas and at the university. Bike and walking paths make it easy to get around. Your children will love either place, but may find the main part of Boulder City more exciting. There is bus service up to Gunbarrel, but your older children will find the service more regular in the main part of the city. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

[qfrost]

I would only add price is going to be a big determining factor between these two areas. Just a thought.

[Hipchik]

Boulder City is in Nevada. Boulder is just Boulder.