Homes in Old Town Louisville (Boulder, Eldora: to live, best place, cross country)

[Bradburn1]

I love Louisville but as the other posters pointed out, the housing stock is an issue. You might have a look at my neighborhood, Bradburn Village in Westminster (15 minute drive south and east of Louisville.)

Bradburn is a new community--built since 2000--but is designed like the walkable, mixed use neighborhoods before the 1950s, it's called "new urbanism." We have our own downtown area which has restaurants, shops, and services in 5-10 minutes walking distance of every home. They are just now starting on our newest shop, a Whole Foods Market, which should open in spring of 2015. I expect that to draw more businesses that will finish out our downtown as we still have room for 4 more mixed use buildings there.

Homes here have porches on the front with garages in the back, small yards (mostly), and are new but neotraditional architecture (Craftsman, farmhouse, prairie, Italianate, Victorian, and some modern and misc others.) Excellent schools.

Bradburn has a very strong sense of community, you will meet and know many neighbors (and their kids and dogs.) Lots of fun neighborhood events. When it's warm people hanging out on the street/parks/porches and kids running everywhere. We call it "Mayberry with beer."

Houses range from 350-over 1 million, so wide range there. If you want to rent for a bit, we have a nice row house apartment community in the neighborhood called Bradburn Row which many people (including myself) have rented in while waiting for house to finish or right one to come on the market. 3 bedroom unit there rents for 1600-1800 I believe.

Come have a look if you like, we're off 120th ave between Sheridan and Federal on the south side. Feel free to ask anyone you see out about the neighborhood, people are really friendly. I also recommend eating lunch or breakfast at Early Bird restaurant in our downtown, great place.

[elkoda]

Thank you for all of the feedback. We are visiting in two weeks and will make our way through Louisville and the surrounding towns. We have friends of friends who moved to Louisville and rave about the community and how well their kids have responded to the move. Other friends have family in Longmont and have been there 15 years still loving it.

Katiana - I would say its true of where we are now that the socializing of families does trend to depend on the street or the block. This is exactly why I would like to rent first. The problem with renting in Louisville is that I'm having troubles finding a place. Are block parties common in Louisville? Are there some neighborhoods more populated with kids than others?

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by elkoda

Thank you for all of the feedback. We are visiting in two weeks and will make our way through Louisville and the surrounding towns. We have friends of friends who moved to Louisville and rave about the community and how well their kids have responded to the move. Other friends have family in Longmont and have been there 15 years still loving it.

Katiana - I would say its true of where we are now that the socializing of families does trend to depend on the street or the block. This is exactly why I would like to rent first. The problem with renting in Louisville is that I'm having troubles finding a place. Are block parties common in Louisville? Are there some neighborhoods more populated with kids than others?

The newer parts of town tend to have more kids. My neighborhood has a block party, but not annually. I am usually one of the organizers, and in 2012 I was busy with my daughter's wedding, and last summer just sort of passed on w/o anyone getting on the stick! My old neighborhood, also in Louisville, where we lived 5 1/2 years did not have block parties.

Here is an article that somewhat answers the questions about historic homes in Louisville:
Preservation of historic buildings in Louisville gets further boost - Boulder Daily Camera

[jaekn]

Louisville has been names #1 small city in the U.S. several times by Money Magazine. I think that causes homeowners to covet their prize and drive up prices. I rent in Louisville and it is amazing.

[elkoda]

Jaekn,
What makes it amazing to you? How long have you been renting in Louisville? Do you have children in the Louisville schools? I am curious as to what makes it so great, in the eyes of the residents. Have you lived in other towns in or around boulder county?

[Katarina Witt]

elkoda, you may be interested in this article, which talks of an increase in kids in old town (among other things):

Louisville Elementary enrollment generating concern among parents - Boulder Daily Camera

[jaekn]

Originally Posted by elkoda

Jaekn,
What makes it amazing to you? How long have you been renting in Louisville? Do you have children in the Louisville schools? I am curious as to what makes it so great, in the eyes of the residents. Have you lived in other towns in or around boulder county?

I lived in Boulder proper (Broadway/ HWY 36 and Table Mesa / HWY 36 ) for a few years while I was graduating from CU. I prefer Louisville because it is very friendly, the polar opposite of Boulder in that regard and has a small town feeling that harkens back to several decades ago. There are also 27 miles of paved pathways through beautiful open space and parks with great mountain views.

I wouldn't live in Boulder now because it is a nightmare of congestion and has, in my opinion, a much more hipster/elistist vibe these days. If you don't have a car Boulder is better because they treat pedestrians like deities over there. I can't tell you how many time traffic has been completely f***** based on the sauntering of a single pedestrian or cyclist riding in the middle of the road. That's not to say that there isn't really nice and friendly parts of Boulder, just not in my price range (North Boulder is very nice and very expensive). I've always lived around campus.

For context, I'm 27 with no children and I rent a "luxury" one bed on Mccaslin (I think "luxury" in Louisville just means small with wood floors and modern upgrades). My money doesn't go nearly as far as it would in Broomfield or Longmont, however I believe that the higher cost of living is well worth it. I would suggest spending a day in old town and going for bike rides or around to surrounding parks one day. If you like more action and more to 'do' (i.e pay for) then perhaps Boulder is right for you. Louisville is much quieter.

[elkoda]

Katiana, Thank you for passing that article along. This is the type of news that I'd like to see as we search for our new home. I have been trying to read your local paper regularly, but miss a day here and there. The news that families are moving into Old Town is good news to me. I know some of the influx probably drives some folks a little crazy but its good for the community and the livelihood of it's economy, if people really shop and eat and support the local businesses in town. It appears that is the case in Louisville and that is appealing to me. Do you feel that residents truly support the businesses in town and give back to their direct community? Is that what makes Louisville special? We have been dealing with overcrowding in our schools for sometime and it is a real problem. There are the upsides to it, that families want to live in town because they see the quality of education, but nobody wants the students and teachers to suffer or be short-handed from it. It will be interesting to see how it is handled, because I only know how Chicago handles these situations. Hopefully, I will be more impressed. :-)

Jaekn - your insight is great to hear. From afar, I keep saying to myself "what makes this town so appealing to me and I've never even driven through it ? and what makes it worth paying a premium on the real estate to live there? " We live in action packed and busy right now and we are looking for a quieter atmosphere with a large sense of community for our kids. We have strong community ties in "neighborhoods" here in Chicago because we've chosen to live in those pockets that operate that way and we want to continue to teach our kids to give back to your community and how to be good neighbors and shop local - but at a much quieter pace.

We visit Louisville next week and hope to get a real feel of the town. We'll definitely be visiting the schools as that is a major concern of ours (as we have 3 school-aged children) - and we'll stroll up and down in Old Town , have lunch and dinner and try to get a feel of the town. Cross Country skiing maybe, instead of biking this time of year?? Are the trails friendly for that?

Any other suggestions of where we can visit in Louisville to witness the general feel of life in your town in 2.5 days?

[Katarina Witt]

^^I personally think that article was a little bit of muckraking on the part of the Daily Camera. The superintendent of schools doesn't seem too concerned about the situation. There are two other elementary schools in Louisville that have room for more students. I did want you to see the part about families moving to Old Town. I think Louisville has a great sense of community. Yes, lots of people shop locally, if that's what you're asking. Downtown is mostly restaurants, however. I'm not a cross-country skier, and right now there's not much snow on the ground and I don't think any in the immediate forecast. You could go ice skating at the outdoor ice rink. It's very "Norman Rockwell"-ish.

[jaekn]

Originally Posted by elkoda

We visit Louisville next week and hope to get a real feel of the town. We'll definitely be visiting the schools as that is a major concern of ours (as we have 3 school-aged children) - and we'll stroll up and down in Old Town , have lunch and dinner and try to get a feel of the town. Cross Country skiing maybe, instead of biking this time of year?? Are the trails friendly for that?

Any other suggestions of where we can visit in Louisville to witness the general feel of life in your town in 2.5 days?

I'm afraid you wont get far on skis . You can't really do any real cross country skiing anywhere on the Front Range; you will need to venture into the mountains for that. I think a lot of people think it is covered in snow here but the Front Range (including Denver) is typically dry and dead looking for most of the year. Sure we have great mountain views and can go there easily but its not like the Front Range is in itself very beautiful. Just food for thought.

Also, I think 2.5 is about 1.5 too many days to experience Louisville. We are very small compared to most places in Chicago. You wont find any real Museums, good movie theaters or large cultural centers here; those things are better in Boulder/Denver. Louisville is more about community, outdoor excursions and family. LV is also close enough to Boulder that you get the best of both worlds.

I would suggest-

For food: Busaba (very good Thai)
Waterloo (English Style Pub, great burgers and beer)
The Huckleberry
Sweet Cow (Ice Cream, very popular)

Shops: Little House (or is it Little Horse?, tiny shop with records and antiques)
I don't know the names but there are several small shops on or around Main Street

It is extremely cold today btw so I haven't been biking (or cross-country skiing).