Yet another California transplant..(Louisville/Superior area) (rental, price)

[Roloc]

Originally Posted by BrianPhill

All this may be true if you go further out on the plains, but we moved to Superior from California almost 1 year ago, and I have no idea what you're talking about.

This is how the plains are in California too.. I would be willing to say anywhere USA actually.

I don't mind guns or that attitude anyways, I can get along with that or the more suburban lifestyle to be honest so I just found it best not to respond to that post in fear of making some giant generalizations

Let's just say the people in the Cities in California that carry the guns around all the time are probably not the same folks he is talking about , I won't miss that much I don't think.

[Katarina Witt]

I def agree with the "hating the government" issue out here. Even a lot of liberals hate the feds here. I agree that people take a great deal of convincing to raise taxes; on a related note, we vote on all our taxes here. Of course, the legislature has found a way around some of that by calling them "fees", which don't have to be voted on.

[Roloc]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I def agree with the "hating the government" issue out here. Even a lot of liberals hate the feds here. I agree that people take a great deal of convincing to raise taxes; on a related note, we vote on all our taxes here. Of course, the legislature has found a way around some of that by calling them "fees", which don't have to be voted on.

This is only something that makes me want to move to Colorado even more. California is one of the most taxed states and we probably have the least to show for it. Central California in particular is run down and the roads are for the most part falling apart, this is not even mentioning our schools.

I know the Louisville area has really good schools but has anyone found a decent site that compares states for education? I know "no child left behind" implemented mandatory federal testing but I do not know where to find the results. I know sites like greatschools compares things within the state but what about state vs state?

[Katarina Witt]

There is this one:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce - Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness

It is put out by the US Chamber of Commerce and reflects their values. There is a test called NAEP which is some sort of national standardized test that shows state comparisons. You could google it and see what you find. I don't put a lot of stock in this "best schools" stuff personally. Kids in the BVSD schools all go to "good" colleges and universities including Stanford, USC, MIT, etc.

[Roloc]

Originally Posted by Katiana

There is this one:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce - Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness

It is put out by the US Chamber of Commerce and reflects their values. There is a test called NAEP which is some sort of national standardized test that shows state comparisons. You could google it and see what you find. I don't put a lot of stock in this "best schools" stuff personally. Kids in the BVSD schools all go to "good" colleges and universities including Stanford, USC, MIT, etc.

Thanks for the link. I have analyzed this decision to such a granular level of detail that I think what you said is probably right. I am starting to realize that you can get into those schools from anywhere and it isn't that big of a deal.

Still I like looking at something that still says Colorado is not going to be a huge step down or anything. You would be surprised how many people think California schools are the best in the nation when overall the highest I have been able to find we rank is 47th. Seeing that graph doesn't make me think "Colorado has better schools than California" But it does make me think "Well they aren't worse by any means" and I guess that is all I am looking for.

[Roloc]

Well I just wanted to drop back by and make sure I wasn't one of those people who post a thread like this and never gets heard from again.

Thanks to a few people who PM'ed me we are even more clueless about where to live. Everyone has made such a great case for their areas and I can find NOTHING that disputes any of it. Seriously 15 min radius around me and you have everything from Farms to multi million dollar homes to crack houses. There seems to be a 15 min radius around boulder that is nothing but good clean homes with quality people living in them.

This is going to be tough, I am a day away from the big interview and I am really excited. I think once I get the details we are just going to see what is available and draw out of a hat

One REALLY nice thing should someone stumble on this thread is that google maps just did street view for most of Boulder/Louisville/Lafeyette/Erie/Broomfield area. I can not tell you how cool it is to check out the area I will be working and living in from 1300 miles away.

I'll keep you posted

[Roloc]

Another update if anyone cares

Well I got the job and we are on the fastrack to the Boulder area. We found a house to rent in Louisville (Less than a mile or two from the Rec center) and we are very excited about the opportunity.

How packed is the rec center? I mean $56 a month for a family seems like everyone would do it! Also what are my high speed internet options in the area? Is there one provider better than another?

[Micktooth]

The rec center is very popular. I've never seen it too crowded though. Most towns here have their own rec centers and you can use any of them, for a fee of course. The ISP here that I'm aware of are Comcast Cable and Qwest DSL. I have Comcast at home and Qwest at work. Honestly, I have less problems with my Qwest wireless than with Comcast wireless, but both seem ok.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Roloc

Another update if anyone cares

Well I got the job and we are on the fastrack to the Boulder area. We found a house to rent in Louisville (Less than a mile or two from the Rec center) and we are very excited about the opportunity.

How packed is the rec center? I mean $56 a month for a family seems like everyone would do it! Also what are my high speed internet options in the area? Is there one provider better than another?

Congratulations! We used to use the Rec Center a lot, when the kids were younger. It was extremely popular 15 yrs ago or so. That was before the YMCA in Lafayette was built. Now, I think it has more competition from them, and from some private health clubs around. It has offered offered some discounts and promos lately.

We have Qwest DSL. I'm not wild about it, but it's better than the dial-up we used to have, LOL.

[kryptos]

It doesn't get too crowded but it is smaller than other Rec centers. They only have about 4-5 treadmills and on weekends I typically have to wait to get a spot.