cost of living nederland (Denver, Boulder: rentals, loan, how much)

[nkoile]

Hello all,
I live in a low-cost-of-living area in Omaha Nebraska. I really love Nederland and surrounding communities. I have looked at what property sells for in Nederland (and surrounding) and I just simply coulnd't afford it. My home would sell for 1/2 of what some homes are worth in Nederland. My question is if anyone has been through this and what you did to help afford the higher cost of living. I would probably have to work in Boulder because what I do for a living. I would love to live in that area one day but just see how I could afford it.
Can anyone offer any advise or any other information on what it is like to live in Nederland.
Thanks in advance

Nancy

[Neditate]

Hi Nancy,
I live in Nederland. What info are you looking for, exactly? I'll gladly answer your questions. Please feel free to message me directly if you want.

Many people who live here work in Boulder or work from home. I know folks who commute to Denver, Longmont, Louisville.

I'd suggest that if you can't afford to buy that you rent to see what it is like. Some people are just not cut out for mountain living. There's only one way to find out.

[sjr9628]

I'd love to hear what its like to live in Nederland! My husband and I are considering moving there. We lived in Montana and loved it. Are the schools there good? Is there much of a town? How much do they rely on Boulder? Or Denver? Is it little kid friendly? Are there good restaurants? (my husband is a chef) is the fire dept volunteer?

[Neditate]

The OP, Nancy, has already visited and she can attest to the fact that the people up here are friendly.
The town itself is kind of funky in a western-ish sort of way.
For a small town, we have some pretty good restaurants.
Our awesome Fire Dept. is all volunteer except for the Chief.

I've lived here for 11 years. We don't have kids, but all of our friends' kids attended school here. From what I have been told, the schools are good. They are part of the Boulder Valley School District. Not sure what you mean by "little kid friendly"...?

We don't rely on Boulder for much, really. The only thing we "need" Denver for is the airport. We have a grocery store and a co-op, restaurants, gas stations, post office, bank, hardware store, a nice motel, etc. There is a doctor in town, but you would have to go to Boulder for a hospital. We also have our own ski area, Eldora!

We are at 8,300 feet, 3,000 feet above Boulder. That takes a little getting used to, the dry air and altitude. It's cooler in the summer and we get some wild winds in the winter.

Anything else?

[sjr9628]

Are the winds constantly bad or is a couple days a year kind of thing?

[Neditate]

A couple of days? I wish. The winds typically start blowing mid to late October and calm down in April. It is not an every day occurrence (normally)... but this past winter was very annoying. If you live in or near the mountains you are going to have to put up with the wind.

[hcpc]

If buying a home is out of the question there are some really decent rentals in the area - much cheaper than taking on a home loan. I have a few friends that do rent in Ned (and the surrounding areas) that pay 1/2 of my monthly payments and have 2x the house. Many people in this area have rental properties that they have owned for many years and don't charge that much for them monthly.

[sjr9628]

Are thw winds bad enough to make people stay inside? I assume they add tot he feel of the temp outside hence "wind chill" but are they bad enough to keep someone inside? We were on the north face of a mountain in the bitterroots and were cold but sheltered- the idea of being so exposed is new to us

[hcpc]

Originally Posted by sjr9628

Are thw winds bad enough to make people stay inside? I assume they add tot he feel of the temp outside hence "wind chill" but are they bad enough to keep someone inside? We were on the north face of a mountain in the bitterroots and were cold but sheltered- the idea of being so exposed is new to us

In some cases you will want to remain indoors. Most of the time (for me) it's not a wind chill factor but rather just plain unpleasant to be out in the wind when it is blowing badly. Think of it this way - you can almost always bundle up where you will remain warm yet the wind is blowing around enough where it is just not any fun to be outside. Thank goodness that these conditions primarily exist during the winter months.