Lafayette neighborhoods... (Boulder, Longmont, Louisville: relocate, estate, fsbo)

[alysia]

My husband and I along with our two boys (7 months and 3) are moving to Lafayette from Albuquerque in a few months. We are looking for neighborhoods that have lots of little kids around. We are only interested in the NW area of Lafayette (dh will work in Longmont). Can anyone tell me about Waneka Lake, Indian Peaks west and east, Weynand Estates, and Cross Ridge/Creek??
Thank you for your replies in advance!

[Katiana]

I think you could look all over Lafayette. It isn't that big. Waneka Lake has some neat looking townhouses, though I've never been inside any of them. Indian Peaks are standard subdivisions. The yards seem kind of small to me, but they may be just right for you. I don't know anything about the other two.

[alysia]

Yard is a big deal to us, although we do not need anything too big. I've seen ultra tiny and much bigger yards in Indian peaks. We are very interested in living in a neighborhood with young families though. Currently we live in a nice, friendly neighborhood, but most of the people here have their kids already out of the house. We also want a newer home (in an area with trees!)....which is why we were looking in that area. The only other fairly new subdivision in Lafayette (that I have seen) is in the SE area. That is too far
Those subdivisions I mentioned look nice....I am just wanting to find out whether there are young families there or is it like where we are currently living? Can anyone shed any light on this?
Important decisions...

BTW, Katiana I have appreciated reading your posts on here....I have been reading this forum for awhile to research the area and you and several others have contributed so much. It really helps those of us looking to relocate to that area.

[Katiana]

Well, I don't know anything specific about these neighborhoods since I don't live in Lafayette. However, usually the areas with the newer houses have the kids. I too think some of those yards are tiny, but it depends on what you want. Thanks for the kind words.

[dabouv]

Lafayette is great. I had to move away for business but kept my house there with the plan on returning. Louisville is also very nice and NW Lafayette and Louisville are basically the same.
I lived in Indian Peaks but on the side opposite the gulf course. There are a surprising number of rentals in those houses considering that they are priced between 400,000 and 700,000. I guess I added one to that roll. That does lead to more turnover in the neighborhood than you might see elsewhere. The model for development is relatively small yards with lots of open space and shared space. My lot was about 8000 sq. feet but it was very near a walking path, 2 houses down, and a block from open space and a lake (waneka). There is a little older neighborhood off of Arapahoe and those lots are larger, many are about 1/4 to 1/3 of an acre. You may be able to dip into the upper 300,000 there, I've been away for 3 years so am not up to date but I believe housing prices are pretty flat. The downturn actually hit this area about 4 or 5 years ago so I personally don't believe that it has as much downside as other areas right now.
Longmont is improving. It used to be a cow town but it has grown fast and I think it has a lot of people who would have lived in Boulder but it is too expensive. Make sure you try Lucille's for breakfast, I really miss that place. I can recommend a good realtor if you'd like. She saved me from buying the wrong place and was one of the few realtors honest about housing trends when I bought, just as things were coming down.
You can get more for your money if you go east into Weld county. I liked being closer to Boulder but Vista Ridge is just east of Lafayette and I believe there are some buys there. Boulder has growth restrictions which keep the county nicer in my opinion. Erie is also an option, I had friends there and they had a very nice neighborhood vibe.
Good luck.

[Katiana]

Just a clarification: Vista Ridge is in Erie. It seems to be built on the same model as Indian Peaks, ie, smaller yards with more public space. There are TONS of young families there.

[alysia]

Thank you very much dabouv and Katiana We are heading out next week to find a house and I have been searching everyday for as much info as possible. We were out there a couple of months ago to scope out the place and we really liked the Louisville/Lafayette area. My dh will be working in SW Longmont and we had intended on living there....it is nice, but we just had a better feeling in Louisville/Lafayette.

Dabouv - we are actually looking at two homes in the Waneka Lake area I thought Vista Ridge had settling issues there??

Katiana - We found an FSBO house in the Heritage Park area. Is it nice in that area?? Any young families?

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by alysia

Thank you very much dabouv and Katiana We are heading out next week to find a house and I have been searching everyday for as much info as possible. We were out there a couple of months ago to scope out the place and we really liked the Louisville/Lafayette area. My dh will be working in SW Longmont and we had intended on living there....it is nice, but we just had a better feeling in Louisville/Lafayette.

Dabouv - we are actually looking at two homes in the Waneka Lake area I thought Vista Ridge had settling issues there??

Katiana - We found an FSBO house in the Heritage Park area. Is it nice in that area?? Any young families?

I'm not familiar with Heritage Park. Any area with fairly new homes will have a lot of kids. I think some of the issues about Vista Ridge have been settled, or at least quieted down. It was a dump that was the problem. There are settling issues all over the metro area with the Bentonite soil. Do a search here and on google. Also, get a good inspection.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by alysia

We were out there a couple of months ago to scope out the place and we really liked the Louisville/Lafayette area. . .
we are actually looking at two homes in the Waneka Lake area. . .

Waneka Lake area is lovely; if you don't find young families among your immediate neighbors (always a possibility, as neighborhoods have a mix of people) you're sure to find them at the playground at Waneka Lake Park.

[dabouv]

Originally Posted by alysia

Thank you very much dabouv and Katiana We are heading out next week to find a house and I have been searching everyday for as much info as possible. We were out there a couple of months ago to scope out the place and we really liked the Louisville/Lafayette area. My dh will be working in SW Longmont and we had intended on living there....it is nice, but we just had a better feeling in Louisville/Lafayette.

Dabouv - we are actually looking at two homes in the Waneka Lake area I thought Vista Ridge had settling issues there??

Katiana - We found an FSBO house in the Heritage Park area. Is it nice in that area?? Any young families?

Good luck. My house is on Clipper Drive and there are (were) several families with young children. I believe the subdivision off of Arapahoe is called Weynard Estates, that is just of Indian Peaks. That will save 5-7 minutes on the commute during busy times as opposed to the South Indian Peaks subdivision my house is in. There are quite a few nice lots there, many are 10 or 12,000. The houses are still fairly new, built in the early 90's. I looked at several there before buying the Indian Peaks house. They had the better lot but Indian Peaks had better shared space, the lake, and the house I purchased had a better floor plan for me.

You can email me if you want a realtor advice. I really did have an excellent realtor. I am a Dr. and now practice in Oregon but previously practiced in Longmont. I am not related to her, haven't talked to her in years, and have no financial connection. She was just much more on top of it then the other realtors and was one of the few who really gave me an honest assessment about pricing and pointed out the negatives. You can email using my name here @mac.com if you want more info.

I also would consider looking at a house that gets you first choice for Monarch schools if you have kids. It is a top notch school. Boulder used to have open admissions but I think living in the right area gives you a leg up on the school i that area. Lafayette's public schools (lower ages) wasn't as good according to my friends who had kids but that may have changed. The charter school in Lafayette was recently ranked as one of the top 50 high schools in the nation.

You will love the area. There were too many Drs. in my field there and I am professionally much better off in the Portland area but I'd move back if the right opportunity presented itself down the road.

Dont forget to try Lucille's for the Calas pancakes. It is just a block off of Main in Longmont.