Help! Brit potentially relocating to Louisville area (Denver, Westminster: city hall, to rent)

[AlyT]

Hi folks!

I really need some help here. Having relocated to Denmark this year, my husband's job with LEGO is now leading us state-side! We have two boys (6 and 4) and he will be working out of Louisville Co 80027. Ideally I would like to make a home for us in an area with a strong community and good schools, within a reasonable commute.

I would be grateful for any suggestions so that I can at least find a starting point for house searching etc.

[Katiana]

I would suggest starting right in Louisville. If you don't like it, you can branch out. Here are a few posts of mine about Louisville. You can find a lot more if you do a search.

Originally Posted by Katiana

There are several picutures of downtown Louisville on the City-Data main page for Louisville. You will see it does not look like an old coal-mining town with a bunch of miner's shacks. For one thing, the miners here lived in little cottages, some of which still stand, just to the west of downtown. Downtown has mainly restaurants and boutiques. City Hall is there, also the library just to the east of Main St. There is a bandshell, which in the winter is the warming area for the ice rink, and in summer is the locale for the free concerts on Friday nights. There are train tracks just east of the bandshell, but I like a little grit. It feels less yuppified that way.

Originally Posted by Katiana

I have posted many times over on the desirable qualities of Louisville. I wlll just say in brief: small-town feel, with lots of celebrations; farmer's market; wonderful library with great kids' programming (at least it was that way when my kids were little); some shopping in town, though maybe not what you want b/c it is mostly big-box and/or chains (Home Depot, Kohl's, Hobby Lobby) or in strip malls. There is a downtown which mostly has restaurants and a few boutiques. Rec center, good schools.

Louisville is conservative on some issues and liberal on others. We are free thinkers here, just like everywhere in Colorado. I've seen some information about voter registration, I believe there are more independents than members of any specific party. I could be wrong about that, but there are certainly a lot of independents. People all over Colorado tend to vote independently. I've always wondered what "progressive" really means in regard to politics.
I guess the people who use the term favorably mean "liberal". That's how it seems to me, anyway.

You will be lucky to find a 1/4 acre lot in any city on the Front Range. They're out there, but there aren't many of them. I don't think the lots in Louisville are much bigger than in Brandburn. There aren't a lot of semii-rural areas, either. Boulder County probably has more true rural land than the closer-in counties, but in reality, most people in BC are living in urban-suburban areas.

Originally Posted by Katiana

I am going to suggest Louisville as an alternative to Boulder or Denver. Denver is awfully far from Boulder if commuting to school on a daily basis. I know people do it for work, but that is sort of "different".

Louisville has a walkable downtown, with the public library and a lot of restaurants and some boutiquey type places. Public transportation to Boulder is quick and frequent.

A Bohemian restaurant just might fly in Louisville. I would probably patronize it!

[Bradburn1]

Welcome to Colorado! My mom is a Brit (from Ipswitch). I second the Louisville idea, great, great town especially for families. Other areas that are close to also look include Broomfield, north Westminster, and Superior. Are you going to rent/buy and what types of things are you looking for in a property (size of house/price range/specific amenities that you need (other than schools, in this area, they are pretty much all good). We should be able to give you more specific neighborhood suggestions based on that.

[TrickiWoo]

Welcome to the area! You're going to love the weather here, lots of sun. My mom os also British, from Scotland. From what I understand there is quite a large British population here, if the size of the Highland Games they hold in Estes Park is any indication (it goes on for 3 days).
Louisville was rated one of the top places to live in the US for a few years now. It's on our list of places to buy. Good luck house hunting!

[FaithW]

I am a Brit too... I like Longmont where we live (the rural part) - places near Golden Ponds are a little more similar to home... more trees and the winters are not so bad... guess it depends what you are looking for... the country life or the town? Boulder itself has quite a nice European feel with little street cafes etc but its way more expensive. There are lots of expat groups if thats your thing and Broomfield has an English restaurant!

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by FaithW

. . . Broomfield has an English restaurant!

It does?! Where? What's it called? What's on the menu (she asks suspiciously)? Boulder of course now has Scotch Corner, which has got to be a misprint - surely they mean Scots Corner unless they serve nothing but 12-year old malts ?

[FaithW]

WildFlowers Tea Room & Restaurant

9009 Metro Airport Ave
Broomfield, CO
3034696361

[Jane7]

Originally Posted by AlyT

Hi folks!

I really need some help here. Having relocated to Denmark this year, my husband's job with LEGO is now leading us state-side! We have two boys (6 and 4) and he will be working out of Louisville Co 80027. Ideally I would like to make a home for us in an area with a strong community and good schools, within a reasonable commute.

I would be grateful for any suggestions so that I can at least find a starting point for house searching etc.

Hi from yet another Brit! We moved to Boulder County three weeks ago. We are in rented accommodation in Superior whilst house hunting. I wasn't intending looking anywhere else to buy - just loved Superior. We are now in the process of buying a house in Lafayette, which was definitely not on my list of places to be, even though we open-enrolled our 14 year old in school there! Thing is, I hadn't seen some of the very attractive developments in Lafayette so if there's a lesson here, it is explore all the possible areas as thoroughly as you can and my advice would definitely be to rent for a while whilst doing that (if it's a long term posting). You can't get a feel for a place otherwise. Superior, Louisville Boulder and Lafayette all have something to offer. Schools - this was a major issue and the most complex, simply because so many people gave so much conflicting advice. My husband visited all the schools that were possibilities, we researched extensively on the net and have to hope we have chosen the right one but at the end of the day it's the school you as a family feel most comfortable with and ticks whatever boxes you need ticking. To finish - we absolutely love it here and I can't wait to get settled in the house. Wish we had had the chance to come years ago.

[Katiana]

Great advice, Jane7! I think everyone who has the oppotunity should take their time about settling. It is always a good idea to keep your options open. I agree Lafayette has some nice housing developments.

In regards to schools, yes, you will get lots of conflicting advice.

"My kids loved School A"
"Well, mine hated it, the pricipal was a b****", etc.

Go with your gut feeling about what's best for your child, and remember that sometimes the best is right in your own neighborhood. (Otherwise stated as the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.)

[suzco]

I often find myself being the spokesman among our habitual posters talking about Lafayette. It's an amazing amalgam of people, from poor to rich, with housing ranging from down-trodden trailer parks to ultra-rich enclaves.

Hang around the playground at Waneka Lake, and you'll hear laughter and chatter in numerous languages, with all of those kids from all of those groups playing together, with parents, rich and poor, pushing the younger kids on swings.

Schools are BVSD; some folks stay local, some open-enroll, but Lafayette is another wonderful choice in Boulder County. For private schools, Dawson in Lafayette is cream of the crop. Pioneer elementary is one of the successful bi-lingual BVSD schools. Centaurus H.S. now has an engineering program in cooperation with CU Boulder, as well as an IB program and AP classes. The ESL programs are excellent. Peak to Peak charter of BVSD in Lafayette keeps appearing on the national radar.