Moving to Boulder, CO or Louisville decision (Gunbarrel: for sale, crime)

[dimplekins]

Hello,
I am looking for advice on relocating. I am trying to decide on homes in Boulder versus one in Louisville. The concern I had about the Louisville house was that it was in Old Town surrounded by some small, white miners bungalows and inexpensive houses. I worried how safe it would be there. I hope someone will have information on crime in this area. Of course, Boulder is nice but very expensive. We are looking for a house with a little more yard than most tract homes and some uniqueness. I liked the Centennial View neighborhood best in Louisville but did not see anything for sale there. We are also interested in areas where there are lots of young families and kids. I welcome any input about Louisville and Boulder. Please comment.

[tfox]

Frankly, crime in either Louisville or Boulder is not much to worry about. Louisville has almost none, while in Boulder you do have some alcohol-driven student crime and some campus petty theft, but other than that it's really pretty minimal, and that really only occurs in the heavily student areas, which you're probably trying to avoid anyway.

I also would see the Louisville house's location in Old Town Louisville as a plus, not a minus, since it gives proximity to a walkable neighborhood lifestyle. The Old Town neighborhood in Louisville is going to improve and not deteriorate with time. As I said, there's no significant crime anywhere in Louisville so that should not be a concern.

Both Lousiville and Boulder are in the Boulder Valley school district, which is excellent. So, schools really shouldn't be a factor. More families with kids are in Louisville simply because the price per square foot is lower there -- in Boulder people tend to get by with less space due to the higher costs, and families tend to want more room. It's not really due to higher crime or bad schools or anything like that. There are a fair number of families who do choose to live in Boulder as well, but obviously the percentage of children is much higher in Louisville.

If you do decide to live in Boulder, my impression is that the more "affordable" (and this is very much a relative term) single family homes are south Boulder (south of baseline), with some in East Boulder. Most of these are your 50s-60s vintage, as the older ones are going to be more expensive. Frankly in if you like Boulder you might find a townhome more affordable, and Boulder has lots of those. North Boulder tends to be more expensive, with the exception the Gunbarrell/Heatherwood area, which is only half in Boulder limits anyway.