Firestone? (Denver, Lakewood, Fort Collins: low income, apartment, renting)

[kitten22]

Hey everybody! My partner and I want to move to the Boulder area this summer, but the expensive apartment market has been very discouraging. Then we found a manufactured home community in Firestone, which is a bit too small for my taste, but is also close to Boulder and Denver if I'm not mistaken. So can you guys give me any thoughts about the town? Or about whether getting a manufactured home is any better than renting an apartment? Thanks a ton.

[Lupulin]

I'm not an expert on manufactured homes, but from what I've heard, they tend to depreciate whereas "typical" / "stick-built" homes appreciate. That said, assuming you'll also be buying land to put the home on, the land's appreciation may slightly offset or possibly balance out the depreciation of the manufactured home.

If you plan to stay for a while, I'd look into a traditional home in the area. Fixed rates are really low, there's plenty of product to choose from, prices are low and sellers are desperate. No better time to leverage into that first home, IMHO.

The Tri-Town area is a great location. In good traffic, it's only about 30 minutes to Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins and DIA, and it's less than 15 minutes to Longmont. Plus, there are a lot of new shopping/dining locations popping up in the area and up and down I-25.

[POhdNcrzy]

Nothing wrong with Firestone, so to speak. It's a totally different community than Boulder, but it's certainly not too far away from Boulder. If you are gonna "scope out" Firestone, also consider the other surrounding towns and burbs, including Lafayette, Longmont, Louisville, Superior, Erie, etc.

Firestone is basically "old Colorado" hicks, mostly on the working class/low income side of the ledger, and overlayed with newer, wealthier homeowners recently moved in from other areas (out of state and from other CO areas).

[kelseynj]

This is a lie. were not hicks... We are just regular people that work hard for their money just like everyone else. just because we may take advantage of our open land that isnt covered in pointless buildings doesnt mean were hicks. how would you know if were "low income"... because we are an old town doesnt mean we are "low income!"

"Firestone is basically "old Colorado" hicks, mostly on the working class/low income side of the ledger, and overlayed with newer, wealthier homeowners recently moved in from other areas"

[txgirl96]

We are looking to move to Firestone from Castle Rock. We have noticed you seem to get more for your money there. Would like the locals input on the area and schools. We prefer a smaller town with lower taxes. Also, my husband will be driving into Lakewood. Please give me your honest opinion on the drive for those that commute that way.

[Neditate]

kelseynj don't take it personally. If you look at that person's profile he/she lives in Rhode Island for crying out loud!

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by txgirl96

We are looking to move to Firestone from Castle Rock. We have noticed you seem to get more for your money there. Would like the locals input on the area and schools. We prefer a smaller town with lower taxes. Also, my husband will be driving into Lakewood. Please give me your honest opinion on the drive for those that commute that way.

You can check google maps or mapquest for the distance from Firestone to Lakewood. Lakewood is also quite large, geographically, so the exact address would be helpful. I would say it would be a heck of a drive, every day. Yes, housing is cheaper there, but you'll be paying with your time. Basically, you'd be going from the way northeast metro area to the west central or southwest, depending on where in Lakewood you're talking about.

[txgirl96]

Thank you Katiana for the reply . My husband works off 6th ave. Not to far in from I-25. He has a very long drive from Castle Rock. We are used to always having a drive. I prefer to live out side the city. Would like to keep it an hour and below. As long as the drive is no worse than the drive from the south we are doing good. Either we pay higher in house price and taxes to be closer or we go cheaper and much longer commute. I just did not like the areas that were closer to Lakewood.

[Katiana]

I"m confused. 6th Ave. and I-25 is well within the Denver city limits. According to google maps, it can take 42 minutes and up to an hour in traffic from Firestone to 6th & I-25. I would say the chances of being "in traffic" are fairly high if he works normal hours. You might look at Erie. It's near I-25 and south of Firestone, yet still "out of town".