Considering a Job in SW Longmont -- Where to Live? (Denver: houses, look for a job)

[nickbradley]

I'm considering relocating to take a job in Southwest Longmont -- where is the best place to live for under $425,000? I think living in Longmont is out of the question.

[POhdNcrzy]

Nick, what kind of house are you interested in? And why do you think Longmont is out of the question.

The areas around Erie and Lafayette are nice with many recent housing developments going in over the last decade. More bang for your buck out by Firestone area, but that's significantly more remote and "out on the prairie".

[nickbradley]

Originally Posted by POhdNcrzy

Nick, what kind of house are you interested in? And why do you think Longmont is out of the question.

The areas around Erie and Lafayette are nice with many recent housing developments going in over the last decade. More bang for your buck out by Firestone area, but that's significantly more remote and "out on the prairie".

1. Looking for Good schools: Boulder County, Broomfield, and Superior

3. Kid-friendly neighborhood

3. Firestone seems out in the middle of nowhere. Too prarie for me.

4. I want to be near amenities and recreation

5. Longmont is out of the question because my wife will look for a job eventually and will probably work South in Denver or in Boulder. Also, I don't want to live way up in Longmont if I have to look for a new job in the future -- the nice part of Longmont is Northwest -- too far to commute to Denver in the future.

6. Optimally, I would like to stay between $300k and $375k -- but I can go up to $425k. I'd like a decent sized lot at least (7500sf).

[jkcoop]

The southwest part of Longmont has some great areas and great schools. You should give it a chance.

[POhdNcrzy]

Originally Posted by jkcoop

The southwest part of Longmont has some great areas and great schools. You should give it a chance.

Agreed. Longmont is right next to Boulder and it is even closer to I-25 (to go to Denver) than Boulder is (Rt. 36 = nasty traffic).

BTW, forget anything in Boulder proper with those parameters you've given....

[nickbradley]

Originally Posted by POhdNcrzy

Agreed. Longmont is right next to Boulder and it is even closer to I-25 (to go to Denver) than Boulder is (Rt. 36 = nasty traffic).

BTW, forget anything in Boulder proper with those parameters you've given....

But wouldn't I be putting my wife and I out long-term as far as job opportunities go? That part of Longmont is 40 miles from downtown and 50 miles from the tech center.

I figured that Lafayette/Louisville/Erie is a much better choice: 10 miles to Longmont, 10 miles to IBM in boulder (and surrounding jobs), 10 miles to CU boulder, 20 miles to downtown, 35 miles to the tech center, close to jobs in Broomfield, 25 miles to DIA, 30 miles to Buckley AFB (my wife and I are in Defense/Aerospace).

[jkcoop]

I'm not sure I'd base my choices now on the what if's and mights. For one thing - it would be incredibly convenient for you. I'm not sure I'd want to work all the way down at the tech center no matter where I lived up here. I know people do it - but when my husband was interviewing last year for jobs down town and at the tech center, it was torture no matter what. I don't think the extra bit s.w. Longmont put on made that much difference. The torture was once you got on the freeway and the traffic down south.

Do you have kids? When we moved here I wanted to move in where we would be long term so I wasn't moving our son around and he would go from kindergarten to senior with the same friends. It's worked out great so far and we love the schools.

I think in the areas you work there would be enough opportunities up here to find something close. I'm not discounting the other areas you mentioned, just saying, don't completely rule out Longmont - especially the s.w. side. I love our area. We are close to the mountains, a bit rural - not a sea of houses, close to Boulder.

[nickbradley]

Originally Posted by jkcoop

I'm not sure I'd base my choices now on the what if's and mights. For one thing - it would be incredibly convenient for you. I'm not sure I'd want to work all the way down at the tech center no matter where I lived up here. I know people do it - but when my husband was interviewing last year for jobs down town and at the tech center, it was torture no matter what. I don't think the extra bit s.w. Longmont put on made that much difference. The torture was once you got on the freeway and the traffic down south.

Do you have kids? When we moved here I wanted to move in where we would be long term so I wasn't moving our son around and he would go from kindergarten to senior with the same friends. It's worked out great so far and we love the schools.

I think in the areas you work there would be enough opportunities up here to find something close. I'm not discounting the other areas you mentioned, just saying, don't completely rule out Longmont - especially the s.w. side. I love our area. We are close to the mountains, a bit rural - not a sea of houses, close to Boulder.

Well, my wife will go back to work at some point -- and its more likely that she'll get a job in the Denver Metro than in Longmont. I'd like to be centrally-located simply for the security of being able to take another job if if I have to. The Tech Center would be

SW Longmont looks very nice, but it also looks pretty expensive. To me, it looks like an area for people who cannot afford to live in Niwot -- but commute to Boulder.

We have a 1 year old right now and plan on having a couple more. I want to live in an area where we will live for a long time -- I won't want to have to move 20 miles south or so if I have to find new employment.

[TrickiWoo]

SW Longmont looks very nice, but it also looks pretty expensive. To me, it looks like an area for people who cannot afford to live in Niwot -- but commute to Boulder.

Not necessarily, we just bought a home in jkcoop's area for well under $300k, it's a lovely neighborhood. While we were looking we saw quite a few homes in the same approximate area in the $220k - $400k range.
We also looked in Erie, what I didn't like about Erie is that it has a sort of 'half finished' feel to it, like all the builders suddenly ran out of money, even the shopping centers there are often half done (at least the areas we've been to). In the end we chose Longmont because hubby works in Boulder, didn't want to deal with the traffic on 36 to get down to Louisville (which is getting pretty pricey, BTW). We also like that Longmont still has some rural areas, not just the sea of homes and strip malls (though who knows for how long?)

[DressageRider]

What kind of place are you looking for at that price point? I imagine that Lafayette or Broomfield would be good options if you want to be more central to Longmont, Boulder, and Denver. I prefer Lafayette to Broomfield because at least it has its little old downtown. Broomfield, like Westminster, feels a bit soulless to me (but that is just my opinion and plenty of people like it.)

Here's a dumb question from me: What is considered SW Longmont? Airport/Nelson?