Best neighborhood to move to? (Woodland Park, Palmer Lake: lease, chapel, home)

[rebeccagrace]

Thanks so much everyone. I hope I didn't give the impression that we just wanted to live in the fanciest part of town. Lol...we just want a nice neighborhood. Actually my aunt and uncle live in Divide so when we go visit them we go through Woodland Park, which is absolutely wonderful. You know...I think we might look there. Thanks for the advice because even though it's beautiful we didn't even consider it until now. Thanks very much!

Rebecca

[froggin4colorado]

No problem Rebecca. As you can imagine, some do want to live in the high end, most elite and we are just trying to accomodate everyone's wants and desires. As you can see, just because the Broadmoor area is elite, we don't all want to be there. Those of us who have been here, know what great secret Woodland Park is...true CO!

[Bideshi]

OK, the secret is out! What is the zip for Woodland Park? And what is the altitude?

[nawog]

Try Upper Skyway. Cheyenne Mt. Schools are supposed to be the best.

[otowi]

Well, from an educator's perspective who has taught in D12 and elsewhere, I would say Cheyenne Mt. Schools are fine, maybe even good, but not the best. There are schools in D11 that I think are better than D12, such as Palmer, and about the same as D12, such as Coronado and Doherty - let alone schools in D20, D38, etc. The district rests on its laurels and wealth and does not keep up to date with the top pedagogy, programs, etc. for kids compared to other more diverse districts and simply ignores a lot of issues thinking it is somehow immune because it is in the old money part of town. Also, kids who go through D12 all the way have reported to me serious, serious drug problems and serious, serious clique problems that really alienate kids who aren't from the "right" families - hence, in the former case, D12's push for random drug testing this coming year.

[froggin4colorado]

I can second Otowi's comments of D12...HUGE drug problems. The kids have more money to buy and the prescription drugs!!! I have friends who teach in D12 and to listen to their stories of parents competing with one another on what they bought their child's teacher for Xmas is ridiculous- Vegas trips...

[nawog]

There used to be a site where you could compare test scores of schools. I looked but couldn't find it.

Having worked with homeless teens here, I know drugs and cliques are in all schools. Rich and poor, buy or steal drugs. Cliques are tough; also doesn't alway pertain to just "rich kids". One of my daughters and a friends' children had problems with cliques in D20.

Woodland Park does sound interesting but tough in the winter if you have to commute to the Springs.

[rebeccagrace]

Wow...drug problems are so rampant nowadays. It's very scary. Although we did look in Woodland park we decided on the east side of the springs. We like the area and were able to get a six bedroom house for much less than we thought! We are very pleased and will be moving soon. I know...six bedrooms is a lot, but we have a large extended family that are always wanting to visit, so we figured we would get a place with lots of room. Thanks again everyone!

[DannoCO]

If you want to be in the trees on a bit of land, look in the Black Forest area. If you need to be closer to amenities, try the Pinecreek neighborhoods, and north of there (Northgate area). Some of the hottest real estate right now is in the Flying Horse development. District 20 and 38 are very good. You won't go wrong with either one.

[BrandiB]

Hi Rebecca. I have to put my vote for Flying Horse on the north end of town. From your description of what you're looking for, Flying Horse is exactly it. It's broken down into "Villages" based on the size of lots/homes and price. I live in Village of Saratoga, which is one of the "cheaper" villages. Here, home prices range from $400,000-650,000. I believe for $750,000 you can easily build a home in Village of Calistoga, which is gated. The lots and homes are bigger than Saratoga, but not as big as Toscano. Discovery Canyon is an excellent public school, but if you're set on private schools, Da Vinci (I think is private, not sure though) and The Classical Academy are very close.

Here's another thread on this board about Flying Horse where you can get more information. http://www.city-data.com/forum/color...orse-area.html