Relocating from Chicago suburb to Colorado (Denver: environment, military, work)

[chicagomichael]

Okay, first time at this so bear with me. My family (wife, two sons ages 6 and 9) is hoping to relocate to Colorado over the next 6-12 months. We are doing so in search of a healthier, more geographically desirable, and less cost prohibitive environment than the north shore suburbs of Chicago where we currently reside. Quality of school district is a very high priority, as is a community that ideally has many families with children in our kids' age ranges moving in anew. (We don't want to be the newcomers to an already well established environ. where every family has known each other for years. Maybe a newly planned community wouldn't be bad, though not too "country clubbish" in feel.) I would like to be within an hour or so of Denver, from both a work and cultural standpoint. I have looked a bit at CSprings but believe this to be a bit too conservative (based on both military and religious influence). My wife and I both fantasize about the perfect small town environment that makes for great novels, but not sure we could survive without some reasonable cultural access and "energy." We happen to be Jewish and would probably not be comfortable in an area with too much of an evangelical influence, as I hear is the case on school boards in such places as CSprings. I'll leave it at that for now and ask for any recommendations on areas we should seriously consider. Thank you cyber friends!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by chicagomichael

Okay, first time at this so bear with me. My family (wife, two sons ages 6 and 9) is hoping to relocate to Colorado over the next 6-12 months. We are doing so in search of a healthier, more geographically desirable, and less cost prohibitive environment than the north shore suburbs of Chicago where we currently reside. Quality of school district is a very high priority, as is a community that ideally has many families with children in our kids' age ranges moving in anew. (We don't want to be the newcomers to an already well established environ. where every family has known each other for years. Maybe a newly planned community wouldn't be bad, though not too "country clubbish" in feel.) I would like to be within an hour or so of Denver, from both a work and cultural standpoint. I have looked a bit at CSprings but believe this to be a bit too conservative (based on both military and religious influence). My wife and I both fantasize about the perfect small town environment that makes for great novels, but not sure we could survive without some reasonable cultural access and "energy." We happen to be Jewish and would probably not be comfortable in an area with too much of an evangelical influence, as I hear is the case on school boards in such places as CSprings. I'll leave it at that for now and ask for any recommendations on areas we should seriously consider. Thank you cyber friends!

What line of work are you in?
What is you target housing purchase price?