Mountain living questions (Denver, Arvada, Boulder: buying a house, buying, school district)

[primejuice]

My wife and I have always fancied living in one of the mountain towns. Hard to pin down why beyond the natural beauty, the rustic charm and the different character they and their inhabitants have. Like the space too. And and suburban neighbors just aren't our kind of people.

Have lived in Colorado near Boulder for around 5 years after relocating from the UK (we're both Brits). There's us two and 3 kids from 4 - 13 years old.

I've obviously talked to friends and colleagues (who almost all live "down here" rather than "up there") but am interested in other opinions and insights you might have.

The sort of places we are considering are Nederland, Rollinsville, Coal Creek Canyon/Golden etc.

Some of the things that I've been reading and thinking about needing to better understand are:

- what's the best way of dealing with those long unpaved driveways when it snows ... snowblower? contract someone to plough it? Do they get really badly icy and unusable? Do they dictate that I'm going to need studded tires or just decent snow tires, studs optional?

- how are some of those nice dirt roads that switch back and forth with hairpins in the winter after a big dump of snow? I have no issues driving in the snow but have never gone and and played around on those after severe weather.

- what are the things to think about with septics and wells?

- Lots of my friends in Boulder take deep intakes of breath at the prospect of me schooling my kids up there. Is this pure snobbery or genuine?

Any comments or advice greatly welcome. Thanks.

[Charles]

What line of work are you in?
Where will you work?

[primejuice]

Good question. I work in software and very soon will be doing this from home so no commute required for now. I acknowledge I may have to be barreling down to Denver to pick up work in the future. I am pretty stable for now but in the event that stability passes I would look to do contract work that, as much as possible, could be undertaken at home.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

We paid someone to plow our driveway after each snowfall. Just too darn much to try to do it yourself, even with a snowblower. We had more problems with the depth of the snow than it getting icy.

The roads will usually be ok with just snow tires, but I threw chains in my car just in case. I think in five years of living in Conifer I only used the chains once. If you are on a school bus route, the roads are cleared pretty early in the morning.

Septics are ok, you just need to be aware of what kinds of things shouldn't be put down your drains. I remember egg shells hardened in the septic tank. There are products you can buy to keep the septic working properly. We used one for five years and never had any problems. Same thing with the well. I think you can get the county to come out and test your well water if you have any concerns about what's in it.

Don't know anything about the schools, especially where you are looking.

[2bindenver]

In some of those areas, you will need southern sky access for satellite internet - no high speed - no cable.

[weddingday20071]

Originally Posted by primejuice

My wife and I have always fancied living in one of the mountain towns. Hard to pin down why beyond the natural beauty, the rustic charm and the different character they and their inhabitants have. Like the space too. And and suburban neighbors just aren't our kind of people.

Have lived in Colorado near Boulder for around 5 years after relocating from the UK (we're both Brits). There's us two and 3 kids from 4 - 13 years old.

I've obviously talked to friends and colleagues (who almost all live "down here" rather than "up there") but am interested in other opinions and insights you might have.

The sort of places we are considering are Nederland, Rollinsville, Coal Creek Canyon/Golden etc.

Some of the things that I've been reading and thinking about needing to better understand are:

- what's the best way of dealing with those long unpaved driveways when it snows ... snowblower? contract someone to plough it? Do they get really badly icy and unusable? Do they dictate that I'm going to need studded tires or just decent snow tires, studs optional?

- how are some of those nice dirt roads that switch back and forth with hairpins in the winter after a big dump of snow? I have no issues driving in the snow but have never gone and and played around on those after severe weather.

- what are the things to think about with septics and wells?

- Lots of my friends in Boulder take deep intakes of breath at the prospect of me schooling my kids up there. Is this pure snobbery or genuine?

Any comments or advice greatly welcome. Thanks.

CAN YOU HELP ME FIND A PLACE OUT THERE FOR ME AND MY HUSBAND TO LIVE IN THE DELTA OR MONTROSE.AND SOME JOBS SEND THEM TO MY EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE BECAUSE WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE TO COLORADO AND WE NEED HELP TO GET A PLACE DOWN THERE FIRST.THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

[weddingday20071]

Can Anyone Help Us Get To Colorado To Find A Place To Live And A Job For Us .in Delta Or Montrose.or Send The Email To My Address.i Need A Place To Live And A Job First.

[FoRuMRideR420]

^^^^^^^?? no offense but why dont you go yourself instead of asking someone you don't know to find a place to live and a job.....use google........

[Katarina Witt]

primejuice: I will attempt to answer your school questions. I don't know what your friends in Boulder are concerned about. Nederland schools are part of the Boulder Valley School District. They have a comprehensive high school. If you should think there is not enough choice at Nederland High, you could open-enroll your kids at one of the Boulder High Schools. They could take the RTD down to Boulder. I personally don't think there is any need to do that before high school, and probably not even then. Most college admissions offices acknowledge that smaller schools don't offer as many courses as larger ones, and take that into consideration.

Likewise, if your kids want to do a sport that is not offered at Nederalnd, they can sign on to a team in a BV school that does have that sport. The only gymnastics team in BVSD is in Broomfield, my kids went there from Monarch, and there was a girl from Nederland on the team.

Coal Creek Canyon is part of the Jefferson Co. SD, again a reputable sd. There is an elementary school somewhere up there. I don't know where they go to middle/high school perhaps Arvada? You could look at their website to find out. Again open-enrollment is a possiblility.

I do not know what SD Rollinsville is in. In fact, I barely know where Rollinsville is. I would suggest researching that before buying a house there.

[RuqiaRaqs]

If you are fairly certain that you will be living on the eastern slope of the mountains (as opposed to western slope: Grand Lake, Steamboat, etc), major snow accumulations won't be a constant problem. I live in Estes Park, at 7800 feet, and we just don't get a ton of snow (is much worse in the Chicago area). If a lot of snow falls it usually melts within a week or two, leaving most of the roads clear. It is sunny most of the time, and temeratures stay mild relative to the western slope.

That said, when we were hit with the huge blizzards last winter, a friend of mine was trapped at her house for a week, unable to drive down her long (over a mile) unpaved lane, and had to snowshoe out to get provisions. She and her husband ended up buying their own small plow, which was the most ecinomical solution given their remote location and length of their lane. My opinion is unless you are going to be really remote, on a private lane, you could just hire a plow, get a snow blower, or have a neighbor with more equipment to plow your driveway for you (which is what we have done).

Hope that helps,
Robin