Looking for family friendly liberal(ish) town with character (Denver: best neighborhoods, houses)

[1cindym]

We're a liberal leaning family looking to escape the hectic lifestyle of the DC area and lower our cost of living at the same time. We've singled out areas of Colorado as a possibility.

We want a nice community for our 12 yr old son with good schools. We're hoping for a 4 bdrm, 3000 sq ft plus house with a decent sized lot (an acre would be nice) in the price range of $400K (give or take).

We work from home, so proximity to jobs isn't an issue.

We love the outdoors and want to be surrounded by nature. Good restaurants, coffee houses, music venues are also important.

Any suggestions? I've heard Longmont is a nice place to look (though it may be more expensive than we're hoping). I'd love some feedback.

Thanks!

[alliern]

Have you considered Evergreen or Conifer which are towns just west (30-45 min) of Denver in the foothills?

The public schools are highly rated. I have a 12 year old son in the 6th grade at one of the two middle schools in the are He had a great transition from elementary school and is doing extremely well.

The politics up here are 50/50 and people are very respectful of others' opinions. I have plenty of friends on both sides and we all get along.

There are numerous restaurants, coffee houses and a number of places to hear live music (mostly on the weekends). Evergreen Lake has many events throughout the year...summer music concert series, Skate the Lake, Winter Fest, etc.

South Evergreen and Conifer would allow you to have 3000 sq ft, 4 BR and a very decent sized lot (1 acre +).

Everyday amenities are here and access to Denver is easy when you want it. Safeway, King Soopers, Natural Grocers are the bigger grocery stores. I think the only thing you won't find here is a movie theater.

Good luck with your search!

[GoneNative]

Evergreen and Conifer are both quite conservative.

I wouldn't call Longmont "liberal," although Boulder's liberal politics do seem to seep a bit into the rest of Boulder County.

[alliern]

I would consider North Evergreen to be on the conservative side. But, South Evergreen and Conifer have PLENTY of liberals. There were consistently equal number of Obama and Romney signs displayed during the election.

[Josseppie]

I would suggest Salida.

[Chip_Vanilla]

The terms family-friendly, liberal, and town with character seem to contradict each other.

[CosmicWizard]

^^^only to those with a habit of looking for contradiction.

[Neditate]

Originally Posted by Chip_Vanilla

The terms family-friendly, liberal, and town with character seem to contradict each other.

Why?

I think Salida fits that description. Good suggestion Josseppie.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by 1cindym

We're a liberal leaning family looking to escape the hectic lifestyle of the DC area and lower our cost of living at the same time. We've singled out areas of Colorado as a possibility.

We want a nice community for our 12 yr old son with good schools. We're hoping for a 4 bdrm, 3000 sq ft plus house with a decent sized lot (an acre would be nice) in the price range of $400K (give or take).

We work from home, so proximity to jobs isn't an issue.

We love the outdoors and want to be surrounded by nature. Good restaurants, coffee houses, music venues are also important.

Any suggestions? I've heard Longmont is a nice place to look (though it may be more expensive than we're hoping). I'd love some feedback.

Thanks!

You might look at Fort Collins. It has most of what you are wanting, and is still within an hour or so from the Denver Metro Area, to meet your other needs. If you stay on the west side of town you will be close to nature and should be able to find something in your price range (although maybe not an acre, but at least a good sized lot).

Longmont and Lyons are also good choices, but your budget might prevent you from finding a home you desire in those places.

If you are open to places that aren't necessarily liberal (and may be further from all your desired needs), but that are in beautiful locations, I'd look at Durango, Salida, Buena Vista, and perhaps Montrose.

Many places in Colorado that are surrounded by nature, liberal leaning, and within proximity of all the things you desire are going to be along the Front Range and expensive (think Boulder). Honestly, that's one of the reasons that keep my husband & I from moving back. We desire much of what your family does, although our budget is much smaller than yours. We've found most of that where we currently are in Oregon. The only thing missing is the rest of my family in Colorado.

[ColoTroutlHntr]

Denver is almost certainly where you want. You wont find an acre for that $ but you may not need that much land when you see people have decent yards and there are parks and outdoors all around. Denver doesn't live like any E. Coast cities, there is open space and tons of outdoors all around town totally unlike DC. and it is much much more relaxed than the E. Coast. Denver is liberal in a smart and balanced way and has tons for kids/adults too. Looking at other places in Colo. you will run into various significant problems... ugly suburban mountain sprawl in evergreen, other suburban messes around the N. Front range, distance from things and length of winter in mountain towns. Denver has the best neighborhoods and architecture and best overall quality of life by far for the vast majority of people of any place in Colo. and most other parts of the state are lacking in one or many ways unless you absolutely know what you want and what you are getting into in one of the mountain or resort or W.slope areas which can be very nice but they only suit people who understand what they are truly getting into. And coming from DC I doubt anything but Denver makes sense, but Denver itself is a truly great place.