Oregon to Colorado - specific question (Denver, Fort Collins: rent, condo, houses)

[UpPastThree]

Hi everyone,

I'm finishing graduate school in Portland, OR and will be moving with my family to Colorado. I want to tell you as much as I can so you have an accurate understanding of what I'm looking for.

Both my husband and I can work almost anywhere and our combined salaries will be approximately 120,000/year. We have children but absolutely do not like suburban life. That said, we would certainly entertain living in a large condo if it were near a park and top notch schools.

We DO like being in a clean, nicely landscaped, bustling neighborhood where there's a lot of old houses that have been kept up. We like art and coffee and restaurants and interesting people in a busy "old money-ish" community. We like "bohemian" but not "hippie" if that makes any sense. We like dogs. We like the New York Times. (We'll be moving from NW 23rd neighborhood for those who are familiar with Portland). I've always felt very content there and have never, ever felt in danger. But it's time to leave Oregon and that's already set in stone.

I don't want to move anywhere where I'm "keeping up" with anyone. I don't want a neighborhood full of pimped out Hummers and Louis Vuitton bags - that gets old really quick (well, for me anyways.) I like being around people who actually know whats going on in their state, country and in the rest of the world.

That said, do you have any suggestions? If Denver, then what neighborhoods?

(I had always wanted to live in NYC but, after visiting, realized it was too expensive...and the public schools are awful.)

[StealthRabbit]

Knowing both areas (living 25+ yrs in PNW and same in CO) you probably would find Boulder to feel home for you, maybe downtown Ft Collins also, if you want something smaller and closer to WY !!! (my favorite for recreation / get-aways)

Estes Park would be worth a look while you are in the area, jobs would be a bit tough to come by, and the community would not be too "bustling" for 8 months / yr....

It is a nice place to visit if you end up in Boulder or Ft C.

I'm not sure you would find the culture you are used to in PDX, anywhere but Boulder or Ft C. Denver probably has some areas that would work, but putting up with the rest of Denver may not be worth the stay. Schools ?? you mentioned but no ages... just 'dogs'... the schools are really good in Loveland (an artsy, but slower city) and Ft Collins (pretty good 'family' city, but mix of 'old town + plenty of suburbia, try to avoid that...)

Myself... I would go to western CO, but that's cuz I'm not into traffic.

[Tom Emmerling]

I think Fort Collins would be a match for you and your family. I would look into the old town area. It fits what you are looking at as far as culture and food. This city is very family and pet oriented. There are plenty of outdoor activities to do all year long. Lots of good food too. It is also an affordable place to live.

[tfox]

I'd say the city of Denver. Boulder and Fort Collins are nice towns, but if you're looking for "urban" and "bohemian" -- Denver is really where it's at. Boulder is definitely "hippie" -- but it's more of a combination of urban, suburban, and small town. Fort Collins is similar, but even more of a small-town feel than Boulder. I've lived in both towns, and like them very much, but they're not urban.

The most "bohemian" area we have in Denver is the Capitol Hill / Cheesman Park neighborhood. There's fairly cheap rent available there, and a lot of people in that neighborhood choose to go without cars and live sustainable lifestyles. Although there's not lots of people with kids in those neighborhoods, parts of those neighborhoods are districted for some of the better schools in DPS, so if schools are a big factor that might be a match (admittedly, Denver Public Schools are of decidedly uneven quality).

There are a number of other excellent neighborhoods in Denver that probably have what you're looking for: Baker, Congress Park, Highlands/Berkeley, Wash Park (in increasing order of housing cost). There's some other good threads here on that.