Castle Rock vs Highlands Ranch (Denver, Monument: rent, homes, neighborhoods)

[momandwifefromcali]

Hello all,

We currently live in South Orange County, CA. And we are thinking about moving to CO in 2008.
We have 2 kids ages 5 and 3, and we are looking for a place that is Safe, with great school Districts, with many shops, restaurants, lots of activities for the kids.
Nice and friendly people as well....

We've been looking at Castle Rock and highlands Ranch... Any ideas?

Thank you so much!

[2bindenver]

there is no reason not to explore both.

Same school district.

CR is a city (county seat.)

HR is a subdivision.

CR is closer to The Springs

HR is closer to Denver, Light Rail, and C-470.

CR can be suburban, small town or rural.

HR is a subdivision.

CR has a rec center.

HR has 4.

CR has a Sonic.

HR has a Tattered Cover.

[vfrpilot]

Castle Rock has a variety of neighborhoods. There are older 50's style with small homes and mature landscape to newer developments. You can also fine homes with larger lots in and around CR. Plus it has a very nice downtown business area. Highlands Ranch is nice but is similar to the sprawl of Mission Viejo. It was even developed by a company called that. There is a lot of info about HR here. Personally I prefer CR cause I like the look and feel of larger lots with more space between homes.

[b.adams]

HR is just about fully developed. Probably done in the next 3 years.
CR is undergoing a lot of change. Transforming from a small town into a higher-end town. Lots of development occuring in some areas.

HR: After the blizzard of 2003, it took 5 days to get douglas county to plow out my street, which had probably 100+ homes on it.
CR: After the first blizzard of 2006, it took less than a day for the town of castle rock to get to my cul de sac with 10 homes on it. City services.

HR has lower taxes, since it is not an actual city, but also depends on the county for services
CR has higher taxes, but does have a city and the services are quite good; CR is also the home base for Douglas County Govm't, so some additional jobs and they are doing a good job fixing up the town and its lagging infrastructure

HR was built, planned from scratch -- so it can handle its high population
CR is growing from a small town of under 10,000 people to something maybe half the size of HR ... but its sometimes painful as roads and interchanges are still being built, rebuilt and planned. But improving.

HR rec centers, parks and trails are much more extensive than what CR has.
CR has trails in a more natural setting, and more natural beauty. But its evolving.

CR still feels like a small town, and I like how we see people we know all over town.
HR feels kind of super-sized, well done, but sometimes impersonal. You can't know everyone.

[momandwifefromcali]

Thank you for your responses, I hope we make the right decision.

[ditto]

lol. You're basically moving to the same place. Close your eyes in July, get on a plane and open 'em up once you arrive in Castle Rock or Highlands Ranch - yup, you've discovered South Orange County - EAST! Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, Foothill Ranch, Laguna Nigel, etc., is basically what you are looking at over here. The only difference is you're going to be MUCH further away from the ocean and freeze for about 4 months straight. You'll also notice a big difference in dry weather and altitude. Less traffic, people, & cheaper home prices in CO but that's changing rather quickly.

[2bindenver]

Originally Posted by ditto

The only difference is you're going to be MUCH further away from the ocean and freeze for about 4 months straight.

But oh so much closer to the contenantal divide. Which 4 months?
From 9news.com/weather
Today: Sunny and warmer with highs in the upper 50s! Winds will start to pick up this afternoon, out of the southwest at 10-20 mph. The foothills will see much higher gusts, possibly up to 50 mph!

Originally Posted by ditto

You'll also notice cheaper home prices in CO but that's changing rather quickly.

How so? Prices have been rather flat/stable/steady for 6 years. Do you have a working crystal ball? Can I rent it?

[momandwifefromcali]

Originally Posted by ditto

lol. You're basically moving to the same place. Close your eyes in July, get on a plane and open 'em up once you arrive in Castle Rock or Highlands Ranch - yup, you've discovered South Orange County - EAST! Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, Foothill Ranch, Laguna Nigel, etc., is basically what you are looking at over here. The only difference is you're going to be MUCH further away from the ocean and freeze for about 4 months straight. You'll also notice a big difference in dry weather and altitude. Less traffic, people, & cheaper home prices in CO but that's changing rather quickly.

That is really good news because we looove Aliso Viejo, and all the cities around. It is beautiful here. I can't wait to move there!

[b.adams]

Freeze for 4 months straight

??

Hardly. We have plenty of 50's and 60's ... even in the winter months.

Castle Rock is different than Highlands Ranch. To call them the same is really quite a generalization. Both are NICE. You can't go wrong with either, IMHO.

For some of us, Colorado has ALREADY changed a lot (since 1976 for me). Yeah, its still changing. Progress also includes plenty of growing pains. But newcomers are welcome!

Our neighbors are from Orange County -- and they tell us they love it here. And thats after the 2006-2007 winter, which was the worst I've even experienced here.

So far, our winter has been more typical ... not much snow thus far.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by b.adams

??

Hardly. We have plenty of 50's and 60's ... even in the winter months.


Our neighbors are from Orange County -- and they tell us they love it here. And thats after the 2006-2007 winter, which was the worst I've even experienced here.

So far, our winter has been more typical ... not much snow thus far.

I moved from SoCal to near Monument in 2006 and last year (my first in Colorado) was a little rough but I understand that was about as bad as it gets. Today I played basketball outside in t-shirt and shorts at lunchtime. With the exception of about six or seven days, it has been t-shirt and shorts weather everyday for the past six months.

Below, Castle Rock looking south 1925