Where to Move in CO (Denver, Boulder: home, school district, living)

[DrFager]

Here is the lowdown.

Married. 2 young kids. Work in IT. Looking to move. Can do my job entirely remote, though my company's HQ is actually in Denver. That is not a major factor in considering CO, but is a short term plus. Main goal is to move somewhere my kids can have a good outdoor/active childhood, and to get out of the "hive" in the city.

Preferred
* I dont know if such a place exists, but would be nice to live somewhere that is a reasonable commute to Denver should I need it for work, (sub 1 hour ideally) close enough to Boulder to be a reasonable weekend day trip, and close enough to the mountains/outdoors to be realistic to do regular trail running/hiking. (Avid runner) In order of preference, outdoor access and the Denver commute would take preference, but would be cool if there was a place that could triangulate all three.

I have no aversion to living a bit remote or in a small town, provided there is reasonable access to the basic necessities.

Any thoughts or ideas appreciated. Thanks!

[blondmoray]

What's your housing budget? School district preference? If housing budget allows, sounds like Boulder or Evergreen might be a good fit, but really your preferred criteria describes most of the Denver metropolitan area.

[NW Crow]

To the north, you might look at Lyons. Boulder Canyon is nice if you can afford it. Nederland if you are very comfortable with snow. Coal Creek and Golden Gate canyons may be worth a look. Lower parts of course closer to city and shopping. Could also look to the south around Bergen Park, Kittredge and Evergreen. Some with your mix of criteria might be satisfied in Broomfield, Louisville or Lafayette. Depends a lot on how you prioritize quick mountain access with services.

[2bindenver]

Golden?

[beezle1]

Monument perhaps?

[DrFager]

Thanks for the replies everyones. To fill in a couple gaps, if my better half makes this stay at home mom thing permanent, my housing budget would be around 350k. I know the market is pretty hot, hence my desire to find somehwere off the beaten path that still has reasonable access to both areas. Im far more concerned with proximity to nature and relative solitude than anything else.

[DrFager]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

To the north, you might look at Lyons. Boulder Canyon is nice if you can afford it. Nederland if you are very comfortable with snow. Coal Creek and Golden Gate canyons may be worth a look. Lower parts of course closer to city and shopping. Could also look to the south around Bergen Park, Kittredge and Evergreen. Some with your mix of criteria might be satisfied in Broomfield, Louisville or Lafayette. Depends a lot on how you prioritize quick mountain access with services.

Quick mountain access is my #1 priority. A reasonable commute to Denver should i ever need it would be #2. Being able to day trip to Boulder would be #3, but i could live with satisfying only the first two.

[NW Crow]

Ok, then I might start looking north or northeast of Golden along Hwy 93 (maybe north of North Table Mtn in the Van Bibber Creek area?? A guess) and Hwy46. Second choice Bergen Park area. If those don't appeal then maybe Nederland or Lyons (or Jamestown), however they are significantly less convenient to Denver. A good realtor should be able to evaluate these possible fits or have better ideas.

[DrFager]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

Ok, then I might start looking north or northeast of Golden along Hwy 93 (maybe north of North Table Mtn in the Van Bibber Creek area?? A guess) and Hwy46. Second choice Bergen Park area. If those don't appeal then maybe Nederland or Lyons (or Jamestown), however they are significantly less convenient to Denver. A good realtor should be able to evaluate these possible fits or have better ideas.

Golden and North Table are interesting. 30min drive to either downtown Denver or Boulder. Both are close proximity to mountain trails.

Nederland is interesting. Right in the heart of the mountain range, 30min to Boulder, but the commute is an hour to Denver, more if needing to get to the south side of the city. That would almost eliminate Denver as a potential work area, should that become a necessity.

Whats the housing market like in those areas?

[NW Crow]

I think you should be able to find options in your price range but you'll have to check that detail yourself or others with more local knowledge will have to chime in.