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Old 11-09-2006, 02:49 PM
 
75 posts, read 343,426 times
Reputation: 26

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Hello.
We've been considering moving to Co for some time now. Hubby has a job prospect in Idaho and Colorado. From Research we've done the south suburbs seems nice? Can ayone tell me about them? We currently live in Seattle (suburbs). My Husband's commute is awful. We're looking at good schools, and all that jazz. If we moved to the Denver area he would work downtown. Any ideas on where to live? Oh and cost of living? On average what does a 2400sq ft house with 4 bed and 3 car agarage cost. thanks a bunch!!!!!!
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Old 11-09-2006, 03:30 PM
 
Location: Castle Rock, CO
111 posts, read 608,777 times
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Highlands Ranch and Littleton have very good schools, close support facilities. All the major restaurants are here and a handfull of local ones. Same with big box shopping. Park Meadows mall is a pretty nice mall and the largest in south metro. Its nuts around Xmas, though. Just about every modern convenience of the suburbs. One of the better places to live in the metro area all around, especially for suburbs. I especially like the South Suburban trail system. Very nice amenity. Most of the area homeowners have access to I think 5 good recreation centers (pools, health club facilities) w/ HOA dues. Roughly a 20 minute drive to downtown w/o much traffic. With traffic, an hour if its bad. Short of your husband working downtown, you can easily do you daily living in HR/Littleton w/o needing to leave the south side of town. The light rail system now comes as far south as Lincoln Blvd, quick access to 'the Ranch'. You need to make your way over to I-25 to get to it at Lincoln, but that might be a good option for going downtown.

As far as a house w/ 2400 sq ft in this area: Looking at minimum 375K to get in, more realistically looking at 450K and up. Probably better than Seattle I'm guessing. approx 300 days of sunshine is free.
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Old 11-09-2006, 03:36 PM
 
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if you are planning on living in highlands ranch or littleton, your husband's commute to/from downtown denver will not be much fun. traffic can be a bear especially if driving on i-25. there is a light rail that goes downtown, and a new line is opening this month, but it is not a very efficient system.

from what i hear, the schools in highlands ranch are good. there are a decent amount of libraries nearby as well. there is not much to do in highlands ranch except go shopping or go to one of the many chain restaurants. it is a pretty clean area though and crime is low.

in highlands ranch, you'd probably be looking at $350k or so for the home you describe. lots are very small and all the homes are crammed together. i am not that familiar with seattle, but i assume cost of living would be considerably less here in the denver suburbs.

other things to consider: the weather is much different than seattle. it does not rain a lot here. it snows much more in the denver area than in seattle and is colder in the winter. it is sunny most of the time, however. highlands ranch is pretty barren. the landscape is generally yellow and devoid of trees. traffic in and around highlands ranch/littleton is not too bad on weekends.
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Old 11-09-2006, 03:42 PM
 
75 posts, read 343,426 times
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Thanks for the info!!!
Yes the housing is cheaper I love sunshine. Hate the rain
Is there anywhere else that's closer to downtown in the price range you talked about? What's englewood like? Centennial? Or Aurora? I appreciate all of the info from both posts
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Old 11-09-2006, 03:49 PM
 
226 posts, read 1,216,515 times
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your husband would probably have a shorter commute from aurora, but i don't know if it's that great a place to live. there's a bit more crime. englewood and centennial are ok. all these suburbs just kind of blend in together.
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Old 11-09-2006, 04:01 PM
 
75 posts, read 343,426 times
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What about the northern burbs?
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Old 11-09-2006, 04:09 PM
 
226 posts, read 1,216,515 times
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sorry, i am not too familiar with the northern parts of denver. i live near highlands ranch and don't go up there too often.
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Old 11-09-2006, 04:53 PM
 
Location: Castle Rock, CO
111 posts, read 608,777 times
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Washington Park, Cherry Creek are very nice areas more proximate to downtown. Probably some of the most expensive, though. Older homes, tree lined streets, more traditional. 400K will get a nice, but pretty small home. I'm sure 800, 900K, a million is pretty common. Lots of professionals, affluence here. Schools you'd need to research, but you may consider private. Its closer to higher crime areas of Denver. Many would say If you can afford it, this is were to be!

Greenwood village, parts of Englewood very nice, too. Not quite like WP and CC as far as type of homes and neighborhoods, not as traditional, but very nice. A decent mix of big custom homes, practically estates, some small horse property scattered occasionally, and nice normal sized places. Certainly not urban sprawl, tract homes found in all suburbs. More centrally located than the suburbs for sure, but still more southern metro than central. Also considered one of the places to be! Better schools (? not positive, though) than WP, CC.

Centennial is pretty nice, slightly less suburban than HR, but not too different.

Aurora as a whole has higher crime, lesser reputation. Lots of paycheck loan type places. Not nessesarily a bad area, but not great.

Up north: Broomfield, Louisville, Lafayette (section between Denver and Boulder) are pretty similar to southern suburbs, but I think a bit more money. I think Douglas County schools (Highlands Ranch, south) are slightly better, but not sure. The views are better cuz you're closer to the mountains. Commute time is probably about the same.
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Old 11-09-2006, 05:28 PM
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,812 posts, read 34,268,187 times
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Commuting downtown from HR or lone tree would be easy via light rail. a monthly light rail pass under $150 a month and no parking fees.

HR has been in the past a part of tree city USA. It has lots of family friendly activities, a civic center, 4 recreation centers, hiking and biking trails, two off lease dog (bark ) parks...highly rated schools.

Average price for a 1990 2400 sq ft home is $320 + or - a new home $350+

If you need more ....I am happy to send information along with a relocation package.
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Old 11-09-2006, 07:10 PM
 
Location: Highlands Ranch, CO
616 posts, read 2,996,043 times
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We live in HR with our 3 kids and love it. Schools are excellent. Low crime. HR is a master planned community, so everything (schools, shopping, restaurants, parks, trails, churches, movie theaters, rec centers, etc.) are close by. We have 4 excellent rec centers with lots to offer for adults and kids. Our $115/quarter HOA's allow us to use any (and all) of the rec centers.

Some call HR barren. I wouldn't say that. It is a pretty new area (the oldest homes are about 25 years old), so there are not the big mature trees you will find elsewhere (yet). That is to be expected in newer areas.

Housing is a bit more expensive in HR than some of the surrounding areas, but I believe that is due to people desiring all of the amenities that we have. I do think the home appreciation rates are a bit better in HR than the surrounding areas as well. There is an extremely high percentage of the HR residents with kids, so it is very attractive to families. It is hard to find a street in HR that doesn't have kids.

With the big T-Rex highway project complete, the commute to downtown should not be all that bad. However, parking in downtown can be a big pain and expensive, so riding the light rail may be the better alternative. There are actually two light rail stations within a short drive of HR, one on the west side and the other on the east side.
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