Ideal City (Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder: home, buying, good schools)

[outofca]

We are considering relocating from the Bay Area in California to somewhere in Colorado. The springs looked appealing, particularly Black Forest, however we have lived in liberal CA our whole lives. I don't kow if that would be the right community for us.
The IDEAL location.... A home with mountain feel like that of Black Forest, yet not too far from civilization. A great school for my 3 children, ages ranging 14 - 8. Somewhat close to recreation--little league, football etc..
Suggestions?? Boulder?? Other close cities???

[TinajaCo]

Areas around Boulder would have what you are looking for-- Boulder is very liberal, has a great pedestrian mall, and has easy access to hiking, biking, skiing, and other mountain activities. There are some nice areas if you get just west of Boulder that you may want to look into (although they tend to be expensive), so it would give you seclusion and easy access to city amenities. Boulder also has excellent schools, and I'm sure there are recreational activities for kids in the area too. You could also look around Evergreen, which is in the foothills/mountains just west of Denver. I know they have good schools, kid's recreation, and easy access to Denver, and it's overall a little cheaper than the areas west of Boulder.

[outofca]

Thank you! How about Fort Collins. Read an article about it being the #1 best place to live. What do you think?

[duster1979]

Ft. Collins is a great place to raise a family. However, while it is in close proximity to the mountains, the city itself is on the plains. I would say the political climate there is more conservative, but Colorado State University does bring a little liberalism to the mix.

[LFults]

OutofCAL,

We are also a Bay Area family looking to CO. We have kids 11 and 8. We are considering Durango and taking a look at Steamboat Springs. Both a bit more remote but the Denver area seems to have a lot of the same issues we are trying to get away from..traffic, pollution, etc. If you follow some of the forums here on Durango, it seems a pretty liberal town. Also have heard good things about CO Springs. I would be interested in anything you learn...we plan on taking a trip out to Durgano and Steamboat in Jan/Feb. Will post our thoughts. Our main concerns are the schools as CO, like CA, ranks low in per student spending. Guess we have to go there and see....

[idahomama]

We have made the decision that Boulder is going to be "the place". We really hoped it would be Durango initially, but I am just not excited enough about the schools there yet. Obviously time could change things. We really really like Steamboat. There are some exceptional schools there both private and public. I think we are concerned that while our children are young the longer winters might be a bit much for us, you know how long a 2 year old will stay out in the snow! Would be perfect if it was just us or if our kiddos were older. We are thinking of buying some property in Steamboat for later and making Boulder our home for now. Boulder has some great schools (public and private) and the other amenities we are looking for in a city (arts/culinary scene/wine/outdoor recreation/etc)