Moving to Denver area from Florida (Boulder, Golden: store, safe, to relocate)

[DreadPiratePatty]

I am from Los Angeles, a middle aged white woman and I have lived in Denver (city, and in the suburbs) for the last 12 years. I can't wait to leave here this weekend, our family is moving home.

The reason we want to leave is multi-faceted. Coming from a multicultural background in LA, we continue to be horrified by people in Colorado referring to Asians as "Orientals" and Hispanics as - well, I won't repeat it here. If you are into covenant controlled communities then head for Westminster, or Highlands Ranch. Mostly identical homes painted in various nondescript shades of beige.

I personally liked Wheat Ridge better than many other places as it was nicer, but not snobby. With kids it would be ideal, you can rent or buy homes there for reasonable prices.

If you are renting, beware of all the foreclosures! Twice in one year we had to move as we lost the place we were renting because the landlord went into foreclosure and the places were bank auctioned. This was in the city of Denver itself although it's prevalent in the 'burbs too from what I have learned.

There are practically NO laws that protect tenants in Colorado (only Colorado and Arkansas lack these laws). Not sure what the laws are like in Florida but we were amazed to learn they are just now trying to introduce legislation that would require landlords to provide locking doors, proper heat and plumbing. The landlords association is kicking and screaming over it too...not sure where it will go.

Test EVERYTHING (plumbing, electrical, etc) if you are looking at renting. Document it all! Even then, one other place we lived in was condemned because the landlord refused to fix faulty wiring and the city had to condemn it and gave us 24 hours to get out for our own safety. This home in particular was an expensive (in Denver standards) rental $1600 a month, so beware. All is not what it seems with some places here.

On the positive side, the mountains are nice...and if you come to Denver and are white middle class you can fit in nicely and be happy as long as you are not settling into an area that is predominately black or hispanic...it's still very segregated here.

[wanttomoveeast]

Dread: I found your post very interesting. I agree, the renter's rights are so lacking compared to Calif. I think it's actually the complete reverse when it comes to rights in comparing Calif. to Colo. Calif. is sooo renter friendly.

I was amazed and didn't even think of what you were talking about the landlords foreclosing hence renters losing a place to live. That's just awful and another horrible part of this downsliding economy.

I agree with the race issues you raise, and coming from S. Calif., I can totally see why you'd want to go home. I am glad you gave it a long run here though, I think that's very important when moving. You weren't just here 6 mos., but 12 yrs.!! So yep, you know what it's like to live in Denver. I wish you the best of luck. I'm jealous too as I want to move to Miami.

[wanttomoveeast]

Well said Katiana. I'm glad you said it, exaggeration that is. I can think of plenty of white Christmas' here. We get a few days of bitter winter weather, but it's not like Chicago!

Originally Posted by Katiana

I would say the "one white Christmas in 20 years" is a bit of an exaggeration. Here are some stats from previous Christmases. 2007 is not included, but we had a Christmas Day snowstorm with about 8 inches in Louisville. I don't know how much we got "officially". In general, though, the winter weather is not bitter.

Denver Christmas Weather Statistics

[gumbi]

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

Dread: I found your post very interesting. I agree, the renter's rights are so lacking compared to Calif. I think it's actually the complete reverse when it comes to rights in comparing Calif. to Colo. Calif. is sooo renter friendly.

I was amazed and didn't even think of what you were talking about the landlords foreclosing hence renters losing a place to live. That's just awful and another horrible part of this downsliding economy.

I agree with the race issues you raise, and coming from S. Calif., I can totally see why you'd want to go home. I am glad you gave it a long run here though, I think that's very important when moving. You weren't just here 6 mos., but 12 yrs.!! So yep, you know what it's like to live in Denver. I wish you the best of luck. I'm jealous too as I want to move to Miami.

Feel free to PM about your move to Miami- I will be glad to give you all the honest details about living here (I am moving to Colorado after 33 years in Miami area)

[ReeseL]

Originally Posted by dj32

with the price of gas and the fact the most employers are in metro denver, i wonder WHY you'd want to be 50 miles outside of Denver? close in burbs like Golden, lakewood would fit hte bill alot better.

You are absolutely right. Comuting 40-50 miles would suck, especially with the cost of gas. To be honest, the company my husband works for has many options on where we can transfer. A lot of where we choose will depend on where he ends up working. I will continue to check out these areas, including your suggestions with Lakewood, golden, etc. I just want to live someplace that is beautiful, not flat and plain. Obviously it needs to be convenient as well. From my understanding, a lot of the small to medium communities right outside Denver offer so much that trips into Denver would not be a neccessity for the most part. Thanks for the help!!

[ReeseL]

Originally Posted by SummerLovin0480

In advance, welcome to Colorado!

If you want to be close to the mountains AND the city of Denver, I would recommend some of the western suburbs, such as Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Golden, Arvada, and unincorporated southern Jefferson County (usually thought of as part of Littleton, but west of the actual city of Littleton). Boulder and its surrounding communities (Louisville and others) are about 45 minutes to an hour from Denver and are also close to the mountains.

Jefferson County has a good school system and I think all of the suburbs I listed above fall into Jeffco. I think Boulder has a good system too, but I'm not positive.

Castle Rock is a nice family-oriented community about 30-45 minutes south of Denver. Mostly newer homes, in a range of prices. If you lived there, you'd have a longer drive to the mountains, but it's very beautiful on its own. It's in Douglas County which also has a good year-round school system. Jeffco is on a traditional, summers-off schedule.

If you live in Colorado Springs, you will probably never come to Denver. The Springs is a big town and has pretty much everything you could ever need and has some nice scenery as well. If you're looking to hit the big mountain ski areas in the winter, you'd have a pretty long drive. And for some reason, it seems like most of the main roads in CO Springs have been under construction for the last 20 years or so!

The Denver metro area is really one solid city from Highlands Ranch in the south to Northglenn in the north, and Golden in the west to Aurora in the east, with Denver smack in the middle. I don't recommend living out east if you want to be close to the mountains, you'll have to drive all the way across town just to hit the foothills, and then you've got another 2 or 3 hours until you hit a ski town.

I hope this is helpful. I'm actually looking to move to Florida after having lived in CO my whole life! The grass is always greener right....?

Thanks for the great info!! I really do think a community on the west side of Denver is the best option for us because we do want to be near the mountains or someplace with some natural beauty. We still have a little while to look and research. I am really pleasantly surprised at how much the people of CO are willing to help newcomers and share their experiences. It gives me some insight into the general friendliness of the locals, which I am impressed with so far. By the way, we were just talking about Castle Rock. I hear it's great. Keep the comments coming. Thanks. Also, if you want to move to FL, I think that's great. Yes, the grass is usually greener.... Just be prepared. I have noticed the Home prices in the surrounding areas of Denver are quite a bit lower that say Tampa, Orlando, Miami (anywhere in S. FL.) Also, it is not an exaggeration at all about the heat & humidity in the summer. It's really really HOT. The winters are beautiful, though. That's the only time I like it hear. Good Luck & Thanks again for the suggestions

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by ReeseL

You are absolutely right. Comuting 40-50 miles would suck, especially with the cost of gas. To be honest, the company my husband works for has many options on where we can transfer. A lot of where we choose will depend on where he ends up working. I will continue to check out these areas, including your suggestions with Lakewood, golden, etc. I just want to live someplace that is beautiful, not flat and plain. Obviously it needs to be convenient as well. From my understanding, a lot of the small to medium communities right outside Denver offer so much that trips into Denver would not be a neccessity for the most part. Thanks for the help!!

You probably wouldn't have to go to Denver at all unless you were referred by a doctor. That said, there are the sporting events, the big time museums, the zoo, etc. Almost all the suburbs have rec centers, arts offerings such as small museums, community theater, shoppping, doctors, and so on.

[dkuhns]

Colorado Springs and Manitou are much more than 30-50 miles away.
Look in the Castle Pines North area. Close, easy commute, but you don't get urban feeling.

[wanttomoveeast]

huh? I was just there (Manitou) and it was about 5 minutes to the Springs. Maybe you meant that they were much closer than 30-50 miles apart.

[tao]

Last August we moved from Florida to Broomfield which is northwest of Denver (about a 20-30 minute commute - we usually take the "backroads" which are often faster than taking the highway) and we're really happy here. We chose the Willow Park subdivision and love it. The neighbors are very friendly and it really has a community feel here. Broomfield is basically the halfway point between Boulder and Denver and it has all the amenities of both cities but also the amenities of Westminster, Superior, Louisville and Arvada all of which are towns surrounding Broomfield. There is a lot of shopping, dining and entertainment close by and we're in a safe, family-friendly neighborhood. To give you an idea of housing prices here at Willow park - we bought a 3300 square foot 5 bedroom/3.5 bath house with a 3 car garage and finished basement (plus a decent-sized yard with a 40 foot deck) for $331000. Here's a picture of our home: