City Comparisons (Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder: house, schools, living)

[MountainViews]

Thank you all for the previous comments to my earlier post.

In comparing the following cities, which would anyone suggest has the best mix of:
mountain views
good town to raise children
schools
health care
grocery shopping
friendliness of the citizens
sense of community and pride in the town
events in town to stimulate a neighborly environment
restaurants or diners
year-round living
enjoyable weather
lots of trees
within 2-2.5 hours drive of the Denver airport
availability of homes with perhaps 1-5 acres in the $300K-$500K price range

Evergreen
Estes Park
Lyons
Boulder
Nederland
Silverthorne
Dillon
Frisco
Salida

One final question - would we have any luck in trying to build a home on 1-5 acres in any of those areas in our price range? We would need at least a 3/2/2 with a basement and perhaps 2,200 sq. ft. minimum

Thank you very much!!

[Neditate]

I don't see Longmont on your list. You may want to check it out.
You can probably cross Boulder off your list. You won't find 1-5 acres of land in Boulder. Tough to find a house in that price range.
Frisco is great but it is also expensive. Moving from Texas to 9,000 ft. elevation and a long winter season could be difficult. There have been a few threads recently on Evergreen, you may want to do a search.

[froggin4colorado]

Colorado Springs? Homes on 1- 5 acres...tough..but out in Falcon a burb east of Colorado Springs that price is very doable.
check PPAR Website