Maine to Greenwood Village (Denver, Aurora: rental homes, houses, live in)

[jules4153]

Hello,

My boyfriend and I will be moving to Colorado from Maine this summer. He has gotten a great job offer there, and hopefully I will, too. His job is located in Greenwood Village, and, from research on the internet, this seems like a pretty pricey town. We are wondering what some good surrounding towns would be to look at for a rental house? We have a chocolate lab, so we would like to have a yard for her. Also, we would like to stay within a half an hour from Greenwood Village and would love the area to be pretty rural. We come from Maine, so lots of snow and trees would be great!

Thanks in advance for your help.

-Julie

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by jules4153

Hello,

My boyfriend and I will be moving to Colorado from Maine this summer. He has gotten a great job offer there, and hopefully I will, too. His job is located in Greenwood Village, and, from research on the internet, this seems like a pretty pricey town. We are wondering what some good surrounding towns would be to look at for a rental house? We have a chocolate lab, so we would like to have a yard for her. Also, we would like to stay within a half an hour from Greenwood Village and would love the area to be pretty rural. We come from Maine, so lots of snow and trees would be great!

Thanks in advance for your help.

-Julie

Are you married? Are you getting married?

Greenwood Village is one of the priciest parts of the state and the average price easily runs half a million. There are also very few rentals. If you want a semi-rural area look at Littleton or maybe Parker. Your significant other (?) probably will be working in the Tech Center which is easily with 30 minutes from both Parker and LIttleton.

Just some personal advice--definitely get hitched before moving to a different state and moving in together. I mean, what happens if--as often happens--y'all break up and you're stuck in Colorado away from friends and family? I'd tell him straight up that you don't go without a ring. But that's just me.

[hello-world]

colorado's also a common law state. if you 2 both get on the lease and/or get joint accounts etc. and just seem married "enough" (per the common law), you might simply find yourselves married! no ceremony. no reception. if nothing else, could be fun to look into whether that could happen for you.

i know people that live in denver and take the light rail to greenwood village or vice versa. could be an option for you. you could even drive to near the light rail and take it down there.

the whole area will be significantly different from maine for you - the landscape of course, the weather...and the people.

[vegaspilgrim]

If you want "snow and trees," you need to go to Douglas or Elbert County east of Parker, Castle Pines, north of Castle Rock, or Evergreen or Conifer, in Jefferson County. All these areas are extremely high priced and you're not going to find rental homes there.

[2bindenver]

Look for a small house with a yard in Englewood, Centennial, Aurora, SE Denver, Highlands Ranch, Northern Parker (Cottonwood) and you will be fine for a commute and walking paths/parks.

[Katiana]

I do not think there is much classifiable as "rural" within a half hour of Greenwood Village. Especially not if you add "affordable" to it, and snow and trees! 2beindenver usually has great advice; listen to her.

[BillRadio]

There are plenty of reasonable rental houses nearby in Centennial, Littleton and Englewood with yards for dog frollicking, but little larger than a quarter acre. Mention the Highline Canal and you might have the area's greatest dog-waking trails in your back yard.

[jules4153]

Thanks so much for all of your advice! I was looking at Ken Caryl because I've heard how it seems seperate from Denver, but is still rather close. Also, there seems to be quite a few rental houses within our range in Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, and Parker. I can't find many in Ken Caryl but will keep looking. Does anyone have any advice on which of these areas is less urbanized, has more snow, and seems more mountainous?

Thanks again!

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by jules4153

Thanks so much for all of your advice! I was looking at Ken Caryl because I've heard how it seems seperate from Denver, but is still rather close. Also, there seems to be quite a few rental houses within our range in Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, and Parker. I can't find many in Ken Caryl but will keep looking. Does anyone have any advice on which of these areas is less urbanized, has more snow, and seems more mountainous?

Thanks again!

these are all quite suburbanized. maybe suburbanized beyond anything you've ever seen or even imagined (more certainly coming from maine). so i think it's a bit of a matter of degree and trade offs concerning distance to denver, and distance to mountains. snow can be sporadic, of course. some of the higher elevation communities can get more snow if the whole area gets snow, but it's really pretty localized - you can get upslope dumpings in 20 square mile swaths pretty much anywhere along the Front Range, high or low. overall, there is really not very much snow around denver - occasional big storms, but usually a few to several inches if anything that melts in days - especially relative to what you're probably used to around maine or the great lakes. the high altitude sunshine keeps it feeling pretty warm - and melts plenty of snow more quickly - even if the thermometer says it's colder. none of these is really "mountainous". all at least 20 minutes from the foothills/mountains, all at least 20 minutes (as much as an hour) or so from denver. parker's probably furthest from any mountain access, castle rock furthest from denver. there are plenty of tongues of open space striping the area that aren't mountainous per se, but are usually pretty nice open space islands in a suburban sea, and often with paths that eventually lead to the mountains. seems many people get here and move to where they think they'll love it, and learn more about what the area's really about, then find what works best for them after maybe a year.

[Rawlings]

Jules, Denver is called the "Queen City of the Plains." We aren't in the mountains. We're close, but you'll find that Denver is one of the flattest cities in the county. The southern side of the metro area gets a little more snow than other parts, but it's all pretty much the same.

The areas you mentioned are not big on rentals. Rentals are in the more urban parts of the city--though there are some in Littleton, Ken Caryl, and Highlands Ranch. Most folks there families--married with kids. You won't find a lot of single folks and other arrangements--though there are some, of course.