Best city in Colorado to raise a family? (Denver, Colorado Springs: for sale, real estate)

[mlja]

Hi everyone!
I'm planning on moving to Colorado from NH but I would love to move to a city that has a low crime rate and is a suitable place for raising a family. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Charles]

Your question is too broad. We need more information in order to provide you valuable responses. Where are you going to work? What do you do? Rent or buy? What is your price range? What is you commuting time comfort zone? How old are your kids (if you have any now)? What are your "gotta have"s? Why do you want to move from NH to CO?

[mlja]

Hi Charles,
I am just interested in a city/town with a low crime rate and then I'll go from there and look into jobs, housing etc.

What I've gathered so far is that Durango, Salida and Fort Collins are low in crime. Am I right to think this? Anyone have any more to add?

[Micktooth]

We live in Louisville, just outside of Boulder. We have 2 kids,13 and 11 and we absolutely love it. Recently, Louisville was ranked as one of the best places in the entire country to raise a family. You might want to look into it.

[jazzlover]

I will get the flames for this, but I wouldn't recommend any of the expensive Colorado resort towns as a good place to raise a family. They are just not "normal" communities. Not much middle class, lots of "trust-funders," frequent drug problems, and an underclass of transient minimum-wage workers (many of them illegal aliens) to do the "dirty work." So, as far as I'm concerned, places like Aspen, Vail, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte, Telluride, etc., etc. should be off of your list.

For a bigger metro city, I think Fort Collins would be nice. Smaller towns might include Montrose, Delta, Gunnison (hard to make a living in most of them), Canon City, and Craig (if you get a job in the energy industry). If you don't need to be near the mountains, Sterling is a nice town. The problem is most of those places is finding a job that pays enough to afford to live there.

Other towns that I like, but that I personally would not want to raise a family in (for various reasons) would be Durango, Alamosa, Salida, Monte Vista, and Pueblo.

And I wouldn't want to raise a kid anywhere in metro Denver, period. (And that is where I grew up and got out as soon as I could.)

Truth is, if I were to pick a place to raise children, it probably wouldn't be in Colorado. I would choose a small to medium-size midwestern town for that. Kids growing up in those places just seem to have a more "solid" set of values and a better work ethic, for the most part.

[Mike from back east]

MLJA: Look at Colorado Springs. Huge family friendly town, much to offer in so many ways. IMO, the northeast side is better, in Briargate, Pine Creek, etc. Great schools here in District 20, low crime. Lots of sun and fun.

Search REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale on zip 80920 and take a look at houses and prices.

This past Saturday we had our annual block party. Kids out-numbered adults and all had a great time doing chalk markings on the driveways, throwing the football with dad, riding all manner of wheeled thingies and having a good time.

You'll love it here.

s/Mike

[Coloradoan]

Having lived in the state most of my life, and a good share of those both in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, I would choose Fort Collins hands down over Colorado Springs.

You're very limited in Colorado Springs as to the low crime areas. Yes, Briargate is a fairly low crime area, but you don't have to go too far out of the NE part of the city and you will find plenty of crime. D-20 schools are good relatively speaking for Colorado. IMO, growth and sprawl have really changed the area from what used to be a "livable" area as recently as 10-15 years ago. I would try and rent for awhile if you decide on COS, because you may not "love it here" as Mike from Back East constantly says.


Fort Collins has grown tremendously also in the last 10-15 years and again growth and sprawl have really changed the area. However, crime is much lower and the Poudre Valley school district is excellent. Fort Collins has much more of a family feel to it, and the economy there is not driven by the military bases which the economy of Colorado Springs is very dependent on. Colorado State University also adds a lot to the culture to the Fort Collins area. There is really not a bad part of town in Fort Collins and real estate prices are less than in Colorado Springs.

I would have to agree with jazzlover though; for low crime, value oriented towns, lower cost of living, etc. the midwest is really the place to look anymore.

[rebagirl]

And I wouldn't want to raise a kid anywhere in metro Denver, period. (And that is where I grew up and got out as soon as I could.)

Truth is, if I were to pick a place to raise children, it probably wouldn't be in Colorado. I would choose a small to medium-size midwestern town for that. Kids growing up in those places just seem to have a more "solid" set of values and a better work ethic, for the most part.[/quote]

These comments concern me because we've been hoping Colorado will provide a more wholesome, value-oriented atmosphere for our children. My folks grew up in the mid-west (Nebraska), then moved out to California, along with many others at the time. We no longer have family in Nebraska or California, but my aunt, uncle and cousins are near Denver, which is why we've been focusing on a move to Colorado. Just hoping there will be a positive future for us and our children's families in Colorado. Thanks for your thoughts.

[2bindenver]

There are lot of C-D members who choose Colorado to raise their family in. I grew up on the east coast with great schools and family friendly parks and an ocean - I choose to live here. All of my kids were born here. I had the opportunity to move to SoCal earlier this year - and I didn't.

Colorado has a lot to offer. Here's my short list of why nice people should move here:

Great weather (most days), a variety of outdoor activities, museums, botanic gardens, butterfly pavilions, bike paths, bike trails, hiking 14ers, boating, swimming, wildlife (eagles/elk/bison) viewing. Good schools - within driving to ski areas - golf courses, good schools - friendly people, farmers markets, sunflower market, Flat Irons, Park Meadows....

If you don't like where you are, move.

[jazzlover]

I will add this: good parents tend to raise good kids--no matter where they are. Bad parents usually raise screwed up kids--no matter where they are.

That said, I think that it helps if you live in a community that is safe, family-oriented, and moral (and I don't necessarily mean religous--I mean moral--the two can be different). I grew up in a metro area, but was lucky to have parents who both grew up in small towns and held on to their small-town values. I have also worked with a lot of people over the years in some very high-level and important positions in business and government. A disproportionate number of them grew up in small and medium-size towns. I don't think that is a coincidence.

As you might surmise, I am an advocate of small-town America. The problem in Colorado is that too many of its smaller towns have become "resort ghettos," a sort of amusement park "cartoon" that looks like a small town, but really doesn't act like one.

I'm not a fan of the midwest climate in the summer (heat and humidity) and I do love the mountains, but if I had kids, that is exactly where I would head to raise them. I can think of probably several dozen towns in Nebraska and Kansas (states neighboring Colorado that I know well) that I would look at in a heartbeat.