Parker CO questions. (Denver, Littleton, Cottonwood: real estate, hoa, insurance)

[pdth]

Personally, my favorite part of Parker is The Pinery, because of the trees and a little more character and separation of houses. If you have a lot of money, you can find good acreage all over the eastern part of Parker with or without trees and views. But get ready for a lot of driving, especially if you have kids. For less driving, the western part of town, such as Stonegate and Bradbury Ranch, is convenient and works well if you have kids.

[BillRadio]

I agree the Pinery has much going for it because of its unique topography, trees, and a wide variety of house size and value. However, the busier Parker gets, the more difficult the commute to the Pinery gets. Therefore, the communities closer to I-25 are now more "popular" because they're newer and closer to jobs.

[vegaspilgrim]

The Pinery is nice, but it's old news. Check out "Pradera," a brand new country club subdivision just down the road from the Pinery. It's in Parker, but it's about halfway between the "main" part of Parker and Castle Rock (along Crowfoot Valley Rd, a relatively new road).

[almost heaven]

my wife is visiting her family in Parker and I have been in touch with some builders in Denver about a job. My question to all out there is, Am I crazy to relocate? I fall in love with Colorado every time I visit and I think it my become a reality that I will be a new resident. Don't worry all of you colorado natives, I will not bring what you dislike about transplants. I am a construction manager, avid backpacker, skier, both snow and water, and above all, a clean living family man with a desire to raise my kids in a small town. Am I crazy to leave my security blanket, job home, friends?

[ColoWeb]

almost heaven,
This is really a question that only you can answer. There are a few guiding questions that can help you?

1. Do you want to or plan on leaving San Ramon, Ca?
2. Other than a smaller town,what kinds things you are looking for?
3. Do you have savings ready to move and live here while you look for a job or you can get a job first and then move?
4. Next time you are here in CO: Put yourself in a mindset of living here. Look at things from the point of view as a resident vs. a visitor changes things. Form me, I like San Fransisco as a Visitor, but I would never want to live there.

if you have any other more specific questions, please let me know.

[almost heaven]

almost heaven,
This is really a question that only you can answer. There are a few guiding questions that can help you?

1. Do you want to or plan on leaving San Ramon, Ca?
2. Other than a smaller town,what kinds things you are looking for?
3. Do you have savings ready to move and live here while you look for a job or you can get a job first and then move?
4. Next time you are here in CO: Put yourself in a mindset of living here. Look at things from the point of view as a resident vs. a visitor changes things. Form me, I like San Fransisco as a Visitor, but I would never want to live there.

if you have any other more specific questions, please let me know.

To 1. I love San Ramon but I feel like I live in a bubble, It is very nice here and the towns close by, But as a hole I am surrounded by citys that do not reflect the culture and values I grew up with. Don't get me wrong I am all for everybody getting along but as a white male I feel like my town is changing and my the time my kids are older my family will the the ecption. I know that sounds funny. I am not a hater.
to 2. I am looking for good schools, open space, mountain views, to be close to family,friendly people.
to 3. Yes I do have money to move. I also will get a few hundred thousand in cash when I sell my home here, so I can come debt free and have a down payment on a home. I have been talking to some people in the construction field but I have not gotten too serious.
to 4. I do put myself in the mindset of living there and it feels good. I am not big on S.F and I can see myself living there.
I guess I would feel better if I was not doing good here. I think I just want a change. I have ran the hard numbers and I can live better in Colorado on 50% of what I make here, and on a single income, my wife is a stay at home mom and I just make it out heere on a nice income. WHat kind of income will it take to live a nice life in Parker Colorado. Say buying a 375,000 home and all the normal bils a family has?

[LivingDaDream]

[SIZE=2] Ever since I was a kid I have dreamed about living in Colorado! I was born and raised in the Big Apple and lived 19 years in Brooklyn, New York. My only experiences outside of the city were the occasional weekend jaunts to the Catskill mountains on backpacking trips with my Boy Scout friends. Wow! No crime, no sidestepping of dog poop while walking down the streets, awesome mountain views, and trees all over that grew out of the ground and not out of a 4'x4' square of dirt surrounded by concrete sidewalks. Life did exist outside of the big city and I made a decision in my teens to find a permanent way out of the Big Apple. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] My goal was to eventually make it to Colorado. Listening to the conversations of Ham Radio operators in Colorado in the late 70s convinced me that I wanted a slice of that beautiful pie out West. The problem was how to get there. I finally decided to join the U.S. Air Force in 1983 and tried the best I could to get stationed in Colorado but with no luck. The choices on my duty location "Dreamsheet" never materialized.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] Since 1979 I have lived in Puerto Rico (Nice but no jobs), Biloxi, MS. (too hot , humid, too many bugs, hurricanes, bad thunderstorms), San Bernardino (SMOG), Guam (Extremely hot and humid), Rome, N.Y. (Beautiful area, nice weather in summer, brutal winters, no jobs), Washington, D.C area. (nice weather, horrific traffic, $$$ housing), Greenville, S.C. (Great weather, very affordable housing, nice scenery. I liked it a lot), Richmond, Va. (Quickly becoming part of the Northeast) and now (yes, we finally made it) in Parker , Colorado thanks to a job transfer! [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] We originally bought a home in the Highlands Northwest neighborhood of Denver in 2004. We really loved all of the restaurants, bars, and shops within walking distance, the beautiful early 20th century homes as well as the availability of public transportation but something was missing. Yes. The trees with lots of dirt around them and a mountain view. We had trees planted in 4x4 squares surrounded by concrete out in the street. Nostalgia for Brooklyn brought me to this Denver neighborhood but I soon realized that this was the reason I left Brooklyn to begin with. We decided to move again. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] My wife and I spent many weeks exploring different areas of the Denver metro area and then we hit the jackpot. We discovered Parker, Colorado and specifically an area known as "The Pinery". Parker is roughly 30 miles Southeast of the city of Denver and is in Douglas county. Douglas county schools are some of the best in the state, the crime rate is low, all amenities can be found within minutes of the Parker downtown and the real estate taxes are very reasonable. There are also many different routes that can be taken to get to Denver, Colorado Springs, the Denver Tech center, etc. The Denver airport is an easy 30 minutes away via the toll road. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] We explored many different developments in Parker and decided there was only one choice for us. This was "The Pinery". Every home in "The Pinery" is custom built and date ranges from the 70s through the 90s. The terrain is hilly with the elevation at 6,400' ASL compared to Denver at 5,400' and Parker downtown at around 5,800'. The area is filled with pine trees and aspens and the views are spectacular. This is how I envisioned living in Colorado to be like. Temperatures up here are around 3 degrees cooler than Parker city and much cooler than Denver in the summer. We see wildlife each and every day. (deer, fox, raccoon, Lynx, coyote,skunk etc.). Our travel times to the Denver Tech center and Centennial (where we work)are 30 and 20 minutes respectively. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] There are plenty of restaurants, bars, trails, churches (Catholic church, Lutheran church, Mormon Temple, Baptist church, etc. all within close proximity of each other) in Parker as well as a huge equestrian center (if that's your cup of tea) and the Rocky mountains are an easy drive away. Home prices range from the low 300s to the 600s and beyond. Our daughter loves her new school ( Sagewood MS) and her new friends and has told me [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]"We are not moving from here.."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2] If you want the look and feel of living in the mountains without the hassle of actually living there then check out "The Pinery" and Parker, Colorado. We are "Living Da Dream" in Colorado and loving every minute of it.[/SIZE]

[Italianmama]

HI, you sound like you were searching for the same thing as I am.. to get out of New York area, and find some nature, easy commute, clean air, mountains, etc..


Are you still happy in Parker? One important question -- is Parker a liberal, open-minded town? Does it have some cultural places, good libraries, bookshops, theatres, etc..? Or is it conservative? Just need to know before I go look at it>.. thanks!

[LivingDaDream]

Yes. We love it here. Each and every day I thank the powers that be for blessing me and my family with good jobs, good health, a nice home and the privilege of living in Colorado. We own mountain property in Red Feather Lakes and love spending summer weekends camping, hiking, fishing and partying with friends in the mountains. Sure, we have traffic, an occasional heavy snow day and occasional summer days where the temperature hits 100 degrees but the number of sunny, warm dry days make you forget all about those rare bad days. I can't think of anything bad to say about Parker or Colorado. I have been all over the country and this is the best place I have lived far and away.
Define liberal for me. The wife and I love going out on weekends and having a beer or three. Plenty of places to do that. Would that be too liberal for some? I don't think anyone of any gender, race, religion or sexual orientation would have a problem anywhere in the Denver metro area. I don't care where you live, you will find bigots/racists, chauvinists, homophobes, etc. We just stay away from those types of people. They are invisible to us and we don't even notice them. The great thing about Parker? Denver is right up the road North of here (car or light rail/Bus right to Bronco stadium, the Pepsi center, downtown Denver, 6 Flags amusement park, etc.) and Colorado Springs is right down the road to the South. You can get your fix of whatever you yearn for. Oh, I almost forgot to mention Castlewood Canyon State Park five miles away for your rock climbing and hiking needs and the Cherry Creek trail a mile away. Parker is also in the process of building an entertainment complex and already has a muliplex cinema and lots of shopping locations.Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[rvtsahm]

I found a very promising house for rent in the Cottonwood subdivision of Parker. No HOA, which is great.

But I heard someone refer to it as "Cottonhood", as in it's not a great area? The area where this house is looks perfectly fine and seems to have decent working class folk and families. It didn't look any worse than Clarke Farms or some other older neighborhoods in Littleton. Any thoughts?