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I'm starting my search on a move to the "Greater Denver" area, if you want to call it that.
I've been doing a lot of reading and have heard many of the pro's and con's of some of the areas. We were originally set on Boulder based on a lot of the things we've heard about healthy living but it appears this is a very expensive place to be and we're fine with being on the outskirts.
That said, here are some the things that will help us decide where to be:
> Dad is heavily into triathlon. Would like to be close enough to train with USAT clubs (have found a handful in Denver, Arvada, Boulder, Centennial, Louisville but just as important is being somewhere I can get out and run or bike by myself just as easily.
> Dad wants to be close enough to drive to public hunting land for Elk, Deer, etc..this is a fairly important one for Dad
> Dad works from home and needs to be within 1 hour of DEN Airport for frequent travel
> Mom & Dad need to live in an area where their (now 7 mos old) son can attend top notch schools
> Mom's office will likely be located in downtown Denver not far from I25 and while the shorter the commute, the better, I would start our search with a maximum of 45 mins or thereabouts
> Dad likes the idea of a rural area with a log cabin but at the same time, we're probably best placed in a neighborhood with similar interests (i.e.--young kids) and people in the 30-45 age range.
> Dad loves skiing but since Mom does not, anywhere in the area is probably "close enough" to the slopes for the occasional trips. This could change when little guy is old enough for lessons!
> Facilities...we like a nice grocery store (like Wegmans back in the NE, Whole Foods, something with lots of selection) and the ability to attend events, markets, etc...being within 30-45 minutes of Boulder and Denver seems to tick this box but would like to be a little closer to a decent grocery store. Not sure what the area has.
> We're both very liberal people (not really into politics but just in general we are open-minded and easy going). We currently find ourselves in the bible belt of Virginia and find it very hard to make friends outside of the other transplants....our life doesn't revolve around Sunday. Please don't take offense to this, to each their own, but has been a cultural issue for us where we are at now!
> Would love views of the Rockie's from the immediate vicinity and if possible, from our deck/windows
> We're probably looking at a home that is around 2000-3000sq feet, 4 bed, 2 bath, with at least a half acre of land for the dog
> I'd rather not put a price on anything at this point but let's just say we live on a higher than average double income but certainly not able to afford the likes of homes that meet that criteria anywhere around Boulder!!
So, that's about it. A lot too ask for, obviously will find many compromises among these...but what I'm looking for is just some general ideas of what areas may fit the bill. Unlike other posts, I'm not trying to pinpoint what town is perfect but not knowing geographically where a lot of this might be located I don't want to spend time looking at towns that should be removed from the list.
At the moment, based on commuting and home prices alone and being "on the outskirts" of Denver/Boulder, I've spent a little bit of time eyeing the "greater" Golden area...but like I said, I don't know what that means really.
We've lived in Rochester, NY, southern Virginia, and London, England.
Thanks much in advance for any tips you have.
BTW- we've NEVER BEEN! WE do plan on visiting and possibly even renting for a while before we truly figure this out. I'm looking to create a short list of areas we can visit while we're there (which is going to be VERY soon) and I'm hoping some of the experts here can help us plan our time.
You can find this or find that, but your list is not 100% doable in the Metro area - sorry.
Denver itself doesn't have great views of the mountains, the city sits in a bowl. The suburbs can have better views. We do have grocery stores all over everywhere.
Since you have an affinity towards Boulder and there is USAT club in Arvada - look in Broomfield or Arvada to start.
1. Will move this to the Denver forum as soon as I finish posting. That's where the OP will be.
2. Most of what you want is doable, but the log cabin is a laugher in the Denver metro area, which is a flat, bowl-like place on the far western edge of the great plains; it's not in the mountains as TV has mislead people to think. If you're quite wealthy you can buy a cabin up in the mountains, otherwise save your money and rent one every so often. Nice thing about renting is you don't have to worry about it when you're not there, as empty second homes in the mountains or prairies are a prime target for thieves, vandals, and an occasional marauding band of huns, visigoths, barbarians, ogres, mongols, and trolls.
3. Most school districts are very good. There is currently a thread on page one of the Denver forum about the Cherry Creek district. Great reading.
4. Wegman's; no. Whole Foods; yes.
5. All of that mountainous stuff will require travel up I-70 which is quite crowded on weekends in ski season. Hunting is all over the state and will require travel too; hunters often take a week off in Elk season to travel around and try to bag one. I go to restaurants serving it.
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Just thinking about the size of lot and house, I would suggest The Pinery in Parker. But that's going to be longer than a 45 minute commute to downtown. You could also look in the Morrison/Evergreen area for more land, but that would probably be more than an hour to DIA and would you want that commute in bad weather? That's in the foothills so you won't have those lovely mountain views you are looking for.
I would suggest that you do a search on one of the real estate websites for the house and lot size you want, then come back here and ask specific questions about the area you find. I'm hoping that you've also done a thorough city-data forum search, since everything you ask has already been discussed here.
Most of the subdivisions in the suburbs have greenbelts and open space for walking and running. And the City of Denver itself has a great parks system.
With a 7 month old, I would think mom would like to be closer than 45 min. away from home for her job. If dad is working at home, does the baby go to day care?
Thanks for all the replies so far. She probably would be but we're trying to understand the area within the 45 min range for now. We have a nanny now, and might be interested in a Pre-K montessori some of which start at 18 mos.
Just for reference, I used to live near the Denver Tech Center, close to the Orchard exit to I-25. It would take me 45 minutes to get to my office in LoDo, about 10 minutes from the downtown end of I-25. There have been many many discussions about commute times here, and a lot of it depends on how long it takes to get from your house to the highway and vice/versa at the other end.
There are older parts of Denver and the suburbs where there are larger lot sizes, in both Littleton and Englewood. Littleton is in a pretty good school district. One place I just thought of is Bow Mar (I think they have one or two acre lots) in Littleton. You would be driving north on Santa Fe Drive to get to downtown from there.
Thanks for all the replies so far. She probably would be but we're trying to understand the area within the 45 min range for now. We have a nanny now, and might be interested in a Pre-K montessori some of which start at 18 mos.
There is no need to deliberately live that far away from work.
Not having a price range makes it hard to suggest specific neighborhoods. But you may want to take a look at the area around Broomfield. It is central to alot of employment centers and the new neighborhoods seem to be selling well. Here is a link to a new home community going in behind ours.
I think they have some spectacular mountain view lots that will eventually overlook a soccer field. In addition there is a lake adjacent to the development to walk the dog around in the morning (McKay Lake) We live in an older neighborhood adjacent to this new one. We have bigger lots but don't have much for sale right now. I think the best thing about our area is that we live on over an acre but I can still walk to many restaurants for dinner and then take in a movie before walking home. I can also walk the dogs around the local lake and enjoy the birds at all hours and fish jumping at sunrise and sunset. The local lake is popular for fishing but I've never seen it crowded. We connect up to the regional trail system on which you can go for miles. We have walked to the public library which is down on 112th from our location near 136th. I also have a loop I do through a more rural neighborhood to the north where I see lamas, woolly mammoth looking steer, and horses. My husband often walks the dog to Lowes to pick up hardware items (our local Lowes allows dogs inside). We have easy access to a Walmart for any emergency medical items we need in the middle of the night.
In this area there are many neighborhoods to choose from with larger lots. In terms of your list I'm not a realtor so can't answer everything but here is how it stacks up.
1. Can't comment on the training opportunities. I did a triathlon once and trained with a group in Denver but don't know about groups in this area. However my guess is you could easily find local folks by joining one of the bigger groups and then finding who lives near you. But this area isn't going to be as into it as Boulder. In Boulder you will find lots of fitness fanatics.
2. Can't comment on the hunting access. The Denver/Boulder area is populated so you would need to drive probably quite far. If your dog is small we have coyote, foxes, owls and hawks that will happily take your dog as a snack. We've had 5 or 6 neighborhood dogs get eaten in the time we've lived here and my neighbor's little dog recently came in with a claw mark on his flank. We think it was the local owl (he's a big one). If your dog is bigger he is probably ok but you have to watch the toddler with the coyotes. 9 coyotes killed after attacks on kids in Broomfield's Anthem neighborhood - Boulder Daily Camera
But all wildlife kidding aside the coyotes are gradually getting killed off in our area. You hear them howling at night but we don't get them prowling around in packs so much any more. I see them as singles still going through the neighborhood though and most small dog owners escort their dogs outside for potty.
The snakes in our area seem to be mostly bull snakes which are non-poisonous vs. rattlers which I haven't seen locally. Many hikes I've been on in the mountains I trip over the rattlers. Here I just trip over the bull snakes.
3. Airport is probably 35 min. away. Easy access to C-470 or on local roads.
4. Don't know about schools. Some like private, some like public. Mountain View Montessori–Home is right behind our house and seems to be a nice place. I see them out walking the younger children on nice days which I think is a very nice thing to do. They are well supervised with a teacher leading the way and one behind.
5. 20 min. to downtown on I-25 during non-rush hour. Not sure about rush hour. 20 min. is the drive time from my house to the performing arts center parking deck. If I'm meeting friends for dinner I allow an additional 10 min. to find parking downtown.
6. Every now and then someone builds a log cabin style home on a regular lot. But we live in a flat desert like area.
7. Skiing access same as everyone else. Have to drive up I-70. Beastly during winter to go up just for the weekend.
8. Lots of good natural grocery stores nearby. Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocery, Sprouts and Sunflower market not far at all (<15 min). I think they are better than Whole Foods as they have great selection but are not so over priced. King Soopers within walking distance with a nice selection of organic and natural foods.
9. Mix of liberal and conservative.
10. Homes with views can be found throughout the metro area. Just depends on which home you choose.
11. Easy to find homes on 2+ acres but generally will be older for the less expensive ones. Can find brand new ones but will be about a million. Lots of neighborhoods with over half acre lots.
If your familiar with zillow.com you can browse areas from the air and get an idea of sold home price and homes for sale.
Have fun with your search. One thing to pay attention to is water supply. Make sure the city you choose to live in has good water rights and if you pick a property with a well you need to make sure it is good and not on a dropping water table.
There is also a local rec center. Not in walking distance but nice for the children. It had a very undersized pool and isn't very good for serious training. http://www.broomfield.org/recreation/pdrcinfo.shtml But will have lots of good children's activities.
I should mention the downside to our area. It is very brown, barren and dry. Lots of areas in the denver metro area are unless they are older and have more mature trees.
Last edited by mic111; 11-18-2011 at 05:35 PM..
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Whole Foods; yes. 
Take a look at the area around Broomfield
