Need ideas on the perfect city for our family moving to Denver area (Parker: apartments, rentals)

[windandsky]

Hi, I was hoping to get advice on the perfect city around the Denver area to make the big move for our family. We are looking for a place with great schools, lots of trees, snowfall in winter, family community for our 4 yr old and one on the way, easy commute into Denver for my husband who works in IT. We are big nature lovers! And we love snow we also need a beautiful neighborhood and are HOPING for some land for a horse. We're looking to rent for a year or two, and hoping for rental prices under 1200 for atleast a 3 bedroom, I have seen many online but don't know the areas to stick to or stay away from in regards to our needs.

My husbands sister currently lives in Parker & were not to fond of the area because of it being flat and treeless!

Thank you so much for your help

[jwiley]

So you are looking for a 3 bedroom house, in the mountains, on one acre, within a commutable distance to Denver, that gets lots of snow, and you only want to pay $1,200 a month? If you find it please let me know, because the Denver metro area does not get a ton of snow, everything I have found that has 3 bedrooms in good neighborhoods rents for more then $1200 a month now and they have no acreage. In Evergreen 3 bedroom apartments rent for $1500.

For a horse you will need more then 1 acre of mountain land unless you plan to feed the horse year round as the land is not flat and the grasses do not grow as high on slopes, personally I would not want less then 3 acres for a horse in the mountain areas around Denver that way you should be able to get away with not giving them hay for a few months out of the year.

One thing I also will warn you about, I know plenty of people that figure out distance and match that to their personal experience, if you have not lived in the mountains I would be very careful doing that, in snow and traffic what appears on a map to be a short trip can easily become a very long trip.

[davebarnes]

$1200/mo for a 3 bedroom house with great schools, lots of trees, snowfall in winter, family community is not going to happen in greater Denver.
If $1200 is your max, then about the best you are going to get is: crappy schools, some trees, dry winters and family community (Si usted habla Español).

[Mike from back east]

WHERE in Denver is his job? Tell us that and we can better help you.

Use padmapper.com to look for rentals.

You'll have to give up some of your wish list.

Commute to job is paramount concern in an area of 3M people....

[Katarina Witt]

$1200 what my daughter is paying for a 2 BR townhouse in a moderate-priced burb. I wouldn't worry about the schools. Most of the districts in the metro area are good to excellent, and you don't even have kids in school right now. If you're renting, you'll probably buy before long, no? The 1 acre is pretty much a pipe dream at that price point. DD has a little rectangle of grass. There are lots of horse boarding places around, at least here in the northern burbs. Snowfall is fairly even here; I guess Castle Rock gets more b/c of its higher elevation. Rents are a little cheaper there, too.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Our house in Centennial meets most of your criteria, except that the lot size is 7,000 square feet. It is a three bedroom house, great school district (Cheery Creek Schools), older neighborhood with lots of trees, lots of small kids. It is near the light rail, so an easy commute to downtown Denver, and a five minute drive to the Denver Tech Center (lots of IT jobs). I tell you all this for a reality check -- we rent our house out for $1,800 a month and in the current market could probably get more.

If "flat and treeless" turns you off, then you shouldn't be considering Denver. There are areas that aren't flat and have trees and acreage, but you need to double your budget (and commute time) afford them.

[rushhournewb]

Hi, we're moving to Denver and we want it all: here's our list.

--Ocean view
--Lots of tall trees
--Some snow but not much
--Lots of jobs so we can pick and choose
--No more than $500 for rent
--Uhhh.....

[mic111]

Originally Posted by windandsky

We're looking to rent for a year or two, and hoping for rental prices under 1200 for atleast a 3 bedroom, I have seen many online but don't know the areas to stick to or stay away from in regards to our needs.

Please provide some links to the on-line listings that you like. This will help folks zero in on helping you.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by rushhournewb

Hi, we're moving... and we want it all: here's our list.
--Ocean view
--Lots of tall trees
--Some snow but not much

Queenstown New Zealand: Official Site for NZ

[Ming Ming]

When someone says not to worry about the schools is almost as bad as someone saying you can trust me. You gotta watch your back! Not all schools are great in Colorado or excellent as someone stated, you have kids and it's important. Research!