Folks with young families recently relo to Denver area? (Westminster: 2013, HOA)

[hts]

We're contemplating a move to Denver next summer (2013) once the kids are out of school. I've done some preliminary research (Kiplingers, Money, etc.) regarding individual towns/subdivisions (Centennial, Westminster, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, etc.) but obviously don't have any answers or even initial conclusions, so I'm seeking some help here.

About us--I'm 46 and my girlfriend is 35. I have two sons (12 and 11) and she has a daughter (8). All three are in public (charter) schools here in Phoenix. One of them (my 7th grader) is in an extremely challenging academic school (BASIS) and while I'm hesitant to pull him out, we obviously will if we make the move to Denver. The other two children are in college-prep type elementary schools (if there is such a thing) and are both doing well. We're fairly conservative in nature (registered independents, but tend to align more with republicans than democrats if it matters).

Not that it matters, but we are both college-educated and have a household income around $100k. I went to high school and college in Nebraska, then moved to DC (mostly VA suburbs) from 84-2002. We moved to Chapel Hill, NC in the spring of 2002 as a result of 9/11. I was promoted/transfered to Phoenix in 2004. Lost my job in 2005 and moved back to DC. Just moved back from DC to Phoenix last year (2011) and have concluded that Phx isn't a good fit for us, which brings us to Denver.

If you have a young family like ours and recently moved to Denver/suburbs, please help me understand what led you to your subdivision/community. I'm particularly interested in schools (I know I can research Great Schools, Washington Post, and other reports on school rankings and am in the process of doing so, but want to make sure I'm not missing anything).

As far as communities, I typically prefer a large, master-planned subdivision (we live in Anthem, AZ right now) with lots of amenities--rec center, community park, sports fields/courts, hiking/bike trails, golf course, etc.

That being said, we'd also be interested in something else (older, mature home in older part of town, acre or so lots where we could build our own home, etc.), so we're not stuck in only looking at large, MPC's.

Work isn't a big deal as I travel 1-2 weeks/mth for business and she'll either find something or she'll stay at home.

Given our recent losses in the RE market, we'd prefer to be under $400k this time and would prefer 4 BR and 3500 sq ft or so (we bought our 5BR/4.5BA, 4 car garage, 4,500 sq ft place here for $750k a few years back and it's probably gonna sell for $400k if we're lucky).

Thanks!

hts

[ca-ut-??]

we moved to Castle Rock in January, we like the small town feel but close proximity to groceries and basic essentials. We don't have as many community amenities as Highlands Ranch but HOA is lower. There are lots of parks and trails everywhere i think, but def the case in CR.

You can more bang for your buck at CR (people don't like CR on this forum so I"ll let them tell you what the negs are) but We love it here.

There are a lot of charter schools here, you just have to be able to get in through lottery.

I like south of denver more than north of denver so I would suggest Highlands Ranch for you. The further out you go from Denver Proper, the more conservative it is.