Denver vs Oklahoma City (Colorado Springs, Aurora: middle-class, short sales, real estate market)

[OWN14]

We are a family contemplating a summer move to CO (havent decided exact location yet; Pueblo, CoS, Den). I was wondering if I could get some advice regarding suburban areas of Denver (and any comparison to the Springs or Pueblo would be greatly appreciated as well)?

I realize that the cost of living in OKC is going to be considerably cheaper, but is there a suburban area that tends to offer a little more bang for your buck compared to others? We are middle-class with elementary school aged children and plan to rent for at least the first six months. What price range would I be looking at for 1500+ sf home? Obviously a good school system is important, too..

For those familiar with Oklahoma/Texas climate, how much difference is there in the weather?

Any details or info would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks!

[billiken]

When I think Bang for your Buck suburbs outside of Denver, I think of Parker.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by OWN14

We are a family contemplating a summer move to CO (havent decided exact location yet; Pueblo, CoS, Den). I was wondering if I could get some advice regarding suburban areas of Denver (and any comparison to the Springs or Pueblo would be greatly appreciated as well)?

I realize that the cost of living in OKC is going to be considerably cheaper, but is there a suburban area that tends to offer a little more bang for your buck compared to others? We are middle-class with elementary school aged children and plan to rent for at least the first six months. What price range would I be looking at for 1500+ sf home? Obviously a good school system is important, too..

For those familiar with Oklahoma/Texas climate, how much difference is there in the weather?

Any details or info would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks!

No bang for your buck anywhere in the Denver metro area. In OKC, you can find decent homes in nice neighborhoods in the low to mid 100's, no problem. Here, you can forget about it. Southeast Aurora, within the Cherry Creek School District, is a great family area with top schools and relatively more affordable than some of the other suburbs-- although even there it's hard to find a decent single family home for under $250k. Same thing with Parker, in Douglas County. And both those places are far away from the core of Denver. There parts of the Denver metro that are even cheaper, such as north Aurora, Green Valley Ranch, Commerce City/Reunion, Brighton, and Thornton, although they're not that much cheaper-- even in those places average homes still cost close to $200k on up and the schools are not as good.

[OWN14]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

No bang for your buck anywhere in the Denver metro area. In OKC, you can find decent homes in nice neighborhoods in the low to mid 100's, no problem. Here, you can forget about it. Southeast Aurora, within the Cherry Creek School District, is a great family area with top schools and relatively more affordable than some of the other suburbs-- although even there it's hard to find a decent single family home for under $250k. Same thing with Parker, in Douglas County. And both those places are far away from the core of Denver. There parts of the Denver metro that are even cheaper, such as north Aurora, Green Valley Ranch, Commerce City/Reunion, Brighton, and Thornton, although they're not that much cheaper-- even in those places average homes still cost close to $200k on up and the schools are not as good.

Yea, Ive noticed a huge difference in cost of housing. I live in a suburb of OKC (Moore) in a 4 bedroom brick house with 1400 sf that I paid $80k for.. Looks like Ill have to at least triple that.. Id prefer to live in the Denver area (suburbs), but might have to go south to the Springs for cheaper housing..

[Willy702]

I think the NE and N suburbs offer the best bang for your buck on a $ per SF basis. But the downside are the schools aren't as good, the neighborhoods in many cases feel isolated or not so safe and the traffic can be rather bad as there is little public transit into those areas. On the good side you can get some nice deals out those ways at least for now as they were some of the areas hardest hit but what downturn that did occur in the area in the real estate market. There are very few good deal foreclosures/short sales in the more desired areas, but I see quite a few good deals with buys of good condition homes for $100 sf up in Brighton and Henderson and a few dollars more in Commerce City and GVR.

The weather is a complete different story. Summers are far more tolerable in Denver and winters are certainly more harsh than OKC. Minimal humidity is a very noticeable part of the climate here although there are still some summer thunderstorms. Everyone talks about how the winters aren't that bad, but for someone from OKC I am sure they will seem pretty bad with a lot more snow and a handful of days with temperatures far below anything you'd ever experience there.

[ShastatoBaker]

Originally Posted by OWN14

We are a family contemplating a summer move to CO (havent decided exact location yet; Pueblo, CoS, Den). I was wondering if I could get some advice regarding suburban areas of Denver (and any comparison to the Springs or Pueblo would be greatly appreciated as well)?

I realize that the cost of living in OKC is going to be considerably cheaper, but is there a suburban area that tends to offer a little more bang for your buck compared to others? We are middle-class with elementary school aged children and plan to rent for at least the first six months. What price range would I be looking at for 1500+ sf home? Obviously a good school system is important, too..

For those familiar with Oklahoma/Texas climate, how much difference is there in the weather?

Any details or info would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks!

I've heard a lot of people complain about the sprawl in Colorado Springs but, honestly, I think it's fairly typical for a city of its size when land in 3 directions is fairly cheap to expand on. Pueblo, on the other hand, is more than justified in its bad reputation (why live in a mountainous state if you're not going to live near the pretty parts?).

Either beat OKC though, which, while cheap, is nothing to write home about. I could never live in a place like that... no mountains, no oceans... and the soil... nothing to keep a man in his grave.

[davidv]

A good place to look for less expensive homes in the South Jeffco area (try zip codes 80128, 80127, and 80123. A search turned up several houses for less than $200k. The high schools in the area are Chatfield, Dakota Ridge, and Columbine. All are good to very good high schools.

Part of 80123 is in Denver and feeds into JF Kennedy HS. It is not very good, but it is relatively easy to choice into one of the Jeffco schools. Choicing into any school that is very hard to do in the summer, so keep that in mind. The process is generally concluded by April of the previous school year.

[OWN14]

Originally Posted by ShastatoBaker

I've heard a lot of people complain about the sprawl in Colorado Springs but, honestly, I think it's fairly typical for a city of its size when land in 3 directions is fairly cheap to expand on. Pueblo, on the other hand, is more than justified in its bad reputation (why live in a mountainous state if you're not going to live near the pretty parts?).

Either beat OKC though, which, while cheap, is nothing to write home about. I could never live in a place like that... no mountains, no oceans... and the soil... nothing to keep a man in his grave.

Ive heard of Pueblo's bad reputation, but didn't think it was due to the scenery...?

When it comes to affordability you just can't beat OKC. OKC does have some downfalls (we've had over 50 days of 100 degree heat two years in a row; sometimes up to 115. As a matter of fact, OKLA has 4 of the 5 hottest summers on record in the US. It can also be very windy and the allergies can be brutal if you are a sufferer), but for $250K you could live in a REALLY nice house (probably along the lines of $750K or more in Denver). We also have bars/clubs that offer coin beer night (any long neck for a penny; although like CO, it's 3.2)..

We definitely have some red dirt here...

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by OWN14

Yea, Ive noticed a huge difference in cost of housing. I live in a suburb of OKC (Moore) in a 4 bedroom brick house with 1400 sf that I paid $80k for.. Looks like Ill have to at least triple that.. Id prefer to live in the Denver area (suburbs), but might have to go south to the Springs for cheaper housing..

Colorado Springs isn't much cheaper than Denver. Pueblo is, but there's a reason for that; Pueblo is the armpit of the state.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Colorado Springs isn't much cheaper than Denver. Pueblo is, but there's a reason for that; Pueblo is the armpit of the state.

Hey now, no need to bash Pueblo like that. Everyone knows that Commerce City is the armpit of the state.