Bradburn Village Questions (Denver, Westminster, Boulder: for sale, real estate market, 2015)

[movetodenver]

Hello,

We are possibly looking at relocating and have seen some info on Bradburn Village in Westminster. While this ideally looks like an ideal location for us (we are in our mid-30's with a 7 year old and 5 year old), we are a bit concerned...

While we want to make new friends/neighbors (we know nobody there), we are also introverts. From some things I read, it appears there are tons of parties and informal gatherings. It makes me tired just thinking of having to have a huge gathering like that weekly. Are you "shunned" if you don't go out and about and mingle? Is it safe to say that you can be outside and not be expected to have your neighbors over every time. Again, I would like that every now and then, but I know there are neighborhoods that it happens everytime you are outside. And while I would love to have some kids around (especially since we'll have to switch and start a new school), I also don't want kids just coming in and out of my house. I don't want to "babysit" the neighborhood kids. I don't mean to sound negative, because some aspects sound like a dream community, but we also need our space as a family. Is there a "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality as well?

Any insight anybody could provide would be great. Wondering if this would be the right set-up for us, or if a more traditional neighborhood with a mix of ages would be better. thx!

[Bradburn1]

You don't sound "negative" to me, I think your question expresses a totally reasonable concern.

No, you will not be shunned if you aren't super social. Everyone has different levels of sociability, some people are always out and attend every event, and some never do--and everything in between. It's not expected or required. We just happen to have--for whatever reason--a high concentration of sociable people in Bradburn. I personally think it's partly that Bradburn is designed so neighbors naturally interact, but also that we attract people who don't mind our higher density.

When I say in other posts that Bradburn isn't a good fit for people who never want to see their neighbors, I mean people who literally do not want to ever speak to, hear, or see other people, not people who want privacy or are introverted some of the time. Most people are like that I would think.

There are quite a few events, but they are structured so you can attend or not--your preference. They generally are not hosted at people's homes, but in our parks so no one has to clean/prepare and things are casual. Right now we have food trucks visit us in the park twice a month, and an organic farm stand and kid's art activities at our community center twice a month. Our next major events are the July 4th kid's parade and the kid's Triathalon. Other than that we have the occasional movie night in the park or park party and people have their own events where they often invite neighbors.

I don't see neighbors every time I'm outside, but I do frequently. In my experience the kids tend to play mostly outside up and down the street and all the people on the street have an eye on them, I've never felt someone was pawning off their kids on me, but can totally understand why you might be concerned about that--I'm not down with that either! People here are good about watching their own kids (thankfully!).

As to keeping up with the Joneses, I've never felt that way. People here seem very down to Earth to me which in my experience is not just a Bradburn thing, but a Colorado thing. People in here do have a keen interest in neighborhood real estate and development happening in our downtown (some exciting stuff on the horizon there has been the big topic of discussion lately), but I don't see that as the same thing.

[Bradburn1]

I asked a neighbor whose family is less social than mine your question and this is what she said:

"I think the beauty of Bradburn is that you can be as social as you want to be -- lots of people here from other states and it's a built-in community if want to meet new people - or not, your choice.

The variety of social opportunities makes it seem like a lot going on - bikes, book club, food truck night, etc., but few people do it all. We don't go to every party or event but I like knowing that they're available. Most of all, I like having neighbors who look out for one another. "

[movetodenver]

Thx for your detailed input. Very valuable!

[stricklandia]

We are still contemplating our relocation from San Diego to Denver (have posted on here before, and have already done one research trip). We're about to close on the sale of our house, but for various reasons have to stay here a bit longer... we've lined up a 6-month lease on a place here, so will hopefully make the move later this year or early in 2015.

We only have a few friends in the Denver area, and would need to recreate a new circle of friends. That's difficult in general, and especially in one's mature adult years (in our experience), as many people well established with their own circles of friends aren't necessarily open to welcoming "outsiders." So the idea of Bradburn Village—especially as described above, which is why I'm bumping an older thread—seems very attractive for a first step in our relocation (a very social community, etc.). It also seems very family-friendly (we have a 2.5-year-old girl).

Moving to a new city, we would want to rent for a year or so, to get familiar with the city before buying and putting down roots. But it seems like there aren't too many places in Bradburn that come up for rent. We will continue to keep an eye on it, but we're just curious how frequently (or infrequently) houses come available for rent? We could be open to a townhome in Bradburn Row, but have a preference for a house.

[Claire S.]

Originally Posted by stricklandia

We are still contemplating our relocation from San Diego to Denver (have posted on here before, and have already done one research trip). We're about to close on the sale of our house, but for various reasons have to stay here a bit longer... we've lined up a 6-month lease on a place here, so will hopefully make the move later this year or early in 2015.

We only have a few friends in the Denver area, and would need to recreate a new circle of friends. That's difficult in general, and especially in one's mature adult years (in our experience), as many people well established with their own circles of friends aren't necessarily open to welcoming "outsiders." So the idea of Bradburn Village—especially as described above, which is why I'm bumping an older thread—seems very attractive for a first step in our relocation (a very social community, etc.). It also seems very family-friendly (we have a 2.5-year-old girl).

Moving to a new city, we would want to rent for a year or so, to get familiar with the city before buying and putting down roots. But it seems like there aren't too many places in Bradburn that come up for rent. We will continue to keep an eye on it, but we're just curious how frequently (or infrequently) houses come available for rent? We could be open to a townhome in Bradburn Row, but have a preference for a house.

Stapleton is very similar, but with much more inventory than bradburn. On our block, we had a few young couples without kids who moved from out of state come in and make new friends in the neighborhood. It is very social here and very kid-friendly. With kids, all we have to do is open our front door and there are plenty of playmates outside - no need to infiltrate established friend circles to get in on a playdate.

[BBurn]

I believe there is at least one townhome available for rent in Bradburn right now, not to mention all of the available rentals in rental-only Bradburn Row, which have similar floorplans. I see homes for rent come up from time to time. Check craigslist. We are leaving Bradburn soon, but we will miss it. It is a beautiful, convenient place to live.

[Bradburn1]

Bradburn is great as a way to make friends easily, that's for sure. Especially if you have kids as that's the primary demo here. The rental market is super tight all over the Denver area right now, and Bradburn is no exception. Single family homes are coming up for rent less frequently than in years past because the real estate market has really picked up in the last year, so houses that used to be rented are now for sale. I can't honestly remember the last time a single family came up for rent--maybe a year ago? Much better luck with townhomes or Bradburn Row (which are townhome like apartments.) had good luck renting there myself personally while my house was being built.

I agree that Stapleton has a much larger selection of inventory and is similar to Bradburn in many ways. The major negative to me about Stapleton is the inability to truly walk to stores or restaurants from the majority of homes. In Bradburn, every home is a 5-10 minute walk from lots of stuff, and they are currently busting out our new Whole Foods which is also in that walking time and should open in the fall. Plus we wanted to be close to Boulder, hence Bradburn.

[stricklandia]

Thanks for the info. What's turnover like in Bradburn Village? Specifically: are there lots of families who moved in with toddler-age kids when Bradburn was new, and are staying put, such that the child demographic is aging as these kids get older? Or are families with young children moving in regularly, such that the child demo spans all ages? Just wondering if the majority of children in Bradburn are of a particular age range.

This sentence from the following article is what put the question in my mind: "The only potential downside of eyes on the street is predicted to hit when the largest number of kids in Bradburn get to their teenage years." (boldfaced phrase suggests there's a large bloc of kids of a certain age)

From this article:
It takes a walkable village | Better! Cities & Towns Online

[denverian]

Originally Posted by stricklandia

Thanks for the info. What's turnover like in Bradburn Village? Specifically: are there lots of families who moved in with toddler-age kids when Bradburn was new, and are staying put, such that the child demographic is aging as these kids get older? Or are families with young children moving in regularly, such that the child demo spans all ages? Just wondering if the majority of children in Bradburn are of a particular age range.

This sentence from the following article is what put the question in my mind: "The only potential downside of eyes on the street is predicted to hit when the largest number of kids in Bradburn get to their teenage years." (boldfaced phrase suggests there's a large bloc of kids of a certain age)

From this article:
It takes a walkable village | Better! Cities & Towns Online

We joke about that a lot in my Stapleton neighborhood. We have SO MANY kids in the same age group. In about 5 years, Stapleton kids will start becoming teenagers en masse