Denver/Broomfield bound! (Boulder, Longmont, Highlands Ranch: real estate, renting, homes)

[mic111]

You'll have to be careful with a little doggy. They get eaten by the wildlife with a shocking regularity if you don't escort them outside.

http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/...ets-broomfield

And those are only the reported ones. I think most people don't report them. We've had a number of people lose their pets, mostly dogs but an outdoor cat is rare because they are also taken. I don't think anyone ever reported it.

[ktqtp]

Originally Posted by alliern

Nope, the foothills are not covered in ticks at all. I've lived here for 5 years at 8,000 ft. in Evergreen and have never encountered one tick on myself, my kids or my dog. We hike, camp, and bike all the time. Back east I was pulling them off my yellow lab and even my kids quite often. The lack of mosquitoes and ticks make this a very enjoyable place to live!

Wow... No ticks? This is great news! Evergreen actually came up as an interest when I initially started exploring rural-ish areas.

What do you do in terms of commuting to a job when you live somewhere like Evergreen? Wouldn't you get snowed in and not be able to drive to your job? In our NC cabin we had a really bad winter. Iced over & plenty of snow on top of the ice. Despite that, we still managed to drive through roughly 3 miles of very narrow gravel roads in our "neighborhood" and make it to work about 35 miles away. Having 4x4s and some experience with snow driving helped. It was no 8,000 ft though

[ktqtp]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

OP, what do you mean by "urban areas that are drivable"? I assume that the job is in Broomfield?

What is your price range? Any other criteria, since you are examining the urban/rural extremes?

The job is in Broomfield. Urban drivable areas... I guess just anything that isn't endless suburbs, yet still drivable to the job. We're pretty used to 45min+ commutes.

On the urban side of things, we'd like access to chinese/vietnamese/thai food restaurants. Access to vegetarian options/health food stores. Art galleries, Independent theatres, street vendors etc. Arcades?

I've seen opposing opinions here as to whether Denver's food is good/bad/nonexistent which make me laugh. Even in the worst case scenario, the food can't possibly be bad compared to NC.

Price range: ~1600/month.

[alliern]

The snow here isn't that bad. Jefferson County does a great job at clearing the major highways and roads in Evergreen...better then metro Denver does. There might be 4-5 days per winter where you really don't want to commute due to the weather, but if you leave enough time and drive cautiously, it can be done. There are tons of people that commute to metro Denver for work. If you have a 4x4, you're already a step ahead of some.

A commute to Broomfield for work would take you 45 min - 1 hour from Evergreen. Living in the foothills is a lifestyle choice that most people on this forum don't really understand. There are truly some people that want a certain quality of life that you just can't get in the metro area and they are willing to sit in a car for their daily commute to gain the quality of life when they come home to a glass of wine on their deck with spectacular views and wildlife in their yard.

We have chinese/vietnamese/thai food restaurants in Evergreen. Our grocery stores have very nice areas designated to organic food items. There's a Natural Grocers in town as well and food co-ops and seasonal farmers markets. Evergreen has local theater and art galleries as well. There's Evergreen Lake which offers events throughout the year such as a summer concert series every other week and winter events as well.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by coloradoalimony

If you can deal with "rustic/remote", you can easily get something in the foothills within 30 minutes of Broomfield for $1600, depending on where you are in Broomfield. Keep in mind that Broomfield is about 12 miles long and stretches from east of I-25 north of Highway 7 all the way to west of Interlocken. From the SW side of Broomfield to the NE corner can take 20 minutes.

Look at Coal Creek Canyon, Eldorado Springs, Sugarloaf, Magnolia, Four Mile, Gold Hill. If you can deal with 45 minute commutes: Golden Gate Canyon, Nederland, Gilpin County, Genesee, Lyons. A warning: living in the foothills is not for softies. And gardening above 6500 feet or so is very tough without a greenhouse. I'll leave it at that.

You are in the middle of suburban hell in Broomfield. Not much in the way of rustic nearby. Broomfield was a "planned community" in the 1950's, and pretty much fulfilled its dream of being a suburb to end all suburbs.

I missed this when I responded to davebarnes' post. I'm beginning to wonder if you've ever been to Broomfield. Yes, it was a planned community in the 50s, 60 years ago now. That section of Broomfield has older "mid-century" houses that some people seem to be so ga-ga over these days. I don't know how you define "suburban hell". Broomfield has parks, a great rec center, Paul Derda, arts offerings, a good library, etc. There are also some areas that might qualify as "semi-rustic" such as Pony Estates and a couple of other areas whose names I can't remember at the moment.

I would add that living in the some of these foothills communities is not particularly "rustic", there are no little cabins like the OP had in NC. This is particularly true of Evergreen. It's more mountain suburban.

With the job in Broomfield, I'd focus on the areas you mention if the OP is really interested in mountain/foothills living.

City and County of Broomfield - Official Website

There are also the communities of Louisville, Lafayette, Superior and Boulder for the OP to consider. It sounds like Boulder might suit the OP well.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by ktqtp

like access to chinese/vietnamese/thai food restaurants

All the authentic Vietnamese restaurants are on South Federal in Denver or in Aurora.
Not close to Broomfield.
Cross this off your wish list.

[Bradburn1]

There's quite a few great pho places in Broomfield next to Pacific Ocean Marketplace--which is also an awesome, huge Asian grocery. They aren't fancy and are in a strip mall configuration but are cheap and good.

[alliern]

@ Katiana...Now it's my place to wonder if you've ever been to Evergreen beyond maybe visiting a friend that lives in Hiwan or something??? There most certainly are areas within Evergreen to find rustic cabins. The area surrounding the lake (down Buffalo Creek Road) and up behind downtown Evergreen has many. There's rustic cabins off Brook Forest Road as well. You can find cabins in Stanley Park, off North Turkey Creek, off Alabraska, off Blue Creek. The list can go on and on where there are cabins well within an Evergreen address.

@ OP... Other areas that are nearby Evergreen that can also provide you with what you are looking for are Indian Hills and Kittredge. Those of us that live up here hardly ever think of them as separate areas, but more as an extension of Evergreen. I also want to remind you of Morrison and Conifer off the 285 corridor as well. I can think of a half dozen rustic cabins off Shadow Mountain Dr. that are currently for sale with a year round river flowing in front of them and within a 2-3 minute drive of Hwy 285.

Good luck in your search! Colorado, where ever you choose to live, is a fantastic place!

[Katarina Witt]

I stand corrected! However, I really would not recommend the Evergreen/Indian Hills/Kittredge area to someone who works in Broomfield. It's a hellish drive from I-70 north to Broomfield. If that's what the OP is interested in, I'd suggest Lyons, Nederland, etc.

[Katarina Witt]

I was just on the Boulder forum and saw this:

Originally Posted by coloradocutter

Check into the schools in Broomfield. We lived in Broomfield and loved it. We were devastated that we had to move due to job issues. We lived in a neighborhood on the ridge overlooking 287. There are several here. All open space and walking trails - with some of the best big sky-mountain views on the Front Range. Not all is in BVSD. Paul Derda center is offered at a reduced rate. Makes me sad just thinking about it again...Good luck!

"Suburban hell"?