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Old 12-02-2013, 08:03 AM
 
10 posts, read 14,478 times
Reputation: 14

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Hi!

I'm currently in DFW and have narrowed down my search to 3 cities in the country, with Denver area #2 (right behind Davis, CA, if my job's relocation offer is good enough, and tied for #2 with Boulder if something non-tiny pops up).

We're a small family of 3. My job is software development, I work from home, no commute concerns here.

My "sweet spot" range is up to ~$375k. I am looking for a large home in a bikeable area. You can see my other two choices are very bikeable, but if they do not pan out I am still extremely interested in the Denver area!

Good schools (looks like Littleton area checks out?), good parks (Littleton?), good views (west of Downtown, I'm guessing).

I do not want to be car-free (we have two), but would like to be in as bike-friendly a neighborhood/town as possible, with bike lanes and bike lock stands. Basically, Boulder without the Boulder.

Am I aiming too high, or does somewhere outside of the Boulder area offer these types of amenities?

I'm currently in Allen, which is very much *not* biker, or walker friendly. Everything is spread way out, and I would love to reverse that completely and have everything close by!

Sorry about polluting your fine sub-forum with another one of these posts, but hopefully my no-commuting thing makes some difference.
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Old 12-02-2013, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Denver, CO.
56 posts, read 71,685 times
Reputation: 50
Closer to downtown, certain areas in Lakewood, and Golden are good choices. Boulder area would work but it takes a special person to live in Boulder.

It's almost as if your family and mine are switching places. You are moving to Denver, I am moving to Dallas.

Have an open mind when looking at homes and schools here. 1) You will get a lot less for your money here in Denver than you can get in DFW and 2) a "good" school here would most likely be considered "mediocre" in DFW.
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Old 12-02-2013, 08:52 AM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,710 posts, read 29,834,812 times
Reputation: 33301
Default Some help

Denver Maps - Downloadable Maps (City-wide) - lots of Denver maps

http://www.denvergov.org/denvermaps/...de/BikeMap.pdf

Other cities and counties should also have maps
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Old 12-02-2013, 09:03 AM
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,828 posts, read 34,444,869 times
Reputation: 8986
Nearly all of greater Denver is bikeable, as it is highly suburban. Best views of the front range is the suburbs, as they are higher in elevation than the city itself.

$375,000 will get you a nice house a bit better than average.

What else is important to you?
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Old 12-02-2013, 09:19 AM
 
Location: 0.83 Atmospheres
11,474 posts, read 11,562,622 times
Reputation: 11986
Of course the conflicting goals you have of a large home and a dense area are going to be a problem in any city.

You said you don't like how spread out things are in your current area, but you must know that as things get more dense, housing becomes smaller and more expensive. This is true not just in Denver, but any city I have ever been to.
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Old 12-02-2013, 09:35 AM
 
10 posts, read 14,478 times
Reputation: 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog77 View Post
Of course the conflicting goals you have of a large home and a dense area are going to be a problem in any city.

You said you don't like how spread out things are in your current area, but you must know that as things get more dense, housing becomes smaller and more expensive. This is true not just in Denver, but any city I have ever been to.
My main goal is to escape the oppressive summer heat in DFW. We have parks, but I sure don't want to go outside during 5-6 months of the year because of how terrible it feels.

I think being close to a park, and within biking distance to a nice shopping center (not a true mall) would be perfect.

The Littleton/Lakewood/Golden area seems to be where I'm focusing most of my "oohs" and "aahs" at!
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Old 12-02-2013, 10:17 AM
 
2 posts, read 2,829 times
Reputation: 15
Rschreck, or anyone else for that matter, can you expand on the comment about good schools in Denver being comparable to mediocre schools in Dallas?

We, also, are contemplating a move to Denver. My 3 kids (15, 14, 11) are all currently in private school here in DFW, but I was hoping to switch to public schools if we make the move. I've been doing my research, but was waiting to post a question until I had a definite yeah or nay on my husband's job situation. The above comment really caught my eye though. Thanks!
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Old 12-02-2013, 10:20 AM
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,828 posts, read 34,444,869 times
Reputation: 8986
Please do not take one persons opinion as fact on any subject. The comment was provocative for sure.
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Old 12-02-2013, 11:16 AM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,710 posts, read 29,834,812 times
Reputation: 33301
Default Very difficult

Quote:
Originally Posted by mombow1 View Post
good schools in Denver being comparable to mediocre schools in Dallas!
Ranking public schools across state boundaries is very difficult.
GreatSchools.org can provide some guidance.

Comparing private and public is impossible as the private schools keep their ratings private.

And, with large (70K student) systems, there are many good and poor schools within the system. Find Colorado's best schools can help with Colorado schools.
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Old 12-02-2013, 05:20 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,297 posts, read 120,796,716 times
Reputation: 35920
^^Agree with the above. As much as someone will tell you their school is ranked #X nationally, there really are no national rankings by educators. US News and some other groups do some high school rankings, but I find them questionable d/t the metrics they use. I'm not a fan of Great Schools, but they are consistent nationally.
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