Moving- lived in one state entire life- Ready for CO! advice please (Denver: apartment, rental)

[rosedust]

My family is wanting to move to Colorado. I'm looking for a small town in between Denver and Colorado Springs, or a small town around Denver, I can commute 45 min to work. I would like great/good public schools, quite town with a population on the smaller side (7,000-20,000) I would love to not be on flat ground~~ I've had flat land my entire life. I do like Castle Rock, however it seems that it's grow a lot in the past 5-7 years.

I will have work in either Denver or Colorado Springs, my husband will figure it out when we get there!

Everything I search and read online with contradict another article. We will be renting, I would like to not go over $2,300 for a 4 bed, but love a large yard.

I'm open to any and all suggestions! Need to be in Colorado in February!

[Littlekw]

Originally Posted by rosedust

My family is wanting to move to Colorado. I'm looking for a small town in between Denver and Colorado Springs, or a small town around Denver, I can commute 45 min to work. I would like great/good public schools, quite town with a population on the smaller side (7,000-20,000) I would love to not be on flat ground~~ I've had flat land my entire life. I do like Castle Rock, however it seems that it's grow a lot in the past 5-7 years.

I will have work in either Denver or Colorado Springs, my husband will figure it out when we get there!

Everything I search and read online with contradict another article. We will be renting, I would like to not go over $2,300 for a 4 bed, but love a large yard.

I'm open to any and all suggestions! Need to be in Colorado in February!

Oh boy. You have some grand ideas but your parameters are all over the place. Your budget of $2,300 per month will find you a great place to live in Colorado Springs. But jobs are hard to find here, even with experience in any given field. $2,300 for a 4 bedroom place and a yard will be a serious challenge to find in Denver metro.

The fact that your husband "will figure it out" might be okay in Denver, where there are many jobs, but in Colorado Springs that isn't a good plan unless "figure it out" includes minimum wage positions.

Small town between Denver and Colorado Springs? Castle Rock is about it, unless you count the southern suburbs of Denver like Castle Pines North and Lone Tree. Otherwise, there are no other small towns in between except Larkspur (around 300 people), Sedalia (around 600 people) and Monument/Palmer Lake (around 10,000 people combined, but essentially a Colorado Springs suburb).

You want a small town in your population range near Denver or Colorado Springs but not in the flat lands with your rental budget. Sorry, that's one heck of a long-shot. If you can secure a job in Colorado Springs and you're okay with the hubby being unemployed for a while, check out Woodland Park. It's about your best bet in the Colorado Springs area.

To not be in the flat lands near Denver but still be able to commute within 45 minutes to work in Denver in your budget... Well, maybe you can find something in the Evergreen area? Clear Creek County (the towns of Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Empire and Silver Plume) is also an option. They're within 45 minutes of Denver in good weather and traffic.

I wish you the best of luck in your search. However, I think you may have an unrealistic view of Colorado.

[Mike from back east]

Since you'd be renting a year or so, location isn't such a huge issue or deal breaker; but if you were buying, location relative to job site commuting would be a HUGE issue, i.e., a dreadful commute for a year may be tolerable until you figger out the optimal place to live.

The small town thing is somewhat problematic, even with the sprawl issues, one is either in a sprawling metro area, or well outside of it, which can set up commuting issues. A commute from Castle Rock to a job in Westminster or Boulder is a commute from hell.

In addition to Monument / Palmer Lake, Larkspur, Sedalia, and Castle Rock there is also Franktown and Elizabeth in that same general area. Some areas around Parker may also get you a somewhat small town or rural feel.

But I hate to see you pick any spot until you know the location of at least one work site. If you can nail that down, the folks on here can give you great advice.

[StealthRabbit]

yes,
get the job first (preferably Colorado Springs).

Can you open your scope a bit?
Denver / Colorado Springs is very urban / suburban.

If you are looking for a significant change and good 'small town' quality of life outside of the 'flatlands', consider as far away as possible from Denver.

30 yrs in Colorado I seldom went to Denver (except every night ~ midnight during 7 yrs of trucking to WY).
There are about 10,000 better choices in the region than Denver for better schools and living.

You can probably get by on $1000/ month and have DH rent a basement apartment for $1000/ month for weeknights in Denver if he MUST work there. Hopefully he can work (3) 12hr shifts / week and get out of Denver for 4 days / week.

If you are 'stealth' you can find him a bedroom / apartment in the home of elderly for $300/ month
Use the $700/ month savings on regional travel with your family. We homeschooled, so 12 week field trips were the norm. The 'working' parent would fly / join on long weekends (every other week for 4-6 day stints)

Consider life beyond Colorado (depending on what you are looking for.) For your 'earning yrs' I would recommend nearby WY (income tax free, better wages (for many careers), great schools / university / recreation). SD, WA, NV, AK similar.
Colorado is nice(r) to visit. IMHO, YMMV

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

yes,
get the job first (preferably Colorado Springs).

Can you open your scope a bit?
Denver / Colorado Springs is very urban / suburban.

If you are looking for a significant change and good 'small town' quality of life outside of the 'flatlands', consider as far away as possible from Denver.

30 yrs in Colorado I seldom went to Denver (except every night ~ midnight during 7 yrs of trucking to WY).
There are about 10,000 better choices in the region than Denver for better schools and living.

You can probably get by on $1000/ month and have DH rent a basement apartment for $1000/ month for weeknights in Denver if he MUST work there. Hopefully he can work (3) 12hr shifts / week and get out of Denver for 4 days / week.

If you are 'stealth' you can find him a bedroom / apartment in the home of elderly for $300/ month
Use the $700/ month savings on regional travel with your family. We homeschooled, so 12 week field trips were the norm. The 'working' parent would fly / join on long weekends (every other week for 4-6 day stints)

Consider life beyond Colorado (depending on what you are looking for.) For your 'earning yrs' I would recommend nearby WY (income tax free, better wages (for many careers), great schools / university / recreation). SD, WA, NV, AK similar.
Colorado is nice(r) to visit. IMHO, YMMV

Unless the OP is in the energy sector or is independently wealthy, skip Wyoming. Beautiful state, uncrowded, but an extremely limited job base. Very rural, no population centers over 100,000. Harsh winters. Limited access to affordable air transportation. Wyoming : US :: Siberia : Russia.

[JohnnyDenver]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Unless the OP is in the energy sector or is independently wealthy, skip Wyoming. Beautiful state, uncrowded, but an extremely limited job base. Very rural, no population centers over 100,000. Harsh winters. Limited access to affordable air transportation. Wyoming : US :: Siberia : Russia.

Concur . . . . The Cowboy state is also not an easy place to move to and adapt. I know of several people who moved up there and had difficulty finding work since they were not a native to the state. They prefer their own. I was thinking of going to law school there until I saw the disparity in tuition between in-state and out-of-state. I do know several people who were stationed at FE Warren AFB and stayed there after their term of enlistment and did fine, but their military service was definitely a plus in securing employment.

[JWEvergreen]

Evergreen might be a great option for you, but it is a bit more expensive. I found this home for rent. Looks nice. 4021 S Skyline Dr, Evergreen, CO 80439 is For Rent - Zillow

[Suzatlarge]

As has been mentioned above, pretty much the whole I-25 corridor from Fort Collins south through Denver to Colorado Springs, is already a mostly continuous urban/suburban sprawl - especially between Denver and Colorado Springs. There are some open stretches that aren't yet developed. Yet.

So, the deal with "small towns around Denver" or between Denver and the Springs, is that mostly it's just one suburb after another. You'd have to drive some distance east or west to encounter an actually separate small town outside of the continuous sprawl.

You've had some good suggestions above, such as Manitou Springs and Evergreen. One issue I see, is the tension between your not wanting to be on the "flatlands" AND wanting to live in a town with a population of 7,000 to 20,000. The foothills and mountain towns are mostly much smaller than 7,000 population, although Manitou Springs is about 5,300, and Evergreen is about 9,000. I'm in Denver, and it's not super "hilly" where I live, but by no means is it an ugly godforsaken "flatlands" environment. And, I can point my car westward and be driving up into the foothills and mountains in a matter of minutes.

Good luck with your move, and I hope things go well for you and your family.

[randomparent]

In before Jazz!

My first thought when reading this thread was the yard is going to be a problem. Because you are a new poster, your standards for a large yard are a mystery, but you should understand that lawn irrigation in the area you're considering is a very expensive proposition. Furthermore, locals are going to give you a hard time for wasting such a precious resource on maintaining grass. It's the west, and we don't have endless water at our disposal, so you'd be wisest to embrace the natural landscape or plan on a very small yard. Your neighbors will thank you, and so will your wallet.

[Suzatlarge]

I could be all wrong, but I would expect that the farther you get from the "flatlands" as you travel up into hilly terrain, the less likely you'll be to find a house with a "large yard," especially within town limits.