Possible relocation to greater Denver from greater Phoenix? Help please? (Aurora: real estate, 2015)

[DLL333]

Wanted to put some feelers out there, as my wife and our 2 young boys may be moving here sometime around March or April, and somewhere in greater Denver is on the list of possible destinations. We've been in Chandler, Arizona for a little while now. I've no crazy issues as far as quality of life or crime (It's actually a very safe area where we live), but we feel we could make better money elsewhere and put our boys in a better public school system when it comes time to put them in school (state by state, Arizona ranks as one of the worst.)

We're both 30. Politically, we're pretty moderate, we're not religious, we would call ourselves pretty intelligent and pretty cultured people. We don't have a crazy nightlife, being that we have young children so that's not a big deal. We both work in mortgage.

One of the biggest issues to us is education for our kids, and safe schools, etc. They are also shaping up to be pretty outdoorsy, so I know CO is obviously great for that.

Which allows me to segway into the cannabis topic. I've been trying to get a real clear picture of what exactly is happening to Colorado since cannabis got legalized... in terms of culture, laws, the people, any associated crime, the school quality from the tax money, etc. I hear mixed things and I'm not quite sure what to draw from it... I smoke cannabis semi-regularly, maybe a few times a week, as I have my medical card here in AZ for a military related issue. I enjoy it and think it's a wonderful thing, but I don't particularly care much for the typical "stoner culture", if that makes sense. It's mostly something I do in my yard, usually by myself to just chill out, etc. I don't make a big deal about it and I just wanted to get your insight as to how it actually is now, from your perspectives.

We're looking to purchase a house in the range of $300k to 350k, in or around that price range. Basically we're looking for a safe, quiet area with good schools. Doesn't have to be ritzy or upscale, just safe and quiet. Modern, moderate house with a yard, etc. I don't know what areas in greater Denver are nice, and what areas are not-so-nice. I apologize if I speak naively on any of these topics. Any thoughts?

Thank you so much for all of your help!

[Mike from back east]

IIRC from thousands of posts about schools in the Denver metro, the better districts are the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) and the Cherry Creek School District (CCSD). Use our search tool with those acronyms to find tons of info. Boulder proper is very expensive as are parts of the CCSD area, though some are less so.

[Augie Daugie]

Where would you work? The commute around Denver can be rough if you need to get across town for work. If you end up on the east side of town, SE Aurora comes to mind. On the west side, I'd look at Lakewood or Littleton.

Legal weed hasn't changed much in Colorado culturally or in terms of crime. If anything, people were already smoking, so now they just go to the dispensary instead of their dealer. You also catch huge wiffs of skunk anytime you drive along one of Denver's industrial belts - there is a huge demand for warehouse space for growers.

[davebarnes]

What you need to understand



versus

[emm74]

Typical suburban neighborhoods don't have a stoner culture. There will be some people who smoke pot, a whole lot more who drink alcohol but no one gets in anyone's face about either. Just don't smoke and drive, please, any more than you should drink and drive.

However, as Dave points out, your price point may be a bit light to buy in areas with the best schools.

[thatgirl0206]

We moved here from the far east valley 3 years ago. I notice no difference in pot smoking here vs AZ. In fact, I see less of it here than I did in AZ. By that I mean I've never seen anyone smoking pot here and I have yet to meet anyone personally who openly admits they do. Maybe it's just the people I associated with there vs here. Either way, it's really a non-issue here. People aren't lighting up in the streets or anything like that. In fact, I think it's still illegal to smoke it in public here.

We moved here because of the schools as well (that and we wanted a break from the heat). The biggest shock for us has been housing prices. It is far more expensive housing wise. Also, in AZ there are new builds going up on every corner. Not so much here. Inventory is low, hence housing prices are high. Many of the homes in the more desirable neighborhoods are older, which has pros and cons, depending on your preferences. I'm just saying it's very different than what we were used to in AZ. And I wouldn't say that the wages are much higher here vs AZ. At least for us they haven't been.

That being said, we love it here. We have no plans to move back. CO has so much to offer. People are coming here in droves.

[mic111]

The only issue I see is that if you move to a neighborhood with good schools and in the suburbs your neighbors might not be too keen on your smoking in your yard as the smell will waft into their yards where their kids are playing or they are trying to enjoy their outdoor space. Yards are small here. Even with bigger yards it could be a problem. Our yards are big but my neighbor has a fire pit. Whenever they light up the house fills with smoke and I have to race around closing all my windows. Thankfully nobody around me smokes pot.

[davebarnes]

Home inventory up 6% in November, REColorado reports

[AZtoCO1]

I grew up in Colorado and we currently live in Gilbert. We're thinking about moving back for many of the same reasons that you are looking at, primarily education. As thatgirl said above, be prepared for a very different housing market in Denver. What we're used to in the valley in terms of house size for the $ will be very different when you are looking at CO real estate, especially if you want to get in to the good school districts.

We are currently considering moving to Virginia as the schools in the area we're looking at are excellent and the housing prices are much more affordable. Plus, it gets my wife closer to her family back east and gives me all sorts of awesome road trip ideas for football games.

Good luck with your move!