Commute from Castle Rock to downtown Denver? (Highlands Ranch, Englewood: home, transfer)

[KrisluvThreePrinces]

Thanks for your quick reply. I found the address for the company, it's on the 1600 block of Broadway.

I don't know much about CR, just trying to figure out what area would be best for my family. We have 3 young sons.

For a neighborhood, honestly I am looking for one with good schools; nice/affordable housing (we'd like something $350K or under), and this is going to sound terrible but I'd like a town not overrun with illegal immigrants <--no flaming please, it's just that is a huge problem where we currently live and I know it's everywhere, but I want something better than here.

We'd like one with easy access to light rail if at all possible.

[Dan6200alt]

from the things you've mentioned, I personally think Highlands Ranch is your best bet. It is very cookie cutter, suburbiaville (basically all of south metro is) but has alot to offer. You won't get a mansion, but should be able to find a decent place at 350K. Good schools all around the south side, particularly HR. A great place to have a family.

Illegal imigration is, as you said, everywhere and Denver metro is certainly no exception. I believe that Denver, surprisingly to many, has one of the highest percentages of hispanic populations in the country, although probably not as high as big cities in Cali, AZ and TX. I could really get into this topic (my wife is an RN in a downtown hospital , just imagine this, and was rear-ended by an illegal on I-25, what a mess) but I'll hold that for another thread at another time ) I'll just say that its here everywhere but, particularly on the southside, not something I personally worry about as far as safety, etc.

The light rail is a nice amenity and we use it fairly often if we go downtown for a game or for dinner. I dont know what you are used to, but its not like the transit system in say Chicago or New York where you use it daily (at least for the masses here), just to let you know.

[BenWolfe]

His office will be on the 16th street mall. 16th street is a pedestrian mall with numerous nice shops and restaurants in the heart of down town.

You can buy a lot of house in most Denver area subdivisions for $350k. Highland Ranch is very nice, Parker is also nice, but my first choice would be Castle Pines North (although this area may require you to stretch your budget a little.) Castle Pines North is between Castle Rock and Lone Tree, you will not have the congestion of C470 around Highlands Ranch and it is very close to the light rail stop.

Good Luck with your move.

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by BenWolfe

but my first choice would be Castle Pines North (although this area may require you to stretch your budget a little.)

A little stretch? Can you find anything there for under $450K? When I've checked that area, most everything seems to be $500K on up. It is a very nice area though.

[BenWolfe]

Currently 16 homes are for sale priced under $400k and 8 of them have 4 or more bedrooms. Only 3 of the homes are older than 10 years old and and they all have at least a 2 car garage.

[AJY]

Dan6200alt,

You seem to have a lot of information about the area.
Do you feel that Castle Rock is pretty crowded in general?
We want to be in smaller city, a place that offers ammenities and that is within driving distance to lots of shopping and from the looks of it Littleton looks like it has plenty of that.
What area do you feel is the safest? and the worst?
Do you know if there will be any solutions to the traffic problem going in to Denver aside from light rail?

Thank you!

[gpraceman]

AJY,

There is lots of shopping around the Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Littleton, Centennial, and Castle Rock areas. In CR there is the WalMart, Home Depot, a big factory outlet mall, as well as smaller shops and a new movie theater. In Lone Tree, there is Park Meadows mall and other surrounding shopping.

CR has a smaller town feel, but is sprawling out quite a bit. The main way in/out of Castle Rock is I-25. Light Rail only extends down to C-470 and I-25, so if you want to use it, you still have to drive up from CR. As far as I know there is no transportation solutions planned targeting CR.

You may also want to consider Highlands Ranch. It is a master planned community with lots of shopping, open space, trails, schools, churches, and rec centers (4 of them) interspersed within the community. It is also close to Park Meadows mall and provides for a shorter commute. It is an unincorporated part of Douglas County, not a city (like CR) and thus we have less taxes.

In terms of safety, there is little crime in the suburbs outside of Denver and Aurora.

[Dan6200alt]

AJY, your wants (smaller city, w/ amenities, shopping nearby, etc) sound to be exactly what was on our list when we moved here 5 years ago.

It actually fits the bill pretty closely. Its a pretty nice little town, w/ a few good restaurants and a decent amount of the basics (grocery stores, a few chain restauants, an outlet mall, target, petsmart, a movie theatre, etc). And your research on Littleton/Highlands Ranch is correct.

It, as gpraceman pointed out, has its share of sprawl and it keeps coming. I personally don't feel its overcrowded-YET. But its getting there. Traffic is an issue, specifically getting to/from Denver/s metro and I'm not aware of any solutions on any agenda. Its not terrible, but can be requently. You may have read about the 5 or 6 year, several billion $ I-25 project called T-REX that was completed recently. It helps up I-25 north and south thru Denver and south Denver, but its funny that not much was done to take care of fast growing Douglas Co, particularly Castle Rock/Castle Pines, where it seems a hefty percent of the congestion actually comes from. Go figure.

It is a smaller town and has some small town charm, but because so much of it is new (homes, neighborhoods, stores, etc) it really feels more suburban than anything to me at least.

Generally, not an unsafe area anywhere, but I'd stay away from just southeast of downtown up around Gilbert street. This area it getting run down and seems to be where alot of illegals end up living. Not absolutley positive on that, but South Elem definately has a high non english speaking population. I personally like the Meadows alot. Newer, nice homes, the movie theaters there, has great walking/running trails, good views, good schools, a town center on the way and its easy to get to I-25 or Santa Fe (another route to Littleton). Diamond Ridge and Castle Pines are very nice, but more expensivre areas. Lots of good new homes south of town (Crystal Valley Ranch) and east of town in and by Founders Village.

My personal opinion is that its not far enough removed from Denver and the south Metro area (HR/Littleton, etc) to make it feel much different. Just further away, just adding more driving time. Unless you will be working in Castle Rock, I personally would just go w/ Littleton/HR.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by KrisluvThreePrinces

Thanks for your quick reply. I found the address for the company, it's on the 1600 block of Broadway.

I don't know much about CR, just trying to figure out what area would be best for my family. We have 3 young sons.

For a neighborhood, honestly I am looking for one with good schools; nice/affordable housing (we'd like something $350K or under), and this is going to sound terrible but I'd like a town not overrun with illegal immigrants <--no flaming please, it's just that is a huge problem where we currently live and I know it's everywhere, but I want something better than here.

We'd like one with easy access to light rail if at all possible.

I'd say Littleton for you. In my opinion the most attractive of the southern suburbs. With two light rail stations in town (Littleton-Downtown and Mineral) -- you will have great access to light rail, possibly even an easy walk if you buy a house close to it. If you decide to drive, it's not a bad commute -- much easier than points further south. Plus a cute downtown area and some local history dating back over 100+ years as Littleton was a real town before it was a suburb. Schools are great too.

[thettpfam]

Originally Posted by Dan6200alt

I'm quessing that your question means you're considering living in CR and commuting to downtown for work. If thats the case, I'll make a blanket statement about that situation: You'll get very tired of it!

I live in CR and its a nice place, and the housing is a bit cheaper than Denver, Highlands Ranch, etc. I work mainly from home now, but used to work up north and my wife works downtown. We wish we would've just spent the extra $ and picked someplace closer to town like Highlands Ranch. (Still Douglas Co schools) In the end we probably spend more in gas, wear and tear, etc going to and fro than what we saved in purchasing a house down here. Trust me, you WILL drive to south metro ALL THE TIME for one thing or another. Plus if you live in the south parts of town, you can get to the light rail much quicker and easier. The stretch between CR and Lincoln blvd (the closest light rail station) gets very bottlenecked at rush hour.

If you're fixed on CR, I suggest only considering the Meadows area or better yet, Castle Pines North (pricier however). Meadows has quicker access to whats in CR and it generally nicer than most other areas short of Castle Pines. Castle Pines is closer to Denver you can get to Highlands Ranch via Monach/ Quebec rds.

tfox is about right with about 15 minutes give or take depending on where in CR you are to get to the Lincoln station. But thats assuming no traffic problems. But as I said, that stretch gets very congested in the morning rush hour and there definately will be times when it takes 1/2 hour, even an hour to get that far. Thats not a daily thing, but add some snow, rain, an accident on I-25 and there you go.

Having said that, CR is still a nice place, I don't mean to sound like I don't like it. Simply wanted to point out that if you plan on going to downtown often, CR might not be the place, logistically speaking.

a note on the light rail and downtown: its a great system, but its limited. Depending on where you are going downtown, it may not be that close, so you may have to walk a bit.

You're 100% correct about this commute. We live in Castle Pines North and my husband takes the light rail from Lincoln Station to downtown. It actually takes him about 1 hour and 20 minutes, one-way, door to door, which is about 20 minutes longer, each way, than it would be if he drove. However, it saves us a total of $3,000 per year between gas and downtown parking fees. It's a lot of time on the road, but you can't beat Douglas County schools! It's tough because that's 13+ hours commuting that we'd rather spend together as a family.