Potential Suburbs to move to (Denver, Fort Collins: apartment, lease, condo)

[godhand123]

My wife and I are from the suburbs of Chicago but we've lived the last 8 years in the SF Bay Area. We have a 2 year old and another on the way, so we're ready to 'settle down' and buy a house. We love Denver and have some family there (Broomfield) so we're thinking we would like to move there. We both work remotely.

We're planning a few trips to the Denver area in the next 6 months so I'd like to have a short list of areas to visit and look at while we're there, just to get an idea of where we'll want to live. We may buy a house, or may rent for a year before buying. Our current lease ends in July of 2023, so that's when we would make a move.

Which areas would you recommend we look at? Here are some of our requirements/preferences:

- Great public schools
- $850k max spend on a house
- 3-4br, 2ba
- Having restaurants/cafes in a local downtown area would be wonderful
- Family oriented area, lots of kids around.
- Low crime area
- A view would be nice

- I'm into road cycling, so it's a plus if there are group rides or good roads to ride nearby. Even better if they can be ridden from my front door.


I realize that there's likely no place that hits all of the above preferences, but I'd like to hit as many as I can.
I hear a lot about Highlands Ranch schools being very good, decent proximity to the mountains, nice homes, nice community with lots of kids. I wouldn't expect there to be a downtown area though, which isn't a deal breaker.

On my list so far is:
- Highlands Ranch
- Broomfield


Any help/tips/advice would be appreciated!

[AZtoCO1]

Hi there! I live in Highlands Ranch and enjoy it. It checks many of the boxes that you are looking for, with the exception being the downtown area that you already identified. HR does not have much to offer outside of chain stores and restaurants; we've found some regular places that we enjoy, but often go to other areas such as Littleton, which has a pretty cool little downtown area. We are very happy with the schools, low crime, and family oriented aspect of HR. If you'd like any more info, feel free to DM me. Good luck with your search!

[history nerd]

Originally Posted by godhand123

My wife and I are from the suburbs of Chicago but we've lived the last 8 years in the SF Bay Area. We have a 2 year old and another on the way, so we're ready to 'settle down' and buy a house. We love Denver and have some family there (Broomfield) so we're thinking we would like to move there. We both work remotely.

We're planning a few trips to the Denver area in the next 6 months so I'd like to have a short list of areas to visit and look at while we're there, just to get an idea of where we'll want to live. We may buy a house, or may rent for a year before buying. Our current lease ends in July of 2023, so that's when we would make a move.

Which areas would you recommend we look at? Here are some of our requirements/preferences:

- Great public schools
- $850k max spend on a house
- 3-4br, 2ba
- Having restaurants/cafes in a local downtown area would be wonderful
- Family oriented area, lots of kids around.
- Low crime area
- A view would be nice

- I'm into road cycling, so it's a plus if there are group rides or good roads to ride nearby. Even better if they can be ridden from my front door.


I realize that there's likely no place that hits all of the above preferences, but I'd like to hit as many as I can.
I hear a lot about Highlands Ranch schools being very good, decent proximity to the mountains, nice homes, nice community with lots of kids. I wouldn't expect there to be a downtown area though, which isn't a deal breaker.

On my list so far is:
- Highlands Ranch
- Broomfield


Any help/tips/advice would be appreciated!

Highlands Ranch is in Douglas County Schools which are on the downward trend and are a political battleground.

The best suburban school district is usually considered to be Cherry Creek although there is a lot of variation between schools in the district. Of course that would put you on the east side of town and further away from mountains.

There are not a lot of areas with cute downtowns unfortunately.

[davebarnes]

Arvada, but only the Ralston Valley High School catchment area.

[cowboyxjon]

What about Golden? I think you can find most of what you’re looking for.

[kj1065]

Littleton

[ShampooBanana]

Littleton, Golden, West Centennial, Arvada, Broomfield, Lafayette, Westminster, Erie, Longmont (west side).

[ejisme]

Our son lives in Broomfield/Westminster and a brother lives in Littleton. Both like their area. As has been mentioned, Littleton has a nice downtown area of its own. Broomfield is much more new businesses, new strip malls, new mall, lots and lots of apartment/condo complexes, with many more under construction. It's a nice area, but from your list probably not what you are really looking for. What might be a great fit is Lafayette, CO. Nice 8ish block long old downtown, newer business complexes outside of the old downtown. Nice Coal Creek Trail complex for hiking, running, walking. Still some country/farm living around the town as you ride out towards Boulder or east towards Brighton, or north into the countryside. We were just out there in early August for our son's wedding for a couple weeks. As we were leaving for home we drove through Lafayette again to pick up I-25N without using the toll road, and came across a group ride we had to follow a bit before it was safe to pass. I'd say about 25 riders +/-. I can't tell you about schools there, but otherwise it hits your targets.

[mkwensky]

If you're into road cycling Highlands Ranch would be like heaven. Plenty of paved trails that go everywhere.
There is no downtown area though and the retail and food options suck. Schools are probably on the decline like someone said but probably will stay good for another ten years.

[kyle19125]

I'd recommend Fort Collins which has a vibrant downtown, a huge cycling community, relative low crime, A-rated public schools and a family-friendly vibe.