Moving to Denver area from Florida (Colorado Springs, Aurora: foreclosures, gated, rental)

[ReeseL]

We are planning a move out to the Denver area in the very near future. We prefer not to be right in the city, we were thinkin within 30-50 miles(or less) outside Denver would be nice. We want to be as close to the mountains as possible, without being too far out. We are from a fairly large city and we do appreciate all that a city has to offer, but we are raising two small children and finding a SAFE community with Excellent Schools are a priority. We would still like to be within resonable distance to Denver. We just started researching different areas. Several places did stand out. Places like Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Parker, and yes, even Highlands Ranch. My Husband isnt wild about HR. Keep in mind, I have never been to Colorado, but have wanted to move there my entire adult life. My Husband has been a few times and loved it there. I have lived in FL my entire life with the exception of a few years in Sioux Falls, SD. My Family is from Michigan, and he grew up in S. Dakota, & Iowa, so we do know a little about cold winters and snow. The CO. winters are not an issue for us. Anyone want to give us some feedback on which communities outside, but convenient to Denver, that are recommended. We are so ready to get out of FL. It is basically a hot zone for crazy's, Other than the beaches, it lacks any natural beauty, and the summers are so hot and humid that unless we are literally in the pool or at the beach, you can't even enjoy a day outside. The summer heat has become unbearable. I read a post on this forum from someone stating that Denver's weather sucks. They talked about the heat & humidity. Trust me, I check the weather out there constantly and I would trade you in a heartbeat. Granted the Winters in FL are beautiful, but we would actually like a few changes of seasons. I know CO. winters can't be bad at all compared with MI or SD. So, I don't need any warnings about the weather as we look forward to the change. From what I hear & understand, the summers do get very warm, but the air is dry. the winters are fairly mild with the ocassional winter storm. Ahhhh, I can't wait.
Sorry, I did not intend this to be so long. However, i would appreciate some input on thr best area(s) to move to as well as any other info that may be helpful. I look forward to reading your comments!! Thanks for your input!!

[ryanek9freak]

Denver? Humid? I don't think there's a drop of moisture in this entire state.

BTW, Parker sucks, you'd hate it there. Highlands Ranch is very nice though.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by ReeseL

We are planning a move out to the Denver area in the very near future. We prefer not to be right in the city, we were thinkin within 30-50 miles(or less) outside Denver would be nice. We want to be as close to the mountains as possible, without being too far out.
we are raising two small children and finding a SAFE community with Excellent Schools are a priority. We would still like to be within resonable distance to Denver. We just started researching different areas. Several places did stand out. Places like Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Parker, and yes, even Highlands Ranch. My Husband isnt wild about HR. Keep in mind, I have never been to Colorado, but have wanted to move there my entire adult life.

Why are you planning to move to the Denver area?
What line of work are you in?
Where are you going to work?
What is your price range?

[Ocala55]

Moved here 20 years ago from Fl. and we are loving it. Cost of living can be difficult at times, but so can the rest of the country.... some places worst than others, CO not the worst. Snow? Not so much. An occasional blizzard, one WHITE Christmas in 20 years.... really not so tough. Consider looking into Castle Rock if you like being south of Denver. We're just north of Denver in the Dacono, Fredrick, Firestone area.... You might like Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville areas... Just a thought. BTW I'd rather not live in FL again. CO is heaven to me!!

[SummerLovin0480]

In advance, welcome to Colorado!

If you want to be close to the mountains AND the city of Denver, I would recommend some of the western suburbs, such as Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Golden, Arvada, and unincorporated southern Jefferson County (usually thought of as part of Littleton, but west of the actual city of Littleton). Boulder and its surrounding communities (Louisville and others) are about 45 minutes to an hour from Denver and are also close to the mountains.

Jefferson County has a good school system and I think all of the suburbs I listed above fall into Jeffco. I think Boulder has a good system too, but I'm not positive.

Castle Rock is a nice family-oriented community about 30-45 minutes south of Denver. Mostly newer homes, in a range of prices. If you lived there, you'd have a longer drive to the mountains, but it's very beautiful on its own. It's in Douglas County which also has a good year-round school system. Jeffco is on a traditional, summers-off schedule.

If you live in Colorado Springs, you will probably never come to Denver. The Springs is a big town and has pretty much everything you could ever need and has some nice scenery as well. If you're looking to hit the big mountain ski areas in the winter, you'd have a pretty long drive. And for some reason, it seems like most of the main roads in CO Springs have been under construction for the last 20 years or so!

The Denver metro area is really one solid city from Highlands Ranch in the south to Northglenn in the north, and Golden in the west to Aurora in the east, with Denver smack in the middle. I don't recommend living out east if you want to be close to the mountains, you'll have to drive all the way across town just to hit the foothills, and then you've got another 2 or 3 hours until you hit a ski town.

I hope this is helpful. I'm actually looking to move to Florida after having lived in CO my whole life! The grass is always greener right....?

[dj32]

with the price of gas and the fact the most employers are in metro denver, i wonder WHY you'd want to be 50 miles outside of Denver? close in burbs like Golden, lakewood would fit hte bill alot better.

[Katiana]

I would say the "one white Christmas in 20 years" is a bit of an exaggeration. Here are some stats from previous Christmases. 2007 is not included, but we had a Christmas Day snowstorm with about 8 inches in Louisville. I don't know how much we got "officially". In general, though, the winter weather is not bitter.

Denver Christmas Weather Statistics

[lawadvocate]

Hi, i am from South FL and will be moving to Castle Rock next week to a home we purchased in Castlewood Ranch. If you are from South FL and are sick of the urban congestion you will want to avoid Highlands Ranch as it feels very much like South FL (namely like the Weston area where I am from). Castle Rock has a small town feel but all the amenities of a larger city and is still an easy drive to downtown (for me at least) if that is where you will be working. Feel free to contact me if you want some more tips/advice on your move or search.

[DreadPiratePatty]

I am from Los Angeles, a middle aged white woman and I have lived in Denver (city, and in the suburbs) for the last 12 years. I can't wait to leave here this weekend, our family is moving home.

The reason we want to leave is multi-faceted. Coming from a multicultural background in LA, we continue to be horrified by people in Colorado referring to Asians as "Orientals" and Hispanics as - well, I won't repeat it here. If you are into covenant controlled communities then head for Westminster, or Highlands Ranch. Mostly identical homes painted in various nondescript shades of beige.

I personally liked Wheat Ridge better than many other places as it was nicer, but not snobby. With kids it would be ideal, you can rent or buy homes there for reasonable prices.

If you are renting, beware of all the foreclosures! Twice in one year we had to move as we lost the place we were renting because the landlord went into foreclosure and the places were bank auctioned. This was in the city of Denver itself although it's prevalent in the 'burbs too from what I have learned.

There are practically NO laws that protect tenants in Colorado (only Colorado and Arkansas lack these laws). Not sure what the laws are like in Florida but we were amazed to learn they are just now trying to introduce legislation that would require landlords to provide locking doors, proper heat and plumbing. The landlords association is kicking and screaming over it too...not sure where it will go.

Test EVERYTHING (plumbing, electrical, etc) if you are looking at renting. Document it all! Even then, one other place we lived in was condemned because the landlord refused to fix faulty wiring and the city had to condemn it and gave us 24 hours to get out for our own safety. This home in particular was an expensive (in Denver standards) rental $1600 a month, so beware. All is not what it seems with some places here.

On the positive side, the mountains are nice...and if you come to Denver and are white middle class you can fit in nicely and be happy as long as you are not settling into an area that is predominately black or hispanic...it's still very segregated here.

[wanttomoveeast]

Dread: I found your post very interesting. I agree, the renter's rights are so lacking compared to Calif. I think it's actually the complete reverse when it comes to rights in comparing Calif. to Colo. Calif. is sooo renter friendly.

I was amazed and didn't even think of what you were talking about the landlords foreclosing hence renters losing a place to live. That's just awful and another horrible part of this downsliding economy.

I agree with the race issues you raise, and coming from S. Calif., I can totally see why you'd want to go home. I am glad you gave it a long run here though, I think that's very important when moving. You weren't just here 6 mos., but 12 yrs.!! So yep, you know what it's like to live in Denver. I wish you the best of luck. I'm jealous too as I want to move to Miami.