Should we move to Evergreen? (Denver, Castle Rock: loft, buying a home, neighborhoods)

[robmypro]

I've been in So Cal for 30 years and am considering moving to Colorado. We have made 4 trips to Evergreen over the last few years, at various times of year, and are seriously considering it.

I have 2 major concerns. The winters, which I know will be long and heavy, and the fact our teenage daughter will be driving.

The other place we have looked at is in Castle Rock. Seems nice enough, but I would prefer the mountains. But the wife and daughter aren't as enthused.

All opinions appreciated!

[Jerry Bckr]

Evergreen is one of those places where people hate it or love it. Many move there originally because it has that Colorado feel, but some get disenchanted with it for a variety of reasons. Weather and commute times are the main two. Try Ken-Caryl Ranch. It's a 10,000 acre planned community that backs up to the foothills. I've got pictures of it in one of my albums. I'm also partial to it because I live here, but it has a mountain feel and has good access with C-470 going right through it.

[nele]

Originally Posted by robmypro

I have 2 major concerns. The winters, which I know will be long and heavy, and the fact our teenage daughter will be driving.

All opinions appreciated!

Where would you be commuting to? That should be a major factor. I lived there for a year and a half but partner couldn't take the commute into Denver. We now live on Lookout Mtn (which is also in Jefferson County, like Evergreen). It has a mountain feel but is much closer to jobs etc.

[Nav]

Commuting also depends on "where" in evergreen you are looking at. If by the interstate, its not that bad...but if you live out on the western side on say shadow mountain road or the brook forest area, the commute could easily be 30 minutes longer. In Winter, commute times can easily double on a regular basis.

Nav

[robmypro]

Thanks for the feedback guys. We run our business out of the house so we won't really need to commute.

[whoisjongalt]

I moved to Denver 6 years ago from SoCal and you will love it here! I bought a loft in Lodo (downtown) 5 years ago and it's great but I really think Evergreen is the BEST place you could possibly choose to live. It's sort of like the Topanga of Denver if your familiar with LA...30-45 min commute to downtown and it feels like you are in the wilderness. It's also got restaurants, a rec center, beautiful lake, 2 golf courses. I'm looking at houses there now. On average I bet there aren't more than 4 or 5 days/year that the snow might be an issue as far as driving. The roads are well-maintained. There are also some amazing deals on houses right now. Castle Rock is nothing like Evergreen. It's basically a nice suburb like you could find anywhere. Hope that helps.

[Nav]

Originally Posted by whoisjongalt

30-45 min commute to downtown and it feels like you are in the wilderness. It's also got restaurants, a rec center, beautiful lake, 2 golf courses. I'm looking at houses there now. On average I bet there aren't more than 4 or 5 days/year that the snow might be an issue as far as driving. The roads are well-maintained.

30-45 minutes on a good day, not during Rush hours (6:30am-8:30am or 3:30pm-6:30pm) This also assumes you are living in the central area of evergreen and have easy access to I-70 Evergreen is a large area spanning from western Conifer to Morrison. If you commute I-70, plan on traffic jams on Fridays as people head to the mountains for the weekends. The same jams occur on Sundays as they head back as well.

4-5 days of Snow? Snow is not usually the big issue when getting out of Evergreen. If you are on the main drag areas, your routes may be plowed first. If you live in one of the outlying areas, you will get plowed, but it may be 9-10 in the morning. Plowing is done based on traffic load, with main arteries getting cleared first. Usually, its not the snow that slows the commute, its the ice. A little bit of snow driven on by a few cars and its becomes an ice patch. This coupled with many winding roads, means traffic moves very slowly during the winter. You may have a 5 mile commute to the interstate, but if you are going only 5 miles per hour average (factoring in traffic and stop signs), the commute is not the "10 minute" drive like it is in the summer months. You will have to make sure your daughter is "well skilled" in the art of winter driving or she will most certainly wreck the car.

Evergreen is very pretty, but it is a bit more inconvenient during certain times of the year. It has all the beauty and scenery of a mountain town, yet is still close enough to Denver to commute to. Many "New" people move there because they want the mountains, but soon leave once they realize "the dream" is only nice during the summer months.

Nav

[aquila]

Hi guys....total outsider here who lives in boring Ohio, but I happened to notice this thread on my way into the forums this afternoon and I felt compelled to say something:

Whether it's Evergreen or Castle Rock, does it really matter? I've been to both...well, I've been to Evergreen so I'm a bit more familiar with it, and have only driven through Castle Rock on my way south to New Mexico. But even still, you guys are extremely fortunate to have such a stunningly beautiful environment to live in. So consider yourself lucky to be in a position where you even have to make this kind of choice. I'd choose either one in a heartbeat over where I currently live.

[whoisjongalt]

That's a good point about the distance to I-70. If you are close to Evergreen Parkway and thus I-70 it's pretty quick. If you live in Upper Bear Creek or or Brook Forest it could double your time to the freeway. I lived in Indian Hills (West of Morrison/South of Evergreen) on a dirt road on a mountain and I could leave my house at 4:30 and be in Downtown Denver by 5:00 so it all depends on the distance to the main highway. In that case I was near 285. You should also look at Lookout Mountain just north of Evergreen on the other side of I-70. It has some beautiful neighborhoods just like Evergreen and is even closer to Denver.

[citygirlnow]

Evergreen is a beautiful place to live. Visually. I lived there for 8 years and loved it! The people are wonderful and it has great community ties. If you move there, however, a few cautions: this is a very popular area for owners of extremely loud Harleys, whose main mission is to "be cool." I made the mistake of buying a home too close to "downtown." From April to almost November, the Harley noise made living in my home unbearable. There are two bars downtown, and this is where most of them frequent, often leaving at 1:00 in the morning. One police officer (mistakenly) told me they do nothing to enforce noise ordinances because they "support our bars." How sad (and illegal). Because of the numbers that drive up there, they literally passed by my house once every 45-60 seconds, from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and then the bar crowd. I finally had to move down the hill for my health and sanity. Selling my house was difficult, to say the least, and this was before the recession -- I suffered a huge economic loss. I now live nearer to downtown Denver, and it's so much quieter than the beautiful mountains of Evergreen. I've not regretted the move for a moment, and can actually open my windows to enjoy spring air. Evergreen is still visually beautiful and the people still have strong community ties. If you want to actually hear a mountain stream or a bird sing or feel the sweet spring air, though, living in Evergreen is not the place. Unless you live far away from downtown. Good luck in your search.