Boulder or Denver (Arvada, Broomfield, Louisville: how much, house, high school)

[jimmyz48]

My fiance and I checked out the Denver area a month ago and love it! Moving from schmohio this summer. We want to live 1/2 between Boulder and Denver. We will work from home and prefer to be outside city limits to save on income tax. Looking for a home around $400K to $425 range. Been to Broomfield, Louisville etc but want a les suburban mountain type home with 1+ acre and some trees. Drove thru mountain area north of Golden / SW of Boulder (zip code 80403) and liked the area. Does anyone know what this area is like? Weather? Schools? Want to be about 30 minutes to Boulder if possible.

[2bindenver]

Mountain homes outside of Golden are on larger lots - lots of gravel roads and wildlife. You would be snowed in or out depending on where you were when the storm hit.

Some new people have adjustment problems to the altitude, or the winding roads, or the lack to stores, or.....

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

Mountain homes outside of Golden are on larger lots - lots of gravel roads and wildlife. You would be snowed in or out depending on where you were when the storm hit.

Some new people have adjustment problems to the altitude, or the winding roads, or the lack to stores, or.....

Also, you would likely be more than 30 min to Boulder, even in good weather. Homes on large acreage are just not the norm here, except perhaps in westeren Jefferson Co (Evergreen and others). I understand there are some areas way south (Roxborough Park [sp?] and others) where the lots are bigger, but 1/2 acre is considered quite large here. And trees? Forget it, at least on the plains. The plains are rather . . . plain. You have to plant your own.

[FromBroomfield]

1 acre seems like a lot in between Boulder and Denver. Maybe you should just go for a house next to some open space? If you really want land, look at Boulder County, although it's rather pricy there.

[rockiesredhead]

We live in western Arvada, just north of the 80403 zip code in 80007. We love it here. The appeal is being very close to the mountains while still having the opportunity to quickly access Denver and Boulder. The schools in these zip codes are served by Jefferson County schools and have several very strong schools. In fact, our local elementary and high school are ranked "excellent."

Western Arvada and some areas of Golden still host several horse properties where you'd be able to find an acre lot. However, they'd be relatively pricey and probably outside of your price range. It probably depends on how much remodeling you can tolerate.

Some people argue that the views aren't as good in this area as the eastern Denver suburbs, but you just can't beat being on a hiking trail in the foothills in literally 5 minutes. And, yes, Boulder is a quick trip up Highway 93 (about 20 minutes from my house.) We often head up this way or to Golden for nights out.

Good luck!

[jimmyz48]

I pulled up Arveda on the map and 80007 looks south of 80403. We were interested in the 80403 area just south of Nederland, SW of Boulder & N of Golden. Most of the mountain homes we liked were off of 73. Saw plenty of homes with over 1 acre in our price range. Most of the homes we saw in the 80401 Golden city area were more horse property types. Not really my thing. I just worry about being snowed in during the winter. Does anyone know about the weather & schools in Nederland area?

[rockiesredhead]

Here's a link to a zip code map of metro Denver. Whatever map you're referring to is incorrect because 80403 is in north Golden and the foothills. Nederland is actually northeast of Boulder -- almost an hour away from the 80403 zip code area. Nederland is lovely -- very rural, however. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://www.denverrealestateonline.co...ID=583957&NF=1