Gunbarrel area information (Boulder, Louisville, Twin Lakes: new house, neighborhoods, best schools)

[pivoine]

Thank you all, for this helpful information. My husband's job will be nearer to IBM & Celestial Seasonings, so Gunbarrel/Heatherwood are not that out-of-the-way for us.

I think that what he found about Louisville was he felt it was a bit cookie-cutterish. Are there other areas within the town that you feel have a different feel? The other thing is that it wouldn't be that close to his work, so the north/east section might work better for us. Of course, we will be driving around, so we will see for ourselves, but if you have a particular area that you know about, that would be great.

By character, we mean homes that weren't built in the 80s or 90s with oak cabinetry and brass fixtures--that type of thing. We like older homes that have been remodeled--say from the 60s or 70s. We are not against a newer home with an interesting feel.

We have seen some interesting properties online, and will see them when we get there. As I said, the location of Gunbarrel/Heatherwood work for us, but I think having to drive to Boulder for the rec center, etc. is a consideration. Are there any other desirable areas on the eastern side that anyone might recommend we take a look at?

Thank you all again so much.

[BigCheeze]

I have to sound like a broken record, but also maybe check out the Firestone/Fredrick area. They are really building it to be "family friendly". It's well with in your price range, a quick and easy drive to your husbands work; however.... it's fairly cookie-cutter. I still think it's worth a little bit of your time to check out the area, you might like it.

Also for school information it's in the St Vrain Valley School District.

Good luck

[Bradburn1]

Well, you might take a look at Prospect New Town in Longmont. Is about 15-20 minute drive from IBM. That development is as anti-cookie cutter as you can get!!!!

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

Have you considered Niwot or Longmont?
Agreed, Prospect is definitely not cookie cutter
We live on the southwest side of Longmont. Our son goes to Sunset Middle School and will go to Niwot High.
There is a great, relatively new rec center on the south side of Longmont. And at one point there was an article in the paper about a huge new health club that was going to be built at Hwy 119 as you are leaving/entering Longmont from the south.

[steveco.]

... there's a neighborhood called gunbarrel? gulp...

[suzco]

Originally Posted by steveco.

... there's a neighborhood called gunbarrel? gulp...

How Gunbarrel got its Name:
http://www.gunbarrel.net/histname.shtml

With their horse-drawn wagon, they pulled onto a high point on the plains (now known as Gunbarrel Hill) where they could look to the east and see the large tree.

“Father, acting as bull-whacker, drove as straight toward the tree as possible,” wrote Allen. “The heavily loaded wagon cut a deep rut, which was followed by other teamsters, so that a well-defined road was the result. It was called ‘Gunbarrel Road’ on account of its straightness.”

[Katarina Witt]

Thanks suzco. I was just about to Google that b/c I had heard the story before.

Re: Louisville-no more cookie cutter than a lot of other places. Old town is, well, old. The city has spread north, south and west from old town over the years. There are lots of different ages of houses in the "new" areas, starting in about the early 70s and continuing until quite recently. My house was built in 1978. The Mesa Point neighborhood is one area where not all the houses were built by the same builder. Most of the areas that were built by a single builder are not very large,e.g. a few blocks long by a few blocks wide. Not like Superior where virutally all the houses in the new area were built by Richmond Homes. It is about a 20 min drive to IBM from most parts of Louisville. I agree with the idea of coming out and looking around. Time the drive from homes you like. The traffic is not that bad going to that area, as opposed to going into Boulder proper.

[whoopiepie]

My friend who lives in Gunbarrel chose it because she says the schools near there are much better than Boulder schools.

[frogandtoad]

What's the name of the elementaries in Gunbarrel? Anyone have kids there or know if they are well-liked??

Thanks.

[Katarina Witt]

The name of the school is Heatherwood. My kids did not go there. We used to go to church in that area, and I know a lot of people whose kids went there. I can't remember any complaints.