Possibly moving to CO really soon. Need Advice and help (Denver: real estate, to rent)

[SKemeza]

Greetings folks. My family is planning to move to CO as soon as the hubby gets a job. He's got a few phone screens for companies in the Boulder and Ft. Collins area. We spent an entire week in CO back in May 2012 but concentrated on areas South of Denver and fell in love with Castle Rock. Our realtor there said we probably wouldn't like to be North of the City. We only drove to Boulder and not to surrounding areas. We do NOT want to live in Boulder, too old and too expensive. We are looking for new construction, good family oriented area and excellent schools. We keep hearing that Douglas Co schools are the best of the best, but obviously if the husband gets a job in Boulder or North of Denver, this will not be an option. We absolutely fell in love with Colorado and looking forward to getting off the East Coast to hang with some great people and raise our young children in a family oriented invironment. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Shelly

[mic111]

Take a look at McKay in Broomfield if you end up in Boulder. High ranking elementary, newer construction, very nice area and alot cheaper than Boulder. There are a pretty large number of newer communities in the area but McKay is a good starting place.

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[SKemeza]

Thanks very much. This is one I hadn't looked at. Any thoughts on Longmont or Erie???

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by SKemeza

Our realtor there said we probably wouldn't like to be North of the City

Why?

Originally Posted by SKemeza

We keep hearing that Douglas Co schools are the best of the best

Boulder Valley schools and Cherry Creek schools are considered the best based on ratings. BVSD encompasses much more than just Boulder. Some of the high schools are often rated in the top 200 in the nation. BVSD includes Louisville, Superior, parts of Broomfield and more.

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Attendance Area Maps - Boulder Valley School District

[OhioToCO]

Oh, c'mon, Boulder is not so bad . Expensive, yes, but there are plenty of towns in Boulder county that can be cheaper, will provide good access to Boulder for your husband's job, and also will put you in a great school district (Check this forum in more depth - it has lots of threads on Louisville, Lafayette, Broomfield etc.) There is also unincorporated Boulder county, which is where I live, and we like it very much.
If his job search is primarily in Ft. Collins and Boulder, you better concentrate your search of housing around these towns. Longmont would be a good less expensive option, with possible access to both (although much closer to Boulder than Ft. Collins). I've only been to Castle Rock once, but I can't imagine it has something so unique, you can't find it anywhere north of Denver.

[mic111]

Erie and Longmont are nice. With Erie you'd want to check to make sure there was a grocery store at an acceptable driving distance. Alot of it is deep suburbs. Longmont is also nice. It has more amenities as a stand alone city. Likely you will find some nice neighborhoods there.

If you post your price range and what your looking for in a community likely you will get specific suggestions.

[Meowen]

I looked extensively at buying in both Erie and Longmont, chose longmont based on having all the amenities, unlike Erie which is more of a bedroom community with less shops, character etc. Also unless you are leaving in a very small portion of Erie that falls in BVSD school district, many parts of Longmont have better schools-especially the southwest part.

[SKemeza]

I wish I knew why our realtor felt we'd fit better in the South side. Maybe she's just an expert in that area and didn't want to be bothered on the Northern end. In general we LOVED Colorado. We didn't have one single negative experience. People are so nice. I really appreciate everyone's time here giving me advice! This helps a lot. We live in Annapolis MD. Maryland is one of the most expensive places to live in the country, we just want out of the rat race for more laid back living. My husband works for UMB School of Medicine. His commute is only 30 miles and it takes an hour each way. I used to work in Washington, DC for 18 years with a 1.5 hour commute each way to go 26 miles. I quit and decided to stay home with my kids for awhile. We are very fond of Meritage Homes. We are looking to stay under $450K. We also would prefer to buy a new home, but we are leaving the options open. I'm up for any more info/advice any of you are willing to share! Again, THANKS for spending the time. It's a very long distance move and very scary!!! PS: I wasn't saying anything bad about Boulder, per say, I just saw what housing it had to offer in our price range and I'm not impressed

[mic111]

I suspect your right in that she works the south area and knows the neighborhoods. She probably knew that up north you would need a different realtor and didn't want to lose the business.

In terms of brand new homes I don't know if you'll find much in your price range in Broomfield. Perhaps Longmont or Erie has something. In our area new homes are only being built with contracts placed on them. They aren't building spec. homes in advance like they used to so you would be in for a wait where you would have to rent while the home was being built. However in the nearly new range you'll find tons of good options.

Once you know the job location you can zero in on the homes. Personally I think one of the great things about living in Colorado is the ability to find really great neighborhoods just about everywhere. This allows one to live walking or biking distance to work. It is the best quality of life enhancement you can give yourself by moving here, even if you have to buy an older or smaller home to do it.

[SKemeza]

I suspect that spec homes are very few and far between. Most home builders definitely do not want to lose money or wait for things to get sold. The economy is pretty terrible all around these days. But I think, Mic111, you are definitely right regarding quality of life...........we are so burned out on this rotten place and it's people. Ready to start a new life.........now if only we can get my parents onboard! Thanks again for more info!!!! You folks are great!