Erie what's it like? (Arvada, Westminster: new home, established neighborhood, school district)

[galaril]

Originally Posted by MorningGlory

I'm not offended, Pitt I'm a woman LOL. Galaril why not consider someplace like Castle Rock where your commute would be 10 mins?

Funny you mnetion that we have been planning on CR but the commute didn't sound much better into Greenwood village with bottle necks at CR I-25. Also, we were looking at the new Crystal Valley Ranch location but the school thta are kids would be attending is less than desirable from what we were told in the southern area of CR. The Meadows subdivison sounds great but I heard that the plan is for 10,000 plus to be there eventually! The other thing was the water issues in CR and the plan for this very nice small town to grow into a 100,000 in the next 10-15 years. That all together kind of tempered our enthusiasm for the CR area and the southern part of Denver metro in genral. I definitely realize that living in the south is the easiest commute but I also was told you can't get everything in new home so I can handle the commute if it means my wife likes the neighborhood and our kids go to a good school. But thanks for the advice.

[dnordyke]

I don't know about the commute, but I lived in Erie for about 4 1/2 years. From 95 to 99, and I loved it there. They get about as much snow as Denver and the surrounding mountains. You'd have to check it out for yourself, and make your own desicion. Erie is such a nice little town. At least it was back in 1999. It's like Mayberry RFD. It's a quaint little town and the people are so friendly. I'm from California and let me tell you people are different here. Maybe you don't have to commute so far.

[livecontent]

You know if you want to drive that is your option. However RTD is now building two commuter rail line up north--the Northwest Line to Longmont and the North Line that will through Thornton to 160/162 ave. This will be completed in 2016.

From Erie, you go east on County Hwy. 7, you will hit hwy. 25. This is the route you will take south into Denver. The new Lakeridge Mall is here. You will be going from About 2 miles down the road you will be at the site of the New station, at Colorado Blvd.

In the future, you can drive to the station and take a train to the DTC with a switch at Union Station because the North Line will be heavy rail and the train to DTC is light rail.

Also going west on Hwy. 7, it goes into Baseline and there will be a station on the Northwest Line at 30th and Pearl in Boulder.

So, even though you may not be a fan of public transportation--it will be there, in case you need it. And if you came from Boston, you will be familiar with commuter rail.

Information is at FasTracks Home

RTD website is The Regional Transportation District Home Page

The Erie area may be far out today but very fast into the future--it will be well connected.

I will give you a hint, if you are really smart, you will get a property close to the new stations and see a big increase in the value--when the stations are completed.

Livecontent
a former New Yawker

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by dnordyke

I don't know about the commute, but I lived in Erie for about 4 1/2 years. From 95 to 99, and I loved it there. They get about as much snow as Denver and the surrounding mountains. You'd have to check it out for yourself, and make your own desicion. Erie is such a nice little town. At least it was back in 1999. It's like Mayberry RFD. It's a quaint little town and the people are so friendly. I'm from California and let me tell you people are different here. Maybe you don't have to commute so far.

It is much different than in 99. There has been a lot of building there.

[NickMan7]

I currently live in Erie and it is definitely not what it was in 1999. It's not to say that's a bad thing, of course. The downtown area has retained most, if not all, of the charm it had before the urban sprawl crept into town. There is a TON of growth occuring just south of Erie along County Line Rd and along Highway 7 from County Line to I-25. A new recreation center just opened on January 5 and has been quite the news story within the area. A new high school was opened a few years ago and a new elementary school is slated to be built soon. There are many biking/walking trails in the area and, even with the growth, it's still very quiet when compared to other areas. It's nice to come home from work and stand on the back porch at 5:30 and not hear traffic noise!

Depending on your neighborhood, house prices vary (obviously). Much of the new development in Erie is quite expensive - averaging around $400,000. Neighborhoods in the Vista Ridge/Vista Pointe and Baxter Farm subdivisons contain anything from cookie cutters to multi-million dollar custom homes with private air strip access. Erie Village has some gorgeous homes - from victorian to modern - starting in the $300,000s.

Erie gets about as much snow as other Denver suburbs (as mentioned by several other posters), but not always during the same storms. As is customary in this region, snowfall varies greatly from one mile to the next. There may be a raging snowstorm going down in Littleton while northern Denver Metro cities have sunshine. Be prepared for it all.

Commute-wise, you'll be just fine traveling a few times per week. I drive to work daily and it ranges from 40-60 minutes depending on traffic. In snowy weather, it can be a real nightmare - moreso because of mileage, not access. It is 28 miles one way from my house to work in downtown Denver and if you're driving to the DTC area, you can stack another few miles and another 10 minutes to the commute (or more, again depending on traffic/weather). You mentioned driving during off hours - (8:45am and 4:00pm) - those are NOT off hours during Denver's commute. 8:45 will be touching the tail-end of the normal morning commute, but 4:00pm will put you right in the heart of the evening commute, especially once you get through downtown.

[Katarina Witt]

Good post and very accurate, IMO. I live in Louisville, a few miles to the west of NickMan7. I would add, lots of kids in Erie, mostly small (I think). I work in a pediatrician's office in Lsvl and a lot of our patients come from Erie. I just read in the paper within the last few days that they got a new library there, also.

[NickMan7]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

Good post and very accurate, IMO. I live in Louisville, a few miles to the west of NickMan7. I would add, lots of kids in Erie, mostly small (I think). I work in a pediatrician's office in Lsvl and a lot of our patients come from Erie. I just read in the paper within the last few days that they got a new library there, also.

Yes, you're right in the area! There are many young kids - in about 10 years there will be an overwhelming need for the new high school! In fact, now that you mention it Pittnurse, there are not many teenagers at all (compared to when I was living in Superior next to Flatirons). We are in a small neighborhood just south of Old Town Erie and of the families in our neighborhood with children, almost all of them are under 10. There is only one neighbor I can think of with a teenager.

I am not sure about the library, although I would assume you're correct. Many of the older public services offered in Erie are being re-built (usually in another location) to supply the influx of new residents.

[Katarina Witt]

Erie cheers new library opening : Erie : Boulder Daily Camera (http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/jan/13/erie-cheers-new-library-opening/ - broken link)

Here is the link. The story about the library was in yesterday's Sunday Camera. This is Erie's first library. They used to use the Lafayette library, and Lafayette decided to charge Erie residents as they weren't paying taxes for it, and it raised a stink. Apparently, Weld County decided to build in Erie.

Your description of Erie's kid situation reminds me of Superior a few short years ago (well, maybe 10) and Louisville ~20 yrs ago. Ironically, I was talking to one of the older members of my church yesterday who said that 30-40 yrs ago, South Boulder was full of young families.

[NickMan7]

Wow, I will have to check it out! I thought I read all of the community flyers we get, but I obviously missed this one! I guess I never knew Erie didn't have a library, because I've heard others talk about going to the library (I obviously just assumed it was in Erie). Now I know!

Yeah, I think a lot of the newer suburbs will experience the same thing. It'll be many years before it's "sleepy" again! My parents have lived in their neighborhood for 43 years (when the neighborhood itself was only two years old) and it's amazing how much quieter it's become now that all the children have grown into adults. When I was in elementary school, all the kids in the neighborhood were right around my age, so we all grew up together. Many of the parents who lived there then are still there, so the number of young children in the neighborhood has seriously dwindled. There are the few new families, but it's amazing how much quieter it is now!

[funyon]

Hi, I'm new to the forum thing--hope I'm doing this right. We just took a drive out to Erie today (live in Arvada) and is it just me, or are there any major grocery stores in the area. Love the location, but need conveniences within 10 minutes.