Please help! Which Front Range city/town do you recommend? (Denver: real estate, how much)

[FrontRange13]

My husband and I are planning a move to Colorado in early 2012. Which area/city/town do you recommend?

1. We want peace, tranquility & natural beauty. We want to buy a house on a forested 2+ acres, with complete privacy, preferably in the front range and with a nice view. We are looking in the $400K price range.

2. Within 90 minutes of DIA and 1 hr downtown Denver OR Boulder. I'll base my job search on the house we buy. My husband will work from home and only needs good internet and to drive to the airport a few times a month.

3. We are generally quiet, solitary people. We don't go out much and when we do, we don't mind driving a half hour or so to restaurants, shopping, etc. Proximity to social/entertainment activities is not a big priority. However, I don't want a terribly long commute (see #2).

4. We like outdoor activities like hiking and biking.

5. We don't have kids and don't plan to have any, so schools are not important.

6. We are 40-ish liberal environmentalist intellectual type people, but before you jump to the "Boulder" conclusion, we do NOT want to live near college students (see #1) and we don't require a lot of social interaction (see #3). We would just like to have a handful of like-minded friends in the area. Also, I hear that real estate in Boulder is significantly more expensive.

What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

You will not find a forested 2+ acre property with complete privacy in any city or town in the Front Range. However, there are a few places in the foothills that you could look into.

My first thought is Indian Hills, which is off of highway 285 southwest of Denver. I think this falls within your travel time criteria, at least during good weather. Second thought would be Golden Gate Canyon, which is accessed by highway 93 between Golden and Evergreen. I have no idea how long the drive to DIA would be, though. Third thought is Woodland Park, which is west of Colorado Springs. I've only driven through there on the highway, so I don't know anything about it. I do know that there have been discussions about WP on this forum, so you can find out more doing a forum search.

You need to realize that to get 2+ acres of complete privacy, you will have to do some driving to get there. And since these are in the foothills, you will be driving in snow for half the year.

[Mike from back east]

Since we're talking about Woodland Park (west of COLO SPGS) we may as well throw in the Black Forest (BF) area that is north of COLO SPGS and about an hour to DIA, or 30 minutes to the COLO SPGS airport. Most lots of 3 to 5 acres, wooded, good schools.

Search on zip code 80908 for BF properties in realtor.com or ppar.com

[docwatson]

Between Lyons and Estes Park might be a nice area to check out. Lots of semi-wooded lots in some subdivisions just up from Lyons, I forget the name. This would put you near Boulder, Longmont, but not really Denver. Other communities near Boulder - like Jamestown - may give you what you want. Nederland is also close to Boulder, great bus service, lots of wooded lots, and bitter cold snowy windy winters! Coal Creek canyon also seems to be a place people like to live.

Also, as "intellectual environmentalists," it may be worth calculating the carbon footprint of commuting everyday, unless you are able to work primarily from home ... there are a few areas that have bus service, such as along HWY 285, and well as the spotty Lyons-Boulder route and the excellent Nederland-Boulder route. OK, I'll get off the soapbox now.

The challenge will be finding what you are looking for with a "decent" commute to downtown Denver (as opposed to Boulder or Golden) - I'm not sure its possible! But maybe somewhere up against the foothills, yes. Golden is nice but pricey.

[Neditate]

Originally Posted by docwatson

Nederland is also close to Boulder, great bus service, lots of wooded lots, and bitter cold snowy windy winters!

Hey, Doc... not always. Last winter we hardly got any snow, while west of the Peak to Peak they received plenty. And three days this past week our high temps were warmer than Denver/Boulder. We were clear and sunny while down there it was hazy and yucky. All hail the inversion!

[FrontRange13]

Thank you all. These are great suggestions. Please keep 'em coming. I'll start my house hunting now!

[docwatson]

You may also evaluate how much you want to be in the mountains. A community like Niwot (or Lyons) or areas near Louisville/Lafayette would give you a fair amount of tranquility and views to the mountains, and I find the front range tallgrass prairie to be quite beautiful.

[Arrby]

It is not feasible to get to DIA from anywhere in Woodland Park in less than two hours except between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 am. And then it is an hour and forty five minutes. But there could be something that will fit your requirements somewhere between Cascade and Manitou Springs

Black Forrest was the first area that came to mind, but there might be something remote enough around Monument/Palmer Lake. What about Deckers? Or any of that area around Sedalia?

Neederland might just barely make your time limit to DIA. Here is an example I found more or less at random: 35 Valley View Dr, Nederland, CO 80466 MLS# 665473 - Zillow

[Neditate]

Nederland is less than 90 minutes to DIA. It takes me approximately 75 minutes door-to-door (via the toll road) sometimes less.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by FrontRange13

1. We want peace, tranquility & natural beauty. We want to buy a house on a forested 2+ acres, with complete privacy, preferably in the front range and with a nice view. We are looking in the $400K price range.

So if you want forested, the only choice you have are the foothills or the mountains west of the I-25 corridor. The towns along the corridor itself sit on the Plains and there aren't any forests there!

Anything in the Denver foothills and you're looking at $200k an acre. Land only. I don't know what the prices are the farther west you go in the smaller, more isolated areas.

4. We like outdoor activities like hiking and biking.

This is pretty much a given in any of the mountain or foothill areas you would live in.

Also, I hear that real estate in Boulder is significantly more expensive.

Unfortunately mountain property is equally expensive.

If you do end up finding the kind of place you want for $400k, please post here so that others who find themselves in a similar situation know where to look.