Family friendly Colorado towns..

[theoaks]

Originally Posted by whoisjongalt

Since you don't seem to care about the costs, the perfect place is Boulder. Beautiful, VERY liberal, good schools. There is a TJ in Boulder and a Costco 10 minutes away on Hwy 36.

Boulder, would certainly be a better choice compared to Bend, Oregon which was another of the Original Poster's considerations, because 1) It has better schools. 2) It has an internationally ranked university in town with associated events. 3) It is very liberal and the poster wanted very liberal.

For crime, South Orange County and Carlsbad, CA are very low on crime, however, the various burbs are 50-50 liberal, to conservative, but they are Socially Liberal due to the LA influence, compared to, for example, Scottsdale and Phoenix, AZ which are also 50-50.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by whoisjongalt

Since you don't seem to care about the costs, the perfect place is Boulder. Beautiful, VERY liberal, good schools. There is a TJ in Boulder and a Costco 10 minutes away on Hwy 36.

Another great suggestion.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by movingto...

Contamination sites, for some reason, are not a worry for a lot of people. Perhaps the severity of the site itself should be looked into a little more before going off the deep end. But when there's areas with radioactive waste in the groundwater and a city is burying a large number of infants and children, it's something that shouldn't be ignored. Try looking up Times Beach and Weldon Spring in Missouri before you act like there should be no cause of concern when it comes to Superfund Sites.

A few other knocks about Colorado on top of the high radon levels and UV exposure but not exactly contamination related... mine subsidence, underground fires, subterranean rivers, and variable water tables.

While gold, silver, molybdenum, and uranium mines get all the press, all these activities were supported by the extraction of extensive coal seams running throughout the state. As long as precious metals were mined and long after they went bust, coal was mined along side it. This has left tens of thousands of miles of tunnels underground, many that have since been built over by developers and ever expanding municipalities. You never know where exactly they are unless you research them as realtors aren't required to tell you (most don't even know themselves), and their presence can lead to cave ins. There also are some up near Boulder and Ft Collins that have underground fires burning in some of these abandoned tunnels that have burned for decades.

Also, the boom/bust cycle of water tends to drastically change the underground water levels. Areas that have been dry for decades and have thousands of homes built on them can replenish after a few years of regular rains that will raise water tables and supply subterranean water flows that can flood basements in areas that have not historical reference of water table issues, or supply flows of water that will unsettle land masses of significant size which can create slide zones that wipe out entire subdivisions and/or towns.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by movingto...

When looking at Colorado as a whole, the most "dangerous" areas are, of course the larger cities. Now, have I compared numbers to, say St. Louis, Detroit, Memphis.. no. I'm looking statistically just at Colorado. While the most "dangerous" areas may not actually be what many would consider dangerous, I still am taking it into consideration. It will still be a concern of mine simply because, I'm not interested in making "just a move", I want to make "the right move" So perhaps the concerns may seem asinine to you, however people move here without checking everything out and it bites them in the ass.

Contamination sites, for some reason, are not a worry for a lot of people. Perhaps the severity of the site itself should be looked into a little more before going off the deep end. But when there's areas with radioactive waste in the groundwater and a city is burying a large number of infants and children, it's something that shouldn't be ignored. Try looking up Times Beach and Weldon Spring in Missouri before you act like there should be no cause of concern when it comes to Superfund Sites. I could go to the middle of South Dakota where there are none, but of course, there isn't anything else there either. There's a happy medium that I intend to find.
Moving on... I do appreciate the other suggestions as to where to look. When checking out Oregon there were quite a few people who private messaged me saying the schools were awful even though they ranked pretty high FOR OREGON. Looking at a bunch of numbers on google doesn't mean too much, which is why I'm on here I do plan on making a trip this summer, and I think I have a better idea of where we will be heading.
Thanks

Just to dig in a little deeper to your comments, the reason it's very hard to give you answers is that you're painting with an incredibly broad brush. For example, "Denver is out because it has high crime and Super fund sites". No nuance at all. There are some areas of Denver metro, like those near Rocky Flats, that are definitely worth evaluating based on the contamination. I wouldn't live there. Similarly, there are certain areas that have higher crime. I live in a city neighborhood that I walk alone at night in all the time without the least bit of concern for safety. It's also not anywhere near a superfund site. 4,200 square foot lots with old houses that are going to be torn down by the new buyers go for in excess of $500,000. $500,000 for 4,200 square feet of dirt. This is why knowing your budget matters.

[WhitneyWells]

Look into Evergreen. Amazing public schools from elementary through high. It would be most ideal if you worked just "down the hill" in Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Golden or Littleton but plenty of execs live here who commute to downtown Denver by light rail. Very family friendly, amazing outdoors opportunities for every season and a strong sense of community. Good luck with your search for a wonderful place to land with your family in Colorado!

[theoaks]

Originally Posted by movingto...

When looking at Colorado as a whole, the most "dangerous" areas are, of course the larger cities. Now, have I compared numbers to, say St. Louis, Detroit, Memphis.. no. I'm looking statistically just at Colorado. While the most "dangerous" areas may not actually be what many would consider dangerous, I still am taking it into consideration. It will still be a concern of mine simply because, I'm not interested in making "just a move", I want to make "the right move" So perhaps the concerns may seem asinine to you, however people move here without checking everything out and it bites them in the ass.
Contamination sites, for some reason, are not a worry for a lot of people. Perhaps the severity of the site itself should be looked into a little more before going off the deep end. But when there's areas with radioactive waste in the groundwater and a city is burying a large number of infants and children, it's something that shouldn't be ignored. Try looking up Times Beach and Weldon Spring in Missouri before you act like there should be no cause of concern when it comes to Superfund Sites. I could go to the middle of South Dakota where there are none, but of course, there isn't anything else there either. There's a happy medium that I intend to find.
Moving on... I do appreciate the other suggestions as to where to look. When checking out Oregon there were quite a few people who private messaged me saying the schools were awful even though they ranked pretty high FOR OREGON. Looking at a bunch of numbers on google doesn't mean too much, which is why I'm on here I do plan on making a trip this summer, and I think I have a better idea of where we will be heading.
Thanks

Did anyone private message you about bad schools in Corvallis? I hope not. I know the schools in Bend are terrible and sent you that. Bend has a horrible meth problem, well, the entire state has a terrible meth problem, except from corvallis and north. Even Eugene cannot keep meth out of its city.

I hope nobody said that Corvallis has horrible schools.

Corvallis and Boulder are both very similar with internationally recognized universities, outdoor enthusiasts, very liberal, yuppies, and preppy.