Colorado Springs, Denver, or Boulder??? Please help!!! (Aurora, Lakewood: home, safe neighborhoods)

[lorredasmith]

Hey everyone.

I wanted to know for a friend whether Colorado Springs, Denver, or Boulder would be better. Surrounding cities would be great too as I know it's often cheaper than living in the city.

My friend is not worried about a job. Apparently she works from home and does pretty well but she's got three kids. She wants a house, I'm guessing 3 or 4 bedrooms for about 1000 to 1500 near good schools and safe neighborhoods. She wants to live in a area where its moderately busy (not too much) and has fun things to do for the kids and herself. She's a very outgoing girl so I'm guessing for her, bars or clubs. For the kids - malls, movie theatres, parks, amusements are a few minutes away.
She wants to know of the three, which of them get colder. She'd like to get the least coldest area. She'll handle the snow, just, if she can decrease the amount by moving to a more mild place, she'd like too.

Which do you think would be best for her? And if you choose one, what cities near there do you recommend? (For example, if its Denver - try avoiding Aurora.)

Too reiterate, this is for a outgoing Mom that is looking for the least coldest area of the three that has enough going on to keep her and her kids busy and safe.

She is from Santa Barbara, California and hates it there and wants to move to Colorado. She hates the 2 seasons and seeks four seasons. She hates the overcrowdness but doesn't like it completely quiet either. She hates the bad traffic, the schools, and the cost of living. She says she's always loved what she heard about Colorado but didn't know where to go.

Any help for her would be great.

Thanks in advance.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by lorredasmith

(For example, if its Denver - try avoiding Aurora.)

Why?

Southeast Aurora photo tour

[lorredasmith]

How is the weather? Is it extremely cold all the time? I heard there are parts of Colorado where it snows very often and usually unexpectedly. Is that true? Is it true for Denver and its surrounding cities?

[vegaspilgrim]

It might be helpful to read up some of the info on the threads that discuss the weather in Denver and other places in Colorado in depth on the forum index threads:

//www.city-data.com/forum/color...links-key.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/denve...s-updated.html (Denver)
//www.city-data.com/forum/color...ey-topics.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/bould...firestone.html

And you can bypass the opinions, read the facts for yourselves about climate data for any city, average temperatures in each month, snowfall, rain, etc at weatherbase.com.

[ramanboy33]

Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs have very similar weather - all three are in the front range urban corridor where the weather is moderated by the Front Range Mountains. I believe Colorado Springs is slightly colder and slightly snowier being that's it's a little higher in elevation - but it's not much of a difference.

Boulder is the most expensive to live, followed by Denver and then Colorado Springs - but both metro areas are large enough that you can find pretty much any price range you want.

Being the largest (by far) area, Denver has the most nightlife options. Boulder's nightlife is primarily college oriented. I'm not sure of the nightlife in Colorado Springs, but I'd think it's tamer by comparison. All three cities offer a very outdoorsy culture, especially Colorado Springs and Boulder.

Good schools can be found in all three.

What it might boil down to is your friend's "lifestyle" and outlook on life. (These are all generalizations)- Boulder is very open, liberal, and permissive. Denver proper is also very liberal. Colorado springs is conservative, has a very large, active religious community, and has a large military presence.

So, if your friend is a vegetarian, free spirited hippie who likes to hike I'd steer her towards Boulder.

If she a run of the mill liberal who likes to occasionally frequent bars and clubs I'd steer her towards Denver or the close in suburbs.

If she's a moderate, middle of the roader who is family focused, but sill enjoys the social scene from time to time I'd steer here towards some of the Denver suburbs.

If she's very family focused, run of the mill religious conservative who likes to socialize with other families, I'd steer her towards Colorado Springs.

[lorredasmith]

At first I wanted to know about Colorado Springs but she's difinitely not conservative so I don't think Colorado Springs is for her. She also says Boulder seems expensive. I guess she is boiling it down to, not Denver, but Denver suburbs. I took a look at Southeast Aurora and its beautiful. What other areas would anyone suggest that is close to Denver, whether it be 15 minutes to 30 minutes away? (Possibly where you'd have good access to a large mall and great entertainment.)

[fierce_flawless]

I don't live there (Yet!!!), but from what I've learned through research, there are some areas around Boulder that are affordable. Just not Boulder proper. My partner's Aunt is recommending Longmont to us as an alternative to Boulder. She lives in Westminster which I think is also close (??) but seems pricier. I am planning on finishing my degree at CU Boulder so I've been researching Boulder suburbs, many seem to be fairly affordable.

As for Denver, my SIL lives in Lakewood which is very very close to Denver and doesn't seem to be too pricey either.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by lorredasmith

Hey everyone.

She wants a house, I'm guessing 3 or 4 bedrooms for about 1000 to 1500 near good schools and safe neighborhoods. She wants to live in a area where its moderately busy (not too much) and has fun things to do for the kids and herself. She's a very outgoing girl so I'm guessing for her, bars or clubs. For the kids - malls, movie theatres, parks, amusements are a few minutes away.

All three places would fit the bill. All of them are good places to live. Denver has the most city life and things to do.

She wants to know of the three, which of them get colder.

Boulder is coldest.

Which do you think would be best for her?

Denver, because it has the most city life.

She is from Santa Barbara, California and hates it there and wants to move to Colorado.

why does she hate Santa barbara? It's one of the nicest places in CA.