Relocating from Phoenix to Colorado...why Castle Rock? (Denver, Colorado Springs: cul-de-sac, skateboarding) - (CO) - City-Data Forum

I want four seasons! · 08-14-2009, 12:07 AM

I have a feeling this question (to some extent) has been asked on this forum, but I am going to ask it anyway. My family and I live in Gilbert, AZ. Don't ask me why, especially now....it's literally hell on Earth! I went to some college in Boulder/Ft. Collins area but for some reason I am taken by Castle Rock, and I have never even been there! My mom lives in Co Springs and I would love to live close to her, but at a comfortable distance. Everything that I have read about Castle Rock seems wonderful, although it does seem pricey. For example, we are currently renting a 3 bdr, 2bth house about 1500 sqft in a cul-de-sac here in Gilbert for $995/month. Doesn't seem possible in Castle Rock to even come close to that!

We have a 4 year old daughter and 7 year old son who LOVES skateboarding. I was very attracted to the skatepark. For a smaller town, I was impressed by the nice skatepark. Any opinions on the skatepark as far as safety, cleanliness, overall good quality kids hanging out there?

I guess my question is, going in blindly, does anyone have any insight to this little gem of a town? It seems adorable to me, and keep in mind I have never actually been there! Oh, my husband would most likely be commuting into Dever M-F...what is that commute like timewise?

I want to have FOUR seaons again! You know, Spring, Winter, Summer and Fall? They don't have those in Phx...only summer and fall!

Thanks so much in advance!
Andrea

Count David · 08-14-2009, 01:03 AM

Castle Rock is probably pretty comparable to Gilbert.

Think small-town (you really have to look to even find the old small-town) swallowed up by tract homes. There's an outlet mall there too.

The commute gets worse the further into Denver he works. Make sure you account for the occasional snowy commutes.

I think CR is in a spectacular setting, the problem is the man-made part of the setting, i.e, it was probably very beautiful before everybody moved in, it's kind of an eyesore now.

Castle Rock is not my cup of tea, but I worry that you won't like it if you don't like Gilbert.

moxiefrog99 · 08-14-2009, 07:01 AM

Hi there,

We just moved from Gilbert about 3 weeks ago. Castle Rock is not like Gilbert at all. Castle Rock is much smaller. Lots of fancy houses on rolling hillsides with a small town and of course the outlets and some big box stores. There is nothing wrong with Castle Rock, but I really feel for anyone who has to commute into Denver. My parents used to live in CR and my dad had to commute to about Hampden and it took him 45-60 min in rush hour and it was worse on the way home and forget about doing it in snow! You could try looking in Lone Tree, Parker, Highlands Ranch, etc, those areas are a bit closer to Denver but still on the south side (easier to get to Colorado Springs). By the way, I have seen skateboarding parks everywhere, it really is amazing. We're in Lakewood and there is a skateboard park tucked behind a strip mall if you can believe that. Anyway, I wish you much luck getting out of AZ.. we are so happy we did!!

80skeys · 08-14-2009, 09:36 AM

The only thing I know about Castle rock is from passing through it between Co springs and Denver on I-25.

It seems like a very new town to me, something that mostly sprung up within the last few years. There's lots of brand new housing. It strikes me as very clean and neat and leaning towards the "nice, upper end" of things.

It's very, very small. I could hardly call it a town, more like a small village.

My guess is it was designed by people qith money who didn't want to live in Denver anymore and wanted to build their own little oasis outside of the city, but close enough for access to big city stuff.

ragerunner1 · 08-14-2009, 04:14 PM

Castle Rock (47,000 pop.) is a great place to raise a family. Low crime, an historic and active downtown, a huge focus on outdoor space (trails, parks, etc) and close to south Denver and a short drive to Colorado Springs and the mountains. The natural setting is beautiful and it has most of the basic retail covered (Target, HD, Lowes, Movie Theaters and the outlet mall). It has struggled with sprawl issues (like many edge towns) but the downtown is very pedestrian oriented with a very nice historic neighborhood next door.

chilicheesefries · 08-15-2009, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 80skeys

It seems like a very new town to me, something that mostly sprung up within the last few years. There's lots of brand new housing. It strikes me as very clean and neat and leaning towards the "nice, upper end" of things.

It's very, very small. I could hardly call it a town, more like a small village.

As another poster mentioned, it is not small at all. The city has a population very near that the city of Grand Junction. Downtown is pretty small but the majority of people live in subdivisions which are spread pretty far from the central core (Founders, Meadows, etc).

I want four seasons! · 08-19-2009, 09:59 AM

Thanks everyone for your input....I appreciate all of it!

vfrpilot · 08-19-2009, 10:17 AM

Partial view of Castle Rock from about 8k feet. The actual rock is visible towards the top. I think Castle Rock is a great place to live if you work in south Denver. We actually looked at a few homes in Gilbert(Val Vista Lakes) this past spring. Never got past looking though.

I want four seasons! · 08-19-2009, 08:38 PM

Wow! Thanks vfrpilot...what a great picture! So green and spread out. Val Vista Lakes is nice...we are just a few miles south of there, ironically! I don't mind Gilbert, we live on the outskirts anyway, so it doesn't feel like the city. Like my name states, I just want to have a white Christmas again, fall leaves and spring flowers. You know, weather! We don't get much of that out here in the desert, besides an occasional wind and dust storm (fun stuff) and a thunderstorm or two (which I do love). We shall see!

vfrpilot · 08-20-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I want four seasons!

Wow! Thanks vfrpilot...what a great picture! So green and spread out. Val Vista Lakes is nice...we are just a few miles south of there, ironically! I don't mind Gilbert, we live on the outskirts anyway, so it doesn't feel like the city. Like my name states, I just want to have a white Christmas again, fall leaves and spring flowers. You know, weather! We don't get much of that out here in the desert, besides an occasional wind and dust storm (fun stuff) and a thunderstorm or two (which I do love). We shall see!

I also like the seasonal weather here. But after spending a few weeks in Mesa last winter, and missing our 3 older kids in SoCal, we got a hair-brained idea that moving to AZ might work for us. We looked at some areas and decided that we're going to stay put for a while. Good luck on your move.