Ok- here's someone asking again, where to live outside of Denver? (Lakewood: low crime, house)

[csalvati]

HI there! I'm very new to this, so I hope I'm doing it right.
My family and I would like to move from MI to somewhere in Colorado.
Job location isn't a problem since my husband can work from home. We'd like somewhere with young families, good public education, close to amenities, and close to great hiking/mountain views, scenic, etc. Ideally, we'd love to get a 4 bedroom home in a family neighborhood with a larger feeling lot, walk to park, for 350k or less.
We hope to make a trip to visit this summer and check out some suggested areas. We've been thinking about Morrison, Louisville, and Littleton?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!!

[2bindenver]

We need more information on your likes and dislikes. I think you have covered all of the front range save for the 55 and better communities.

[Micktooth]

You certainly have selected some nice areas, north,south and west of Denver. Each community is different however. My family and I moved to Louisville last summer and we love it. We moved from New Orleans and down there, we had to put our son in private school, in Louisville, our son is in public school. We also have a daughter in special ed. We are very happy with the Boulder Valley Schools. We have made so many new friends. We are in our early 40s and there are a lot of families with children in the area. A few years ago, Louisville was ranked one of the best places in the entire country to raise a family. There is plenty of shopping in the area and we are only 10 min. from Boulder. You will find good hiking and mountain views in any of the areas you mentioned, but I'm not too sure about hiking opportunities within Littleton proper. Now the tough part, the housing market is relatively expensive here. What size house did you want for 350K? Search the web and see what you can get for your price range. Our zip code is 80027. You will love any of the areas you selected. Let me know if you want more specific info about Louisville. Good luck!

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by csalvati

HI there! I'm very new to this, so I hope I'm doing it right.
My family and I would like to move from MI to somewhere in Colorado.
Job location isn't a problem since my husband can work from home. We'd like somewhere with young families, good public education, close to amenities, and close to great hiking/mountain views, scenic, etc. Ideally, we'd love to get a 4 bedroom home in a family neighborhood with a larger feeling lot, walk to park, for 350k or less.
We hope to make a trip to visit this summer and check out some suggested areas. We've been thinking about Morrison, Louisville, and Littleton?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!!

Littleton.

Great for families--tons of kids, one of the better school systems in the state, matter of minutes from hiking, beautiful suburb, only 30 minutes from downtown, lots of great parks.

Lakewood isn't bad either. You may be priced out of Morrison, though.

Be more specific on what your likes and dislikes are. Suburban or urban? Small towns? Culture? Politics? etc. The suburbs are all quite a bit alike--but there are differences that could end up mattering a great deal to you.

[chuber]

Hi there,
We moved to Colorado from California a few years ago. We live in the Highlands Ranch area ( south of Denver). We are close to highways and now the light rail that can take you in to Denver. We love this area. The schools are great, great value for your money as far as home purchasing goes. There are lots and lots of kids with year round activities for sports.
If you would like more info I can send you links for more detailed break downs of specific areas. Good luck with your move. [cut]

[csalvati]

First of all, thank you everyone for your advice!!
I agree I need to be more specific, here is the description of our ideal place...
4 bed/ 2 1/2 bath home for a growing family priced at 350k or less
neighborhood with young kids, young families, potential friends...
some trees (I know this is hard in Denver... but we're from MI so I have to mention it)
good public education/low crime rate
10 min or less from box stores
less than 1 1/2 hours to higher altitude hiking (if possible)
views of the mountains around town (sounds like this is always an option?)
relatively close to a smaller downtown community with park, parades, etc...
less than an hour to big city culture, zoo, games, museums, airport etc.
I've also heard we should avoid well water due to aquifer supply concerns?
Esthetically we'd love rolling hills with some trees, views of mountains, winding streets, but it seems to get that landscape you have to sacrifice many conveniences and prepare for major winter snowfall.... am I right??
Hope this helps!!

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by csalvati

First of all, thank you everyone for your advice!!
I agree I need to be more specific, here is the description of our ideal place...
4 bed/ 2 1/2 bath home for a growing family priced at 350k or less
neighborhood with young kids, young families, potential friends...
some trees (I know this is hard in Denver... but we're from MI so I have to mention it)
good public education/low crime rate
10 min or less from box stores
less than 1 1/2 hours to higher altitude hiking (if possible)
views of the mountains around town (sounds like this is always an option?)
relatively close to a smaller downtown community with park, parades, etc...
less than an hour to big city culture, zoo, games, museums, airport etc.
I've also heard we should avoid well water due to aquifer supply concerns?
Esthetically we'd love rolling hills with some trees, views of mountains, winding streets, but it seems to get that landscape you have to sacrifice many conveniences and prepare for major winter snowfall.... am I right??
Hope this helps!!

Talk about the average American family!

Don't worry, this is Middle America and most of the families you meet--mine included--are average American families. I love the "big box" part. You would be excoriated for having the chutzpah of actually wanting a Wal Mart nearby in many other states. Not here. Everybody shops at Wal Mart--young and old, rich and poor.

Anyway, I'd go with Littleton or Lakewood if you want to be 20-30 minutes from the city and Castle Rock if you don't mind being a little further. Littleton and Lakewood are older suburbs--with newer areas--and are tremendous for families. Lakewood lies along Littleton's northern border and I would recommend South Lakewood. There are plenty of 2000+ square foot, 3 bed/3 bath homes for around 350K on beautiful tree-lined suburban streets.

Schools are great in both areas and those suburbs are full of kids--I think you'll be surprised at the size of families here--they tend to be quite large. There are plenty of young couples here with lots of young kids--my wife and I are in our 20s, have 3 kids, and have no problem meeting people. People have told me that Denver is a particularly difficult place to meet people--because it's highly suburbanized or whatever. I think the real key is finding a good church. There are, as you can imagine, plenty to choose from and if you can find a younger, stable church I think you'll make friends with ease. I've found that those with the most difficulties tend to be couples of singles who expect a raucus social scene that will bring gazillions of people into their social orbit. That's just not the case. Denverites can be a little clich-ish, and so settling into your own little 'zone' is key. Littleton has many, many churches from mega to mini--same with everywhere else in the state.

Hiking? I live in the south-central part of Lakewood and it takes me, oh, 15 minutes to get into the foothills for hiking. Littleton is the same distance.

Look at the areas around Santa Fe/Mineral or Alameda/Bear Creek Blvd, in Littleton and Lakewood respectively. These areas sound like good fits.

Good luck!

[2bindenver]

Anywhere along the front range would still fit. If you want to be in or around Denver - you will have 400+ choices. Average price here is under $300. And we have trees, not forests, and the are not 400 years old.

What about age of the property? Community needs, wants, desires?

[Micktooth]

I agree with the others, you can find what you want just about anywhere in the area. I guess I'm biased though, I still think you should look at Louisville as well as Highlands Ranch and Littleton. All of the areas are great, you really can't go wrong. Come out and visit and see what suits you and your family the best.

[FromBroomfield]

1 1/2 hours from hiking? lol, anywhere on the front range will work for that! I think Broomfield would work great for you. About half an hour from Denver, and 20 minutes to Boulder. (lots of hiking and stuff there) Your right, you can't really get rolling hills unless you go up into the mountains themselves! Almost all of Denver and the surrounding area is based on a North-south/east-west grid, so you can't get winding roads here either, unless it's in the mountains. (you'll get sick of winding roads up there!) Rawlings is right: The best way to get aquainted with people is to find a nice church. There's plenty of churches around here to choose from, big and small.