looking for a change in a move to Denver area (Boulder: condo, house)

[ross1970]

Hello,

Yes, yet another family with three kids, 10, 7, 3, considering a move to the Denver area. I would love some suggestions on areas to live.
Work is from home or entails travel, so we would like to be no more than 40 minutes from DIA.
My family has moved several times and have, therefore, a pretty good idea of what we DON'T want! Price range for homes <$550k
...not another house in the suburbs, where "keeping up with the Jones'" is the primary objective of most
...not another cookie cutter house
...not a place where I have to drive everyone, everywhere all the time!
We'd love
...a yard
...an outdoor lifestyle, we love to bike, hike, etc
... good schools (public)

Thank you for any suggestions

[2bindenver]

Well - Denver is mostly suburban in nature. Why choose here?

The economy has put a damper on the keeping up with the Jones'

Define what is important to you in a neighborhood and what makes a school good - we'd be happy to recommend a area to investigate.

[cowboyxjon]

Maybe try Boulder? Not sure if you can find a house with everything you want and also have it be within your price range, but depending on where you buy, you could be within walking distance to parks, downtown, etc.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by cowboyxjon

Maybe try Boulder? Not sure if you can find a house with everything you want and also have it be within your price range, but depending on where you buy, you could be within walking distance to parks, downtown, etc.

LOL ... Have you seen what $550,000 buys in Boulder?

It doesn't buy much in any of the areas close in to the core central area of "parks, downtown" ....

Nor much "on the hill" ... on in the fashionable Western reaches of Boulder closer to the canyon. Certainly not much in the neighborhoods off Mapleton by the hospitals .... or in the neighborhoods that adjoin the public open spaces of Boulder.

It could be adequate to buy a smallish house in the outlying areas by NCAR, or over to the NE from town ... all places where a you'll be car dependent for just about any activity for the kids or shopping.

I've got a contractor that lives in one of the older subdivisions off So Broadway, closer to NCAR. The house is similar to most of it's neighbors, a little 3 bdr/2ba 1 1/2 car attached garage ranch house on a small lot built in the late 1940's ... and it isn't close to anything or particularly attractive as a floor plan or exterior. Slightly "tatty" might be a good description for this house and the ones around it. Nevertheless, with Boulder's property values, my friend complains that the house is assessed at almost $600,000 ... and that if he could sell it for that, he'd be out of Boulder in a heartbeat. Oh, there's no public transport close by, so he has to use his car for all his shopping, or if he wants to head into core Boulder for restaurants/entertainment, etc.

Another friend bought a 1 acre parcel with a custom built home on the South Eastern edge of Boulder, accessed only by a winding road which has no public transport service. Again, a car based location for everything Boulder, although a nice slice of "country" setting and lightly wooded in the area. The 4 bdr/3ba custom built house with a very nice kitchen, great room open floor plan, and huge covered patio facing the West with a view of the rocks ... only $1mil ... 25 years ago. A horse property (zoned for 4 horses, IIRC), so you can get on your horse and ride to the Platt's open space not too far away.

Still yet another friend had a dump of a house in Niwot, one of those ramshackle affairs that started with a 600 sq ft house and was added onto with 200-300 sq ft additions. None of the roof lines match up, none of the flooring transitions match, none of the doorways match up. Somehow, the place now has a very old kitchen attached to a newer pantry where the only storage exists, and an attached screened in patio. 2bd/1ba (the bathroom looked like 1920's fixtures and small tiles, all rotted out), and the place is hopelessly decrepit due to years of interior and exterior neglect, along with the yard being a jungle. Still, after a recent divorce, she yearned to move to a condo in Boulder near the Crossroads area off 28th ... close to her favorite hardware store and other shopping/entertainment and the freedom of using mostly public transport for her retirement years. Wow! the Niwot property sold for $350,000 last year and she found a 2bd/2ba condo with a covered carport space for not much more than that in her desired location. Even with the lower interest rate on her new mortgage, it's still a pricey transition with a higher PITI than she had in Niwot for much less space. As they say, location, location, location ....

[vegaspilgrim]

Where do you live now, and why do you want to move away?

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Where do you live now, and why do you want to move away?

Excellent question.