Thinking about relocating to Denver.... (Aurora, Highlands Ranch: apartment, renting, houses)

[borntofly11]

Hi everyone,

I'm from Cali & I'm considering moving to Colorado to buy a house & to enjoy as much nature as possible.

I have two questions I would love to hear your thoughts on.

How's the weather in general throughout the year & the seasons?

And I plan to buy a house under 250k. What areas/subdivisions are 45 mns max from downtown Denver (rush hour included)?


Thanks so much!

[davidv]

Just make sure you love this much nature (http://www.kwgn.com/news/kdvr-large-black-bear-captured-in-littleton-20110902,0,2987182.story - broken link).

[2bindenver]

you could be 15 minutes from downtown and spend less than $100,000. Is that where your job will be?

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by borntofly11

Hi everyone,

I'm from Cali & I'm considering moving to Colorado to buy a house & to enjoy as much nature as possible.

I have two questions I would love to hear your thoughts on.

How's the weather in general throughout the year & the seasons?

And I plan to buy a house under 250k. What areas/subdivisions are 45 mns max from downtown Denver (rush hour included)?


Thanks so much!

Borntofly, you need to do some research first, search the forum archives, then come back with more specific questions. There are dozens and dozens of recent threads here about the local climate. Pretty much all of the Denver metro area is within 45min rush hour commmute to downtown, with the exception of some of the outermost suburbs like far SE Aurora or Parker which may push that commute closer to an hour. Need to narrow down the criteria further.

[Luvs2Trvl]

It's not that common to see bears in the metro area so need to worry about that. As far as weather, they claim we have about 300 sunny days per year but that could mean it was sunny for an hour. Generally speaking, the weather isn't too bad here but we can occasionally have blizzard like conditions in the winter. Usually it snows and by mid afternoon the sun is out and most or all of the snow is melted.

My sister just moved from CO to San Diego and we keep laughing about all the CA natives complaining about how "cold" it is in CA. The 60's and 70's is like our ideal weather, if the sun was shining I would be in the pool but apparently in CA this is considered sweater weather so your definition of COLD is probably vastly different from ours. We also just had one of our hottest August months on record with nearly the whole month in the mid to high 90's. The biggest difference is our climate is very dry compared to CA so you won't feel muggy in the late summer here but you will have dry dry skin.

As for neighborhoods, it's true that most suburbs of Denver are approx 45min commute. I live in Parker and on a good traffic day I can get downtown in about 25 minutes, on a bad day it could take 45-60 mins. So it really just depends on what type of neighborhood you are looking for. The further south you go like Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Parker, etc... you are really going to be in the suburbs with lots of families. You also may find some higher prices in those areas but $250,000 in this market you find places in a lot of areas. You didn't mention having a family so you may want to look at places closer to Denver or maybe even closer to the mountains/foothills if you want to be closer to nature.

[Sobe Itsavized]

Sometimes the snow is there for a week and hasn't melted, sometimes it's there only for the mornings. Snow during the spring is not uncommon. I've heard from several people growing up that they call March the snowiest month of the year. I would take that somewhat lightly. Snow can show up as early as mid-fall and last until late spring. I've seen the entire spectrum from below 0 degrees (Fahrenheit of course) to mid-90's throughout my 15+ years of living in Colorado.

[Luvs2Trvl]

We can have snow in Oct but it is true that our snowiest month is typically March, think wet, heavy snow and sometimes a lot of it.

[borntofly11]

Wowser, thanks everyone for the great input!

And I have to admit Luvs2Trvl, I'm a SD native & due to this I'm spoiled w/ the sun. But I'm not that bad as typical San Diegans experience a little drizzle of rain & think its a down pour! I'm flexible & can adapt easily...even to bears lol

I heard its common for it to snow in Colorado generally 6 months out of the year, starting in October. Is this true & how often during these months does it snow? Does it snow weekly?

I'm not married & looking to buy a SFR as an investment & renting out a few rooms. Due to this I'm trying to stay away from any area too woodsy & to much in the suburbs. I prefer a 4 bedroom not older than 10 yrs so if any areas pop out pls let me know. From what I've seen, most options are going to be model homes.

thanks again & I look forward to everyone's ideas!

[laneygirl]

this is it! nature nature and more nature!!!!!
OMG, whatever you do with the houses....get a meth test kit to save your butt!! trust me..they are very inexpensive comparitively speaking...caompared to a nightmare! enjoy this fab place..I know cali, and I know LA and OK and WI and ....this is IT! one day, it may be the new frisco! L

[cowboyxjon]

I would do a bit more research, first, and think more about what you want out of an investment property. I'm NOT an expert on this matter, but there are some subdivisions farther out in the suburbs that have homes that I really doubt would appreciate in value any time soon. Also, if you buy a home that is too far away from things to do and places to work, you may have trouble renting the rooms.

I have a friend who is a single guy and bought a house in "The Conservatory" subdivision in SE Aurora. He found that after living there for a year, he was bored, and a lot of his friends who lived closer to downtown didn't want to 'drive all the way out there' to visit. He now rents an apartment in the Washington Park area (in Denver) and rents the home in SE Aurora to a family. Value-wise, the home is upside-down by about $30K according to him, which is a shame, because it IS a nice home.

I lived in Redondo Beach for two years, so if there is anything specific I could help with as far as comparisons to CA, let me know. Vegaspilgrim also lived in CA, as did David Aguliar, and a few others on the forum!