Country living within 45min of Denver Tech???

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by Cali2colo

So, right now I have a 90-120min commute each way to work (Bay Area traffic) and it's killing me. I would love to get that down to 45min max. We have looked at both Parker and Castle Rock and love them both (we are aware of the water issues). But my wife has also been looking at other area's (Littleton and Golden). We looking at property with greater than 5 acres and with separation between the next home (not wanting to look out the window and see the guy next door in the shower) and in the $850k range. So we sort of want the country/mountain living but with some requirements (high speed internet is a must). Can anyone recommend a city/location that is within a 45min to Denver Tech with 5+ acre properties and high-speed internet access?

I've got the perfect location for you: check out google maps, and zoom in near Littleton. You'll see a road called "Deer Creek Canyon Road" which goes west from Littleton up into the foothills/mountains. Check out the properties along that road about 10 miles outside of town.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

I've got the perfect location for you: check out google maps, and zoom in near Littleton. You'll see a road called "Deer Creek Canyon Road" which goes west from Littleton up into the foothills/mountains. Check out the properties along that road about 10 miles outside of town.

This is really pushing the 45 minute commute time.

My commute from C-470 and Kipling to the DTC is 35 min on a good day at 7 am. By 7:15 am the commute from my place is 45 min.

The houses you are talking about are 15-20 min away from C-470 and Kipling, which is where they would get on the highway to go to the DTC.

And when it snows...

[davidv]

Originally Posted by Mach50

Rustic is the primary look in the mountains.

This one looks updated though, on 11 acres, 42 min from the Tech Center:
COhomefinder | 6519 Jungfrau Way Evergreen, CO 80439 - MLS #1032273 - Home for sale at COhomefinder

Evergreen is definitely not 45 minutes from the DTC in rush hour.

You could get there in 45 minutes with no traffic on a cloudy day, but any commute in the morning is going to be into the sun, and traffic will back up. When I used to drop off my kids at school near Hampden and Sheridan and then go to work at the DTC, the drive took me 30 min from the school to the DTC in the morning, and in the evening (after 5 pm) the trek through town was miserable (45-50 min) from the DTC to Hampden and Sheridan.

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by davidv

Evergreen is definitely not 45 minutes from the DTC in rush hour.

You could get there in 45 minutes with no traffic on a cloudy day, but any commute in the morning is going to be into the sun, and traffic will back up. When I used to drop off my kids at school near Hampden and Sheridan and then go to work at the DTC, the drive took me 30 min from the school to the DTC in the morning, and in the evening (after 5 pm) the trek through town was miserable (45-50 min) from the DTC to Hampden and Sheridan.

I wasn't trying to steer the OP wrong...I can explain:

I focused in on the OP wanting a "Mountain living" with acres, Evergreen would be a bit further than 45min. Notice I said ~45, which can be done if the OP would not drive in rush hour....which is what I used to do driving from Belmar to Oracle in the DTC.

This all seems moot now, because the OP really wants a "Country" living, in which case South and East of DTC are best. Castle Rock, Parker and even Deer Creek are not mountain living IMO.

[Teckeeee]

That's easy move to my area Parker, the closer to Elbert County the better. In fact just move to Elbert.

[petedoty]

The kicker to all this is how far you want to be from the family in Ft Collins. Just an FYI, most of the acreage sites listed as GOLDEN are only listed as such because that is the closest Post Office. Make sure you map them. I had a client a few years ago who wanted to explore and we found the commute, even to Golden, would take more than an hour.

Then there issues like "trees" versus prairie. My favorite small town is out near Kiowa, called Elbert and that will be on your outer limit of travel. I am not sure you will find anything "for sale" with that city name though. It is more a area target. I also like the Franktown Larkspur & Perry Park areas. Woodmoor Mountain can also be fun, for the right family.

Finally, no comments about kids, schools, or other activities were made. For instance: "we want acreage for our 6 horses" (mountain living might not be best) but I think I saw "privacy" is the stated reason. Some folks want solitude, others want separation from neighbors. A conversation with an experienced resident might help.

Finally the challenge of moving from Cali and a long 6 lane I-5 commute is that here the other guy does not have a median to cross - two lane roads can really make you a nervous driver and a much longer commute than the mileage might suggest.

[mic111]

If your serious about 45 min. max then you should probably be looking for a 25 min. normal commute so on bad days your not too much over the 45 min. You just might want to consider the acre properties in Greenwood Village (will be a 10 min. commute). They have mature landscaping on just about an acre so you don't see your neighbors showering and they are so close you could bike to work. You will be in the thick of things but away from it all. You'll notice some of the ones your looking at say 'reduced $200K'. There is some potential that buying closer in, with city water, will insulate you from that sort of thing. My realtor loved foothills buyers. He was guaranteed two sales for most of them. One to move to the mountain foothills and one to move back closer to town. Welcome to Denver!

Here is an example.
2 Cottonwood Lane, Greenwood Village, CO 80121 | Listing Information | Metrolist MLS

[redqueen17]

Golden is really nice and I bet you could find a nice place in the price you are looking for but probably not with any acreage. It is about 45 mins from the DTC area and the people are very nice. Golden is only about 20 mins tops from downtown denver and it has lots of great shops and outdoor things to do. It's a close drive to get into the mountains and a close drive to the big city. If your going to be working in the DTC you will have to deal with traffic no matter where you decide to live. I personally dont care for places like Parker, elizabeth, aurora, centennial, highlands ranch, ect because I like being near the mountains. Castle Rock is nice though or you could look into living in Castle Pines, it is closer to DTC than Castle Rock and has some nice forest type areas... I guess parker does too though. Good luck and let me welcome you to my state in advance!