Need some advice, opinions, suggestions thoughts on moving to Denver area (Colorado Springs: ski resort, spring break)

[mommyof4grlz]

Greetings,

I'm not sure where to start..... We are originally from NY, we moved to NM 5 years ago. During our time here we have been seeking a diagnosis on our 9 year old daughter. We have gone basically everywhere in the state, and are now being told my UNM (University of New Mexico) hospital that Denver Children's Hospital maybe able to help us. We went to Granby/Winter Park area for spring break last year and fell in love with the area. But during winter months I'm thinking the drive to the Children's Hospital might be not so nice. So I'm curious to know what you all think about areas around Denver without actually being IN Denver. I'm so tired of city life (we live in Las Cruces right now) and I would love to raise my kids in the country. My husband should be finishing his degree in Hospitality & Tourism over the summer. I'm thinking that should land him a decent job with the opportunity for growth. I am a stay a work from home mom, I have multiple businesses. Money IS an issue. Running our daughter the 4 hour drive to UNM in Albuquerque monthly or every couple of months plus other medical expenses has really taken a toll on our savings. I had to quit my full time job because we couldn't find a day care our daughter could go to & she is supposed to be starting the Special Education program where she only goes to school half a day and here that means she can't go to day care (if we could find one) when school is in session. So basically what are your thoughts, comments, suggestions etc.

Thanks in advance!

[Mike from back east]

No one on this forum would recommend living in Winter Park / Fraser / Granby and driving to the east side of Denver on a regular basis, especially in winter. The main campus of Children's Hospital is in east Aurora, off of I-225 and Colfax Ave, well out on the east side of the Denver metro area.

Consider town up Hwy 85 towards Henderson, Brighton, and Fort Lupton and up I-25 around Dacono, Frederick, and Firestone. West of I-25 look at Erie. Up I-76 look at Lochbuie and Hudson. On the south side of the metro area look at Parker. These places should be within an hour of the hospital.

We always recommend renting a year to learn the area. Padmapper.com can show you rentals.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by mommyof4grlz

have been seeking a diagnosis on our 9 year old daughter

Move after the diagnosis.

[SkyDog77]

If Las Cruces is too much city life for you, I suspect anything near Denver will be waaaay too much. Denver is a much bigger city than ABQ. That said, it is also a much better city in a variety of ways.

The drive from Winter Park to Denver is much shorter than 4 hours, especially if you are doing it weekdays. The weekend traffic to the mountains can be brutal. There will be a few days when it snows so much that the road will be closed so that is definitely something to consider.

What is your budget?

[mommyof4grlz]

Yeah I figured that would be way too much of a drive. It is just that is the only area we have been to. We have 3 places left in the state of NM to get more testing done. No one she has seen is hopeful we will get a diagnosis here...Thank you for the suggestions on areas to look into I will do that for sure. I'm not thrilled about moving to a bigger city but if that is what I have to do to get my daughter the medical help she needs than my decision will be easy to make. We haven't figured out a budget yet but in the looking around we have done we can tell everything will cost much more than we are used to..

[scrapper105]

We just did a cross country move with two kids, and it's hard house-hunting from afar.

With no other considerations but a simple drive to the Aurora area for the hospital, I think you might like the Brighton area. It definitely feels country to me, has an original, old downtown with little shops, has old houses within walking distance to downtown but also has newer developments in the area. It's not near the mountains. It's also an easy drive on the toll road to Aurora.

But a couple other things to consider:

Although there are hotels (and therefore hospitality jobs) downtown, there also hospitality jobs at the larger hotels in the ski resort areas and in Colorado Springs. But those will be longer drives to Aurora.

If you can wait until you get a diagnosis, then you can research the schools in the area that have the right program for your daughter and live in that school boundaries. Of course, your daughter will be bussed wherever she needs to go regardless of whether you live in-boundary, but it seems to me that a potentially long bus ride could be avoided if you live near the school that offers the right program.

Best wishes.