Where to live in Colorado with family of 4? need good internet connectivity (Denver: home, high school)

[alliern]

Yes, Evergreen would fit your criteria for a place to move with your family. Other areas I would suggest would be Conifer, Morrison (along the Hwy 285 corridor), and closer-in parts of Pine. There would be plenty of homes in your price range to choose from that would have no issues with the internet.

My husband works from home and is on video conference calls all day long. We have both Skybeam and CenturyLink at our house so that if one is having issues then he can switch to the other one. It rarely happens, but coming from NYC in 2008 with Verizon FiOS, he didn't want to take any chances. There's a significant amount of people that work from home that live in this area.

Evergreen and the immediate surrounding areas will give you the beauty you are seeking. Someone mentioned the Clear Creek County part of Evergreen. I wouldn't suggest that since you have kids that will be attending school. Do you research on school ratings. Jefferson County schools have better ratings than Clear Creek County schools. Many people that live in Clear Creek County will open enroll their kids into Jefferson Co. schools (on a space availability basis) and then they have to drive their kids to/from school since there's no bus service for open-enrolled kids.

There's definitely tons of hiking and biking trails throughout this area and many open space parks. It's a wonderful part of Colorado to raise a family, yet metro Denver and all it has to offer is between 35-45 minutes away. The accessibility to both great skiing and DIA is pretty great as well.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by mkrcron123

Broomfield and other suburbs of Denver seem great but from the pictures we've seen, it looks like it could be placed in Illinois (don't even see any landscape)

Except for it's not green here, and there's no forest anywhere, and relatively little water to be found.

If you ever fly into DEN from Chicago, the landscape upon approach will absolutely shock you if you've never been here before.

Broomfield is mostly topographically challenged. From the south, it goes from grassy hills sloping gently into flatness into the plains. The flatirons and mountains are off in the distance, but from inside most any subdivision it would mostly feel like Illinois with fewer trees. The same could be said for most suburbs in the Denver metro.

IMO, many of the more established Denver suburbs feel like "Colorado". SW Denver, Lakewood, Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Littleton to an extent. They mostly embody what somebody ignorant to "Denver" would think "Denver" is mostly like. And "Denver" is Colorado.

East metro, south metro east of about Santa Fe or Broadway, and much of north metro could be easily mistaken for anywhere in the Great Plains states: so long as you aren't looking west.

Boulder feels like "Colorado". I'd even go as far to say Castle Rock feels like "Colorado". Fort Collins kinda feels like "Colorado". Golden feels like a really nice part of Arizona.

I can't think of anywhere where transplants would have a problem.

[Headed4Mountains]

Originally Posted by mkrcron123

Hi! we are a family of four. our kids are 10 (boy) and 15 (girl). We are interested in relocating to Colorado from Chicago. Husband works from home so we need reliable fast internet connection (does this rule out Evergreen?) We would love areas like Evergreen because of beauty, schools, location, etc. We have also discussed Fort Collins too as it looks to be very family oriented. Coming from Chicago, we would love to be near hiking, bike trails, nature, etc... and "feel" like we are living in Colorado. A beautiful view would be nice. Broomfield and other suburbs of Denver seem great but from the pictures we've seen, it looks like it could be placed in Illinois (don't even see any landscape). I would love your suggestions on areas that can keep with our budget ($450-500k), family friendly, excellent schools, excellent reliable internet connectivity and recommendations of places where "transplants are welcome"

We moved to Evergreen from the Chicago area almost 3 years ago. I'm surprised at the amount of transplants here Broomfield and the other suburbs of Denver are reminiscent of the Chicago burbs, but they are still nature-oriented. Also you can easily get to Evergreen and the higher elevations within 45 minutes. The traffic here is a breeze.

My husband works from home as well and we have not had any issues with connectivity.

Here's a list of my observations:
Pros: Lower taxes and utility bills.
Friendlier people.
Weather is outstanding. You can get 2 feet of snow but streets are clear by next day. Because of the sun
it melts quickly. No bitter cold or deadly heat because there's no humidity. Seriously the weather
here will amaze you.
Still not removed from civilization. Denver is right down the hill.
Winter driving here is much easier.

Cons: No Portillos
I can't think of anything else to add here.

Evergreen is pretty big. Do yourself a favor and explore as much as you can before deciding what part you want to settle in. I'm still finding new areas.

I was very nervous about moving here due to the snow and winding mountain roads, but honestly I worried for no reason. Driving here is much easier than back in the Chicago area. Not as much road rage either.

Good luck to you and your family ~ wherever you land is where you're meant to be.

Kim

[davidv]

Originally Posted by Headed4Mountains

Cons: No Portillos
I can't think of anything else to add here.

Try Harley's Hot Dog Revolution in the Southwest Plaza Mall. One yelper even claims it is better than Portillo's.

[mkrcron123]

Originally Posted by Headed4Mountains

We moved to Evergreen from the Chicago area almost 3 years ago. I'm surprised at the amount of transplants here Broomfield and the other suburbs of Denver are reminiscent of the Chicago burbs, but they are still nature-oriented. Also you can easily get to Evergreen and the higher elevations within 45 minutes. The traffic here is a breeze.

My husband works from home as well and we have not had any issues with connectivity.

Here's a list of my observations:
Pros: Lower taxes and utility bills.
Friendlier people.
Weather is outstanding. You can get 2 feet of snow but streets are clear by next day. Because of the sun
it melts quickly. No bitter cold or deadly heat because there's no humidity. Seriously the weather
here will amaze you.
Still not removed from civilization. Denver is right down the hill.
Winter driving here is much easier.

Cons: No Portillos
I can't think of anything else to add here.

Evergreen is pretty big. Do yourself a favor and explore as much as you can before deciding what part you want to settle in. I'm still finding new areas.

I was very nervous about moving here due to the snow and winding mountain roads, but honestly I worried for no reason. Driving here is much easier than back in the Chicago area. Not as much road rage either.

Good luck to you and your family ~ wherever you land is where you're meant to be.

Kim

Great info Kim thanks! especially coming from a fellow "Chicagoan" I do see that Evergreen looks big and we will have to come out to see which one would fit best if we decide to make the move. can I ask if you have kids? how did they adjust to the move? we are concerned with the adjustment for the kids obviously. how are the rec./park district programs? sports? my sons plays lacrosse and football and it looks like that is at the highschool. my daughter cheers, but not sure if she would do that if we have her transfer and enter into a high school in her junior year. what about the downtown area of Evergreen? it appears to be quaint. i'm thinking like Geneva or Lake Geneva? or am I way off? We just need to make the trip to visit! LAST QUESTION: what internet provider do you use? You said that your husband works from home and said that it is fast. does he lose connectivity when the weather is bad? THANKS!!

[mkrcron123]

and too funny about missing Portillos! lol I think my husband would say the same about Al's Beef.

[Count David]

I liked Portillo's too, but there's a little place called Mile High Vienna Stand on Santa Fe in Denver which IMO is a more-than-worthy substitute. They have a bunch of Chicago and Denver sports stuff all over the walls in there too.

[mkrcron123]

Thank you so much everyone for the info! I am learning that there are a lot of transplants in Evergreen which actually may make the transition for our kids (especially a teenager).

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by mkrcron123

Great info Kim thanks! especially coming from a fellow "Chicagoan" I do see that Evergreen looks big and we will have to come out to see which one would fit best if we decide to make the move. can I ask if you have kids? how did they adjust to the move? we are concerned with the adjustment for the kids obviously. how are the rec./park district programs? sports? my sons plays lacrosse and football and it looks like that is at the highschool. my daughter cheers, but not sure if she would do that if we have her transfer and enter into a high school in her junior year. what about the downtown area of Evergreen? it appears to be quaint. i'm thinking like Geneva or Lake Geneva? or am I way off? We just need to make the trip to visit! LAST QUESTION: what internet provider do you use? You said that your husband works from home and said that it is fast. does he lose connectivity when the weather is bad? THANKS!!

The population of Evergreen is ~9000 people.
//www.city-data.com/city/Evergreen-Colorado.html

It's sprawly, but in a good way. It's unincorporated, has no exact boundaries.
Evergreen, Colorado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Headed4Mountains]

Oh wow, thanks!

On my list of to-do this weekend