Moving from Dallas to Denver - need advice on where to live (Arvada: fit in, 2014)

[bbthornton]

Hey all, my family and I are moving this fall for work from Flower Mound, TX (Dallas burb). Working around 120th and Colorado in Thornton, but may have some travel elsewhere. Wife telecommutes but may take local job in healthcare/insurance sector. We have a 2 preschoolers and one elementary school kid in 1st grade. Criteria for move (in order)

1 Safe neighborhood
2. Very good to great elementary schools
3. Very good to great daycare options
4. "Community" feel where kid friendly
5. Close to shopping hubs
6. My commute less than hour all year round (even in snowstorms)
7. Not feeling like we're in Kansas (more mature areas, hilly and/or some view of range)
8. Newer homes
9. Cultural access to downtown (either less than 30 min drive or lightrail) on occasion when we can get a babysitter.

Budget we'd like to be under $750K, 4 BR, 2 BA, at least 2800 SF. I heard NW Parkway is excellent for geting around city. That's about it! Thanks for everyone's advice.

Billybob

[Augie Daugie]

Louisville or Lafayette. I would also consider Broomfield and West Arvada. Possibly Bradburn in Westminster. Any of these places can/will check all your boxes.

[Hschlick84]

Check out the homes in north Thornton around 136th Ave up to 144th Ave and Colorado Blvd, they can fit your price range. There isn't any light rail up north that leads to Denver ATM, but RTD will finish FasTracks in 2018 for the N line. Also, what the previous poster said, those are good areas to consider.

[davebarnes]

BVSD - Louisville, Broomfield
JeffCo schools - Ralston Valley High and its feeder schools.

[blackmet]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

BVSD - Louisville, Broomfield
JeffCo schools - Ralston Valley High and its feeder schools.

West Arvada to 120th and Colorado is a pretty brutal commute. You get 2 options:

1) Endless stop and go surface streets -- you'll be taking 80th to Wadsworth (awful) to either 92nd/Thornton Parkway (best option), Church Ranch/104th (horrible), or 120th (parts are OK, most are pretty bad) 10+ miles to Colorado (note that I am describing traffic, not neighborhoods!). Over 1 hour in a snowstorm.

2) Hopping onto I-70 at Ward, then I-76 to I-25, up to 120th, then another 3 mile slog on a busy part of 120th. This can be OK, depending on the hours you work, or it can be pretty rough. Certainly over 1 hour in a snowstorm.

Broomfield may be a better option. McKay or Bradburn. Only drawback is that light rail is quite a while away from hitting that area. However, they do have reasonably reliable Flatiron Flyer bus service 7 days a week that will get you downtown. You can pick it up at Broomfield station.

RTD

[mic111]

There are way too many areas that click all your boxes to list them all. However I'll throw one out for you to consider.

McKay Landing.
Walk to Meridian elementary rated 9 in the middle of the neighborhood. Walk to Westlake Middle School rated 9. Walk to Legacy High School rated 8 that has nationally recognized band which has played in Macy's day parade and Rose bowl parade.
Community pool
Food truck night McKay Landing Owners Association > Community > Photos Of Our Community
Many other events throughout the year.

Children's Center playschool right at the community park/pool The Children's Center Preschool | Colorado's premier preschool for Broomfield and surrounding areas
Hope Montessori on 136th and Huron gets good reviews.
Hope Montessori Academy Broomfield

Example house.
2584 Quail Creek Dr, Broomfield, CO 80023 | MLS #793727 | Zillow

Walk to McKay Lake. Walk to King Sooper and a number of restaurants (Mexican, Chinese, Sushi, Pizza). Super close to Orchard Town Center, a very popular outdoor mall with many entertainment and dining options.

I took this picture this morning while walking around McKay Lake.


Picture of McKay Lake.

[nick4242]

Firestone or Greeley for a large family looking to move to Denver. The 36 corridor is only 2 lanes each way and prone to 1+ hour delays so I think Weld County or in that vicinity would be the best option for a large family. Newer, safer, more land, nice community feel, not too expensive. i-25 is 4-6 lanes each way. Both i-25 and 36 can have delays but 36 is much worse with only 2 lanes.

The word phrase "2-lanes" isn't even in the vocabulary of most people who move here from elsewhere but people in Colorado love to underplan and under develop to keep people away.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by nick4242

Firestone or Greeley for a large family looking to move to Denver....safer

Really? Safer than Louisville?

Firstone does not equal "Not feeling like we're in Kansas (more mature areas, hilly and/or some view of range)"

Greeley does not meet "Very good to great elementary schools"

[bbthornton]

Thanks to everyone this is some great advice!! Couple more questions. How does north thornton, Stapleton and westminster fit into these criteria? Westminster is top of the list for us right now.

[mic111]

Originally Posted by bbthornton

Thanks to everyone this is some great advice!! Couple more questions. How does north thornton, Stapleton and westminster fit into these criteria? Westminster is top of the list for us right now.

I can address Westminster and Thornton. They all fit just fine. If you buy in your indicated price range all else will fall into place. Your kids are guaranteed to get into the assigned school. However you can choice into other neighborhood schools if you don't feel it is a good fit or you can go to a charter school. The safest thing to do is buy into a neighborhood with schools you like.

Westminster is long and spread out, a byproduct of annexing commercial areas to increase the tax base. If you have a particular area you like, ask about it, and you can get direct feedback. Based on your list and price point I'm thinking you are targeting Bradburn?