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Colorado has historically had less than medium modern communicaitons cell and internet performance, As the area has grown services have not.
if you some times work at home:
consider both up time reliability AND speed.
I live in an urban Denver area with centuryLink fiber to the house or FIOS:
-consider your needs, the slower 100Gb will likely stream a few medium definition netflix tablets.
-faster 1000 meg a bit or in other words, 1Gb service goes for $65.
-use caution; this internet providor has a history of customer relations issues.
-Previous I had internet from a cable tv providor, not fiber, and their equipment would only run only 2-3 weeks than it needed a reset. Un relaible, bad for the work at home crew. The FIOS run time is excellent and good reliability.
-My neighborhood has older FIOS technology but still 1Gb service. For each house with FIOS; your string of fiber cable goes all the way to a centeral office to get routed into the internet. There are no active components in this scheem. They still get it to work tho. Just seemed odd when i saw their provisioning.
needs to be said:
in the scheem of electronics & networking 1Gb internet is still slow. The term 'b' is bit and upper case 'B' is byte. A bit is 1/10 th a Byte so 1Gb is actually only 100MB. A good day you might actually see 80% of your advertized speed. Bla bla bla.
I disagree with the above. Unless you're doing gaming, you don't need particularly fast internet. I have 50Mb fiber service (the slowest offered) and it's more than adequate for hi def netflix, computers, etc.
i disagree with the above. Unless you're doing gaming, you don't need particularly fast internet. I have 50mb fiber service (the slowest offered) and it's more than adequate for hi def netflix, computers, etc.
Thanks. Seems like many homes in the area do not have access to reliable internet which will be an issue as we plan to work from home, do a lot of zoom calls and use streaming services a lot.
Seeking intel regarding evergreen/conifer high schools
We are moving to evergreen/conifer over the summer. We are considering conifer high school and clear creek high school. Anyone here have kids who attend these schools? Would love to learn more about them from families who attend these schools.
We came to Evergreen/Conifer in June 2020. We currently rent a home in Evergreen in the Conifer school district. My children are in 9th and 11th grade having probably come from a similar environment to your experience in IL. South Overland Park is a white, homogeneous, semi-wealthy area where you stand out if you do not own a luxury vehicle in suburban KC. The schools are filled with (in general) extremely cliquish, snotty, entitled children who emulate their parents. It is conservative but not necessarily in a radical tea party way.
In contrast, my husband now works remotely here in Evergreen. The children attend school remotely at Conifer High School. Here are my takeaways. We didn't know quite what to expect, yet what we found surprised us anyway. There are both positives and negatives. I will start with the negatives from my perspective.
Negatives:
1. Fire. It is tinderbox dry and everyone here is afraid of when not if the big fire comes and wipes out Evergreen area. Evergreen is nationally, the highest risk area in the country for wildlife urban interface areas. As we look at options to buy, we have learned that we need to be cautious. Since the fire here last summer, many insurance companies are pulling coverage from the area. Be aware that should all companies discontinue coverage, we will no longer have even expensive insurance options. This will dramatically impact our property values here. The smoke hovered over the area all summer. It was hard to breath. Our throats hurt in the summer. Soot gets in your nasal pasages. Air quality was dangerously poor. People were experiencing athsma symptoms who do not have athsma. The dryness makes your skin dry, your lips chapped, and no amount of drinking can compensate. We have humidifyers by our beds now to compensate. The dryness/fire risk is severe, its getting worse and it is scary, even to the natives who have been here decades.
2. Snow. This year due to la nina, snow has not been as bad as usual, but we still needed to buy blizzak snow tires. Our house is at 8400 ft elevation so that is 3000 feet down to Denver to go to Costco. 2000 feet down to the "Towns" of Conifer and Evergreen. our driveway is blocks long, literally. We use a snow blower, but on heavy years, you may need a jeep with plow or ATV. The driving on snow down a mountain is seriously scary. My daughter is 17. She is too afraid to drive in the snow here. It is actually scary to have kids trying to learn to drive up here.
3. Isolation. I am not really extrovert or introvert. Im in the middle. But people here are used to going weeks without seeing humans. It can feel isolated and lonely. My kids didnt like the rat race suburbs, but they are lonely here. People are friendly and will wave at you, but most move up here to have personal space, so dont expect the welcome wagon.
4. Its not green. Sure we have evergreens (for now) but its so dry, the grass in summer is golden, not green. I miss the green grass and flowers. I have heard many people say the same (mostly on local FB forums). I have not met many people yet in real life.
5. Water. We are mostly all on wells. Heavy minerals means issues with that. But the worst part is that our neighborhood were rationing water. Many people ran dry. Nothing to do but wait for the well to refill naturally which takes time. We have to go several days without showers and rotate. We were told (and it is true) not to do more than 2 loads of laundry per day to avoid running dry. You cannot water outside. Water is a huge huge problem here. People who want to build fight water rights issues.
6. You are in a kind of no mans land here between the pretty part of the mountains like summit county which is blocked by massive traffic on I-70 and to the city of Denver. Driving down 3000 ft on windy roads takes half an hour if there is no snow, but it feels longer.
7. Unincorporated. Evergreen and Conifer are not incorporated towns. People here like it that way because their taxes are lower. The downside is that there is no thought of city planning, beautification etc. Its every man for himself. Because of this, we feel the absense of a sense of place or town core. Mostly, they are just central areas with some businesses along a road if that makes sense.
8. Real Estate Costs and Population Boom. The high cost of real estate negates the low cost of property taxes. With so many fleeing CA and moving to CO, combined with the pandemic, and low CO business taxes drawing in new jobs, housing inventory is non existent. Homes are receiving multiple offers in days with many losing out to all cash offers. It isnt easy to find a place to live.
9. Internet access is poor. It is very difficult to find good internet access. My husband works from home, zoom meetings etc. We have xfinity. It is not easy to find here. If you plan to work remotely here ALL other services are terrible. DO NOT RENT OR BUY A HOUSE IF THERE IS NO XFINITY SERVICE! Eventually, people here look forward to Starlink which will be a game changer when available. Cell service is also spotty.
10. No AC. Most houses here do not have AC. A reflection of a pre climate change world. There is about a month in the summer where we are hot and sweaty and you really need AC here especially in many of the homes here build to maximize winter solar gain. If you build, add AC. Also, we bought a generator and have already needed that this year. A wise investment.
11. Wildlife Interface. Just spoke to a parks and wildlife guy. You need to be VERY careful here at anytime but especially from Dusk till Dawn. We live in the highest density population of mountain lions in the world right here. They eat deer. Lots of folks here feed deer, drawing in the lions. They sometimes attack pets and children. We have had close encounters with massive black bears walking. You really should not walk even in your neighborhood without bear spray or some protection. So people do not go for walks in the evening or early morning. Its too scary. Sometimes it can make you feel a bit cooped up in your house.
Positives:
1. Beauty. It is serene and beautiful here with lovely views and stary night skies often. The constant reminder of nature out your window is a wonderful thing.
2. Wildlife. The wildlife that we encounter on a daily basis, from mule deer to bear to coyote, fox, chipmunk etc is amazing and awe inspiring. You never get tired of seeing them.
3. Snow. The snow in the mountains blankets everything in magical white.
4. Space. The space is great. I can go out on the deck in my PJs and nobody can see me.
5. Schools. I really like Conifer. It is very low key. I cant say it is not cliquish. I think the long timers stick together. But it is much more a mixture of types, from ranch families to transplants. The Principal has an excellent reputation and so do the teachers. Class options are a bit more limited than Evergreen, but we chose Conifer because Evergreen does have a reputation for being snotty. There are kids attending who live in 20 million dollar homes there. It is definately far more affluent, not to say that there is not affluence in Conifer, just less. Conifer area has a reputation of being more "old colorado" more conservative politically than Evergreen which has a significant population of CA transplants now. That being said, Conifer is right behind Evergreen as far as that trend goes.
6. Politics. We like the blend of people here. People of all walks of life and of many different political leanings. They seem more free to be themselves, unlike the Johnson County suburbs of KC. We saw equal numbers of political signage over the election season.
7. People are nice. They wave, say hello, smile. they keep their distance in a pandemic, but they you can tell they are nice.
So there you have some insights from a newer midwestern transplant. There are good and bad things about the front range. The population explosion is likely to continue for quite some time. Happy to answer any other questions about Conifer school, but overall, we like it probably for the same reasons that you would. We are still trying to decide if we will stay up here in light of the negatives, or move closer to Denver. I dont love Denver personally. The housing is so crowded together and as a midwesterner, it is not that appealing. The areas that are really lovely in the city, like Washington Park are ridiculously priced. If I wanted to live in a flat metro, I would pick a green one.
We considered other areas south along the range such as Larkspur or Monument area, but the lack of taxes in Colorado contributes to a lack of good roads and it isnt likely I-25 (the death trap) will be done anytime soon. They desperately need a light rail along the front range. Traffic in Denver is yucky. Colorado Springs is much nicer if you dont need to commute. Even one day a week is not a great option.
Last edited by Bliss2424; 02-01-2021 at 03:22 PM..
Reason: spelling
Why?
You do realize that autonomous vehicles will destroy mass transit and that RTD will be shut down in 2070?
Oh I disagree. AV will still be a long time coming before it is widely used and problem free. Not to mention early trials are for first mile last mile linkage to mass transit. I don't think you will ever replace mass transit in high density population areas.
Oh I disagree. AV will still be a long time coming before it is widely used and problem free. Not to mention early trials are for first mile last mile linkage to mass transit. I don't think you will ever replace mass transit in high density population areas.
I said in 50 years. Isn't that a "long time coming"?
Greater Denver is not high density. NYC is. London is.
I said in 50 years. Isn't that a "long time coming"?
Greater Denver is not high density. NYC is. London is.
Must we split hairs here? of course it isnt NYC level dense. But the thing is, Denver is one of the fastest growing metros. Yet we dont grow our infrastructure at that rate. The growth isnt going to change soon because of poor infrastructure so long as the jobs keep coming here. Traffic will just get worse. People will follow. Just look at California. They will come and they will not go until we begin having problems with fire, blackouts, water shortages etc. One day, The front range will look a lot like California, but our infrastructure hasnt kept up with the pace of that growth. That is what I am talking about. Colorado's shifting demography is impacting Denvers traffic. Extending the RTD just makes good sense.
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Seeking intel regarding evergreen/conifer high schools
