South vs. North (Denver, Boulder, Greeley: new construction, school district, university)

[babyguke]

So..I am curious. Can someone compare northern 'cities' (i.e. longmont, firestone, erie, etc.) to southern 'cities' (i.e. parker, highlands ranch, etc.). We have been looking at the northern areas, but it seems like most of the focus seem to be toward the south. What are the differences? We are looking for a private school for our kids, so the public school quality is not essential for us. We need to be somewhere that is an 'easy' commute to the airport! What does the one area have that the other doesn't? Thanks

[2bindenver]

most of the south is newer, the northern burbs were developed first and we have light rail. The commute to DTC is reasonable, and we have good public schools.

As far as bedroom cities like Fredrick, Erie & Firestone - they are relatively new, building like crazy - they don't have much relevant history yet - I am speaking about long term results from city planning/zoning/finances.

[Micktooth]

We moved to Louisville near Boulder last June. We also looked at northern and southern burbs. The greater Denver area is widespread and both areas are nice. We found the northern areas to be less crowded and less traffic. We enrolled our kids in the Boulder Valley school district and we are very happy with it. Previously, when we were in New Orleans, we had to enroll in private schools. it is very easy to get to the airport from up here. Just hop on the Northwest Parkway-E470. It's about 30 min direct drive. The bottom line is it just depends upon what you are looking for. You really can't go wrong in either area. Welcome to Colorado!

[tfox]

Well, one thing to remember is that Boulder County (Lafayette, Louisville, Boulder, Longmont) are worlds apart from Weld County (Frederick, Firestone, Dacono, Ft Lupton). Those communities are as different from each other as they are from Highlands Ranch.

[babyguke]

What is the major difference between the two areas?

Originally Posted by tfox

Well, one thing to remember is that Boulder County (Lafayette, Louisville, Boulder, Longmont) are worlds apart from Weld County (Frederick, Firestone, Dacono, Ft Lupton). Those communities are as different from each other as they are from Highlands Ranch.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by babyguke

What is the major difference between the two areas?

Boulder County is more influenced by the University of Colorado. Longmont is acutally in both counties (mostly Boulder) and actually leans more towards Weld in its ambience. It is hard to explain the difference, really. Boulder Co. has more univ. personnel and high-tech workers. Longmont is more blue collar. Of course, there are many exceptions in both towns. Erie, Frederick and Firestone were just small towns until recently when the building began and they became sort of suburban. You really need to see for yourself.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by babyguke

What is the major difference between the two areas?

Actually, Pittnurse is correct that Longmont is the outlier in Boulder County having more of an agricultural and blue-collar industry background than its neighbors. Recent trends have brought Longmont much closer to Boulder than it had been, and its old industry like the old sugar mill is pretty much gone in favor of technology industry. Still, you go there and it definitely "feels" like an old farming and industry town, though not really in the same way as say, Greeley.

There are many differences between the two counties -- Boulder County is likely Colorado's most reliably democratic county, whereas Weld is likely the most reliably Republican one. Weld County is mainly large-scale commercial agribusiness, whereas Boulder has conservation-easement protected small organic farming and hobby farming. Weld's towns (except Greeley) have mostly sprouted up in the last few years, with a combination of drive-till-you-qualify subdivisions and rural acreages. In Boulder County, the last growth spurt in the mid-90s (in which Superior and Lafayette grew into their current sizes) is probably the last large new construction spurt Boulder is ever going to see as it's built out. Boulder county is very anti-growth and so is mostly open-space protected, Weld County is very pro-growth and doesn't care about such things -- this means almost 100% of new housing construction is going to be in Weld, not Boulder. Weld County is also known for its affordable housing, and Boulder is known for its less affordable housing. Weld doesn't have many jobs (and what jobs there are are mostly up in Greeley or Windsor areas), whereas Boulder County has more jobs than its population can fill so people commute into the county for work.