Highlands Ranch Info (Denver: transplants, for sale, house)

[LiBro]

We are young couple looking to buy a home in Highlands Ranch/surrounding area in the price range 350-450K. Lot has been said about the HR area but not so much about any specific subdivisions. Please suggest us some good subdivisions or neighborhoods based on my below criteria.

kids friendly, liberal neighborhood close to good schools and amenities.
2600 plus sqft or so excluding basement.
Prefer newer construction with nice views and easy access to major roads.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by LiBro

We are young couple looking to buy a home in Highlands Ranch/surrounding area in the price range 350-450K. Lot has been said about the HR area but not so much about any specific subdivisions. Please suggest us some good subdivisions or neighborhoods based on my below criteria.

kids friendly, liberal neighborhood close to good schools and amenities.
2600 plus sqft or so excluding basement.
Prefer newer construction with nice views and easy access to major roads.

Move over to the Denver forum, there are plenty of opinions of HR over there, including how not liberal it is.

[LiBro]

David, What does your post mean? HR hates outsiders and foreigners? I'm an Asian and should I be looking outside of HR? shed me some light.

With the state of the economy as it is now, I don't want to make a fool of myself.

[2bindenver]

Highlands Ranch is one large subdivision. split into 4 sub sections. If you want newer - there is only so much to see, go see, and target a few. All the rec centers are easy to get to, so are the major thoroughfares - Santa Fe, Broadway, University & Quebec - major cross streets are dad clark, highlands ranch parkway & wildcat reserve parkway.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by LiBro

David, What does your post mean? HR hates outsiders and foreigners? I'm an Asian and should I be looking outside of HR? shed me some light.

With the state of the economy as it is now, I don't want to make a fool of myself.

When the heck did I say that?

HR is full of outsiders. Only 32.5% of HR residents were born in Colorado, so that would probably equal a higher likelihood of transplants. Only 6.7% of HR residents are foreign-born, which seems quite low, and Asians equal 4.0% of the total population. -Census 2000.

I think you should look at wherever suits you. The better question to ask is why HR? What is it that has you considering HR? It's a big unincorporated fused together patchwork of subdivisions, with the oldest ones being built probably about 25-30 years ago. The typical HR demo is high-income educated white families (with kids), that *might* commute a little longer than necessary. The one thing HR is not (and Douglas County in general), is liberal.

I'm not going to tell you to live in _________ because you are Asian. I will not steer people based on race/ethnicity. Come out to Colorado and have a gander, where you work should have some bearing on where you reside.

Good luck, and you aren't making a fool of yourself.

[steveindenver]

David, What does your post mean? HR hates outsiders and foreigners?

No, but Denver hates HR.

Dave hit it on the head. Best of luck with your search and welcome to Denver (ish .. perhaps).

[MobyLL]

If you are looking for a "liberal" area politically speaking, Highlands Ranch is about as opposite from that as it gets in the Denver metro area. Here are the 2008 presidential election results from Denver county (and as you can see most of the surrounding counties are blue as well).




Here are the vote results for Douglas County where Highlands Ranch is located:


However if you mean "liberal" just in the sense of accepting someone who is of Asian heritage I don't think you would have any problems in Highlands Ranch despite HR's more conservative political leanings.

[mczabe]

Honestly, I think the best areas to look at in HR are the older neighborhoods. (And as an east-coaster, I do chuckle as I call 25 years an older neighborhood) More land, more mature landscape...slightly more stable home values.

While I would never claim that HR is diverse, I think it is very accepting of diversity. And Obama signs certainly outnumbered McCain signs...oh, I'd guess...3 to 1 around here.

I'm not sure any subdivision within HR isn't kid-friendly.

So...specific subdivisions? Firelight and The Hearth are new and very kid-friendly, but there are an awful lot of the same floor plan for sale there. Small yards - yes, even smaller than normal. Some of the older neighborhoods are turning over now...20-25 year old homes, but young families starting to make up the majority. If you play your cards right, you can find a home there that's had it's bones fixed up. New furnace, new roof, etc. Highgate, Timberline Ridge are solid neighborhoods with lots of kids...

Let us know if you have any other specific questions. Good luck!!!!

[fsufezzik]

I'll be interested to see how this whole "Highlands Ranch is conservative" thing plays out in my life. My wife and I just moved to Highlands Ranch, and we're a pretty liberal couple. We haven't gotten out there in the community much yet, but I haven't seen anything so far that makes me think we'll feel out of place here. We live near the Eastridge rec center, and we love our neighborhood - we can actually walk to shopping and the rec center, and the few neighbors we've met so far are fantastic. Aside from not being super-new (our home was built in 1994), this house is exactly what the original poster described (size, price, accessibility to roads, schools). So, places like what he's looking for do exist here, I think.

[Kibbiekat]

Being a planned community, Highlands Ranch doesn't have a good side or a bad side. In your price range, you ought to end up in a nice neighborhood no matter what. No such thing as a liberal neighborhood in HR, but there ARE liberals here. HR Democrats and Douglas County Democrats seem to be pretty active groups.