Looking into moving to Denver (Boulder, Broomfield: appointed, renting, buying a house)

[Nitric]

Hey there. I've been lurking on these forums for awhile and decided to register and get some info. My wife and I currently have one child, 9 months, and recently found out we have another on the way. We plan to have anywhere from 2-4 children. I'm looking for a nice suburb with good schools. A few of my biggest concerns:

1. Schools
2. Cost of the house
3. Jobs
4. Proximity to wilderness/city

My main concern is schools, if I have to drive further to work or pay more, by all means I will do it. I'm building a future for my children and am willing to make some sacrifices to give them the best opportunity. I work in the IT sector (Network/Security/Telcom Admin) and would like to locate near a tech sector of the city. I've browsed and heard people mention the northwest and southeast of Denver have these. Is that true? For my work, I can really work anywhere, but it would be nice to be located near a tech sector so I don't have to worry about a huge commute.

My wife is planning to stay home and do her photography business on the side, so that's not an issue.

So there's my first questions really, what suburbs have the better rated schools and what areas of Denver have more tech jobs? I'd prefer to live along the 470 (about 15 miles from downtown) so I'm not looking at the true suburbs, but a bit more rural... but not too far of a drive.. if that makes any sense. :P

[Jerry Bckr]

Check out www.schoolperformancemaps.com/co. They show where each school is plus there are links for you to activate for more in depth analysis.

[Katarina Witt]

15 miles from downtown is still the "true suburbs".

You can check all the school websites you want, it still boils down to what works for your own kids. The open enrollment laws are pretty lenient in CO, so I wouldn't get too hung up on the school district.

The high tech areas are the Denver Tech Center, downtown Denver, Broomfield and Boulder. However, with the recession still going on, you can't count on getting a job in any one of those areas. Since your child is just 9 months, I'd recommend getting a job, renting for a while and buying a house when you've settled in. You will then know what your likes and dislikes around the metro area are.

[Nitric]

Originally Posted by Katiana

15 miles from downtown is still the "true suburbs".

You can check all the school websites you want, it still boils down to what works for your own kids. The open enrollment laws are pretty lenient in CO, so I wouldn't get too hung up on the school district.

The high tech areas are the Denver Tech Center, downtown Denver, Broomfield and Boulder. However, with the recession still going on, you can't count on getting a job in any one of those areas. Since your child is just 9 months, I'd recommend getting a job, renting for a while and buying a house when you've settled in. You will then know what your likes and dislikes around the metro area are.

We wouldn't actually move there for a couple years most likely, I'm just trying to do some initial planning.

So the Northwest and Southeast are the best areas for tech? The West side of Denver looks pretty nice (Golden area), are there any tech areas near that or are they only in the two aforementioned areas?

The suburbs for those two areas look nice, Parker and Highland Ranch for the Southeast area and Broomfield/Louisville for the Northwest.. does that sound about right or is that too far of a commute for the areas?

Does Boulder have any Tech areas? If so, I could move between Denver/Boulder and have the choice of two cities to work at..

Thanks

[Katarina Witt]

Yes, Boulder has lots of tech. I would still recommend getting the job, then looking for the home. Do not choose a home solely on school district reputation. You may be very disappointed if the school does not live up to your expectations. There are very few "bad" districts in Colorado and you are not likely to want to buy a house in one of them.