Best neighborhoods and areas for kids (Denver, Fort Collins: cul-de-sac, houses, safe neighborhood)

[dhpflyn]

Might be taking a job in the area so any help with places to start looking would be appreciated. Have 3 kids all elementary school age.

Thanks

[Mike Weber]

What is your definition of good for kids? Schools (academic performance, class size, parent involvement, budget and resources, teacher personality, curriculum), quiet streets, neighborhood pools, proximity to parks, yard size?

Fort Collins has many great neighborhoods and every family prefers something different for their kids. Fort Collins was designed so that there is a park in nearly every square mile of town. Many of the newer neighborhoods on the south side of town have neighborhood pools. There are also some community pools that you can join in more central parts of town. You can see how local schools are rated at Greatschools.com. For us, the choice of school our kids went to was not based solely on the academic performance, but also the opportunities, both culturally and otherwise. Many neighborhoods were designed with curving streets and cul-de-sacs to slow traffic on streets on which children might be found playing. Your house budget will play into the neighborhoods suggested, as well.

With a little more info on what is important to you, we can point you toward places to start looking.

Congrats on the potential move.
Mike Weber

[dhpflyn]

Thanks for the information. We live in Texas now and it is a pretty nice area. We have over 120 miles of trails 16 pools and you can get to a grocery store in five minutes from anywhere. Along with that there is a large mall and ampitheater where most of the big concerts come every year.

The schools are some of the best in the state. Also they have tons of sports for kids year round. I will say it would be pretty hard to match a place like this but just trying to explain what we have currently.

[Mike Weber]

Don't come here for the mall. There are good shopping opportunities elsewhere in town and in Loveland.

We have a decent venue for shows and sporting events at the Budweiser Events Center, but for the big shows, you will be headed to venues in Denver like the Pepsi Center (or better yet, Red Rocks!)

Grocery stores are common and pretty easy to get to. Aside from typical rush times (7:30-8:30am and 5-6pm) you should be able to get just about anywhere in Fort Collins in about 20 minutes.

We do have lots of sports for kids, through the schools, city, and private organizations.

Feel free to post any additional questions you may have about our area.
Mike Weber

[NBeener]

Originally Posted by Mike Weber

Aside from typical rush times (7:30-8:30am and 5-6pm) you should be able to get just about anywhere in Fort Collins in about 20 minutes.

[cough] thirty [cough, cough]

[Mike Weber]

Originally Posted by NBeener

[cough] thirty [cough, cough]

N, I delivered pizza in Fort Collins in college. There have been a lot of roads added since then, but I know all of the back ways!

[NBeener]

I was considering ... 20 by bike [], but ... yeah ... knowing the locals' shortcuts (light-avoidance-maneuvers) would do it, too.

[Indyking]

I have been following this thread closely. Sorry, I do not mean to hijack it, but since my questions are similar to the OP, I see no need to open another discussion point. We may also move to FC; my wife is applying for a position at CSU and we think she has good chances but nothing is decided yet. We are hoping she gets invited for an interview around end of May-June. I work at home, so can pretty much go anywhere she goes.

We have lived in TX for 6 years, coincidentally near where the OP lives, and also lived in IN and WI for the last 5 years, so we have experience with the South and Midwest. We are legal permanent residents but not Americans, so a society acceptive and friendly with foreigenrs is important. We have 2 daughters (they are actually Americans), one preschooler and one just going to kindergarten. I must say the first priority is quality of public education. We would of course appreciate schools with good academic performance but would also give weight to quality of opportunities for extra curricular activities like sports, cultural. We would like a safe neighborhood, and we have this dream of buying a lot and have a reputable builder to build a customized house. Our budget would be something like 400K for that, not sure how realistic that would be.

How about parks/recreation for kids and the weather? Are there a lot of options in the summer (like swimming pools and lakes) and winter (like sledding, ice skating, skiing) in the city or do we have to travel for it? How far awya from FC? Is there a lot of snow in the winter? We do happen to like cold snowy winters (we love it here in WI), but we heard FC lacks significant snow.

Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Mike Weber]

There is an abundance of activities for the children in the summer. The city was planned with a park in nearly every square mile of town. There is one outdoor city pool and a couple of indoor city pools. Several neighborhoods have pools for neighborhood residents, and there are a handfull of membership pools around town. Swimming is also allowed in Horsetooth Reservoir, west of town and at Boyd Lake, south of town. Both of these require entrance fees or a season parks pass, but either parks pass is also good other places. The city Parks and Recreation Department holds classes and activities, and there are local soccer, baseball, lacrosse, etc leagues for kids who wish to participate in team sports. At the high school level, many of these sports continue, and there are also options for things like bicycle racing.

The winter activities can vary, depending on the weather. We occasionally have significant snowfalls that allow us to sled, snowshoe, and cross country ski right in town, but we also have some dry winters, as well. Sheldon Lake in City Park is open to ice skating when conditions allow, and there is a small rink in Old Town during the holidays. The Edora Pool and Ice Center (EPIC) has a couple of sheets of indoor ice. The closest lift served skiing is about 2 hours from Fort Collins. In dry years, you may have to travel to Beaver Meadows near Red Feather Lakes, or to Estes Park for ice skating and sledding. Both are 45-60 minutes.

Many of the building lots in the area are owned by builders who have them for inventory homes, but there are a few places where you might find a building lot onto which you can bring your own builder. The budget you have in mind will build a home here.

You can check greatschools.com for details about each school, but in general, the schools in the local district perform well and are safe.

The town, while not very diverse, is accepting of differences. The university brings a bit of diversity to the area.

Good luck with your search!
Mike Weber

[Indyking]

Originally Posted by Mike Weber

There is an abundance of activities for the children in the summer.

Thanks a lot for the thoughtful detailed response. It looks like there is plenty to do with kids during summer. Glad to hear that.

The winter activities can vary, depending on the weather.

Yeah, I have heard from friends who lived there in the past that snowfall is hit and miss in FC, it varies a lot from years with several foot-scale storms to close to nothing. But, based on your info, it seems that there is also plenty to do during winter there and if we have to travel for snow fun during dry years, I found the travel times you mentioned to be very reasonable. Good deal!

Many of the building lots in the area are owned by builders who have them for inventory homes, but there are a few places where you might find a building lot onto which you can bring your own builder. The budget you have in mind will build a home here.

I was afraid to hear that. It seems that empty lots available just for inventory homes is the standard in any growing American city, so I guess, we will just have count in a little bit of luck to find a lot in an area we like and we can bring a builder. Besides a good school district, we would need a lot in a subdivision that is already well established; very new subdivisions with just a few scattered houses here and there would not work for us. That would probably narrow our search even more I guess, but if we don't find a lot that suit us and have to buy a house, seems like our budget would allow us to get a good one. That's promising.

You can check greatschools.com for details about each school, but in general, the schools in the local district perform well and are safe.

Thanks for the tip about this website. Great resource! Yeah, school quality is a must and again, it looks like that won't be a problem.

The town, while not very diverse, is accepting of differences. The university brings a bit of diversity to the area.

Great!

Good luck with your search!
Mike Weber

Thanks again Mike, much appreciated. We are probably more excited than we should at this point. We don't even know if my wife will get the job or not, we just think she has good chances based on her credentials, but in this economy, we never know. If all goes well, she should be invited for an interview and visit the area around June, we think and hope. Perhaps CSU will have someone to drive around with her and show the city.