Looking for neighborhood, town or city recommendations in the Denver or Boulder area

[bdima002]

Hi all, I've read a ton of threads but stil have some questions I'm hoping some of you can help me with. Our family is relocating to Colorado from Seattle. I am a stay at home mom/RN who will probably look for work in a few years. My husband does cardiac and vascular ultrasound and is currently looking for a job. He is willing to commute/bike longer distances to live in an area we love. We plan to rent for 6-12 months and then hope to buy. We would like to find an area that we love to avoid making my 8 yo daughter switch schools again.

I'm looking for recommendations on great neighborhoods, towns or cities in or around Denver or Boulder. One area we are

considering is somewhere in or near the Highlands but a lot of the houses seem close together and have small yards and some of the schools are iffy. I like the mom/community feel and the funkyness of the area.

We are also looking at Louisville outside of Boulder but aren't sure if it's quite right for us either. Is anyone familar with this area? Boulder itself is too pricey. We are open to considering other areas.

We would like good schools, a decent size yard, affordable housing (pref under 400-450k) and like established neighborhoods with older trees as opposed to new developments. I would like to be in a liberal area that is not too small, has some diversity, not super religious and has a decent number of families who are into some degree of natural parenting. Walkability is a plus as is a good number of small, independent restaurants and stores and easy accessability to natural food stores.

If any one is familar with these areas or anything else comes to mind, I would

love to hear from you! Thanks !!!!!

[lunarlady]

The area around old town Arvada might fit well for you, and the university hills area has some nice options too. Any idea where your DH will be working?

[Right of Passage]

My husband worked in Louisville, since we're a one car family I'd occaisionally be in the area and hit the parks and such. It looks very lovely and all the interactions I had with people were friendly. Not much info beyond that!

[lunarlady]

If he is going to be in Louisvile, you might consider coming north a bit. Longmont is really nice, with a wonderful old downtown. Eire is also turning into a great place to live and work. Good luck with the job hunt!

[mommy212]

Old town Arvada, unless it has changed in the last couple of years (very possible) was not very much independent stores/natural foods type stuff when i lived there. Have you considered Morrison? It's just west of denver in the foothills near red rocks park. I haven;t been there is years but when we were there it had a very small-town kind of feel and the elementary was great. Just up the highway from there are a couple other small towns, one is named Kitteredge but I can't remember the other... anyway they are lovely communities too, very small though, as in go out of town to do your shopping small. There were a lot of off-the-grid houses there and I was always seeing moms walking with babies in slings and homes with great organic gardens and chickens out back and everything, Closer to denver you might try Lakewood, the green mountain area. There were plenty of affordable houses there with big yards but not so sure about the natural vibe in this area. Also in moving to an out of town area like the ones i talked about you have to watch out for coyotes and your pets... they wont generally bother people but I know a lot of people  who lost a cat or dog to them, including myself.

[sawingjello]

I am in Lakewood and there is a wonderful cloth diaper store here called Ecopolitan.  They also sell many other things for families and babies.  The value of our house fell a lot last year though.  Could be a good thing if you are looking to buy in the area.

Old Town Arvada is nice, and so is Littleton.  I have friends in Louisville who love it there, it is close to Boulder.

[NZJMama]

Olde Town Arvada, downtown Golden ar Applewood might be what you are looking for.

[joycenjackiesmom]

mommy212 I amazed to see someone suggest Kittrege--I was thinking it might be a good match myself.  Our little corner of the world has a great community feel, a blend of rentals and owner occupied homes and will fit in your budget easily---even some of the horse properties.  There are lots of kids of all ages (at least 5 8 year olds including my daughter). The schools are excellent and there are many who are least somewhat natural parents.  We have a great park in a walkable distance---I can also walk to the post office and many other small businesses--I can even walk the dog to the vet.  The grocery store is out of town but only about 5 miles away.  The previous poster may have been thinking of Indian Hills or Idledale which are both within a couple of miles down the road.  As for switching schools Colorado allows for school choice so if you rented in area that has one home school then moved to an area that has a different home school your child can stay at the first school as long as you are able to provide transportation.  Good luck with your move and feel free to PM if you are planning to look in our area and have any questions.

[mommy212]

Agree with Joycenjackiesmom about the school choice- i almost never went to my district school for the 8 or so years I went to public school there. If you Do live in the district for any of the Bear Creek schools don't do it! They may have changed over the years but when I went it was awful. The buildings were ancient and had few to no windows, the playground was completely paved and fenced with barbed wire, etc... the the red rocks elementary school i went to later was wonderful, and had glass walls facing the red rocks and mature trees. Anyways, sorry for blabbing! Wish i still lived in this area :)

[naturegirl7]

subbing!

We are hoping to move to the Denver area this fall/winter too - I am an LPN and my hubby is graduating from US school in August :)

Interested in learning lots more about the area, and job market too.