[BeingMe]

I live in Cali and seriously thinking about getting out of here. I have heard so many people talk so highly about Colorado, and I'm interested.<br>
So where is a good place to raise a family? One that is safe, family oriented, lots of stay at home Mom's, and friendly? And if possible one that is more open to alternative living(healthy living, alternative healthcare, homebirths, etc)?<br>
I would REALLY Love your help.<br>
Thanks,<br>
Shannon

 

[mommysaurus]

Come to Ft. Collins!!! I'm originally from southern CA, but love it out here. It is a college town but it's everything that you've posted in your list!! Maybe some of the other FC mama's will chime in too!

 

[awredberg]

If you decide on Denver you should move to Stapleton. My family lives there and it's a wonderful community with open minded residents who care deeply about their families, the environment, education, etc.<br><br>
Actually you can buy our house! it's on the market. We're moving (temporarily) so that my husband can get his MBA. That's the only reason we would leave Colorado. We love it here.<br><br>
Here's a link to the Stapleton Community website.<br><br><a href="http://stapletondenver.com/" target="_blank">http://stapletondenver.com/</a><br><br>
Good luck in your search!

 

[MWeller1]

I live in Colorado Springs and absolutely love it. Not as liberal as the Boulder area by far, and a fair-sized fundamentalist community for having New Life Church and Focus on the Family, but still a good AP community and not too big. Also houses 5 military bases so it is fairly transient. We really enjoy it.

 

[BeingMe]

How about snow? Is there a place in Colorado that gets some but not too much. I've never lived in snow, but would love just a little bit.<br>
And another question.....<br>
I was thinking about coming there in March. Is that a good time for weather, etc?

 

[MWeller1]

Coloraod Springs gets some snow, but it usually melts pretty fast. Gives a nice taste of winter without needing to go out in snowboots everyday. We do have the occassional blizzard. March is unpredictable, for the Springs at least.

 

[Realrellim]

Most places along the Front Range from Fort Collins all the way down to the Springs are good for what you're looking for.<br><br>
Snow: March is the snowiest month here. Either it's 60 and sunny, or we're being dumped on. It's a crazy month. You never can tell. I'd visit in April though. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink"><br><br>
We have 300+ sunny days a year so the snow doesn't usually stick around long when it comes. If you only want a few inches for the whole winter though, this isn't the state for you.

 

[Denversafari]

Boulder is your best bet for alternative living (although the prices can be a bit outrageous). Like awredberg we live in Stapleton -- it's the best of both worlds. You are close to downtown, but in a community that is specifically designed for walking (which is perfect for kids). Every house in Stapleton is within easy walking distance of a park/open space, there are plenty of restaurants and shops to walk to, and we've got some of the best schools in the Denver school district. It's also just minutes from the museums, zoo and other attractions in Denver.<br><br>
Ft. Collins is definitely a nice city, with a smaller town feel (than Denver or Colorado Springs) and beautiful outdoor recreation opportunities at every turn.<br><br>
Hope this helps.

 

[UmmBnB]

And if you like Stapleton but the prices of the houses give you the shivers, you can get a brand spankin' new house just four blocks west in a lovely established neighborhood with long-time residents who are loving the revitalization and where the property values are actually holding steady and in some cases increasing...unlike many other areas.<br><br>
PM me if you'd like details. We're building it to sell...and live just down the street.

 

[Mirzam]

Boulder! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngtongue.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Stick Out Tongue">

 

[cherryblossom]

we moved to loveland the end of december 2006. we love it here! it is small and very family oriented and has great access to fort collins, boulder, denver and it is so nice. when we were looking at moving here i was told it is one of the best places to be for NT/TF resources. i feel really blessed to have access to the things we have around here, not to mention that living this close to the mountains is wonderful!

 

[riverundine]

crestone!<br>
we love it here <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love">. we bought our house here a few years back and finally made the move (from cali) in october. it's a tiny little town right up against the western slope of the sangre de cristos. it's more or less in the middle of nowhere, just north of the great sand dunes national park.<br>
crestone is a super small town (about 1500) of people doing all sorts of fun things. there are quite a bit of people living off-grid, as the building codes are virtually non-existent, lots of spiritualists (24 different spiritual centers, from buddhist temples to hindu ashrams to a carmelite monestary), all types of healers, artists, hippies and freaks of all walks of life, ******** and cowboys, and lots of families - young and old.<br>
there is a great community of mamas and kids (great community as a whole, too)...very supportive and wonderful. as i mentioned, we just moved here. the mamas threw me a mama blessing(way) that was wonderful. they set up dinners for 2 weeks post-partum, cleaning and taking turns picking up my 2 year old to take her to playgroup at the old schoolhouse(another wonderful aspect of crestone).<br>
great charter school here, also.<br>
there are great (traditional) midwives here, too. we love our midwife. just had an amazing homebirth 2 weeks ago.<br>
the economy is "create-your-own". i work from home teaching ayurveda to distance learning students. my husband just opened a restaurant. people just have to be creative.<br>
it's a beautiful little town. and not much for snow. we get snow, but it melts pretty readily. when we leased our restaurant we asked who was in charge of snow removal (coming from lake tahoe) and the landlord said that it wasn't an issue. and it hasn't been.<br>
houses are much more affordable here than other places in CO, as this is a super poor county. and you can find beautiful strawbales, adobe, whatever - generally with lots of south-facing passive solar window - on at least a half acre on a treed lot for way less than a garage in boulder.<br>
the only grocery is a health food store, albeit a bit on the expensive side, but there are buying co-ops to get lots of goods in bulk.<br>
and hot springs just north and south!<br>
good luck with your searching, but check us out down here! it's worth it!