Help ! Posible move to Denver? Boulder ?
 

There's a possibility hubby might take a job in Denver. What suburb has the best schools? What is the commute time if we go to Boulder and work in Denver? Any info would be appreciated. THANKS !

I have some family in Boulder and when I visited them once I really took the place. I have no input on any practical considerations, though.

You might get more information from folks in Colorado if you indicated the amount you can spend on a house. While many areas of the Denver metro are expensive, Boulder is very expensive. I would think the commute time from Boulder to Denver (during rush hour) would be a minimum of one hour. (There are buses, however.) As to school districts, I'll leave those comments to those who have children.

The commute from Boulder to Denver is a bear. I wouldn't do (used to, though; very high stress). Boulder is also much more expensive. The schools vary, even within a community. If that's the main criterion, better look at some national score rankings. (Denver is a great city; why limit yourself to the 'burbs?)

There are great neighborhoods in and around Denver, so if hubby's working in the city, look around here first. The public school systems are all very good, particularly the Cherry Creek district which encompasses some of southeast Denver and Aurora, the nicer burbs. Denver has a great new development popular with families, Stapleton, that is really booming, on the east side, about 15 minute drive from downtown. Littleton and Jefferson County in the southwest part of town are also great places (where I live).

Housing prices are lower than if you're coming from the East or West coasts, but not as low as they used to be in comparison.

Search on other threads here about living in Denver. Most people I know who moved here love it.

You're getting good advice. I'll put in a plug for the historic neighborhoods of Denver, such as: Montclair, Park Hill, Country Club, Botanic Gardens, Mayfair, Hilltop, Capitol Hill, etc. And the new Lowry housing developments are very nice, too. Denver is a great city to live in.

And I definitely agree you don't want a long commute to work daily, especially on the Boulder-Denver turnpike. That road can get pretty nasty in bad weather, and jammed during rush hour.
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The two better school district are along the south side of the Denver metro area -- Cherry Creek and Littleton (Arapahoe 6) These are county schools, not cities. The Denver school system is struggling with many problems associated with large city school systems. If you have high school children you might opt for Littleton since it's three high schools are smaller than the high schools in C Creek. But that is personal preference on my part.

Denver is developing a light rail system to downtown Denver and the two lines that are running come from the SE and SW part of the Denver metro area. With the rehab of I-25 on the south end and the light rail, access from the south to downtown is much better than from the north, west or NW (Boulder).

The inner city neightborhoods that MaureenB list are all very nice but the housing stock is limited and expensive. The Stapleton/Lowery redevelopment areas have great new Urbanism housing but still a part of the Denver school system. Private school would have to be a consideration.

You need to spend some time on the ground. Good luck.

Thank you all for your replies !!! We are thinking of Golden ,Co anyone with info ?? How are the schools etc ?? THANKS !

Why Golden?

A college town, kind of industrial looking (the Coors brewery complex dominates), a large jail complex, two looming basalt mesas, enclosed by highways. Not a great commute to Denver, depending on where you work/live.

Oh nooo ! Hubby wants to be in foot hills type setting near to city (Denver)I want great schools in a nice -not generic setting. Is there susch a place in the Denver area ??

Nice is a relative term. Have no idea what nice means to you. Where are you coming from? If you thinking of a place in the mountains, with tall pines, and a stream in the backyard, you will not find that in Denver. While some people perceive of Denver as being in the mountains, it is not. Denver is out on the plaine and it is somewhat barron because it is a high plaine desert. While there are many nice areas in Denver, Denver is relatively flat and would not provide a sense of being in the mountains.

Although Golden is on the edge of the foothills, it is fairly barren around Golden and the general setting is not very attractive. If you want mountain living you go between Morrison and Evergreen. BUT that bring its own set of problems. These area get much more snow than the metro area coupled with limited road access into Denver which seriously adds to the commuting problems especially time wise.

The school system is JeffCO (Jefferson County). Second largest school district in the country. Only Dade Cty in Florida is larger. It is a decent system but with wide varibility depending on the locations of the schools. Probably better than Denver but lesser overall quality than Littleton or Cherry Creek or even Douglas Cty. You cannot have a mountain setting, quality school, and an easy commuter to Denver all wrapped up in one location. Got to make some compromises.

As previous posters have indicated Denver is a great place to live. We have been here 25 years having come from the Chicago area and would not consider moving. The year around climate is great although we have had a tougher than usual winter. Summers are great with low humidity and no bugs. Recreational options are high with approx 500 miles of biking/hiking trails, majority off road, in the metro area, One of the most extensive park system of any metro area with an enormous playground IRocky Mts) in your backyard.

However, you do need to spend sometime on the ground determining which compromises are acceptable to you. You can contact me off line if you like.

I think Sylvia gives a very accurate description of Golden. I also agree with fmpden's assessment of the issues with living in the Evergreen area. I have friends who grew up in Denver and then decided they wanted the foothill/mountain experience. After a year they were tired of the snow and commute issues and moved back to the metro area. I'm not saying it isn't right for your family, just be prepared for the experience.

Where in Denver is your husband's job? Is it downtown, the Denver Tech Center (DTC), etc? This will help you determine where you want to live and what kind of commute you can tolerate. Next I would focus on the school districts and the schools within that district before choosing random cities such as Golden.

You can look at the School Accounability Report for a "report card" by district and school. It is not perfect, but at least it is a start. I would start with the districts that fmpden mentioned.

http://denverpostbloghouse.com/csap/

You really need to come out for a visit to get a feel for the city and various suburbs.

Just want to keep track of this thread. Nothing to add, unfortunately.

THANK YOU ALL for your great replies!! We leave Chicago Sat(tomorrow)@ 6AM and arrive in Denver around 7:30 AM for a quick tour and get to know you. Hubby will be working in real estate downtown so 30 min commute or less would be great ! We head home Sunday early evening with a yea or neigh. Not much time I know.... I'll keep ya posted !!

Hi mjks,

I know it's probably a little late, but for some great information about Colorado relocation, check out this website:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/colorado/

By now you're probably home and you know that the weather in Denver is not what you expected. You also know that the terrain is not what you expected. I'm interested in hearing about what suburbs you explored.
I'm in Parker, just south of the metro area. I hope you had a chance to visit. We're within that 30 minutes that you mentioned.
Our school system (Douglas County) is (imho) much better than most in Colorado and our recreational opportunities are superior. Our children excel academically and are active in sports, thanks to those opportunities.
We relocated from Ohio 6 years ago and have never, for a moment, regretted the move.
I'd love to hear about your weekend.

Denver was NOT what I expected !!! We couldn't believe the beautiful houses 500,000-800,000 range with NO backyard that overlook other peoples backyards !! That would be Highlands Ranch and Ken Caryl areas.The weather was great and yes JRP-the terrain was also not what we expected !We would be leaving the best school dist in our state, and want the BEST in the Denver area so we drove thru Cherry Creek..still have some time to decide. THANKS to all for the very valuable info !!!

The first time I went to Denver, it wasn't what I expected either - LOL.

I know what you mean about so many of the houses are very close together, with little outside space. So many newer developments are like that.

My company has an office in Denver - near the DTC and several of my coworkers live in the suburbs south of Denver - Castle Rock, I think it is called and those areas. I have been and they seem to have more space there.

I personally love the downtown neighborhoods, and if I were to move there, that is what I would choose. But then I don't have kids, so I don't have school district and children's activities considerations. I have no idea what those are like, but with people I know - when they talk good schools, they talk about the burbs.

<<We would be leaving the best school dist in our state, and want the BEST in the Denver area so we drove thru Cherry Creek..>>

I'm a little confused by this statement. Did you drive through the Cherry Creek neighborhood and mall area, which is NOT in the Cherry Creek School District or did you drive through the suburban CCSD neighborhoods, such as Centennial & Greenwood Village?

We live in northwest Arvada and the schools are very good in this area. Many of the schools that feed into Ralston Valley High School have consistently High CSAP scores. This area is also, close to the foothills/mountains and beautiful views. I work downtown and it is usually around a 30 minute commute. I love this area - we moved from Wash Park about 3 years ago because we had kids and wanted them to have a more kid friendly neighborhood to grow up in. Although I miss the city and the charm of our old neighborhood, it was a great choice for us.

Check out Westwoods and areas near 64th and Highway 93 (just north and slightly east of Golden.

wtm003 is right, mjks. Don't confuse the Cherry Creek neighborhood with the Cherry Creek School District.
They are miles apart- in distance as well as residential ambience. The Cherry Creek School District that is important to you is in the South East suburbs, not in Denver proper. The Neighborhood consists of older homes of a more metropolitan architecture. The District consists of more contemporary, and on average, larger "suburban" homes.
You have chosen well if you've decided to focus on Cherry Creek Schools. I would not dispute their standards and achievements, both academically and athletically.
We often compete with them in baseball (son) and cheerleading (daughter). I'm always inmpressed.
As for the foothills scenery that you'd like, it's just a short drive and very visible from Centennial (where I work, by the way) and Greenwood Village. And although nearby, the weather in Centennial is generally calmer than the foothills.
Keep us updated on your research.

How are the schools funded in CO - property taxes, earned income taxes, etc?

Is the tax structure different for each school district?

On average, what are the real estate taxes on a suburban Denver house in the 500K range?

Public schools, K-12, are funded primarily via property tax and a state equalization tax that is supposed to balance rich and poor districts.

Colorado has been a hot bed of tax limitation for the past 15 years or so. As a result the school districts have suffured a declining tax base. However, a recent constitutional amendment passed by the good citizens requires schools to be funded at last year's level plus CPI plus an extra 1 % as catch up. The 1% catch up continues for ten years. Some of our more conservative brothern are very unhappy. Our public universities are no longer directly publicly funded but use a $1200/semester voucher that each local student receives.

Residental roperty taxes have declined rather substantially over the years because of the various tax limitation that have been adopted. I currently about $2,000 on a $400,000 house but that will vary somewhat depending on location. Colorado makes very heavy use of STDs (Special Taxing Districts) I pay taxes to about 15 different, overlaping taxing districts. Very few services are provided by city and county governments. The taxing districts provide the services. It has certain advantages and disadvantages but it works well enough.

The total tax burden in Colorado is below the average for most of the other states.

I'm in special taxing district in North Jeffco and pay about $3,400 on a 425,000 (county assessment) house. We found our property taxes are double what we'd pay on the same value house in Denver county.

That is still less than one percent. That's cheap.

Remember to figure the costs for gas and auto maintenence, too, in considering different commutes to work. Contributing to pollution, too, of course is a concern. Light rail has been vastly improved here, so maybe consider being near a train route into downtown.

Please take a close look at Denver schools before you discount them altogether. There are some good ones, and improvements being made in others. Like the 'new' School for the Arts, a public high school built where the Lamont School of Music was. Also a couple of new grade schools/ middle schools in Lowry and Stapleton. (Very good private schools in those neighborhoods, too. Stanley British Primary is one of the best schools anywhere. It's on Lowry now.)

Denver City and County is a very large and diverse area. Many historic neighborhoods in Denver are coming back, with real estate opportunities, if you like that sort of small town-feeling. We like the Denver area we live in, historic Montclair, and the surrounding communities like Mayfair, Crestmoor, Park Hill, Hilltop (very expensive there now), etc. You can find a very eclectic mix of homes, and some decent prices for close-in city homes.
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