Need help in where to relocate in Colorado

Old Apr 14th, 2006, 02:05 PM
  #21  
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Maureen, I appreicate your info on Lowry and Stapleton - my only hesitation, even if it's a new, upcoming, remodeled town, is that it's still considered the Denver County school district, right?

I guess my background in having lived in a lot of big cities in the past, is that those school districts do not rank as high as the suburb districts.

If Littleton and Douglas county are truely 30 - 40 minutes away from DEN airport, than it would be worth the few minutes more commute.

Yes, I've been out there to Lakewood, Denver (stayed for 4 months)about 5 years ago when my step-father was dying of cancer. At that time, I had no clue that I would some day being moving there. So all I could remember from that stay was how far out the airport was from everyone!

Keep the info coming in if you all have any more suggestions....

Gretchen, I'll check into Greenwood Village.

We've got another couple of weeks before we make a trip out there so this all helps in narrowing down our search -

As far as renting for a while before we buy a house...that doesn't ideally work with a 5 person family. If it were just us with no kids, than maybe we'd do that but moving twice with 3 kids in elementary school would be a nightmare.

Yale: Thanks again for all your info. If you can think of anything else, let me know. By the way, is Littleton a slightly older neighborhood with a mixture of some new homes? The prices seem slightly higher in Littleton compared to HR.

Discover

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Old Apr 14th, 2006, 02:17 PM
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Gretchen, Greenwood Village is part of the Cherry Creek school district. I also agree that private schools do not solve all problems. I grew up in Denver and attended private school. There are good and bad teachers in both public and private. I don't think the Denver Public School system can be classified as excellent, though. I have many friends in Denver who are very unhappy with the school situation. They are either moving to the suburbs, struggling to get their kids into charter schools or sending their kids out of district to Cherry Creek schools. I think it is very unfortunate that is necessary. It is part of the reason, we made the choice like your kids to live in the Cherry Creek School district. Overall we have been pretty happy, but like Betsy says some years are better than others.

Discover, I would also take furledleader's advice and check out the northern suburbs. Hope you find a great realtor to help in your search.
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Old Apr 14th, 2006, 02:24 PM
  #23  
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You might look more closely into the new public elementary schools at Lowry and Stapleton. Don't automatically count them out just because they are Denver public schools, because some suburban schools have inflated reputations, in my experience. I think one school at Stapleton is an 'expeditionary learning' model, for example. The best private K-8 school in the world is on Lowry-- the Stanley British Primary School. It's an amazing child-focused and creative place. Both my kids went there for 9 years each. There's a pre-school affiliated with it, too, called Paddington Station.
Good luck with your search. It's a big decision.
 
Old Apr 14th, 2006, 02:36 PM
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Discover,

You can use this tool to find CSAP scores and rankings by district and school. Hopefully this helps as you start to narrow your search.

http://denverpostbloghouse.com/csap/
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Old Apr 15th, 2006, 07:49 AM
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Yes, most of Littleton is older with newer homes hear and there.

You will probably want to look at Parker as well. You can get a lot of house for your money in Parker and the airport drive can't be more than 35 minutes. You'd miss all the congestion on C-470 as you can directly connect to the toll road from Parker Rd. There's lots of new development out there, but I'm not as familiar with the area as HR. Several of our friends have homes there and I have never heard them complain about the schools. A little farther from the mountains, but also a very nice area.
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Old Apr 15th, 2006, 08:42 AM
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Yale:

Thanks again. As far as the beauty that Colorado is known for, I'm sure that certain areas are better situated for mountain scenery, right? Do the rocky mountains line the west side?

I'll check into Parker (I'm assuming it's still Douglas county).
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Old Apr 15th, 2006, 12:30 PM
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We've been able to see the mountains from each of our children's 3 homes. And they are SO handy to know which way is west!!
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Old Apr 15th, 2006, 01:52 PM
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Gretchen:
In someone's previous comment, they said that Greenwood Village area was a little more than $475.

After some thought, I think having more of a scenery view is worth the 10 -15 more of a drive if it's necessary.

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Old Apr 15th, 2006, 03:27 PM
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Not all of their homes were in Greenwood Village. One was near Stapleton and one was in center city Washington Park. They do have a great view of the mountains now, but that isn't all it is about.
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Old Apr 15th, 2006, 04:48 PM
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We relocated to Parker 5 years ago. We chose Parker for the same reasone that you are considering.
The commute to DIA is simple and short. The Douglas County school system provides the quality education that we had hoped for (check out Chaparral High school). As noted above, you can get a lot of house for your budget in Parker, and with a view.
We have all the shopping, dining, recreation and community amenities that you might desire. Parker is perfectly located for travel to all metro areas as well as the main arteries into the Rockies (I-70, 285) via E/C470.
Downtown Denver is less than 1/2 hour straight up I-25 with access to every attraction of any major city. Also, Colorado Springs is just a short, and scenic, drive South down I-25.
We haven't for a moment regretted our decision of Parker. Come visit, you'll love it.
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Old Apr 15th, 2006, 05:13 PM
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Can you get the Denver paper at your library, Saturday or Sunday? Look through the builders ads & maybe you can get a feel of the neighborhoods. You might look at Lone Tree, Douglas County Schools, maybe a little closer to the airport. I would still look northeast of the city at some of the new developments going in.
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Old Apr 15th, 2006, 10:23 PM
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Thanks you guys for some useful information on all these areas. I will try to look at the Denver newspaper and look into the other areas noted above.

This really did help us with narrowing down our search and to focus at these areas when we go there to check it out in a couple of weeks. It would be really helpful if the company pays for corporate living for a couple of months - nonetheless, your info made it all worth checking into.

Thanks....
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Old Apr 17th, 2006, 08:11 AM
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Here's a different suggestion. Northwest Arvada/Westwoods - around the area of Indian and 80th. Beautiful views of foothills, close to Flatiron's shopping area, close to Boulder, drive to airport via 470 toll rode(is it E470?) is 40 minutes or less, and jefferson county schools. Check out Village of Five Parks http://www.villagehomes.com/index.asp (planned community, Vista Ridge, Saddlebrook). Brand new elementary and middle schools open this fall. We moved up to this area from Denver about 3 years ago mainly because of our kids and we couldn't be happier with our choice.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.

JD
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Old Apr 17th, 2006, 09:14 AM
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Consider looking to the north of Denver.

We live in Lousivile (Boulder County) and have access to excellent schools in the Boulder Valley School District. Lafayette, right next door has more newer housing. We're also 35 minutes from the airport on the toll roads. The next town over, Erie (Weld County) has a number of new developments but I don't know as much about the schools in the St. Vrain District.
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Old Apr 17th, 2006, 09:26 AM
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I'm happy to see some input from the northern suburbs. Hpl, am I wrong, or is the Boulder Valley School School District ranked top in the state? It has to be one of the best if not the best.
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Old Apr 17th, 2006, 10:42 PM
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Discover,

You might check Lone Tree and just east of Lone tree along Lincoln. The traffic can be somewhat bad on Lincoln but it's right next to E-470 for the airport and very close to Park Meadows where all the shopping you asked about is located. We live in this area and it's really convenient, we have easy access to I-25, C-470 and E-470. Lone Tree and Highlands Ranch are right next to each other. One thing to keep in mind about Highlands Ranch schools however is that most if not all are on track systems which means your kids will go to school year round and be off for a couple of weeks every few months. My sister's have been debating sending their kids to other school districts for that reason. I went to Littleton public which I think is pretty good.
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Old Apr 18th, 2006, 01:05 PM
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Lenleigh:

Thanks for that valueable information on the year around school system. Is Highlands Ranch the only school district like that...I'm assuming Lone Tree is not like that, or is it? Does Lone Tree also have planned communities in it?

The reason why I like the planned community living is because it seems it's a lot easier to get to know people who live around you and that the kids have a pool, playground, rec center/club house ect...

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Old Apr 18th, 2006, 06:17 PM
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Discover - I wouldn't dismiss year round schools, research shows kids retain more year to year & its easier to take vacations when others are in school. That said, my kids go to one of the few schools in Douglas County with a traditional schedule(Franktown). Summers can be long & kids get bored. The minuses to year round are fitting in summer camp & if you have kids in elementary & high school(all traditional, therefore on different schedules.) I will say though I always wondered what it would be like to have the kids off at different times, able to focus on one age group at a time. If you do explore south, there is a development east of Parker, Canterbury, that may be worth a look. South of Parker, although it would be at the max of your commute is Pradera, also worth a look. By the way, Douglas County is the school district that covers much of the area south including Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker,& Castle Rock. This area also has a very forward-looking library district, if that matters to you. The minuses,at least to me are the lack of cultural facilities. For us(& we are a ways south), its an hour to the city, to the zoo, to the museum, to the football & baseball games. Light rail is coming though & that will help. But there is a great rec dept. in Parker, little league and shopping at Park Meadows. I would spend a day or 2 exploring each area mentioned & see if one feels comfortable to you. Betsy
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Old Apr 18th, 2006, 08:24 PM
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Actually Lone Tree is all about planned development. I'm not sure about the school system but I haven't heard that it's on a track system. I just think it would be more difficult to work around a track schedule. You can check out cityoflonetree.com or Ridgegatecolorado.com which is a planned development within Lone Tree. Lone Tree is a fairly small area but I think they have shown a lot of pride in their development. There are a lot of areas to check out though around this area, many of which have been discussed.
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Old Apr 19th, 2006, 05:44 AM
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It seems the poster is getting advice to look mostly in neighborhoods that are south, and are the furthest from the airport. With the price of gas and car maintenance, plus the headache of driving to and from the airport twice a week, I'd personally prefer a neighborhood on the north or central part of town. There are good public schools throughout the Denver metro area. The drive is a prerequisite, so again I'd look more closely at Stapleton, Lowry and points north. I think some of the drive times given are best case scenarios to put it mildly.
 

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