Relocating to Denver
 

I am sure there is a thread/forum on relocating somewhere, but this is my 1rst time on this site. Has anyone relocated to or live in DEN area? We are through with IAH and are considering Highlands Ranch/Centennial from online research. Would love feedback. We have two kids (3 and 10) so schools/kid activities are a big factor. Thanks!

I never lived there. My brother lived SE of Denver, off East Qunicy Ave., near C470 in Aurora. That is not far from Centennial, by way of C470. They liked it there and he has two kids.

Never lived there either, but I hnow a couple people who have and they also seemed to like it. It seems like a very nice area. A number of good communities (Littleton, Centennial, etc.) and the weather is better than you'd expect. Relatively warm in the winter; snow happens but doesn't stay long.

I grew up in part of Aurora that is now Centennial and I gotta tell ya, Highlands Ranch and Centennial are probably the best suburbs in Denver to live. Great schools, friendly people, lots to do, clean and affordable housing. They have been developing all over the place in just the past few years but the roads are able to handle the increasing population. Good luck!

Families=centenial,parker,castle rock
single,young couple=cherry creek, downtown

If you have kids, check the school they will be going to...NOT just the school district.

I hope you like the outdoors..denver is a great town

now is probably one of the best times to move to denver. there is a huge housing glut and there are thousands of homes on the market due to overbuilding. get in now while the getting is good.

I don't know anything about the quality of the schools, as I don't have kids, but I do know they are building several new ones up here in the north metro. Two of the communities up here that are growing rapidly include Broomfield and Erie. There is also a lot of growth near the airport in a new town called Reunion, but seems like kind of a cheesy area with no schools, shopping etc.
While traffic here is not nearly as bad as Houston, it's still pretty bad. If you work it would be a good idea to live near the part of town your job is in.

Coming from Houston you are going to love it here! Clean air, excellent weather, and of course the mountains. The housing market has been pretty flat since I bought my place in 2001. There isn't much of a bubble here, so you won't have to worry about your house value crashing like other parts of the nation.

I have traveled the country. I have almost been to all 50 states. Have only lived two places in my life. I lived in Northern California for 18 years and Boulder, CO for the last 5. Coming from NorCal, I had some pretty high expectations going to Boulder (beautiful scenery, constant warm weather, suburban/urban setting), and Boulder probably met or exceeded all those expectations.

The view of the flatirons and front range never got old for me. Boulder is a beautiful town and amazing place to live. The weather is incredible in the fall and spring. Summer weather is warm, but NOT HOT AND MUGGY like most the rest of the country (South, East, etc...). And the winters are nicer than I expected. Usually the weather is in the high 40's to 50's, and that's not bad considering what it is up north and on the east coast. It hardly ever rains. You get snow, but your talking once a week or every other week. And when it snows, it is not uncommon to be able to wear shorts the next day!! It is sunny there 300+ days a year. The only thing I did not like about Colorado were the high wind winter days.

I would recommend you go to the front range. Boulder is an amazing town. I love it. Number 1 recreation city in the country (by far). Some places South of Denver like Centennial, Littleton, and Golden are also amazing towns. Commute to DIA is like 30-40 minutes. And from Denver, you can commute literally ANYWHERE with ease.

Thank you all for your great advice/feedback. Sounds like we will be very happy there. Does anyone know whether the HOA dues are really high in Highlands Ranch? They must be with all those great community centers/amenities! Thanks again! It's so nice having this board.

On a separate note, maybe the moderators could add a section for "spouses". I have always been a little jealous of the military families as they seem to have tons of support. An online board like this one could be very helpful to meet others in your base, get support when better halves aren't around for holidays/birthdays, or to ask questions related to moving etc. Just a thought...

Again, thank you all!

Re: section for spouses
 

My wife belongs to a small group on MSN. She said it isn't very active anymore though. Here is the link in case you are interested.

http://groups.msn.com/PilotWifes-PWs/general.msnw

try www.pilotfamilies.com

Boulder is a cool town.... to visit! Housing there is MUCH higher than the rest of Colorado. Traffic always seems pretty nasty up there as well. If you lean towards the "right" Boulder might come as quite a shock as well, it's nickname is "The People's Socialist Republic of Boulder." That being said it has a lot of great hiking and biking and is after-all a college town. And I bet those CU tickets will be easy to come by this year, can't wait for CSU to exact some punishment this weekend!

You may also consider the poor-mans Boulder, also known as Golden. While Boulder makes much better beer (Singletrack vs. Coors Light), Golden is still reasonable for housing, is in the foothills, and is the closest suburb to the major ski resorts. It also has a nice little downtown area that feels like it is in the mountains with several bars and restaurants.

Home Prices
 

WOW! I am getting a little discouraged looking for houses on Realtor.com in Golden, Littleton, Centennial, Aurora, Highlands Ranch. The new homes are even worse! On regional pilot pay, I don't know where we can find a nice 3+ BR (min 1900 sq ft) home for $175-225K tops. I did find a handful of listings in the above communities, but they are nothing too terribly exciting. I checked out the newer communities in Erie, Broomfield but they start in the $300Ks without any options.

PS: If anyone is looking for a nice 4+ BR 2600 sq ft house in The Woodlands, TX (about 30 mns from IAH) with a nice private backyard for $199K with no house behind you, let me know!! We want to move ASAP so our daughter can get the most out of the school year in DEN!

Thanks again for all your help. Pilots are an amazing group. Truly. You don't get half the credit you deserve for all you do and for being such a nice bunch of people. Blue skies to all of you.

Golden
 

I did find a great looking mountain style house in Golden on 2 acres, but the schools appear to be in Nederland. Is that way out in the boonies?

I grew up in Golden at it is a great little town just west of DEN?APA. It is nice and close to the mountains and all kinds on mountain biking, rock-climbing, and every other mountain sport. I think that the housing is still reasonable. The schools are getting better and so are most of the neighborhoods. I cant wait to get back. Good luck

Nederland is SW of Boulder. I doubt that house is actually in Golden, but somewhere in the stix, as Golden and Nederland are different counties.

I've seen new 3 BR homes advertised up in Erie in the mid 200s. Reunion's ugly cookie-cutter homes start in the low 200s. It would be hard to find what you described for new houses in your price range. You may be able to find existing homes in that price range, but they will be older homes probably needing some work. For perspective, I live in a newish 2 BR 1300 sqft townhome in Westminster that is worth around 180k. They are building brand new townhomes that start at $230k for 1550 sqft across the street from me.

We don't have the outlandish property taxes that Texas does, and my taxes are about $1400 annually.

I live in Wheatridge (western suburb of Denver) and let me tell you, housing is not cheap. There is a reason why my wife and I still rent our apartment from her father. I have seen many of those websites that tell you what XXX amount of house in one market will go for in another. A $225K house in the Denver area is equivalent to a $118K house in Houston and $108K in Memphis. In all honesty, there are not too many places that are more expensive as far as housing goes right now. If you don't mind living NE of Denver, closer to DIA (DEN to the rest of the world), there are some new developments that are more reasonably priced - look for Commerce City properties. Any other questions, just ask!

Denver is still cheaper than just about anywhere on the east/west coasts. Some mountain cities like Phoenix and Salt Lake are catching up and are comparable to DEN now for housing. I've thought about moving back to Oklahoma, which is of course dirt cheap, but it just seems worth it to pay more to live in a nice place like Denver.