Thinking of moving to Colorado

[marinkitty]

A few families from Winnetka have moved to Evergreen over the past five years, including some very good friends of ours. Everyone seems to like it a lot. Our close friends (who have three kids now in 5th, 9th and 11th grades) are very happy there - it was a life style move for them and now that their kids are getting older I'm not sure they see the same huge difference in pace that they did when the first moved out of Chicagoland, but overall they have really loved the move. They are super outdoorsy and athletic and it has definitely upped the amount of time they have for that and their son is now a nationally ranked mountain biker and triathelete. They are now talking of moving even further out once the kids launch (e.g., Steamboat or the San Juans).

ETA: I will say that part of their happiness there is that they don't commute to Denver. The mom doesn't work outside the home and the dad works from home the majority of the time and travels as needed. No downtown office to go to daily, which would have changed the equation. It's not super close.

[Kindra178]

My friend is a realtor in Boulder, happy to connect you.


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[westwoodmom04]

Colorado is a completely different culture! Have you spent much time there? It has a very different feel than other regions of the country.

We have lots of family in CO in several towns, SW Colorado, Denver, suburban Denver, etc. Every time I visit I am struck by how different it is even though I'm very familiar with the culture and have visited for over 35 years.

I would minimize the commute (for both of you) if I was prioritizing wish lists for future homes.

My sibling just left Denver after a few years and felt this very strongly. He and his wife couldn’t wait to leave, and they have lived in several other cities in east and west coast. Basically, they felt it wasn’t the best place to live if one isn’t outdoorsy Because most people are there for to enjoy that aspect of the area, and social life tends to revolve around skiing, hiking, climbing, etc. . .

[arivecchi]

My friend is a realtor in Boulder, happy to connect you.


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Thanks! Will message you once we are further along in the process. Have to first look into jobs there.


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[arivecchi]

A few families from Winnetka have moved to Evergreen over the past five years, including some very good friends of ours. Everyone seems to like it a lot. Our close friends (who have three kids now in 5th, 9th and 11th grades) are very happy there - it was a life style move for them and now that their kids are getting older I'm not sure they see the same huge difference in pace that they did when the first moved out of Chicagoland, but overall they have really loved the move. They are super outdoorsy and athletic and it has definitely upped the amount of time they have for that and their son is now a nationally ranked mountain biker and triathelete. They are now talking of moving even further out once the kids launch (e.g., Steamboat or the San Juans).

ETA: I will say that part of their happiness there is that they don't commute to Denver. The mom doesn't work outside the home and the dad works from home the majority of the time and travels as needed. No downtown office to go to daily, which would have changed the equation. It's not super close.

How interesting that you have several neighbors who moved there. We have a cabin in the northwoods of WI so this type of environment seems similar and idyllic (with mountains of course). The commute issue is definitely worth considering so I definitely have to look into jobs there first. Don’t have to worry about that too much taking the metra downtown. I am absolutely stunned by how low the taxes are there compared to ours!


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[calebsmama03]

I live in the Boulder area. I don’t like to post much detail on a public message board but am happy to chat about privately It (I’d prefer if you didnt Quote my post so I can delete my location later &#128522. I grew up in the Chicagoland area and have lived here for 22 years, though only the last 13 where I am now.

There’s a lot to love about living here, and I do, but I’m also going to toss in the dose of harsh reality because it isn’t all the peaceful idyllic mountain oasis people imagine when they think of CO.

I wouldn’t say CO in general has a different culture but certain areas do- Boulder for sure is very liberal. Very modern-day hippie vibe. I love it and get a kick out of the quirks but have many friends who hate it. There are also some very conservative rural areas. Prices have skyrocketed in the past 8-10 years. It has gotten very crowded. Even the quaint places can be crowded.

CO ranks near the bottom for education funding (last I heard it was 42nd) and has for a long time thanks to a ridiculous conservative tax control measure that disallows Adequate growth in the budget through a strict mathematical formula. Some areas have done more with local property taxes but depending where you are coming from it’s not likely to compare. Boulder schools are generally good but almost universally the class sizes are large. My youngest has had 27-29 every year K-3 so far. My older 2 had as many as 32 in elementary grades.

Evergreen is an easy commute to Denver *when the traffic is good. Infrastructure has lagged well behind growth so public transit is not great outside the city of Denver and the highways were not built to handle the amount of vehicles we have now. I used to laugh when I first moved here and people referred to rush hours- it was nothing compared to Chicago. Now it’s similar.

In the Boulder area there is also the issue of oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking). It’s less of an issue in the mountain areas (meaning you won’t have an oil rig pop up 500 feet from your house as you can in some areas) but you’ll still have the “brown cloud” air pollution unless you love much farther out into the mountains.

This all sounds negative and I apologize but I’m trying to be the voice of reality. It’s easier to find the positives so I am not focusing on those. The biggest factor in whether you’d be happy in CO depends on your reason for moving and what you’re looking for in a hometown. Feel free to message if you want more specifics.

[StantonHyde]

As an outdoorsy person who moved to Salt Lake City just because I wanted to backpack in the desert, I can say that I would love to live in Boulder. If you aren't outdoorsy--you should be There are great health benefits from this lifestyle. The problems come when everybody wants it. And the pollution creeps in and the high housing prices etc. You always need to move anywhere with your eyes wide open.

[arivecchi]

Thank you all for the feedback. We hope to visit for a weekend as soon as football is over to check out Golden, Evegreen, Conifer and other towns in the area. If anyone wants to share any intel regarding area high schools I’m all ears! We’re looking for high schools with 1000 kids tops that have football and lacrosse as those are our kids’ main sports. Zeroing in on those towns since we would like homes in the mountains/hills with acreage and privacy so no dense areas.


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[mom2binsd]

I can ask some friends who have kids and play lax who live there.

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[arivecchi]

I can ask some friends who have kids and play lax who live there.

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Thanks. Have intel on youth league but not high schools.


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