Anyone here live in Denver? I was approached with a possible move there. I visit Denver 4 times a year for business so I somewhat know my way around. What areas in and around Denver are good to set up shop there? I need good schools or even a good private school.

I'm not a Denver resident yet, but I will be in a couple months. My input may be of some value because I've done quit a bit of research. If you are coming from New Orleans, I think you will find a ton of spots around Denver to be suitable.

The main area to stay away from is the east side... parts of Aurora are considered bad, but bad by Denver's standards is still nothing compared to my current city (Houston). It seems like a lot of Texans end up in the southern burbs: Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, even Denver Tech Center (Greenwood Village). I think the northern burbs are nice also, heading towards Boulder. There are a lot of cool neighborhoods around downtown: Washington Park, Highlands, Capital Hill to name a few. Cherry Creek is my favorite area: about 3 miles from downtown, but pretty expensive.

There are a lot of Denver Aggies on here, so I am sure you will get some good advice. Congrats on the opportunity.... I think Denver is a great place & a great place to raise a family.

the texags denver spokesperson proudaggie02 is spot on, as usual....

my wife and i live on the west side of town...highlands/wheat ridge area, and have no kids so we may not be of much help, but there are others on here that live in some of the burbs and other areas that proudaggie mentioned that can probably give you the rundown. it will help if you can give some idea of what type of housing you'd be interested in (older homes...new homes...mcmansions, etc....) as well as what part of town you'd prefer (burbs, more urban, near the mountains, etc.) also you said you need a school/schools...is this for your kids, and how many/what are their ages, etc.?

it's a great city and there are a ton of aggies up here that will help you feel welcome.

Be sure and see this thread if you haven't already:

http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1217907&forum_id=55

Your question is quite generic... it's kind of like saying, "Hey, I need to buy a car...it needs to get decent gas mileage... anyone got any good pointers on what I should get?"

The good news about Denver is that there is a neighborhood within striking distance of the city to fit just about any taste/desire/requirements. Also, remember that Denver is not nearly as spread out as say Houston or Dallas, but of course, the real estate is more expensive. A lot more expensive. This is compensated for somewhat by smaller lots and other ways of building houses for less money(like multi level houses).

I agree with just about everything said above. I can't really speak to the quality of schools as I don't have kids but I always hear great things about the Cherry Creek School district. Parts of southern Aurora (generally considered the nicer part of Aurora) are in that district.

The southern suburbs that my Aggie friends tend to move to are the ones mentioned above.

The northern suburb that my friends tend to like is Broomfield, though I'm less familiar with that area.

The person who's probably best qualified to answer this question (and assess your detailed needs)is a real estate agent up here. I mention Matt Sadler on the other thread, and I think he'd be a good place to start. Even if you're planning on renting, he'd still be a good place to start and I'm sure he would not mind at all giving you the lay of the land. You can also pm me if you like.



[This message has been edited by qqchuck (edited 12/30/2008 2:21p).]

kitchings, thanks for the info. I travel to Denver 4 times a year for business, so I have some knowledge of the areas listed. My boys are 4, soon to be 5, and 2 with another on the way in April. I'd be looking for a 5 bedroom house or maybe 4. I'm in a 3600 4 bedroom house now and growing out of it. I want, well, my wife wants something nice in a good neighborhood, low crime, stores, etc. I'll live anywhere, burbs, in the city limits, does not matter as long as it meets what I listed above. I stay in Cherry Creek, so I know that is pricey. I've been down to the tech center area and that is nice as well. As long as there are trees and green spaces for the kids, I'm pretty happy. I know that in some areas, the good ones, the schools may not be all that, so I'm interested in private schools as well. Again, thanks for the information and any added info would be greatly appreciated.

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I mention Matt Sadler on the other thread,

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qqchuck, thanks. sorry for the slow reply. I was generic on purpose since I was not sure how many, if any, responses I would get.

You are growing out of 3600 sq feet?!?

Well in the 'burbs (Highlands Ranch, Littleton, SE Aurora) you will be 480k and up with a new home (builders are giving them away). Since you have such little kids stick to Cherry Creek or Douglas County Schools (Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Parker or SE Aurora).

I live in SE Aurora and love it.

yes, 3600 sq.ft. sounds like a lot, but 2 of the bedrooms are not all that big. I have huge dinning room and office and a sunroom in the master. Kindof a waste of space really. What is the property tax rate? Diffferent in each county I suppose, but ya'll have a state income tax so I would assume that it is not too high?

^
I think the property tax is around 0.8% for most of the Denver metro, but obviously the others on this thread will know more.

Property taxes are higher in the 'burbs where you have metro districts, in the 160-165 mill range.

when you say higher, how high? I'm quite sure it is higher than what I'm paying here in Katy, Texas. Looks like the move could take place later this year or sometime in '10. So, I do have some time.

Sorry, now that I think about it you will be in the 135-136 mill range in the 'burbs which means if your house costs 400k (which would be about a 180-200k house in Katy) and you have 136 mills you would pay $4,330.24 in taxes (Actual value x 7.96% x Mill Levy).

so, my 380K house in Katy is like 700K in the burbs? so my property tax would be double? jesus that's expensive plus a state income tax as well? schit, anyone live out by castle rock?

It can be a lot more expensive, plus you are an extra 15 minutes south of town, which can suck in the snow with traffic (like this monring). It is a nice place though.

If you wanted a 4,00 sq ft house, you will be close to 450-500k in the market now.

[This message has been edited by Lynch (edited 1/12/2009 11:27p).]

lynch, the drive time doesn't bother me. I drive an hour a fifteen minutes now and that is leaving around 6:00am. I am more concerned with housing and schools. I figured the market would be soft there as it is here. Great for buying but not selling. So, outside of rush hour, exactly how long is the drive from Castle Rock to downtown? I'm coming to Denver the last week of January for business, so I may give it a go if time permits.

Castle Rock to downtown will be close to an hour, no traffic or no snow. Occasionally there has been enough snow that CDOT shuts down 25 at Lincoln and shuts it down at Castle Rock so you wouldn't be able to get in. There is also a FREX bus that goes from Castle Rock to the Tech center then you can take either the light rail or another bus downtown.

Castle Rock is in Douglas County schools so you would be ok there. It is a nice bedroom community.


[This message has been edited by Lynch (edited 1/13/2009 9:54a).]

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I drive an hour a fifteen minutes now and that is leaving around 6:00am.

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Damn, do you work outside the Houston area? Perhaps College Station?

katy to 249 to 1960, an hour and fifteen minutes. sometimes, an hour.

an hour? it is only 29 miles south. I could see in traffic taking an hour, but that time seems to be off.

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an hour? it is only 29 miles south. I could see in traffic taking an hour, but that time seems to be off.

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it's not. granted it's only 15-20 miles or whatever from Castle Rock to 470 or Lincoln, but it's another 20 miles to get downtown.

you can disagree with the answers you're getting all you want, but it's not going to change. the traffic here is beyond absurd...I-25 is a 6 lane parking lot in both directions from 4:30pm - 6:30pm every weekday in DTC, I could only imagine it's not better around downtown.

[This message has been edited by superunknown (edited 1/13/2009 1:59p).]

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you can disagree with the answers you're getting all you want,

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WTF? I'm not disagreeing, just a freaking question. I know the traffic in and around Denver. Something that is 29 miles in distance and takes and hour to get there without traffic made me ask a follow up question.

Without traffic, it has taken me about 30 mins to get to the Outlets shops in Castle Rock (right off I-25) from Downtown. I live in the Highlands, which is directly across the highway from downtown. I would guess that it would be an hour to an hour and fifteen min during rush hour. I have not seen the hwy shut down at I-25 and Lincoln very often...maybe only twice in the 4 years I have lived here...

With that said, I know quite a few folks that drive from Castle Rock to the Light Rail Station at Lincoln and I-25 for the rest of their commute to downtown. Just my $.02...

thank you. how do you like it there? indian hills. Is this an ok place as well? hopefully when I'm there, last week in January, I plan on visiting a few of those places. I would like to cut down on the drive, but I would give that up for a nice home in a good area with good schools. I'm doing this now living in Katy.

In Castle Rock, I'd check out Red Hawk (The Meadows is nice, but the taxes are much higher).

In S. Denver check out Highlands Ranch, in SE. Aurora Talyns Reach or Beacon Point.



[This message has been edited by Lynch (edited 1/14/2009 9:05a).]

lynch, sorry for all the questions, but why the big difference in taxes in those areas? correct me if I'm wrong, but Colorado has a state income tax as well, right? Having lived in Louisiana, our property taxes were dirt cheap, and so the schools were bad, but I thought that was why you had a state income tax. this was supposed to help the schools with funding. hard to think I'd have to pay through the nose in both property and state income taxes.

Property taxes are definitely a lot cheaper in Denver than Houston. I looked up the 2008 property taxes for 4 random houses in Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree: all were right around .0076 of Total Actual Value. The actual value of the houses were 299k, 370k, 439k, and 514k.

http://www.douglas.co.us/treasurer/

I am planning on it being almost 2% higher in CO, when taking into account the income tax and property tax burden. This will obviously vary based on income and house value, but my #s are 150-160k taxable income and 275-300k house.



[This message has been edited by proudaggie02 (edited 1/14/2009 1:18p).]

thank you. our problem is just the jump in home prices compared to here. our 380 home is 700-750 there. I'll get a COL increase but not that much. Still, I am looking forward to moving there. again, thanks to all those who gave their input. I greatly appreciate it.

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the texags denver spokesperson proudaggie02 is spot on, as usual....

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thanks kitchings. i will be in denver soon looking for a job.... like for a couple of weeks at a time until i find something.

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lynch, sorry for all the questions, but why the big difference in taxes in those areas? correct me if I'm wrong, but Colorado has a state income tax as well, right? Having lived in Louisiana, our property taxes were dirt cheap, and so the schools were bad, but I thought that was why you had a state income tax. this was supposed to help the schools with funding. hard to think I'd have to pay through the nose in both property and state income taxes.

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Just like in Houston, the newer communities have Metro Districts (they are the same thing as MUDs in Texas) and those areas have the 50-55 additional mill levy.

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I live in SE Aurora and love it.

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I'm actually looking here and in Castle Rock. Cherry Creek is swank, but a little pricey for the home you actually get.

If you have any questions you don't want on a public forum I can give you my email addy.

I am with a developer (and builder) up here so if you have any questions I probably know the guy/group who developed it.

cool, please do. as I stated, I'll be in Denver all next week on business. I plan on taking Friday morning off to go visit a few places.

[This message has been edited by nu awlins ag (edited 1/19/2009 10:53a).]

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[This message has been edited by Lynch (edited 1/20/2009 10:53a).]

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