Colorado wisdom?

[SgnDen]

Jeffco schools??? Hmmm, there are better options.

Fireplaces. Most days during the winter, there are burn restrictions. Our air quality is horrible, especially in winter. So even if you have a fireplace, there's usually a burn restriction in place. Both of our fireplaces are converted to gas, and they're much more efficient.

Oh yeah! Ooops...kids are gone so I forgot about that qualifier. I went to Asbury Elementary near DU (Denver), Isaac Newton Jr. High and Arapahoe High (I think they were in Littleton Public Schools at the time). My kids went to Cherry Creek Schools (West Middle School near Holly and Belleview, and CCHS)...very very good schools but CCHS is massively intimidating if the kids are going from a smaller school district into that High School which is like 10 degrees off from being a college campus really, eh?

I think I'd take Jeffco over anything North Metro or East of course...but Cherry Creek, Douglas County, Littleton, all pretty darn good I think.

Again, Fort Collins is someplace I'd pitch to a newcomer too.

 

[bofa]

Fireplaces. Most days during the winter, there are burn restrictions. Our air quality is horrible, especially in winter. So even if you have a fireplace, there's usually a burn restriction in place. Both of our fireplaces are converted to gas, and they're much more efficient.

See, now that's something I wouldn't have even thought about. I will confess to being a fireplace newb. We had one as a kid but used it rarely because it's so flippin' hot down here. When I was there.. mostly downtown and Broomfield the skies were crystal clear in the winter, so maybe I was just lucky.

I read some stuff just now on colorado.gov but I'm not familiar with the terminology so I'll have to keep reading. So what makes for an "air quality action day"?

 

[SgnDen]

And they say the housing market is dead... hah! Interesting house. Not my cup of tea but I'm sure it turned out nice. I'd probably avoid the 'historic' areas. They tried that here and the result is a bunch of million dollar homes surrounded by slums and ghetto. I know that problem is of a lesser extent in Denver but it seems like you are paying for the nostalgia. I'd rather pay for a 3-4 car garage and fill it up with toys and tools. :driving:

They've been pitching this new development pretty intensely. Lakewood, not so sure...even far West Lakewood...but looks nice New Homes in Lakewood, CO at Solterra.

If I were to buy something with a big yard, 3-car garage, proximity to shopping/restaurants etc, and good schools in the $400k - $450k range...

I'd go for Willow Creek in Centennial (I lived there for 10 years raising my kiddos - Cherry Creek Schools), The Eastern side of Greenwood Village (to keep price down), or other parts of what is now called "Centennial" (it was part Littleton and part Englewood once upon a time and bumps up against Greenwood Village). Really has everything you'd ever want down there.

Have fun!

 

[bofa]

Wow - those are beautiful. How are property taxes and insurance out there? :frisky:

 

[SgnDen]

See, now that's something I wouldn't have even thought about. I will confess to being a fireplace newb. We had one as a kid but used it rarely because it's so flippin' hot down here. When I was there.. mostly downtown and Broomfield the skies were crystal clear in the winter, so maybe I was just lucky.

I read some stuff just now on colorado.gov but I'm not familiar with the terminology so I'll have to keep reading. So what makes for an "air quality action day"?

Ha...how about the term "Accident Alert"? Ever heard of that? That's when the roads are so sh**ty that people are crashing all over the place and 'when' you crash, you are supposed to just get your cars off the road and sit-tight for the cops unless drugs or alcohol are involved...then you are supposed to subdue the other driver and tie them up (hint - always carry duct tape)...or not.

We have coded air quality days that lead up to fireplace burn restrictions. Nothing like a real fireplace but they also suck the heat OUT of your house to some extent. Not sure all areas use the fire restriction thing or not these days.

We get intense temperature inversion here in the Winter (Cold air aloft holds the polluted air against the ground...really nasty).

 

[bofa]

I thought of a couple of other questions that actually are 4R related... kind of.

If I remember correctly, CO is one of the states that requires front and rear plates, right? I'm not a big fan of putting screws into the front bumper. What do you guys prefer? I saw Philsey's method here http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/76398-fixed-my-cheesy-looking-license-plate.html which looks pretty good imo, but I wonder if I'll catch flak for having part of it covered. Otherwise, I may go with a bull bar I suppose. It's going to be a fun conversation when I go to buy a new vehicle in CO and tell them "no holes in that bumper!"

What, if anything, do you guys do to keep the undercarriage maintained in the winter?

 

[Socalrugger]

Oh yeah! Ooops...kids are gone so I forgot about that qualifier. I went to Asbury Elementary near DU (Denver), Isaac Newton Jr. High and Arapahoe High (I think they were in Littleton Public Schools at the time). My kids went to Cherry Creek Schools (West Middle School near Holly and Belleview, and CCHS)...very very good schools but CCHS is massively intimidating if the kids are going from a smaller school district into that High School which is like 10 degrees off from being a college campus really, eh?

I think I'd take Jeffco over anything North Metro or East of course...but Cherry Creek, Douglas County, Littleton, all pretty darn good I think.

Again, Fort Collins is someplace I'd pitch to a newcomer too.

Small world.....I went to Laredo Middle and Regis High(when it was in downtown Denver) many moons ago.....

 

[bofa]

Emissions tests too... :moping:

Ownership tax. Now that sounds fun. I remember reading something about that before and why used cars are popular in CO. Reading the nitty gritty now.

 

[Crawlerdog]

Colorado is FULL, try new mexico lol

Hey hey there, NM is fine how it is. Keep them going to CO.

 

[desertred]

Emissions tests too... :moping:

Ownership tax. Now that sounds fun. I remember reading something about that before and why used cars are popular in CO. Reading the nitty gritty now.

Yeah, its initially a bit of a sting. When I moved to CO in late 2010, I think I shelled out around $730 for my plates. Second year dropped by about $100 bucks.

 

[Carl.]

Jeffco schools??? Hmmm, there are better options.

Don't have kids yet, so all I know is the schools in JeffCo are good enough to keep the homes I own in Golden appreciating even in this housing market, and I think two or three of the JeffCo high schools are in the top 30 state wide. Sure there are better options, and if you want the best public schools in the state, there's a nice little town 3 hours west with excellent schools, great restaurants, and unparalleled recreation. Single family homes average just north of $5 million.

They've been pitching this new development pretty intensely. Lakewood, not so sure...even far West Lakewood...but looks nice New Homes in Lakewood, CO at Solterra.

A friend bought there recently. Nice homes and location. Houses are close together, but that's true with most new construction in this part of town.

Emissions tests too... :moping:
Ownership tax. Now that sounds fun. I remember reading something about that before and why used cars are popular in CO. Reading the nitty gritty now.

Yep, emissions test every other year after your vehicle is 4 yrs old. Ownership tax based on MSRP for the first 10 years. As was posted earlier, 40k msrp vehicle is about $750 for plates the first year, $600 of which is ownership tax (deductible btw). Yearly rate decreases until vehicle is 5 years old, stays the same for another 5 years, and then the ownership tax is $3 once the vehicle is 10 years old.

 

[GrantK]

What, if anything, do you guys do to keep the undercarriage maintained in the winter?

Nothing other than regular car washes. Either a spray wand to rinse it off or a touch-less drive through with undercarriage wash.

 

[bofa]

Thanks guys!

 

[FatDave]

boulder - very nice of course, but full of people who came from other states and drove prices out of the world, then act all indignant that others want to live there. Lots and lots of people who want to act all "down market" as they load-up their $400 worth of 'natural' foods at whole foods and take it out to their porsche to drive to their $700k 2 bedroom house. Though many people who have been there forever and are in that heavy cosmic mindset. Elitist, is the term that fits these days, sadly, though.

wow !

 

[Crapgoose]

There's a saying about Boulder that pretty much sums it up:

"25 square miles surrounded by reality"

I agree with SqnDen though. Centennial or heck anything South of Denver like Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch or Castle Rock are a pretty nice slice of suburbia if that's your thing. Me I'd take a shack up in the mountains any day though.

 

[WaySlowWhitey]

Grew up in NM and lived in FL (Jacksonville - 5 Years, Pensacola - 14 mos.) and have been in CO for 6 years. As others have mentioned, traffic can be pretty rough (Much slower moving for longer parts of the day than JTB in J'Ville).

Many have weighed in here but thought I would throw in my $0.02. If you're looking for a newer home and some space for toys Castle Rock should be a consideration. We just moved down here and absolutely love. We can ride from our house to decent mountainbiking trails and aren't far from the Front Range. I recall that you work from home so this may not apply but working downtown myself, I simply take the train. 45+ minute commute but I avoid the traffic and save some on gas. Also love the fact that when I get home it feels a bit like a small town and folks here are quite nice.

Some things that you've touched on were a big jump ... vehicle registration ... holy schnike's that hurt coming from FL! Your cars are considered property and taxed based upon value. Vehicle insurance was a bit less than FL which helped offset the registration fees. We do have emissions but newer vehicles typically come with a 5 year "pass" on the emissions tests.

Don't hesitate to drop a PM should you have any more questions.

 

[bofa]

Grew up in NM and lived in FL (Jacksonville - 5 Years, Pensacola - 14 mos.) and have been in CO for 6 years. As others have mentioned, traffic can be pretty rough (Much slower moving for longer parts of the day than JTB in J'Ville).

Many have weighed in here but thought I would throw in my $0.02. If you're looking for a newer home and some space for toys Castle Rock should be a consideration. We just moved down here and absolutely love. We can ride from our house to decent mountainbiking trails and aren't far from the Front Range. I recall that you work from home so this may not apply but working downtown myself, I simply take the train. 45+ minute commute but I avoid the traffic and save some on gas. Also love the fact that when I get home it feels a bit like a small town and folks here are quite nice.

Some things that you've touched on were a big jump ... vehicle registration ... holy schnike's that hurt coming from FL! Your cars are considered property and taxed based upon value. Vehicle insurance was a bit less than FL which helped offset the registration fees. We do have emissions but newer vehicles typically come with a 5 year "pass" on the emissions tests.

Don't hesitate to drop a PM should you have any more questions.

Very cool to find someone from Jax that has made the move. Thank you! I'm sure I will have some other questions for you.

First one... overall cost of living - how much of a difference did you notice?

I will add Castle Rock to our exploration plans. My buddy that lives in Lone Tree also prefers the train. I imagine I would consider the same thing if for some reason I ever had to go back to my old company in Denver. I love driving, but I hate sitting in traffic.

Funny you should mention the registration fees - I was just looking over that yesterday. That is a big change from FL, but not a deal breaker. It does make an interesting incentive to buy used though. How do they determine MSRP anyway?

One other question for those with a separate set of snow tires... when do you usually swap them out each year?

 

[WaySlowWhitey]

Very cool to find someone from Jax that has made the move. Thank you! I'm sure I will have some other questions for you.

First one... overall cost of living - how much of a difference did you notice?

I will add Castle Rock to our exploration plans. My buddy that lives in Lone Tree also prefers the train. I imagine I would consider the same thing if for some reason I ever had to go back to my old company in Denver. I love driving, but I hate sitting in traffic.

Funny you should mention the registration fees - I was just looking over that yesterday. That is a big change from FL, but not a deal breaker. It does make an interesting incentive to buy used though. How do they determine MSRP anyway?

One other question for those with a separate set of snow tires... when do you usually swap them out each year?

The cost of living change wasn't as dramatic as I assumed initially. I didn't own a home in FL when I moved here to CO so didn't have that point of comparison. That said, what I paid in rent in Pensacola was less than my mortgage here in CO. Home and auto insurance are less as we have snow ... which melts ... vs. hurricanes, tornadoes and floods which do a bit more damage.

I don't recall the exact calculation on vehicle registration fees but yo can find it on CDot's website (Google vehicle registration in CO).

As for snow tires, I dont have a separate set. With the T4R I don't need them. Some folks with cars have a separate set and install those just prior to the first significant snowfall (Sometimes as early as late Oct.).

 

[GrantK]

One other question for those with a separate set of snow tires... when do you usually swap them out each year?

First snow comes earlier in the mountains than along the Front Range. I've also seen a blizzard hit the Front Range in mid Sept. People tend to wait until the first snow, which is usually light then there's a mad dash of everyone getting tires swapped. If you go up into the mountains, you'll want to switch earlier. I've seen people that drive in the mountains putting on studded snows as early as Labor Day and leaving them on until Memorial Day. Keep in mind that ski hills try to open by Halloween.

 

[bofa]

... and can Colorado stay out of the news please? :nono: