Lakewood vs Golden vs Evergreen, CO

[iheartbanjos]

I think there's some CO people here, so maybe you all can weigh in. H and I are in the beginning stages of relocating our family back to CO. Mountain acces is very important to us and H wants to be able to mountain bike from our back door. DD1 will do ski school at Keystone on the weekends. DH will travel often for work, so he will be going to the airport probably 3-4 x month.

I was thinking Lakewood as there are some good public schools in the area we are looking, still decent access to downtown, and eventually there will be public transportation to the airport. We like Golden for similar reasons.

A few of our good friends are trying to convince us to move to Evergreen. I am concerned about the temperature difference, distance to downtown, and of course, the distance to the airport. Price per square foot is quite a bit lower in Evergreen and the schools all seem to be great. I'm in outside sales and will likely have to drive most of the state (probably up to Cheyenne and down to Pueblo.)

We previously lived in the Highlands/Sloan's Lake area and loved the proximity to downtown (we would ride our bikes there often) but have come to enjoy the safety and space of living in the burbs. As long as we can access some amenities via bike, we're pretty happy. TIA

[steamboat185]

I live in Denver-

Most of those areas are in Jeffco and the school board is a huge mess currently. It might be something to look into if you plan on moving anytime in the near future.

As far as skiing access- I'm sure you remember the traffic to/from the mountains is terrible. Evergreen might save you a bit of time on Saturday, but it will still take you a solid two plus hours to get back on a good day from Keystone on a bad day it's been over 4. Most of the time the traffic eases after Idaho Springs so you might save 10-15 minutes?

Mountain biking- I'd look at Golden. Most areas in Lakewood would require a 15-20 minute drive (I think Green Mountain has some).

Access to Downtown- Lakewood or Golden they have the lightrail and with the lightrail extending to DIA soon that might be an option for your DH.

[DazeyDee]

I grew up in Golden, and my parents recently moved to Lakewood. Lakewood is HUGE, so keep in mind that some areas are going to be much, much nicer than others. Golden is great, but also pretty large geographically - it borders Lakewood on the east, and goes almost to Evergreen on the west, and is growing fast to the north.

Jeffco is a hot, hot mess right now. The entire school board is up for recall, and it's major drama. All three areas are Jeffco schools, so just keep that in mind. There are still great schools in district, but the best schools are struggling with growth and crowding. If we were moving back to Jeffco, I'd look at Westwoods, Mieklejohn, and a few others in the Arvada-ish area.

Green Mountain is a nice area - you could be in Lakewood or Golden depending on what side of the mountain you're on (I grew up on the Golden side of it). If you want the mountain feel without going all the way to Evergreen, check out Genessee and Lookout Mountain - both would give you the foothills without being as far west, and there are some really beautiful properties up there.

If you have any questions about specific areas, I'm happy to try and answer. The local CO board would be a good resource too - we have a lot of west side ladies. conasties.proboards.com

[alexis]

I lived in Golden for years. I love it so much. It's my perfect place to live. I wouldn't live in Evergreen. It's to far from Denver to be convenient and you'll get way more snow which can make commuting rough.

One thing to consider is price. Golden is expensive. We were looking at selling our condo in Golden and buying a house. Just going a couple miles over to Wheat Ridge brought the price down considerably compared to Golden. I imagine Lakewood is also cheaper.

[iheartbanjos]

Thank you so much for the responses. In Lakewood, we were looking at Solterra. We went and looked through the model homes this summer. There are trail heads right outside that neighborhood, which DH loved, and there are still several 10,000+ sq ft lots available.

Our price range is $550-850k. The house would need to be 100% updated at the top of our budget. We'd go brass bathrooms and light oak cabinets at the bottom

We need 4 bedrooms, SFH, a good view, and a yard. Based on this information, is there any place else you would look? Good public schools are important. Obviously Jeffco is going through some difficulties, but there appear to be good, established programs at many of the school in the locations we are looking.

[Poppy]

I will PM

[steamboat185]

You can always look at the Highlands Ranch area. There are lots of trails and open space options, the schools are ok, and access to Denver is pretty decent.

Hopefully Jeffco will start to settle down the recall election is this month and things could start to improve pretty quickly.

[DazeyDee]

I'm PMing you too

[Deleted]

Have you looked at Roxborough? It's right along the Front Range and I think is in Littleton school district, plus it's access to C470 and Santa Fe is pretty good.

[evergreen]

I grew up in Golden and now live in Evergreen. Both areas are nice, depending on where you live.  Both Golden and Lakewood are very big towns with nice and not so nice areas.  Jeffco schools are fine - I grew up in them and I did ok.  

Yes, Evergreen is further away from Denver and other areas than Golden or Lakewood.  You can't beat the trail access though.  I hike almost every day from May - October and often on the weekends during the winter.  We live right near Hwy 74 (the main access road) and it takes us about 35 minutes to get to Denver on an average day.  The airport is roughly an hour to an hour and 15 minutes away depending on traffic.  I would recommend North Evergreen, as that area is closest to I-70 and gets less snow than South Evergreen or Conifer. 

I work in Denver, so I commute every single day.  They do generally take outstanding care of the roads in the winter - I have never "called in" for snow since I have lived there (10 years next spring).  I-70 is very well maintained until you get to Golden, then it is hit or miss.  Evergreen does have services - grocery stores, pet food, Walmart, restaurants, etc that you don't get in Genesee or Lookout Mountain - you would have to drive down to Golden or up to Evergreen to grocery shop or get coffee, etc.

I love Evergreen, but it does have a "small town" atmosphere.  I think there is not a lot for kids (teens) to do besides get into trouble or do sports.  It is a very family oriented town though - all the rec center activities and community activities are geared towards families.  There isn't much for working adults though, so if you wanted to take a yoga class or a group excercise class in the evening after work you are pretty much out of luck.  If I want that stuff I have to go to the metro area for it.  Evergreen is also not too bike friendly - everything is pretty far apart and there is the busy highway to deal with if you wanted to ride your bike to the store or a restaurant.

There is also a ton of wildlife in the area.  Not sure the age of your kids, but if they are little you would want to always keep an eye on them outside because of the possibility of bears/mountain lions/coyotes coming by.  The other downside is that fall comes early and spring comes late, so we get a longer winter than Denver does.  We also get some really wicked winds, so if you buy in Evergreen, make sure you have some trees or something as a windbreak.  We live at the top of a hill with very few trees and some nights the wind shakes the house and makes it hard to sleep.

[iheartbanjos]

Oct 9, 2015 13:15:58 GMT -5 DazeyDee said:

I'm PMing you too

Thank you so much!! I read it, but want to be at a computer when I reply

[blndsnbrdr]

I lived in Lakewood for two years, just south of the Solterra area you looked at. I was apartment living at the time but absolutely loved the area. You have easy access to a lot of foothill trails and a quick drive to so much mountain in just 10-15 minutes. The ski resorts are only an hour away [if you play your traffic karma!] and I always felt like it was really easy to meet up with people because I was within 20 minutes of so much Denver had to offer. You'll get easy access to downtown, all the interstates and Boulder isn't far.

While I also really like the Evergreen area [only as a visitor tho, haven't lived there] it is much more small mountain town and it's a bit more time/effort to get into downtown, Boulder or north/south/east Denver. I have a few friends that have lived up there -- the one that loves it is a complete mountain hermit, the others have moved into Lakewood/Littleton over the past few years.

Honestly, if I could pick anywhere to live in the Denver metro area I'd pick south Denver, so Lakewood, Littleton, Arvada. I like the Green Mountain/Hayden Park/Bear Creek area, a lot.

Roxoborough is also a nice area -- much more suburbia than Lakewood though. I've grown to like the bigger city options when it comes to groceries and what not.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend Highlands Ranch simply because I hate the lost-in-cookie-cutter-houses feel it has...and that feel goes on forever! But that's just me, I do have friends that live there and love it. It also limits your access to north Denver, toll-free trips to the airport and Boulder.

[nessness]

I love Evergreen, and would totally want to live there if it wouldn't be such a terrible commute. But it is far from downtown Denver and has more of a "small town" feel.

I love Golden too. There are lots of hiking trails and a cute downtown, and it's relatively easy to access other parts of the metro area.

I'm not familiar with Solterra, but while Lakewood has nice and not-so-nice parts, it's overall a nice suburb, and you'll likely get more for your money than in Golden. I agree with PP to look at the Green Mountain area.

[hski2349]

I grew up in Littleton and now and live in Centennial. I agree with the previous poster who said be aware of the school district. I would try to stay away from Jeffco and Dougco school districts if possible. Both are a mess. I have a friend who is a teacher who works for JeffCo and has kids in DougCo, and she is not happy with either board. They are both a mess, and don't support teachers.

I have a co-worker who lived in Evergreen and just moved down to Greenwood Village, near C-470 and I-25. His and his wife's commutes to south Denver were 60 minutes on a good day.

I would consider work locations, and school districts when looking. It is not always easy getting around the Denver metro area. Somebody told me that the Denver metro area is in the top 10 for worst traffic in the nation. Not sure if that is true, but I can see it being true. Traffic can be a mess here.

[blndsnbrdr]

Oct 13, 2015 10:02:41 GMT -5 hski2349 said:

I grew up in Littleton and now and live in Centennial. I agree with the previous poster who said be aware of the school district. I would try to stay away from Jeffco and Dougco school districts if possible. Both are a mess. I have a friend who is a teacher who works for JeffCo and has kids in DougCo, and she is not happy with either board. They are both a mess, and don't support teachers.

I have a co-worker who lived in Evergreen and just moved down to Greenwood Village, near C-470 and I-25. His and his wife's commutes to south Denver were 60 minutes on a good day.

I would consider work locations, and school districts when looking. It is not always easy getting around the Denver metro area. Somebody told me that the Denver metro area is in the top 10 for worst traffic in the nation. Not sure if that is true, but I can see it being true. Traffic can be a mess here.

Traffic does get messy, especially when it rains or snows [somehow rain is worse than snow!?] and it's not that traffic is gridlocked -- everything is just so far apart and spread out that you're dealing with 30-40mph interstate driving for much longer than you would in a more compact city.

And good point -- where you end up working would make a big difference in a location decision. Working downtown and living in Evergreen would NOT be fun, especially if you had standard work hours! Even living in Lakewood and working downtown was a 45 minute commute when I was working 8-5. Changing my hours to 6-3 and 10-6 put my commute back down to ~20 minutes.

[iheartbanjos]

I love this board! Thank you everyone for your input! We have basically ruled out Evergreen since H will fly 3-4 times a month. We are going to focus on Lakewood, Golden, and Arvada (though H seems to be humoring me on looking at a few Arvada houses.)

Neither of is will have an office that we report to on a daily basis, so the commute will be variable.

Outside of PM's, I probably won't update with anything more specific than this, but I truly appreciate the suggestions!