Relocating to CO..with my Cobra

[Snak Iyz]

Hey CO owners,

My wife and I are in the process of looking at CO to relocate to, from Southern CA. We are looking at Broomfield and Parker as possible locations right now.

I have had my car for just under a year and absolutely love it. My wife on the other hand, is not that crazy about it and thinks we (I) should sell it if we move (which I think we will).

Understanding that the market is soft and I DO NOT really want to sell, can you provide me answers to the following:

- How many days/weeks would you say your car sits due to weather?
- How often can you really drive it after late September/October... and until when....?

Also, if any of you locals can offer insight into communities, neighborhoods etc. in the Denver metro area, I would really appreciate it. We have 3 young children (8 wks, 15 months and 4 1/2 yrs old) and we are looking for a very family centric area (read: more kids the better) and are looking at homes in the $450-550k range. Let me know if you need more data.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[kevinR]

you have an email

[CriticalMass]

It depends on how you treat your car. There is going to be sand on the road between the first snowfall of the year (early October) and late April. If you don't mind a new paintjob every few years you could get a few good days through October.

Between late April and mid-September, if its not raining you are good to go (and it doesn't rain often or for long durations). The upside is that during the summer the mountains offer some great drives that are less than 30 min from Denver.

As far as neighborhoods, if you are looking to buy a new house: Aside from the areas you've already mentioned, the "Westwoods" area of western Arvada is under development and should give you what you want in a community in your price range. Its also adjacent to areas that have been developed for some time so accomodations are readily available. Just something to look into.

Good luck convincing your wife

[Snak Iyz]

Kevin - got the email. I will shoot you a response.

CM - Thanks for the input. Arvada was on our early list and it is nice there. We have some family there and are looking for a little distance, if you know what I mean....

[HIQ]

Paul - I moved to Colorado in 1997 from California and have really enjoyed it.

Driving Weather: As stated above October through April has some very nice days but the roads can be bad if we have had some snow. Summer is great but we do get rain a few days a week for a few hours a day. Overall Colorado is great if you are tough and enjoy driving your car. If you want to keep it perfect you may have trouble.

Neighborhoods: I live just south west of Parker in Castle Rock and I really do enjoy it. Parker has lots of nice places to live but beware of Parker Road and Arapahoe Road if you have to commute during rush hour. Let me know if you need a Realtor and I can get you in touch with a good friend of mine.

[Snak Iyz]

Thanks for the feedback.

Castle Rock sounds beautiful.....I am guessing since you live there, that you are familiar with Jim Wanzeck....He is the realtor we are working with and he is doing his best to get us to consider Castle Rock in addition to Parker. Is Jim your friend the realtor...?

Seems like Parker was a little ways out and CR is even farther....I just don't want to feel like I am in the boonies....plus I am worried there may not be as many families that match up to ours out in CR.

Feel free to email me directly or even call my cell 949.466.9746 to chat more.

Thanks!!

[HIQ]

I don't know Jim but there are TONS or realtors in Colorado. I guess no one want to work!

Parts of Castle Rock are in the boonies but other parts are close to I-25 and very easy to get to Denver. We live in Castle Pines North and enjoy it. Castle Rock has tons of young families if that is what you are looking for. I have a friend that just bought a loft downtown because he said that all the "married people with kids made him sick".

[bran3b]

We get 300 or so days a year of sun, so you can really get the car out anytime. It is chilly October - March/April, but a good coat will get you through that. The sand gets cleaned up fairly quickly, so it is not much of a problem.

I am partial to the west side of town, Littleton, Lakewood, Golden... I grew up in Lakewood and liked it enough to stay in the area and raise my son here.

[G.R.]

I'm a CO native. Born and raised in Denver and No CO. If you don't have to live and work in the Denver area or are willing to commute try going north, Dacono, Berthoud, Loveland, Ft Collins, even Windsor. Lovely communities have sprung up in these areas in the last 10-15 years.
And if you are looking south as mentioned Parker and Castle Rock are nice. My favorite (Biased I lived there) is Monument/Black Forest area. Rigth on the I-25 corridor, 45 min to Denver, 15 min to Co Springs. Housing costs are a bit lower than in the immediate Denver area.(I don't like Denver-lots to do but to crowded, for a weekend)

If you can suffer the cold you can cruise year round in your Cobra. Cruising the Mountains is awesome in the summer. Like previously stated sand on the roads can play havoc with your paint. But there are many many days of clear weather, no snow, but it may only be in the 30's or 40's temp wise. It isn't like it starts snowing in October and never quits until April and there is always snow on the ground all winter there.

Good place to live, lots to do. My wife and I may move back there since we still own a couple of houses there and have family there but for now we live in WA. We go back every year to visit and I keep up with the real estate and construction prices since home building is my field.



PS NO Palm trees though

[McCobra]

Paul,
I grew up in Southern California and have also lived in Laguna. While I miss PCH on a nice day, my family is extremely happy in Colorado.

The poulation density is much less than in So Cal, so people generally are much more courteous while driving, and there is a sense of community here that just didn't exist in Cal.

The weather here is one of the best surprises. As Branb said, the sun is out here over 300 days a year. While we do get snow, generally the next day is a bright beautiful day, and the snow usually melts rather quickly.

Even though today is in the 50's, because of our Mile High altitude and being closer to the sun, it feels like the 60's if there is no breeze. I'll be out driving today ( maybe in shorts). I would say that in a usual year, I probably only miss out on driving a few weeks because of weather.

As far as driving, I can not imagine a better place to own a Cobra. We have a pretty active club here with a lot of very good people. Wives come along for our drives more often than not and we all get along very well. I have had some great friendships arise from being a club member. We only meet once a year--the rest of our time is spent driving together. Hey it's a nice day-let's go!
The mountain roads, the scenery and the lack of traffic make it a very special place.

Hope to see you back here soon--AND KEEP THE COBRA!!!

Mike ( close to Parker)

[Thompson]

Paul,

I am Dick Thompson. I am the president of the Mile Hi Cobra Club.

We really would love to have you move to Colorado and also bring the Cobra. And we would love to have you join the club and come along with us on our trips and events. Check us out at www.milehicobraclub.com

You will see that we have an event almost every other week from May to Sept. If you are in town with the family, house hunting and we are doing something, you are welcome to stop by and see us and visit. Give me your email address (mine is thompson660@cs.com) and I will keep you informed of any last minute events as they pop up due to weather and the need to get the Cobra's out. (Happens quite a bit around here)

The Denver area is so great to live in. There are so many areas and most if not all have lots of families in them. You just need to pick the one that feels the best to you. If you and your wife have two or three and want to visit with someone who lives in that area, let me know and I will get you in touch with some of our club members to visit with. We are a great group of friends.

Advice on location would be to consider the commute you and your wife will be making. Getting from one side of Denver to the other is not a very good commute. Getting from Colorado Springs area or the Fort Collins area to Denver is not a good commute. Denver does not have the highway system (yet) to be a good commute city. We are just now working on Mass Transit and it is available for a very small number of the workers. Will get better,but it is not good yet.

One thing that may sound crazy is buying a house that faces any direction but North. If you have a house that faces north, you will be dealing with snow and ice a lot longer than the rest of us. Our house faces South and I almost never have to clear the driveway.

Any thing we can do, let us know.

Dick Thompson