Family Friendly Suburb

We're just moving to Broomfield, everything I've seen so far is family friendly, new & clean. Hubby works in Boulder so it's ideal for us.

I love Broomfield, Lafayette and Louisville are great, still pricey though. I would never raise kids personally in Boulder just because it is too crowded, too expensive and too many college students. Broomfield however is full of kid friendly activities, great schools, cool library and lot's of really family oriented things always going on. It is still so close to Boulder and Denver and has so many places close by to shop. Close to two major hospitals.
Do I sound like the Chamber of Commerce? I am actually having to move in the next year and really trying hard to stay in this area as I love it. I have lived in Louisville, then here for 8 years! I LOVE IT! It has the Bay (a kid under 13 water park), great schools and so many cool things always going on at the newer rec center.
There is the older part that I live in Broomfield Heights, where the houses are well maintained and less pricey, then there is anything like the Outlook or Broadlands, a lot more on the high end. I can say the houses are very reasonable due to the crappy market, it is a buyers market for sure.
If you are renting there are tons of options too.
I personally love the area I am in, the school cose by is awesome, I am two blocks from the grocery and 10 minutes from the great mall close by.

Check out the "Rock Creek" (development) area in Superior or Louisville...both close to Boulder, more affordable housing options and both full of families with young children.

I am a Boulder native and we live in Louisville!

We've lived in Lafayette for 6 years and love it. Louisville is also a cute little town, and Erie is sort of up and coming - more of a "bedroom community" with lots of family friendly neighborhoods, but few businesses. One caution - I would be careful to get into a brand new house in one of the many planned development neighborhoods. Many of these houses are going through growing pains, including settling and foundation issues. I have friends in new homes in Anthem, Vista Ridge and Rock Creek who are all having problems with their homes. I am sure they aren't all bad, but be sure you know what you are buying.
Good luck!

"Bradburn" is an awesome little neighborhood about 10 min east of Boulder. It's located a block or two east of Sheridan on 120th. They have community nights during the summer at the local park, everyone is super friendly, there's a community pool, tennis court, and club house. There are a lot of young families, and everyone is really friendly. I know it's not south of Boulder, but it's definitely worth looking at! Good luck!

Hi S.,

I would recommend Lafayette, Louisville or Broomfield. Superior probably as well. We just moved out here from the East coast last year. I have a wonderful real estate agent who can help you. Her name is Kim Thompson. She lives in Boulder and knows all the surrounding towns very well. She knows about the school systems, recreation centers, neighborhoods, etc. Her e-mail address is ____@____.com her that you received her name from R..

Where are you moving from?
Best of luck!

Louisville was rated no 5 on the best places to live in the country in 2005. It's about 10-15 minutes from Boulder. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2005/snaps... Whereas Rock Creek is very much a development alone, Louisville has a lot--not quirky like Boulder, but nice. Lafayette is also an area to check out. If you're looking for some place funky & a little more expensive, but people love it, check out Prospect in Longmont-www.prospectnewtown.com. Mcstain, a builder in this area, has a lot of nice developments. I have several friends who love their Mcstain homes near 95th & Baseline (Mcstain is currently building more as well--www.mcstain.com). There are lots of mommy groups all over town to join. Good luck!

S.,
I live in Louisville, and we moved here Dec. 06 for the very reason that it is a family friendly town. There are a ton of things to do -- A fair every friday night in the summer months, a great rec center, great neighborhoods and lots of things for your little ones to do -- not to mention great schools for later on. We are very happy in Louisville and would recommend it to anyone! My husband works in Boulder and it is about a 15 minute drive -- at the most. (Unless of course there is weather). Feel free to email me for more information, or if you have any interest in attending a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group just outside Louisville on Thursday mornings starting in Sept. Good luck!

J.

We live in Louisville and it is really family friendly. The schools are great and the town is really cute with Friday night fairs through out the summer.

Good luck with your move.

We live in lafayette and LOVE it, very family friendly. For Boulder specifically, check out www.yahoogroups.com and search for BoulderRockNMoms. It's a great email group of over 1000 Boulder area parents. You can search the archives or post your own questions about the best family friendly neighborhoods.

Try Louisville, Broomfield or Longmont even Niwot - they are the smaller towns outside of Boulder that don't charge and arm and leg for a house. Most of the people I know who have lived in the area like those little towns.

Hi S.. I have 4 kids all under 4 years old and we live in a Mcstain neighborhood at the corner of 95th and Baseline (West of 95th street) in Lafayette. It is filled with kids!! In the cirlce that I live in there are 11 houses and a total or 24 kids. It is a great community. Good luck.

T.