My office will be located at 80228. I was looking into apartments in the Golden area, which is 80401.

I think I would prefer to live in a mountain/hiking area, but if the price were right, I'd go the opposite direction.

Commute is a big deal for me. I'd really like to keep at 20 minutes or less. '

What do you think about Golden?

chiken said:

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My office will be located at 80228. I was looking into apartments in the Golden area, which is 80401.

I think I would prefer to live in a mountain/hiking area, but if the price were right, I'd go the opposite direction.

Commute is a big deal for me. I'd really like to keep at 20 minutes or less. '

What do you think about Golden?

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Absolutely love the Golden area. I'm on the north side of Green Mountain so just inside 80401. Great access to everything. We're technically unincorporated Jefferson County so low sales tax too!

What's the current multiplier for housing urban TX > urban CO?

1.25x? 1.5x?

It doesn't appear terrible at first glance on Zillow, but that's not exactly scientific.

For us, we moved here two years ago and it was 2x. It's now appreciated by 50%.

yukmonkey said:

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What's the current multiplier for housing urban TX > urban CO?

1.25x? 1.5x?

It doesn't appear terrible at first glance on Zillow, but that's not exactly scientific.

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This is a complicated formula, as you can't just compare house cost to house cost. Instead, break it down to 4 factors;

House cost goes up
Property tax goes down ~60%-70%
Hazard insurance goes down (my premium on my $130k TX house was the same as my CO house when it was valued at about $400k). I'd say call it a wash for the uptick of house cost in CO, so use what you currently pay in TX.
Add state income sales tax of 4% of AGI

So a $400k house in TX could be an equivalent PITI payment to a $600k+ house in CO, not including the income factor, which is obviously highly individualized.

I find it's best to make a spreadsheet. Have current monthly PITI, compare it to CO PITI with income tax thrown in.

Use 1% of home value for prop tax.

This is also highly dependent on where you are looking. Greenwood village/Golden/Boulder is not going to be the same $/sf as Wheatridge/arvada/littleton, just as any city.

Schall 02 said:

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ff2012 said:

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Have an offer from my current company to move to Denver. Office is right around 25 and 470 (technically Englewood but looks more like Centennial on a map?)

Married with two kids under 3. Would be looking for a suburb with good schools, low crime, not too far (20-30 min tops) from the office. Would look to buy in the $1M range or so.

Would love some recommendations on areas to live/look at as we weigh our options! Any help is much appreciated

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Congrats! Do it.

One question: is that a Texas 1 million range or a suburban Denver 1 million range?

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wait, does TX use different currency than CO?

lol.

What the hell are all these white flurries flying around??

Got that Kentucky bluegrass sod laid down w/ irrigation.

Water company already sending me emails that my water usage tripled over last month.

About to have to spend money on a decent mower.

What recs y'all got on mowers?

My 11 year old Briggs and Stratton finally bit the dust last season. Already had a few ego products so went ahead and got the mower too. Works good for the small yard we have. For the water just bought a Rachio but haven't received it yet.

Happy with my Honda mower. Minimal maintenance year to year.

My 16 year old toro was still going strong, but just decided to switch to battery. I got a toro 60V. Looks like the battery will last about 3 full mows, so I'm happy with that.

Sold the old gas toro in 30 minutes for $50 on varagesale lol. Probably should have asked for $100.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Got that Kentucky bluegrass sod laid down w/ irrigation.

Water company already sending me emails that my water usage tripled over last month.

About to have to spend money on a decent mower.

What recs y'all got on mowers?

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We bought an an electric Ryobi 18V and it does our small yard well. You can twin that with an electric trimmer (also 18V) and have a complete yard care package. Advantages: the 20 inch mower goes for about 45 minutes and does a great job and comes with an extra battery. We have at least 2 batteries charged up at all times so if you have a small/medium yard you can get it done with worrying about oil/gas storage.

I'm in the interviewing process with the University of Denver and things are looking up so just putting out feelers for now.

Where would be a good spot for a family with two in elementary school while keeping a commute of 30 mins or so (wife works from home so my commute would be it)? Are houses going for above asking still or have things settled down? Figure that I'll have to look in the 750 or less range for housing prices.

Market is still hot for sellers. Neighbors house sold in a weekend or so.. although he got asking, not above, although I thought his price was really high, so maybe that's the same thing.
Other neighbor got over asking last month, sold in a day.

Look in cherry creek SD. Lots to choose from under $750k.. course not sure if you're looking for 3500sf or 1500sf. Centennial area, tech center area (by cherry creek SP)

Or do DougCo schools, still good. Lone Tree, Parker, Highlands Ranch (huge masterplanned area like the woodlands). I live in Parker. Nice little town that's a bit 'separated' from the rest if you like that. I drive past pastures and cows everyday on my commute.

Plenty of options in that price point and will get ~twice the SF as compared to living <5 miles from DU.

From DU:
Parker is 15-20 miles
Centennial is 10-15 miles
Lone tree is ~12 miles
Tech center is less than 10 miles.
Parts of Cherry Creek SD are literally ~3 miles from DU.

To add;
When calculating your housing budget, did you educate yourself on property taxes?
A $750k house will be only approx. $550/month in prop tax, compared to $1500+ for most metros in TX.

62strat said:

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To add;
When calculating your housing budget, did you educate yourself on property taxes?
A $750k house will be only approx. $550/month in prop tax, compared to $1500+ for most metros in TX.

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We did; it's what is allowing us to go from 400s in DFW to 700s there. When looking at housing, we currently live in Denton so getting out away is what we want so we have space but still want to be in an area that gives the kids access to others their age.

There are some pockets of acreage housing sprinkled around DougCo.. you may swing it with $750k. It will be a 70s, not updated home.

Grand estates is one, between Parker and Lone Tree. Also some areas around Chatfield, and also foxfield, though I think it's closer to $1m to get in there.

Yes, unfortunately $750 doesn't buy what it did even back in 2019. I think I've posted it on here before, but we moved from a $350K home in Spring to a $650K home here and now we have homes selling in our neighborhood for over $900k. Certain areas seem to not have appreciated as much, but it's still difficult. We have friends moving from Oklahoma right now and are struggling to find something in their price range as well. I believe they're now looking in Parker and Castle Rock. An area I liked, but was more outdated homes was in the Pinery subdivision. You'd get some bigger lots there. Good luck with your search.

Got that Ryobi 40v mower for $249 at home depot.

The power company has a rebate. Overall cost was probably around 210.

Its super light. I think its probably a bad idea in general to have a mower that's light enough to throw. Time will tell though.

Its quiet. Doesn't blow out your hearing.

You don't have to mess with it. Less time spent ******* with a mower is more time for doing something else.

Its a fraction of the operating cost of any gas mower no matter how good the gas mower.

If it breaks, Keep the battery and buy a brand new mower. Now you got two batteries and two chargers.

No storing gas in the garage.

No gas fumes in the garage.

All that said, Im gonna keep my eye on craigslist for a good gas mower.

Its too nice outside to mowing with an electric mower.

Heritage Village. Great neighborhood and Lenski is a top notch elementary.

Looks like I'm progressing to the final stages so I'll be put up in the Marriott Cherry Creek for a night in a couple of weeks, any good food in the area for someone without access to a vehicle?

Browsing the various sites, there seems to be a decent number of homes coming and going on the market for the south side of town so hopefully something good will be there when/if we get to make it up there.

dbtexasag05 said:

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Cherry Cricket is a legendary spot in Denver. There was a fire a few years back and frankly I don't think it is as good as it used to be. However, burgers and beer and order a basket of frings (French fries and onion rings)

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100% true. Great vibe inside, but they also have some tables out front & a side yard to eat/drink. Get a 1/2 pounder with sharp cheddar, avocado, and bacon. Frings are great, and a really good beer selection.

Call Milwaukee St Tavern to see if they still have duckpin bowling... it's a couple blocks away.

I once was asked to leave that tavernI was almost asked to leave my marriage.

Proud was there

Oh boy good times.

I'M READY FOR THE COOL WEATHER!!!!

I think I brought the Texas heat to Denver. :/

Where did you end up moving to? What do you think so far?

62strat said:

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chiken said:

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I'M READY FOR THE COOL WEATHER!!!!

I think I brought the Texas heat to Denver. :/

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It comes every evening!

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This!

Even on the hottest days you can sit on your porch after work and it feels great.

I was just thinking about this post yesterday while I was out on my patio. It felt great!

Also a weekend in the mountains is just a short drive away and will be significantly cooler.

You're right, it does feel amazing. And I love that I'm not eaten alive by mosquitos when I go outside.

I've been surprised by how often it's rained since I've been here (which is just one week).

I'm just anxious/excited to enjoy the COLD weather since I'm jumping ship from Texas.

dbtexasag05 said:

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I once was asked to leave that tavernI was almost asked to leave my marriage.

Proud was there

Oh boy good times.

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Haha, that was fun.

I had a work buddy that had fun in Cherry Creek on a Thursday night (including jumping in a fountain)... surprised he didn't get canned the next day based on how he smelled and looked.