Anyone from Highlands Ranch, Co area?

[MinnieFan4ever]

Hello fellow Disney friends. I could really use some help here. We are thinking of moving to the Highlands Ranch area. Give me the good, bad and ugly! We want to move in the next 18 - 24 months or so. We have a 3 year old and want to be settled before she starts 1st grade. Thanks in advance for your help

 

[RadioNate]

I used to live there. I really liked it. Great area. Good schools. Close enough to downtown.

I wish I could have stayed.

 

[IUTBAM]

We moved to the Denver metro area in early 2009, and had planned to buy a house in Highlands Ranch. We even got our corporate housing there so that we could get the kids in the Douglas County School District right off the bat. After a month in that school district, and looking at over 100 houses in HR, we decided to look elsewhere. I did not feel the quality of education in the Douglas County School District was good enough for my children. We opted to buy a house in the HIGHLY acclaimed Cherry Creek School District instead (and bought a house in Centennial). Highlands Ranch is a bedroom community...very cookie cutter. Very bland, IMHO. There are so many more interesting communities in Denver to live in, and again, the CCSD is far superior to that of the DCSD, IMHO.

 

[jsmith]

I live in Colorado Springs now but lived in Metro Denver for about 17 years. We lived in Arvada which is a northern suburb. I,m not going to get wrapped up in the school districts other than to say i would keep my kids out of Denver Public Schools or Aurora Public Schools. My sons went to one of the lesser regarded Denver area districts and still are enormously successful. However like the previous poster i would not choose to live in Highlands Ranch. If you are going to live in Douglas County i would choose Castle Rock. Otherwise i would look farther north in the Broomfield, Louiseville, Boulder coriddor-depending of course on where you or your husbands job would be and how tolerant you are of the commute. If your just moving to Colorado to move to Colorado skip metro denver all together-look at Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs on the front range or Grand Junction in Western Colorado

 

[dillydilly]

I'll pretty much second what has been said, the homes are mostly subdivision cookie cutter type homes with smaller yards (some people like that and some do not). I know some people that are perfectly happy in the Douglas Co School District, despite some recent controversies. I also know people that have moved just for the Cherry Creek School District.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

I live in Colorado Springs now but lived in Metro Denver for about 17 years. We lived in Arvada which is a northern suburb. I,m not going to get wrapped up in the school districts other than to say i would keep my kids out of Denver Public Schools or Aurora Public Schools. My sons went to one of the lesser regarded Denver area districts and still are enormously successful. However like the previous poster i would not choose to live in Highlands Ranch. If you are going to live in Douglas County i would choose Castle Rock. Otherwise i would look farther north in the Broomfield, Louiseville, Boulder coriddor-depending of course on where you or your husbands job would be and how tolerant you are of the commute. If your just moving to Colorado to move to Colorado skip metro denver all together-look at Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs on the front range or Grand Junction in Western Colorado

Hi neighbor!! I have to say, you're only the 2nd DISer I've seen from The Springs!! My youngest son graduated from Fountain-Fort Carson last year, and loved the school!! (of course it helped that they gave all the students laptops to use during the school year!) They are talking now of giving all students in El Paso County IPads this year. OP I agree with JSmith....when my family first moved here, we were going to move to Denver too (my sister lived there at the time), but too much "City" for us. The Springs is gorgeous, nothing like waking up seeing Pikes Peak every day. I can't wait till tomorrow to see if it got it's first snow!

 

[RadioNate]

Cherry Creek Schools are good...mostly. My neighbor in HR taught in the Cherry Creek District & she said she wouldn't send her daughter to her school. For us, most of the Cherry Creek areas were unaffordable. Or the homes we could afford were too small to meet our needs.

Highlands Ranch is cookie cutter but I had the best neighbors I ever had there (& I lived in 6 other states.) The metro district is good with youth activities. I had no issues with the schools (my kids have gone to schools in 4 states.) I'd rate his school in HR one of, if not the best he went to.

If you can afford Cherry Creek, great but look carefully at some of the school zoning.

I'd consider Castle Rock. We had friends in Parker. I liked Littleton but don't know the school situation.

 

[EclecticWAHM]

We LOVE the Littleton school district and you can really find some affordable places. Been in the district since Kindergarten and our oldest will be a HS senior next year.

There's quite a range in this area. I agree with what others have said about HR. It's nice, sure, but I do much prefer the variety of Littleton and some of the other areas.

Also to echo what others have said, Cherry Creek is a good district, but you do need to look at specific schools. Some are absolutely better than others.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Thank you all worship for your help. We really are interested in the Denver area and heard that Highlands Ranch was very nice. I do understand what you mean that the area is cookie cutter. I get that. We really want to be in a great school district, that is our first priority.

 

[cristit14]

My SIL lives in Highlnds Ranch and they like it. It is pretty cookie cutter though with mostly small yards. We are further west and in Jeffco schools. We really like it.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

I'm in Highlands Ranch now, and do like it. The schools are good, and just like Cherry Creek, are high achieving schools, but also just like Cherry Creek, can have good schools and bad schools.

Yes, it is a planned development, which means that builders buy up a group of lots, and then determine what plans they are going to offer on those lots, but it's not any different than Castle Rock, Parker, Castle Pines North, lots of places in Aurora and Littleton too. There are 4 really great rec centers that are included in your HOA dues, and community activities. So from that standpoint, it's a nice place.

Depending on your neighborhood, you can also find some of the "Stepford" attitude, but probably not any worse that you'll find in any other areas around Denver. Good luck!

 

[jen0610]

You all are going to make me call my uncle tonight and double check where exactly they are in CO. They have lived out in Highlands Ranch since the early 90's and they sure don't live in a cookie cutter home. They have horses and a small barn on their property. It's not a large farm either. It sits right next to or in a housing addition.

 

[Hrhpd]

You all are going to make me call my uncle tonight and double check where exactly they are in CO. They have lived out in Highlands Ranch since the early 90's and they sure don't live in a cookie cutter home. They have horses and a small barn on their property. It's not a large farm either. It sits right next to or in a housing addition.

That probably wouldn't be Highlands Ranch proper. Highlands Ranch is a planned community. They are probably in the area though, as there are neighborhood horse properties surrounding HR.

 

[Pigeon]

Different people like different things. My sister lives in Highlands Ranch and likes it. The schools seem OK, but she has highly unrealistic expectations about a lot of things, and she's always unhappy about the schools. She likes that everyone has kids and she loves uniformity. She's on her third house in HR. They've all been pretty much the same, just one larger than the next.

I find it a depressing place just to visit, and would never live there. After a day or so, I'm ready scream. Mile after mile of identical brown houses on top of one another on their little lots, all with the garages out front, so that's all you see. Characterless, bland and fake. HOA's from hell. Nobody is actually from there.

 

[momsully]

We live in Highlands Ranch and have a 13, 10 and 1 year old. While I agree with prior posters that there are currently issues with the school board, that can be true in some of the neighboring areas as well. My 10 year old is in a fantastic school and has had Mandarin since 2nd grade. My 13 year old I ended up pulling out of our neighborhood middle school and moving him to a different school. In Colorado you have the option of open enrolling so you really do need to look at each school individually. DS 13 is looking at a high school in Highlands Ranch, one in Littleton and actually one in Parker for next year. The HR school is our neighborhood school but with open enrollment as long as I can get him there he can go anywhere if there is room.

As a PP mentioned we have great rec centers, youth sport leagues, events for most holidays etc. It really is a good place to live.

 

[Hrhpd]

We live in Highlands Ranch and have a 13, 10 and 1 year old. While I agree with prior posters that there are currently issues with the school board, that can be true in some of the neighboring areas as well. My 10 year old is in a fantastic school and has had Mandarin since 2nd grade. My 13 year old I ended up pulling out of our neighborhood middle school and moving him to a different school. In Colorado you have the option of open enrolling so you really do need to look at each school individually. DS 13 is looking at a high school in Highlands Ranch, one in Littleton and actually one in Parker for next year. The HR school is our neighborhood school but with open enrollment as long as I can get him there he can go anywhere if there is room.

As a PP mentioned we have great rec centers, youth sport leagues, events for most holidays etc. It really is a good place to live.

Not every district in Colorado has open enrollment, so that is something that should be checked out if important to you.

If the school district is important to you, the two highest ranked in the Denver Metro area are the Cherry Creek district and the Boulder Valley (does have open enrollment) district. Although, that said, there are fabulous schools in all the districts in the metro area, you just need to check them out.

However, at this time, as somebody above stated, I would stay well away from the Aurora schools as they have had quite a few problems. Although, Aurora Quest Academy is one of the highest ranked schools in Colorado. Adams 14 is another I would research very closely before I purchased a house in that district.

Where and how do you want to live? Highlands Ranch, the Cherry Creek district and surrounding area are the most congested areas in the Denver area. There is good and bad to that. Lots of people, but better public transportation. More congestion also means more shopping and dining options. South Denver (Highlands Ranch, etc) has more of a metro feel to it.

The Boulder Valley District is up in northwest part of the Denver Metro area. It is very highly ranked nationally and flip flops with Cherry Creek as being the #1 district in the state.

BVSD (Boulder Valley School District) has the only school in Colorado that is ranked in the top 50 in the nation - Peak to Peak, which is a k-12 charter school. It is an outstanding school. The high schools are also ranked in the top 100 with a huge selection of both IB and AP courses.

Louisville, a bedroom community of Boulder was ranked the #1 place to live in the nation in 2011 by Money magazine with its neighbor community, Superior, ranked #13.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/snapshots/PL0846355.html
I am in Boulder, but my closest friend (and who got hooked on the DIS) is in the Louisville/Superior area. She loves it. Schools are second to none and you get the Boulder quality of life at half the price.

Forbes has ranked Boulder as the brainiest city in America for 3 years in a row due to the technology and major science research centers. And those brainy people often help out in the schools which is what pushes them to the top of the pack. CU (University of Colorado, Boulder) just completed a biotechnology campus that is set to put them as the #1 ranked biotech research center in the country, so lots of technology options here. http://www.newser.com/story/99283/smartest-cities-in-america.html

Boulder in the past year or two has also been ranked the #1 healthiest and #1 greenest cities. This may or may not be a good thing as the healthy, outdoors mentality is almost cult-like. Even the elementary schools train for marathons.

I love the mountains and all the hiking trails we have available to us in Boulder. South Denver and the metropolitan, congested feel is not for me. However, the outdoor (parents often show up at PTA meetings in their biking shorts and shirts), healthy living cult-like, birkenstock mentality is not for everybody either.

If you want outstanding schools in a less congested, suburban feel, give the Boulder Valley School district a look. But as with all districts, there is a range in quality of schools. I would say the best are in the Boulder, Niwot, Louisville, Superior areas.

If you want to check out the schools:

www.bvsd.org

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Thank you, Thank you and Thanks again for all your responses. It has been a lot of help! We still have a lot of research to do... best get after it!

 

[IUTBAM]

Another thing to consider is where you or your DH will be working in relation to where you'll be living. Another poster mentioned Castle Rock. It's a nice outer suburb, and definitely away from the "city feel" of Denver. BUT, in the winter, I would not want to drive in on I-25 every day. NO WAY. And if you are working in Denver and living in Boulder, that's quite a commute by car (they do offer Express bus service though). Many areas in the south part of Denver are served by light rail (including Highlands Ranch). If either you or your DH will be working downtown, you need to seriously consider living somewhere with good commuting options. Just my two cents! We live about a 30 min. drive from downtown with no traffic, but come rush hour, you can double that easily if you are driving. My DH rides the light rail downtown to his office every day. And, a lot of companies downtown will either pay fully or partially subsidize a light rail pass. Just some other things to consider.

 

[Hrhpd]

Another thing to consider is where you or your DH will be working in relation to where you'll be living. Another poster mentioned Castle Rock. It's a nice outer suburb, and definitely away from the "city feel" of Denver. BUT, in the winter, I would not want to drive in on I-25 every day. NO WAY. And if you are working in Denver and living in Boulder, that's quite a commute by car (they do offer Express bus service though). Many areas in the south part of Denver are served by light rail (including Highlands Ranch). If either you or your DH will be working downtown, you need to seriously consider living somewhere with good commuting options. Just my two cents! We live about a 30 min. drive from downtown with no traffic, but come rush hour, you can double that easily if you are driving. My DH rides the light rail downtown to his office every day. And, a lot of companies downtown will either pay fully or partially subsidize a light rail pass. Just some other things to consider.

Actually, the Boulder/Denver commute is pretty easy - around 20-30 minutes. You are going against traffic, so not bad. Everybody is commuting in from South Denver to Denver or into Boulder. So going against the traffic, Boulder to Denver isn't that bad. And now that they are putting in the extended HOV lanes on 36 from Boulder into Denver, it will be a piece of cake.

But you are right in that the public transportation is much, much better in the south than it is up here. We can only dream of light rail.

I also second the thought of living in Castle Rock and commuting into Denver. There are gates across 1-25 right after Lone Tree (just south of Highlands Ranch) that closes I-25 during major snow storms. And they are occasionally closed as that stretch of highway can get some pretty big winds and blowing snow. My mother used to commute from Boulder into Castle Rock everyday (yeah, crazy woman) and there were occasions that she had to hole up in Castle Rock because the road was closed.