We're Moving to Longmont?

[myhotrs]

Hi everyone and Happy 4th!! I recently FIREd and we're looking to leave LA for a friendlier, slower, and lower cost of living spot. Coming to Longmont next week to check it out. Anyone local with any advice (yes, I searched the forums and have read a lot of threads :))?

Would be great to hear from residents what areas to look at and avoid, what to look for in houses (we have no weather in SoCal), restaurant recs, anything really!

Thanks all!

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

I don't live in Longmont but pass through many times a year and recommend this restaurant, in particular, their caldo de res and their tacos (they also have some of the typical mushy rice/beans smothered burrito crap you get at most Mexican restaurants these days but I like to judge restaurants by their best dishes).

Other than that, I know the nearby mountains much better than the rest of Longmont; RMNP is a half hour drive or so.

[Gumption]

Do you have more specifics on your situation? Budget? Kids? Goals?
I know the area quite well.

[myhotrs]

Hi Gumption, thanks for sharing your knowledge! We have one daughter, she's almost four. Budget is around 300k, looking for decent schools and a yard. Neither of us works so jobs and commute for matter much.

Mostly hoping to find a great local community, something difficult here in Los Angeles where no one minds driving an hour to visit friends!

[Raeon]

MMM has joked in the past about mustachianism being his "cult".  If anymore people move to Longmont and start volunteering at the building on Main street he just may end up with one for real! He'll have his temple, his followers, his local congregation... I'm just a little jealous I'm not yet able to go join in the fun!

[COEE]

I live in Longmont.  I'm in Southmoor Park on the south side of town near Kanemoto Park.  I feel like it's a bit disconnected from the rest of the town - since it's south of Ken Pratt.  I'm not crazy about being located here, but I'm close to the rec center, safeway, lucky's market, doctor, parks, pool, good schools, breweries, etc - pretty much everything we need on a daily basis - though we usually go to king supers on Hover for groceries.  It's also a short drive, free bus ride, or bike ride to most of the other areas of town.  The neighborhood is pretty diverse too, which I like.  Seems like it's a bit more happening on the north side of Ken Pratt though - but many houses demand a higher price tag.

$300k will be tough to buy a house here and the market is very competitive - especially in that price range.  I bought my house for $320k last year - we started our move the year before when houses in the neighborhood were selling for $280k.  Redfin and Zillow average our house out to about $355k today.  Longmont is the cheapest town in boulder county to live.  Keep that in mind.  As a result, crime is a bigger problem in this town than anywhere I've lived before.  Drugs are a moderate problem in this town.  My neighbor had their bike stolen in the park the other day.  I guess I should buy a bike lock :/.  Overall I'd say the situation is improving due to a good police presence. 

I'd give the town a 8/10.  There are many reasons this is a cool town.  The government subsidizes a lot of things to be progressive.  We have an ice skating rink that is free with a rec center pass.  Bike share program.  Free bus program.  Awesome internet.  Lots of parades and celebrations.  Farmers market with free music.  There really is a lot going on in this town.

I've yet to make it to the boutique.  I've only met MMM once in the year I've been here.  I think I saw him one other time, but didn't want to bug him since he was with his family.

[dougules]

You better be careful making Longmont too nice.  It will just get as expensive as Boulder. 

[COEE]

You better be careful making Longmont too nice.  It will just get as expensive as Boulder.

Here's hoping!  :D

One other thing on houses.  With the cold winters I've found it very advantageous to have a SW facing house.  Lots of sun in the winter to melt the snow quickly.

[nara]

Are you set on Longmont? We live in Colorado Springs (less than 1 hour from Denver) and love it. Housing prices here are much more affordable too and the views are better than in Longmont. We paid $380k for our house on 5 acres. Some other areas to consider are Monument and Castle Rock which are further north between Denver and Colorado Springs. I've heard Fort Collins is nice too, but all northern Colorado is getting pricey.

[myhotrs]

Thanks, that is interesting Nara. Not set on Longmont, just have a generally positive view from the blog and community here. I'll need to take look at whats further north.

[aperture]

Are you set on Longmont? We live in Colorado Springs (less than 1 hour from Denver) and love it. Housing prices here are much more affordable too and the views are better than in Longmont. We paid $380k for our house on 5 acres. Some other areas to consider are Monument and Castle Rock which are further north between Denver and Colorado Springs. I've heard Fort Collins is nice too, but all northern Colorado is getting pricey.

I do not live in Longmont, but have infrequent occasions to visit.  I suspect that someone spending a few days without an insider to guide their experience is going to see a town that is not particularly more attractive than most other front-range communities.  It has a busy bike-unfriendly 4-lane road running right through the middle.  It has older central neighborhoods that are over-priced and newer stuff that is disconnected.  Personally, I do not think Longmont has some secret sauce.

In a conversation with Pete, I remember him saying something along the lines of finding a community like he has in Longmont is a problem to hack (my paraphrase).  He did not elaborate on details but did indicate that moving to a new location would be an opportunity to tackle the problem afresh.  My impression of the conversation is that from his perspective, the problem would be best approached by looking for elements of infrastructure that must be present.  My educated guess is that that would include school, park, library, grocery store, sidewalks, porches facing the street, price point that allows young families to enter the neighborhood, older trees, frequent daytime/evening pedestrian traffic and friendly government with community building agenda. 

My impression is that MMM does not live in Boulder because the neighborhoods that meet these criteria there were above his price back in the day.  I suspect that similar neighborhoods are above 300K in Longmont at this point.  In my own area of Arvada (what I know best), I would say that zipcode 80002 (no further west than Kipling and a little further north) would best meet the MMM criteria for a infrastructure and would come closest to hitting your price point.  The difference between my town of Arvada and MMM's town of Longmont is that my town is a little less invested in community building, but may be a bit more bike friendly. We are closer to Denver which is both a negative and a plus.   PM me if you would like to discuss further. Best wishes, aperture.

[aperture]

BTW, there is a Ft Collins meet up this weekend (July 9 at 3:30 PM) at Edora Park. Here is the link.
https://www.meetup.com/NoCo-FIRE-Fighters/events/240542523/

Best wishes, ap.

[crosscountrychris]

My lady, myself, and 2 month old just recently decided to move from LA (Santa Monica) and relocate to Boulder area later this fall as well. We spent a week last month checking out the surrounding areas. Longmont has that traditional, nostalgic small town feel. Louisville was also quaint and charming, though it seemed to be almost rural. Arvada looked nice in passing but lacked the charm of the other two. We're planning on doing more investigating in a couple weeks on another drive across the country.

[Lance Hiruma]

We too were considering moving to Denver area after FIRE. However, after some research, there maybe a housing bubble? The home prices are about 40% above the previous peak. Granted, the previous bubble didn't inflate Denver as much as other metro, but still...

[COEE]

We too were considering moving to Denver area after FIRE. However, after some research, there maybe a housing bubble? The home prices are about 40% above the previous peak. Granted, the previous bubble didn't inflate Denver as much as other metro, but still...

I don't agree.  But I'm biased. 

This area is seeing a HUGE influx of people.  There are lots of high paying jobs here and people are moving here in droves (one reason I do not want to live here when I FIRE).  Just look at this thread!  There's 3 or 4 people planning on moving to the front range.  Builders can't keep up with demand.  Housing is difficult to get into - both in the rental and buying market.  As long as jobs are strong and people keep moving here the housing market will be strong. If it's a bubble, it's a nationwide bubble and not a local bubble.

The boulder area reminds me a lot of Silicon Valley during their boom.  Lots of startup companies especially in beer, marijuana, renewable energy, and aerospace.  It's very diverse and there's lots of competition with strong growth everywhere you look.

[aperture]

My lady, myself, and 2 month old just recently decided to move from LA (Santa Monica) and relocate to Boulder area later this fall as well. We spent a week last month checking out the surrounding areas. Longmont has that traditional, nostalgic small town feel. Louisville was also quaint and charming, though it seemed to be almost rural. Arvada looked nice in passing but lacked the charm of the other two. We're planning on doing more investigating in a couple weeks on another drive across the country.

You might like Lyons - it is about 30 miles north of Boulder and is right up against the mountains.  It is much smaller then the towns you mentioned.  Also, if you are inclined towards small town, don't forget the mountain towns - Crested Butte is awesome as are Steamboat, Telluride and Creede.

[SJS]

Check out the blog Mr. 1500 (http://www.1500days.com)  - he, too, lives in Longmont.  His wife is a realtor, too.  His name is Carl.  Really nice guy.  I'm sure if you bought him a few beers he'd be happy to meet up with you & talk about the town!    Best of luck! 

[kimmarg]

My only comment on moving to Longmont is know where you are relative to the flood plain. My mother-in-law grew up there. We were back for my husbands grandmother's funeral and MIL was driving us around town nostalgically pointing out their old house, her elementary school etc. She pointed at a newer set of houses by the river and said "I don't understand why they put houses there I remember when I was a kid we had a huge flood and the whole area was under water".  Not two weeks later there was another huge flood and all those houses were wet!

[Gumption]

I'm a 3rd generation Boulderite. I am, however, looking to get the heck out of here soon.
People are indeed coming in droves here and Colorado in general. Startups and larger corporations (Google) are as well.
Pretty soon the entire front range will be a continuous band of pavement and Olive Gardens.
Home prices never went down after the recession. I was just looking at the shoebox of a starter house we bought in 2001 for 225k..its now 550k.

I think in general my advice would be that unless you all have jobs waiting for you here, use your 300k and your sense of adventure and find somewhere else in the U.S. thats ready to be the new "hip town." I think if you were to plant yourself here, you would be disappointed. 300k might get you the cheapest house in Boulder County, but it would not be in a great neighborhood.

Longmont is a massive sprawling town. It has every box store you can imagine. I think what you want is something smaller.

At the very least, come here and visit for a week and see what you think.

Best of luck. I don't want to be a downer, but I just think there is something better for you out there.

[myhotrs]

We are coming from LA, so I doubt the Front Range area will resemble the mess we have here in the near future! Same with housing prices, though I do see lots of what I think are very nice homes in Longmont within our budget (300-350). Helps you guys have basements, its like a whole extra level of living space for "free"

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

The difference with LA is the LA area is bounded by the ocean, the Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges. These geographic constraints (eventually) encouraged considerable increases in density in LA's urban area (and more recently, directly in DTLA thanks to a lax attitude towards zoning variances), whereas Denver is completely unbounded to the east, north, and south. As a result, the pattern of development around Denver consists mostly of insane exurban vomit. For comparison sake (if you're familiar with SoCal and IE in particular), imagine a thousand tiny versions of a wealthier (yet somehow tackier) Moreno Valley strewn all over the landscape. I'm not saying this to hate on the Denver area/front range--just agreeing with Gumption and pointing out the direction development there is headed is not necessarily the wisest or most aesthetically pleasing direction.

[crazyworld]

threadjack alert: we want to move to SoCal, when we retire in a few years.  I know, nuts, but ocean + warmth = win.  Why the hate for LA, esp, if you don't actually have to get to work everyday?  Or maybe some other city? Too expensive?

[myhotrs]

Crazyworld (which i hope and will take as a nod to the Scorpions, the best metal band ever), I dislike LA for many following reasons, in no particular order (been living here for 30 years now):

Traffic - because LA is so spread out and over-populated, you will find yourself in traffic even w/o work I still do
Crime - I know Longmont is not w/o crime, but it seems more serious and murdery over here
Pollution - this includes trash everywhere, the dirty ocean, and the nasty brown air, yes its much less nasty than the 70's but you can see it almost every day
Cost of living - everything from movie tickets to houses, car insurance, any professional services like classes for kids, massages, contractors, much higher here
The People - hope not to offend anyone here, but any nice area in LA will be full of the Real Housewives of (insert city name here). I live in Porter Ranch now and I don't want my daughter going to school with these people's kids.

The weather is great here and some areas are very nice (Irvine, South Bay). For us though, any affordable area is undesirable and the wealthy areas are full of rich people in their giant cars.

Rant over

[Sockigal]

Are you considering any other states to live in? My husband, I and 2 kids moved from California where we were born and raised,  to Alpharetta, Georgia 10 years ago. We moved here for the lower cost of living and great schools. There is virtually no smog here, with just a handful red alert type days in the summer. Not much crime, if any. The schools are exceptional in this area. Money seems to be poured into the school system. The area also has many parks and even a greenway bike path that meanders for 15 miles or so. Two new county libraries have opened within a couple of miles of my house in the last couple of years. Also two new city centers with new city halls. Our area is seeing incredible growth.

What I don't like about the area is the prices of homes & property taxes have greatly increased. Our taxes have almost doubled the last couple of years. Our area is not walkable or bike friendly. You cannot walk to the library or city center. We have the greenway, but have to drive there to bike. Our infrastructure is horrendous. Lots of sub-divisions on two lane highways & streets that cannot even begin to hold the increase in traffic. There are almost no sidewalks or even a shoulders to ride on the two lane roads. The traffic has gotten so, so bad it can take 30 minutes to go 2 miles. They keep putting in more subdivisions & businesses, add stop lights, but don't improve the flow of traffic. So many people are using these roads to commute, heading to communities further and further out into the countryside, it completely stops traffic flow. There are a couple of stop lights you have to wait 5 or more cycles to go through. The state of Georgia has been growing by hundreds of thousands every year, but the lawmakers have not put in any infrastructure to help the people get around.

My son only has two more years of high school left, my daughter graduated two years ago. So now my husband and I are also looking to move again. We are looking for low cost of living, outdoor recreation friendly, less conservative and people friendly. I love these threads on best places to live, because it helps us in researching our next move. The company my husband works for has stores all over the country, so we can move almost anywhere in the US that isn't high cost of living (our wages are almost half of what they used to be and we are feeling the crunch). Always loved Colorado, but seems like housing has gotten very expensive. Florida is a good option, but the high property taxes and house insurance has me worried. North Carolina might also be a great option, but it's so conservative in most parts (outside of Asheville). Both of my children are LGBTQ, and the thought of living in even a more conservative area of the country has me worried. My daughter just dropped out of college in North Georgia and moved to Palm Desert California with her grandparents to be in a community that is more accepting.

If anyone has good advice on places to live, I would love to hear your opinions!

[Better Change]

I have a phone interview tonight with a company based in the Boulder/Longmont area.  I'm so excited!  Reading this thread has dampened my enthusiasm a little bit....but nah....I'm still so excited.

I am all about the mountains and the outdoorsy culture.  In my line of work, I'm pretty limited geographically, but this opportunity finally moves us out of the Texas/Midwest/armpit of the US options.

[2lazy2retire]

Are you set on Longmont? We live in Colorado Springs (less than 1 hour from Denver) and love it. Housing prices here are much more affordable too and the views are better than in Longmont. We paid $380k for our house on 5 acres. Some other areas to consider are Monument and Castle Rock which are further north between Denver and Colorado Springs. I've heard Fort Collins is nice too, but all northern Colorado is getting pricey.

Our son has just accepted a job at a company in Colorado Springs. Just out of college this will be a big change for him, not to mention moving from a NE liberal suburb to what is perceived to be a more conservative military centric town.
Based on the company location and his social leanings he is considering Old Colorado and Manitou Springs as somewhere to live, any suggestions on that would be appreciated along with general tips on moving to the area

thks

[crazyworld]

Crazyworld (which i hope and will take as a nod to the Scorpions, the best metal band ever), I dislike LA for many following reasons, in no particular order (been living here for 30 years now):

Traffic - because LA is so spread out and over-populated, you will find yourself in traffic even w/o work I still do
Crime - I know Longmont is not w/o crime, but it seems more serious and murdery over here
Pollution - this includes trash everywhere, the dirty ocean, and the nasty brown air, yes its much less nasty than the 70's but you can see it almost every day
Cost of living - everything from movie tickets to houses, car insurance, any professional services like classes for kids, massages, contractors, much higher here
The People - hope not to offend anyone here, but any nice area in LA will be full of the Real Housewives of (insert city name here). I live in Porter Ranch now and I don't want my daughter going to school with these people's kids.

The weather is great here and some areas are very nice (Irvine, South Bay). For us though, any affordable area is undesirable and the wealthy areas are full of rich people in their giant cars.

Rant over

Thanks for the detailed reply! Definitely something to think about - maybe we won't go to LA proper.  Child will be done with school by then, so that is not an issue for us, but the other things could be.  Can't do Florida or much of the southeast due to the humidity, northwest too damp and gray and want to be near-ish to the ocean.  Our target area seems to be CA still - its expensive though.

[boy_bye]

Crazyworld (which i hope and will take as a nod to the Scorpions, the best metal band ever), I dislike LA for many following reasons, in no particular order (been living here for 30 years now):

Traffic - because LA is so spread out and over-populated, you will find yourself in traffic even w/o work I still do
Crime - I know Longmont is not w/o crime, but it seems more serious and murdery over here
Pollution - this includes trash everywhere, the dirty ocean, and the nasty brown air, yes its much less nasty than the 70's but you can see it almost every day
Cost of living - everything from movie tickets to houses, car insurance, any professional services like classes for kids, massages, contractors, much higher here
The People - hope not to offend anyone here, but any nice area in LA will be full of the Real Housewives of (insert city name here). I live in Porter Ranch now and I don't want my daughter going to school with these people's kids.

The weather is great here and some areas are very nice (Irvine, South Bay). For us though, any affordable area is undesirable and the wealthy areas are full of rich people in their giant cars.

Rant over

Thanks for the detailed reply! Definitely something to think about - maybe we won't go to LA proper.  Child will be done with school by then, so that is not an issue for us, but the other things could be.  Can't do Florida or much of the southeast due to the humidity, northwest too damp and gray and want to be near-ish to the ocean.  Our target area seems to be CA still - its expensive though.

FWIW I love San Diego way more than Los Angeles. The traffic isn't as bad and the weather is still fantastic, and it seems much more chill and relaxed.

[ice_beard]

The front range is a maze of sprawl and it's getting worse, as others have eluded to.
 
One thing to keep in mind...  Lots of people move there from somewhere else thinking weekend trips into the mountains are going to be easy.  They aren't.  I-70 is the primary route into the Rockies and it's a traffic nightmare most seasons and particularly on weekends. 

In the winter, there are no chain controls like we have in California, which despite most people's disdain for them, they keep traffic moving albeit slowly on I-80 and Why 50 during storms.  It only takes one idiot in an SUV driving faster than they should to roll and shut the thing down.  And it happens a lot.

Here is a 162 page thread complaining about I-70 on a ski forum.

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/275353-OFFICIAL-I70-BITCH-THREAD/page162?s=0d653b26bd64f15a817a6a1b4cc15400

There are a few alternatives, but I-70 is the most common option.  Being close to the actual front range in places like Boulder is nice but it's also part of the reason it costs what it does to live there. 

[crazyworld]

Crazyworld (which i hope and will take as a nod to the Scorpions, the best metal band ever), I dislike LA for many following reasons, in no particular order (been living here for 30 years now):

Traffic - because LA is so spread out and over-populated, you will find yourself in traffic even w/o work I still do
Crime - I know Longmont is not w/o crime, but it seems more serious and murdery over here
Pollution - this includes trash everywhere, the dirty ocean, and the nasty brown air, yes its much less nasty than the 70's but you can see it almost every day
Cost of living - everything from movie tickets to houses, car insurance, any professional services like classes for kids, massages, contractors, much higher here
The People - hope not to offend anyone here, but any nice area in LA will be full of the Real Housewives of (insert city name here). I live in Porter Ranch now and I don't want my daughter going to school with these people's kids.

The weather is great here and some areas are very nice (Irvine, South Bay). For us though, any affordable area is undesirable and the wealthy areas are full of rich people in their giant cars.

Rant over

Thanks for the detailed reply! Definitely something to think about - maybe we won't go to LA proper.  Child will be done with school by then, so that is not an issue for us, but the other things could be.  Can't do Florida or much of the southeast due to the humidity, northwest too damp and gray and want to be near-ish to the ocean.  Our target area seems to be CA still - its expensive though.

FWIW I love San Diego way more than Los Angeles. The traffic isn't as bad and the weather is still fantastic, and it seems much more chill and relaxed.

Good to know!  We just got back from a trip up Highway 1 to Cambria (have done further up before) - and we wanted to move there!  Found that Cambria does not have a water source and are not allowing new homes to be built - existing ones therefore expensive.  All towns along Hwy 1 are similarly expensive - SLO, Santa Barbara, Carpnteria, Morro Bay...guess everyone wants to be there.  We have a few years to go, lets see if we can swing it. 

[Cassie]

Reno has a mild 4 seasons, lots of things to do, close to Lake Tahoe etc. However, schools are not very good. Property taxes are extremely low and no state income tax.

[WYOGO]

I think if I was in the front range for FIRE purposes, Fort Collins would be a better fit and even honestly Colorado Springs. Both of these areas are going to while still being close to the range, far enough from the headaches associated with excessive congestion while still preserving easy access into the high country. One of the reasons I chose Salt Lake City over Denver had to do with cost of living, proximity to the west coast, easy access to world class outdoor recreation combined with reasonable cost of living. Not many of these left. I would also second Reno from a cost of living standpoint  but it is a rather different class of city not on par with Salt Lake. Albuquerque, Tucson and Reno are more comparable. I feel like the greater Denver metro is suffering from many of the growing and infrastructure limitations that Seattle is. My top choices for outdoor lovers right now today who are FIRED but still looking for a classy metro area with ample services and attractions would be

1. Salt Lake City, Utah
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Colorado Springs, CO

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Agree with WYOGO--SLC is an underrated city and Mormons are unfairly maligned due to some elements from their past (racism) and some fringe sects that persist with socially abnormal practices (e.g. polygamy). Denver tries so hard that it's adorable but it is at its core a cow-town.

As mentioned, the mountains of the front range/RMNP/Poudre Canyon (especially the under-subscribed Rawah Wilderness) are excellent (better than SoCal and SLC) and the best solution to the problem of crowds are obscure hiking routes and a very early start (which is wise anyway due to afternoon thunderstorms).

[myhotrs]

Crazyworld (which i hope and will take as a nod to the Scorpions, the best metal band ever), I dislike LA for many following reasons, in no particular order (been living here for 30 years now):

Traffic - because LA is so spread out and over-populated, you will find yourself in traffic even w/o work I still do
Crime - I know Longmont is not w/o crime, but it seems more serious and murdery over here
Pollution - this includes trash everywhere, the dirty ocean, and the nasty brown air, yes its much less nasty than the 70's but you can see it almost every day
Cost of living - everything from movie tickets to houses, car insurance, any professional services like classes for kids, massages, contractors, much higher here
The People - hope not to offend anyone here, but any nice area in LA will be full of the Real Housewives of (insert city name here). I live in Porter Ranch now and I don't want my daughter going to school with these people's kids.

The weather is great here and some areas are very nice (Irvine, South Bay). For us though, any affordable area is undesirable and the wealthy areas are full of rich people in their giant cars.

Rant over

Thanks for the detailed reply! Definitely something to think about - maybe we won't go to LA proper.  Child will be done with school by then, so that is not an issue for us, but the other things could be.  Can't do Florida or much of the southeast due to the humidity, northwest too damp and gray and want to be near-ish to the ocean.  Our target area seems to be CA still - its expensive though.

FWIW I love San Diego way more than Los Angeles. The traffic isn't as bad and the weather is still fantastic, and it seems much more chill and relaxed.

Good to know!  We just got back from a trip up Highway 1 to Cambria (have done further up before) - and we wanted to move there!  Found that Cambria does not have a water source and are not allowing new homes to be built - existing ones therefore expensive.  All towns along Hwy 1 are similarly expensive - SLO, Santa Barbara, Carpnteria, Morro Bay...guess everyone wants to be there.  We have a few years to go, lets see if we can swing it.

We love Cambria and Morro Bay. Wanted to move to Cambria as well but like you, priced out for now. All of CA suffers from limited construction.

[chaskavitch]

We too were considering moving to Denver area after FIRE. However, after some research, there maybe a housing bubble? The home prices are about 40% above the previous peak. Granted, the previous bubble didn't inflate Denver as much as other metro, but still...

I don't agree.  But I'm biased. 

This area is seeing a HUGE influx of people.  There are lots of high paying jobs here and people are moving here in droves (one reason I do not want to live here when I FIRE).  Just look at this thread!  There's 3 or 4 people planning on moving to the front range.  Builders can't keep up with demand.  Housing is difficult to get into - both in the rental and buying market.  As long as jobs are strong and people keep moving here the housing market will be strong. If it's a bubble, it's a nationwide bubble and not a local bubble.

The boulder area reminds me a lot of Silicon Valley during their boom.  Lots of startup companies especially in beer, marijuana, renewable energy, and aerospace.  It's very diverse and there's lots of competition with strong growth everywhere you look.

I live in Fort Collins.  I do love it here, in that it is very bike-friendly, fairly small (compared to Colorado Springs where I grew up), and is in Colorado :)  We have excellent weather, 300 days of sunshine a year, mild winters, two canyons/rivers in the mountains with hiking and fishing (but not skiing) well within an hour of driving, delicious water, and pretty good air quality.  However, the vacancy rate inside the city hovers at ~ 3%, I think, and is even lower near campus.  We bought our house in 2012 for $200,000 (a steal even then), and this year our tax appraisal came back at $341,000 (what?!!?).  Loveland, Longmont, Windsor, Greeley, and Boulder are all also experiencing the same huge hike in prices right now.  You'd get much better prices in Colorado Springs, south of Denver, or in smaller communities in the foothills.

Someone up-thread also mentioned buying a south-facing house - so true!  Our house faces south, and has a big tree in the front yard.  In the winter, the snow in our driveway and our sidewalk melts without even being shoveled half the time, and the south-facing rooms are comfortably toasty because of the sun.  In the summer, our tree shades most of our roof and keeps the house cool, while we still get a lot of filtered sunlight into our house through those same south-facing windows.  It makes a HUGE difference in our heating and cooling costs.

[hucktard]

I live in Longmont. $300K will get you a decent house in an OK neighborhood. Your options are going to be pretty limited at that price though for a family home. There are only a couple of areas in Longmont where I would really not want to raise my family, everything else is pretty OK. I don't think there are any really dangerous areas like you would find in LA. To get into one of the trendier, nice areas of Longmont is going to run you at least $400K even for a small home. We want to sell our current house and buy a decent house on a larger lot (1/4 acre or bigger) and we are expecting to spend at least $650K. Overall Longmont is a good place to live, its fairly affordable compared to Boulder etc. and there are good jobs all around. It is a long drive to get up into the high country to go skiing etc. We hardly ever go skiing because we don't want to spend 2 to 4 hours round trip driving for a couple of hours of recreation. I do a lot of mt. biking instead. There is good hiking and decent mountain biking within 15-20 minutes. Overall, Longmont is a decent town. However, there are many places in the US that I think are more desirable. Longmont doesn't have any one thing that makes it stand out, but it is a very good mix of affordability, jobs, good weather, family friendly, low traffic, decent recreation. I don't think Longmont is any better than a lot of choices, but its not any worse either. If I didn't have to work I would go live up in some small mountain town.

[Cowardly Toaster]

MMM has joked in the past about mustachianism being his "cult".  If anymore people move to Longmont and start volunteering at the building on Main street he just may end up with one for real! He'll have his temple, his followers, his local congregation... I'm just a little jealous I'm not yet able to go join in the fun!

Our Lord and Saver (get it???) MMM!

[dougules]

I think if I was in the front range for FIRE purposes, Fort Collins would be a better fit and even honestly Colorado Springs. Both of these areas are going to while still being close to the range, far enough from the headaches associated with excessive congestion while still preserving easy access into the high country. One of the reasons I chose Salt Lake City over Denver had to do with cost of living, proximity to the west coast, easy access to world class outdoor recreation combined with reasonable cost of living. Not many of these left. I would also second Reno from a cost of living standpoint  but it is a rather different class of city not on par with Salt Lake. Albuquerque, Tucson and Reno are more comparable. I feel like the greater Denver metro is suffering from many of the growing and infrastructure limitations that Seattle is. My top choices for outdoor lovers right now today who are FIRED but still looking for a classy metro area with ample services and attractions would be

1. Salt Lake City, Utah
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Colorado Springs, CO

?? With that definition of proximity you could move to Asheville, live in the mountains, and be in proximity to everything east of the Mississippi. 

[crazyworld]

Crazyworld (which i hope and will take as a nod to the Scorpions, the best metal band ever), I dislike LA for many following reasons, in no particular order (been living here for 30 years now):

Traffic - because LA is so spread out and over-populated, you will find yourself in traffic even w/o work I still do
Crime - I know Longmont is not w/o crime, but it seems more serious and murdery over here
Pollution - this includes trash everywhere, the dirty ocean, and the nasty brown air, yes its much less nasty than the 70's but you can see it almost every day
Cost of living - everything from movie tickets to houses, car insurance, any professional services like classes for kids, massages, contractors, much higher here
The People - hope not to offend anyone here, but any nice area in LA will be full of the Real Housewives of (insert city name here). I live in Porter Ranch now and I don't want my daughter going to school with these people's kids.

The weather is great here and some areas are very nice (Irvine, South Bay). For us though, any affordable area is undesirable and the wealthy areas are full of rich people in their giant cars.

Rant over

Thanks for the detailed reply! Definitely something to think about - maybe we won't go to LA proper.  Child will be done with school by then, so that is not an issue for us, but the other things could be.  Can't do Florida or much of the southeast due to the humidity, northwest too damp and gray and want to be near-ish to the ocean.  Our target area seems to be CA still - its expensive though.

FWIW I love San Diego way more than Los Angeles. The traffic isn't as bad and the weather is still fantastic, and it seems much more chill and relaxed.

Good to know!  We just got back from a trip up Highway 1 to Cambria (have done further up before) - and we wanted to move there!  Found that Cambria does not have a water source and are not allowing new homes to be built - existing ones therefore expensive.  All towns along Hwy 1 are similarly expensive - SLO, Santa Barbara, Carpnteria, Morro Bay...guess everyone wants to be there.  We have a few years to go, lets see if we can swing it.

We love Cambria and Morro Bay. Wanted to move to Cambria as well but like you, priced out for now. All of CA suffers from limited construction.

Well, part of the charm and beauty of the CA coastline is that it is not overbuilt, and I truly would rather keep it as is, rather than build high-rises all along the coast-I saw that a lot in FL and do not like it.  We'll have to figure out what we can afford when the time comes...maybe more inland than I want, but closer than where I am now

[WYOGO]

?? With that definition of proximity you could move to Asheville, live in the mountains, and be in proximity to everything east of the Mississippi.

With family in Las Vegas and SoCal, it is not that complex of a concept that SLC would be a better proximity match compared to Denver. I am not sure what the eastern part of the US has to do with my choice between these two cities largely based on geographic proximity to the west coast.

[Lance Hiruma]

Denver housing bubble or not? Hmmm.

Good info
http://www.businessinsider.com/housing-bubble-fed-charts-2017-5

[dougules]

?? With that definition of proximity you could move to Asheville, live in the mountains, and be in proximity to everything east of the Mississippi.

With family in Las Vegas and SoCal, it is not that complex of a concept that SLC would be a better proximity match compared to Denver. I am not sure what the eastern part of the US has to do with my choice between these two cities largely based on geographic proximity to the west coast.

Just that western sense of distance is a lot different from the east.  Nobody here would consider 600-700 miles close.