So my soon to be wife unit and I are looking at buying our first home. We have been looking in Longmont, So my question to our Longmont members is how is the crime? any places to lookout for? We are looking between Hover and Francis.
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So my soon to be wife unit and I are looking at buying our first home. We have been looking in Longmont, So my question to our Longmont members is how is the crime? any places to lookout for? We are looking between Hover and Francis.
Looked at Longmont and ended up in Berthoud. The burbs are okay, if you like burbs. There are some nice sections in old town but watch out for the "low income" apt. complexes.
Sanctuary city for illegals as is Boulder County. Lots of illegals and more by the day.
Look elsewhere. cross 25 you're not only in Weld cty, but better off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel_187
Dont even have to cross 25. Longmont is on the county line.
Lived here 15y now.
Crime? minor. Some property crime, some drugs. Stay away from it and it seems to stay away from you. I've had one incident, unlocked car raided, probably by a teenager given CDs were sorted and they only took a couple.
Lots of homeless, wonder if Boulder dumps em here :)
Mix of high & low income. High tech jobs and small factory work in town, then people commute on top of it.
There are quite a few Hispanics, as a drive down Main will show. Not a problem but it does piss one off to get a mailer from the city in Spanish only. (misprint missed the english on the other side)
Coworker refused to buy in Longmont a couple years back "It is boring, everyone here has grey hair."
I would recommend looking outside Boulder County for cost reasons.
I just moved from Longmont 4 months ago after living there for 6 years. Decent housing can still be found but you need to stay away from the cheaper areas, there's a reason why they're cheap. Also it's Boulder county so expect higher taxes! There's also pockets of Obama and Prius lovers so beware! The plus is that it's not to far of a drive to find some decent shooting areas. I now live in Maine where everything is very different, for example our local sheriff wanted to know why I was looking for a place to shoot when my 2 1/2 acre yard is perfectly acceptable in his opinion. I mentioned noise and he said as long as I wasn't shooting hundreds of rounds per day he didn't see an issue. Sweet!
Look east of I-25. I just moved back to town and ended up in Frederick.
Based on house prices, and out of boulder county, it was really the best option.
Lived here 10 years now. I actually live in a county island. (county only, not city, but surrounded by city, I get the same lack of service that everyone else gets but I don't pay city sales tax on items delivered to the house, only real difference. cities are funded by sales taxes here and where do I shop? mostly in Longmont) It's a pretty good town to get around in, big enough to have most everything you need, small enough to not be crowded. Lot of restaurants, lot of grocery stores. The mall is dead it's not coming back. we have wal marts out the ass, if you actually want quality clothes and such you have to go online or out of town. 20 minutes to Boulder, 20 minutes to Loveland, 20 minutes to I-25 (from west side of town).
You do NOT want to be between Main and about Lashley. From north to south, fuck that. urban yutes, gangland, etc.
West of Hover is probably the "best". "safest", closest to boulder, closest to mountains, better land (which doesn't matter cuz it's all just burbs and "government space"). Old town is pretty nice, but old houses.
It's boulder county so it's seriously overpriced, over taxed and stupid (and getting stupider by the year), but nothing you can do about that. East of countyline (weld county, tri-cities, etc) is cheap for a reason.
What's your budget for housing?
oh, just caught the "first home" part of your OP.
Look at Longmont Estates. West of Hover, north of 9th, south of 21st (more or less, there are pockets all around) 70's homes, but bigger lots, trees, etc, good neighborhoods and you can remodel to your hearts content.
Budget is $220,000
longmont estates should be in that range.
some areas between hover and francis, maybe even between francis and main and 6th (or so) and 17th. Some decent neighborhoods in there (older, but nice)
Stay out of boulder county. Few miles to the east, there are plenty of USDA approved area. Low low rate and zero Downpayment.
If you do Boulder County, hit the unincorporated parts of it.
We bought a distressed short sale in Southmoor Park and have been very happy.
Parts of Southmoor park aren't great options, but if you are picky about your neighborhood you can get a great situation.
We managed to get into a Cul De Sac with absolutely no illegal immigrants.
Crime: Not an issue here. Up around 21st and east of main, only till about the railroad tracks (maybe a bit past), I would recommend "don't go". Further east, out around Alpine and further east, is a nice area.
Overall, we really like it. Eventually, once I have a few more customers, we are looking to move into eastern CO onto some acreage, but that also ties into my work (DJ Basin Oil and Gas), but we really do like the area.
If you need a recommendation for an awesome realtor, I would suggest Peter Trost with Remax in Boulder. I can get you a phone number if you need.
If you plan to start a family look at Berthoud, great schools, small classes, small town (but close to Longmont/Loveland), and low crime (except barking dogs,etc...). Get out of Boulder county and you'll get more for your money, pay less in taxes and insurance.
There's a good deal of homes under the $220k mark to choose from.
I like Berthoud as well. I think If I wanted to go else where in CO, a little more north than I am, looks good. But, Wyoming is looking better these days. :)
For another $5K you can have out r place in windsor. NO COVENANTS, HOA, FLAG BURNERS, yetQuote:
Originally Posted by Daniel_187
I have family in Wyo and spend a lot of time there. It's a tough state to make a living in unless you have the right connections or something special to offer. Housing is cheaper but so is the wage index, no state income tax that does help help but everyday consumables cost the same. As of last night fuel is about $.25 gallon more than I'm paying here in Co.Quote:
Originally Posted by palepainter
I'll probably end up there after my kids are out of college but til then I'm staying put.
Larimer county is no better than Boulder. Just a few steps behind is all. (maybe only one or two really).
Wyoming is where to go.
Weld is next in the list. Where I am headed after a little bit.