Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a small town of about 1,500 people less than 20 minutes east of Castle Rock. Elizabeth feels isolated because there are no major interstates but really it is within 30 minutes of most of Denver and not really that far from Colorado Springs to the south and DIA up to the northeast.

The average household income of Elizabeth is $50,000 a year, so above the Colorado average. It is a nice and quiet community and many who live there have been there since the 1960's when a large influx of residents took root. There are some interesting shops and restuarants and most who live there commute to Denver.

Elizabeth used to be a small farming and ranching community which seemed very far out. But with the population growth of Colorado it seems to get closer to the city every year. Many people who live here commute to the Denver Tech Center, located just off of I-25 and County Line Road, and a few people I know commute to Denver. Although the commute time may be a bit long, it can be well worth it living in this pretty area with so many pine trees and rolling hills. There are the usual subdivisions in and around town, but much of Elizabeth is homes built on acreage for horses, cattle, or the other many farm animals you can find in this area.

Although I've never lived here I grew up in the area and have always liked it. The people are all very nice and laid back and take pride in their community. The schools here, with the exception of one, rank well above others in the state when it comes to testing scores. The schools have many sports available to the kids and they have a phenomenal gymnastics team which continually wins tournament after tournament and has produced several state champions.

The cost of living in Elizabeth depends on just what you're looking for. You can find modest priced homes in town, and even a few on some acreage and you can also find large luxury homes built on many acres costing well over a million dollars. Some of these higher priced homes are perched atop hills with incredible views of the front range and Pikes Peak.

You can find all the necessary items in town as they have a Safeway and Wal-Mart, and a few other shops sprinkled throughout. For bigger shopping, such as quality clothing or even cars, residents need to drive to Parker, Aurora, or even Denver. This is a small price to pay for living in such a lovely area.