Longmont

Longmont lies just west of I-25 between Thornton and Loveland. This town of 88,000 people has a lot to offer for a lot of people. The median household income in Longmont is $52,000 which is a bit lower than the Colorado average of $55,400 but the home prices are also over $3,000 lower here. A nice thing about Longmont is that it is located just off a major highway so it has access to many different cities for those who commute to work.

Overall the schools in Longmont are slightly above average academically, although there are definitely some stand out schools. Altona middle School, Blue Mountain Elementary School, Flagstaff Charter Academy, and Silver Creek High School have all scored well above state averages for standardized testing. Out of a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, each of these schools scored a nine. Certainly a score to be proud of.

Since Longmont is west of I-25 there are some very nice views of the mountains from here. There are also a lot of organic farms where residents can get local food.

Longmont has the typical chain type of stores and restaurants scattered throughout the city, several lakes and a reservoir, a couple of golf courses, and even a small airport. Most of what you need can be found within the city limits.

One drawback to Longmont is I-25. While it is convenient, it can also get very busy especially in this part of the state.

Longmont keeps getting better and better. I have lived in Boulder for near 20 years and must admit that when I first moved out here as an idealistic college kid I thought of Longmont as Kansas, out in the plains so far from the liberal, international feeling of Boulder. I have changed but so has Longmont.It is a great place to live for families and the views of the mountains are gorgeous from a little ways out on the plains.

My close friends live off of Alpine a couple miles east of downtown and I have spent a lot of time over in that neighborhood. They moved to Longmont years ago because it was the only place close to Boulder where they could afford their own home. They have lived in Longmont for nearly 10 years now and love it. Their eldest daughter goes to the Montessori school and their preschool age daughter will go there as well. I hear rave reviews of the little alternative school.

There is a nice blend of upper/middle and lower class individuals and families that make Longmont their home, there is diversity in color and thought. In many of the neighborhoods people are struggling just to get by day to day but there is a worldly liberalism that is rooted their as well as in the entire Boulder County. There are amazing organic farms and orchards on the outskirts of town especially to the west. There are great local restaurants and locally owned businesses and people make a genuine effort to support their neighborhoods.

Longmont is a quick commute into Boulder even when there is traffic on Diagonal Hwy, this is the road that connects the two cities and with a speed limit of 65mph you can get back and forth in 20-25 mins, again barring the occasional heavy rush hour traffic.

There are the typical chain restaurants throughout Longmont, a Wal-Mart (that so far has been voted out of Boulder city), Target but there are also local places to eat and sip coffee or tea and that kind of local feeling is growing in Longmont. The downtown Main Street area has gotten so much better than it was a decade ago. The pedestrian area is lovely, well kept and inviting to tourists and locals. I remember in the late 90s the Main Street of Longmont had a lot of gun shops and raunchy displays and seedy stores, that has really changed and it seems much more family oriented now.

Very friendly and quiet neighborhood. I have a friend who is a police officer in the area and he tells me we have a very "boring" neighborhood, which is a good thing for us. The city is going to build a new recreation center near the HS and MS.