Eric Edwards

Great town only 30 - 45 minutes from Boulder, Longmont and Loveland, with a mix of full time residents, seasonal residents and tourists. Fall and Spring are good times to visit with fewer peope in town, except during the elk rutting season on weekends. Summer is always a fun time to go, just be prepared for crowds. Main employment opportunities are tourist industry based, even so there is a vibrant community of full time residents . Some good restaurants - one of our favorites is Village Pizza, lots of shopping- mostly tourist and art based. The best thing about Estes is still Rocky Mountain National Park, the elk herds and the occasional big horn sheep. There are a lot of nice places to stay, from dude ranches to cabins to very nicely appointed condos, and of course numerous hotels and lots of camping areas. With access to hundreds of miles of hiking trails it offers the outdoor enthusiasts excellent opportunities year round for hiking, biking, snow shoeing and cross country skiing. I also enjoy fly fishing the Big Thompson River and many of the small streams and lakes in Rocky. Finally, it's the East gateway to Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous road in the continental United States. With so much to see, do and enjoy, Estes Park is a must see.

25 or so years ago, Superior was just a tiny little town with no highway access and just a couple 2 lane roads from Louisville and Boulder gave access to Superior. Now since the original interchange at 36 and McCaslin went in it has grown to a mostly planned unit community or PUD ( Rock Creek ) with popular schools, lots of parks and ample shopping. It is just across 36 from Louisville and right next to Flatirons Crossing in Broomfield, which both offer many dining, entertainment and shopping opportunities. A large part of Rock Creek was built by Richmond Homes with a few other small builders and some custom builders. Superior offers a wide variety of housing options from apartments to condos to townhomes to single family homes. The old town section just South of 36 is comprised of mostly 1950's to 1970's homes with one neighborhood ( Sagrimore ) built in the late 90's - early 2000's. Traffic moves fairly well except near the 36 interchange, which tends to be busy and congested during most of the day time hours. A lot of folks I know who live in Superior and Rock Creek in particular, really love the area and their neighborhood and often move within the neighborhood when they need to make a move up or down in home size. There have been issues with settling in Rock Creek, but much of these issues have been addressed over the past 10 - 15 years. The nice thing is that Rock Creek is almost built out and is not nearly as large or sprawling as some of the other PUD's that have been built to the South of Denver and to the East. So you get a lot of the amenities without all the sprawl and congestion.

Broomfield used to be in 4 Counties but due to it's large planning area, the residents of Broomfield voted to create it's own County ( Broomfield County ). School Districts include Boulder Valley School District and Adams 12 with the largest percentage in Adams 12, there are also several private schools to choose from. One of the impressive things about Broomfield is the Cities long term vision and their persistent pursuit of sales tax generating business and commercial opportunities. Flatirons Crossing mall is a part of Broomfield ( often mistaken as a part of Superior ) as well as the Interlocken Business Park. Broomfield has a variety of shopping and dining opportunities in many different areas of the City. With residential neighborhoods ranging from the 1950's to present day new construction, there are a variety of single family home styles and prices, including townhomes, condos and patio homes. For golfing enthusiasts, there are 3 good golf course choices: The Broadlands, Eagle Trace and Omni Interlocken Resort. There is a small water park the Bay Aquatic Park, a well equipped recreation center and the recently completed Broomfield Commons Park and Open Space. Not what it used to be, Broomfield has a lot to offer.

Niwot ( named after Chief Niwot ) is a small town between Boulder and Longmont. Small downtown area with some great antique shops and good restaurants, pedestrian friendly downtown area. Most of the residential neighborhoods offer large lots around 1/2 to 1 acre, with mostly custom and semi-custom homes. With rolling hills as you head East and South in Niwot, there are some fantastic mountain views as well. Niwot High School is very popular and offers the International Baccalaureate program. They also have a good bike trail system. Mostly a bedroom community but quick access to Boulder and Longmont for everything you need.

Southmoor consists primarily of single family detached homes built in the 1970's - 1980's, many of the homes have hardwood flooring, many have been updated as well. Lefthand creek runs through the neighborhood with a path that follows along side the creek and leads to a couple of nice parks with playground equipment, soccer fields, tennis courts and lots of open grassy meadows. The homes in Southmoor are affordable and a good value. Located on the South end of Longmont, there is easy close access to the newer Longmont Recreation Center, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Twin Peaks Mall, grocery shopping, restuarants and trails. It offers easy access to highway 287 and the Diagonal for quick access to Boulder, Louisville and a reasonable commute to Denver. With all levels of neighborhood schools, kids can walk to all their schools from Elementary to High School. The homes are large enough for growing into and have nice size yards with mostly mature landscaping. Worth checking out in a very good location.

Arapahoe Road runs from the foothills in Boulder to County Line Road in Erie. The photo here shows the Arapahoe Ridge in Erie neighborhood. Which is located in Boulder County and the Boulder Valley School District. Arapahoe Ridge in Erie consist of 3 different sections with just over 600 single family detached homes. North Light which is furthest West has mostly zero lot line homes and is close to Erie Lake that has a great walking path around it and offers fishing for $5 a year. There is a nice tot lot playground near the lake. It is also next door to the Safeway grocery store plaza, that includes a Starbucks, Papa Murphys Pizza and Dairy Queen to name a few other stores. The next section boasts the largest homes in the neighborhood and consists of only 2 - 3 streets of mostly semi-custom homes. The largest section to the east of 111th consists of 3 - 4 different builders homes that offers a variety of floor plans and design features that keep it from looking like a cookie cutter neighborhood. There is also a large central park that includes tennis courts, soccer fields, a ball field, large grassy areas, a playground and a large pool with a kiddy pool and community club house. There are 3 miles of walking paths that circle the neighborhood and Erie lake, with exercise stations along the path. With an active homeowners association, the neighborhood is well cared for and has a wonderful sense of community. It is a great place to live and call home. Close to shopping, restaurants, recreation centers, parks and libraries. We have really enjoyed living here and raising our family here. It also offers easy access to Boulder, Longmont, Louisville, Broomfield and Denver.

This is a great little street in a very nice small neighborhood. Most of the homes are ranch style brick homes built in the mid 1960's to early 1970's. Many of the homeowners are original homeowners or their families. The homes are well cared for, the yards are manicured and have mature landscaping. The location is very good within a block or two of the Lousiville Community Park that has a dog park with pond, a newer playground, a large picnic pavilion and a lot of maintained grass areas. It is also only a few blocks to popular old town Louisville with numerous local restaurants and small shops. And just a few blocks to Louisville Elementary School. It is a quiet area with access to amenties, shopping, parks and schools within walking distance.

The City and Chamber have been fairly aggressive and successful at attracting business over the last couple of years. There are still a fair number of opportunities for residential growth. The home prices are much more reasonable than Louisville and the gap in home prices between Louisville and Lafayette should begin to become more equitable over the next 4 - 7 years. Our oldest son goes to Centaurus and picked it over the other high schools in Lafayette and Louisville for its engineering program. The also have an excellent AP and IB programs. The band won state this school year as well. Good parks and open space, we like Waneka Lake for picnics and walks around the lake. Old town and Public Rd. have under gone a fair number of improvements and upgrades over the past few years. We also enjoy the Bob L Burger recreation center it has a large indoor pool and a very active youth baseball program to name a few things. Indian Peaks golf course is good for many skill levels and offers a lot of on line values. All in all, I find Lafayette to be a good place to invest in real estate at this time and it has a lot of great amenities.

Great small town atmosphere with lots of community events including parades, art nights out, street fairs, farmers markets, etc.. A very desireable place to live and raise a family with highly ranked Boulder Valley School District schools and active parent involvement. Close to Boulder with easy acces to Denver on the Boulder Turnpike ( 36 ). Nice golf course and recreation center. Good dining options with a mix of locally owned restuarants and chain restuarants. Also, ample shopping available, plus a short drive to Flatirons Crossing Mall. I have lived in Louisville, but now live in Erie( more home for the money ) . I have worked in Louisville for over 26 years, it is a wonderful place to work. My sons are also active in a local boy scout troop that is very active in the community and draws scouts and their families from Louisville, Lafayette, Erie and Broomfield. Louisville has a lot to offer, come and check out one of our community events, you may decide to stay.

Erie is small town that is growing at a reasonable rate. It is a politically active community with diverse views. The planning area for Erie is approximately 40 square miles. The town is in 2 Counties, Boulder and Weld and also 2 school districts, Boulder Valley and St. Vrain. Erie has lots of parks and open space. The topography is flat to rolling hills with incredible mountain views. There is a centralized recreation center with an indoor pool, basketball and racket ball courts, climbing wall, free weights and circuit training machines and much more. Next door is the Erie Library with a large childrens section, books on tape, DVDs and Blue Ray videos. Plus electronic books. A new skate park was just completed in late 2012 next to the community park with ball fields. Housing options run from old town homes built in the early 1900's to brand new subdivisions of single family detached homes. There are also newer condos and townhomes and paired homes. One of the best things about the homes and neighborhoods is the variety of home styles and subdivision designs. Unlike some areas that have mainly one massive never ending sea of the same cookie cutter homes, Erie has numerous smaller neighborhoods with a variety of diverse designs and neighborhood amenities and styles. The Colorado National Golf Course is a newer golf course that offers amazing views. There is a new Velodrome being built, scheduled to be completed in the late spring to early summer of 2013, it will be one of 3 cycling arenas in Colorado. There are lots of small locally owned businesses and restuarants to choose from. The location on the east end of Boulder County plus the Southwest end of Weld County provides easy access to Boulder, Denver and Ft. Collins. A short 5 - 10 minute commute to Louisville, 20 - 30 minutes to Boulder, 30 - 45 minutes to downtown Denver and an hour to Ft. Collins. Plus for plane enthusiasts and small plane pilots it is the home of the Erie Municipal Airport with Erie Airpark neighborhood that has homes with runway access. With so much to offer in such a convenient centralized location, it's a great place to live.