kgustafson

Having both lived and worked in Louisville, Colorado for many years, I found all the hype about why the community was voted the Best Place to Live by CNN’s Money Magazine twice, to be true. This community literally has it all: a great school system, a thunderous local economy (booming just wasn’t strong enough), gorgeous views, a thriving real estate market, and wholesome values! What else could you ask for? To me it’s almost like Louisville is a “Little Boulder,” since a large portion of residents are health conscious, active, and environmentally aware. In addition, the community seems to have a similar free spirit about it.

The only difference is that Louisville definitely has a small town vibe about it. People here know their neighbors and local business owners. When I lived there, I ran into people everywhere and still to this day every time I visit Louisville for a day trip or a night out, I always see someone I know. When you buy real estate in Louisville, CO you are not just getting a house, you are gaining an entire community!

Standley Lake in my neck of the woods and I truly love the fact that I can enjoy the water within a 5 minute walking from my house. I went from renting an apartment near 100th and Church Ranch to buying a townhome on 88th and Field solely because of the lake itself. Standley Lake Park is definitely the best part about this area and offers fun and outdoor adventure all year round. Although you can not swim in the lake they do allow motorized boat activity, including water skiing and tubing. I like to put on a bathing suit and bring my son down there during the summer, even though we do not get in the water, and play in the sand.

There are a lot of real estate options in the area ranging from condos and townhomes to older single family homes. On the Arvada side of Standley Lake you will find a bunch of newly constructed neighborhoods and luxury homes. There are also several schools in the area and it seems like there is a park and playground around every corner. All the neighborhoods around here offer seem to affordable family friendly living with easy access to the lake. I also visit the Standley Lake Library on a weekly basis and love the kids play area here.

The only downside to the Standley Lake area is that there seems to be a lot of teenagers around who do what teenagers do best, cause trouble. A few of the parks get spray painted quite often but the city does a great job cleaning it up on a regular basis.

For the most part I have really enjoyed living in the Standley Lake area and would recommend it.

I love going to downtown Arvada because I love to eat and drink! I find that their many restaurants in the area always have something to suit my taste and my kid love the old school candy shop called Scrumptious. Did you know Arvada has a local winery right in the downtown area? Well they do, and Silver Vines Winery is the best place to get a glass wine hands down in the city. Another great place in the downtown area is the D'Note. They feature great local bands and also have a fantastic menu. Manneken Frites is an awesome place for beer and fries. Do I need to say more, beer AND fries!

Just had a wonderful trip in Vail Colorado for the first time and loved it. Even though I did not ski I was never board and enjoyed all the amazing sites to see. Being a family on a budget I was nervous about spending too much money while there, but I was surprised to find out, if you did a little planning ahead of time, that it was affordable.

We stayed at an awesome rental property in West Vail called the Ptarmigan, which had a great community hot tube and was right on a creek. Going this route instead of the staying at one of the big resorts, made it much easier to cook at home and pack lunches to the mountain. The free bus also made it convenient for us to get around without having to pay $25 for parking.

Both Cascade Village and Lionshead Village offered tons great restaurants, shops, rental companies, clothing stores and sports outlets. The best thing, for me, was all the amazing buildings and beautiful scenery around you. One of my guests commented, many times, about how impressed they were by the accommodating spirit of all the customer relation associates throughout the entire area, restaurant and mountain staff included.

It true that skiing was expensive for those in my party who participated, but all three of them said it was totally worth it. I would definitely go back for another winter family vacation and would even consider it in the summer as well!