Hi!

I'm the UK transplant that posted questions in skybird's first link (my screenname changed with the Houzz takeover!). We made it and are now settled in north of Denver proper. I have been lurking more than posting *hangs head in shame*, but I can absolutely second skybird's signoff-- these folks are SO helpful and knowledgeable.

I'm from southern VA originally and so my gardening roots are close to where you are now. I can vouch that VA/NC Piedmont clay is a different beast than Denver metro clay-- bring on the amendments! :-P

I have run equipment in deep red clay out in Missouri, that stuff was pretty terrible, I'd say just about as bad as the clay here in Denver. Soil is pretty bad out here in the suburbs, you definitely have the right idea with amend, amend, amend. Our soils tend to be high in mineral nutrients, but are severely lacking in nitrogen. They are also very alkaline

I would like to point out something that not everyone realizes, full sun in Colorado is A LOT different than full sun "back east." It's far more intense and bright with our dry, high altitude atmosphere and general lack of cloud cover. Someone with more experience in perennial gardening can tell you more about growing "full sun" perennials here, but my experience on the vegetable side is that a full day of sun (and hot, dry air) makes for some unhappy plants that wilt and drop flowers like nobody's business.

You are also going to be gardening on a LOT less rainfall than North Carolina. We average about 15 inches a year, so take that into account with your landscaping, too. Of course you can grow your water loving regulars, but, they will require more attention than you might be used to. I would look into some principles of xeriscaping, even if you don't plan to turn your lawn into a scrubland or shortgrass prairie, learning some of the guidelines will probably save you some heartache, effort, and money.

As for real estate, the closer you get to the mountains, the less of them you can see. I live just a few miles east of what is known as the "hogback" (which is the first prominent ridge between the plains and the mountains) and those beautiful snow capped ranges everyone thinks of when they think of Colorado are completely hidden from view behind the foothills. If you go a little further to the east of me, however, and you get a house with a good vantage point, on a clear day you can, just like Skybird said, see from Long's Peak near Estes Park all the way to Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, with Mt. Evans & Bierstadt right in the middle.

Also, I'm sure this is true across the entire country, but all the new developments are built without yard work in mind. HUGE houses with tiny postage stamps for yards. I guess people prefer vacuuming over lawn mowing these days, and as kids have transitioned from playing outside to sitting in front of a video game, the need/want for an outdoor space has become a moot... but I digress... Anyways, older neighborhoods will probably have more room for you to play in (and a more lenient, if not nonexistent, HOA means you will have more freedom to do what you want, too).

Welcome to RMG, we ARE the friendliest most laid back group of people on the web, I'm pretty sure, and we're glad to have you!

P.s. sticker shock is right. Affordable housing is the unicorn of the Denver area right now, but if you were open to looking elsewhere, Colorado Springs has a much more reasonable housing market, and if you get lucky and don't hit traffic (LOL) it's only about an hour from the south end of the Denver-Metro.

I've never lived anywhere but here. But my family is from the East, so I hear stories about how hard it is to grow things here versus there.

I second pretty much everything Zach said, particularly about the full sun, extra care, and that part about big houses with postage stamp yards. The 1/4 acre here is a lot unless you live in the mountains or a distant suburb of Denver. I live in Arvada and there is almost no way I can afford anything with that much property despite my wishes.

The other thing definitely to consider is the dreaded HOA. Most of the new houses are under the HOA system. While it all seems fine and dandy initially, eventually you may feel rather stifled by their rules. I know I do.

Rock landscaping by HOA is very popular here. Too much rock! It's cheap for the builders to put in and then it's miserable to try to remove.

Just take your time looking and ask a lot of questions. When it gets closer to your visit, feel free to let us know. I'd be willing to let you see my Arvada home/garden.

Thanks to Skybird, Zach, Inbetweendays, and Papamama for your thoughtful answers. We're coming out for a look near the end of this month. It appears that we will be focusing on the Castle Rock area. We don't want to be too far away from our sweet little boy!

We put in raised beds in our existing yard. All of that new soil gets expensive, but it sounds as if I'm going to be doing it all over again!

I appreciate the heads up about HOA. We have never experienced a restrictive HOA system. We would definitely feel stifled.

Thanks again. I will get more active once we actually know what we're doing!

I was planning to put something in my post about HOAs and forgot to do it. One of the "absolutes" for the realtor when I was looking for the house I now live in is that there could be NO HOA! I figure it's my house and it's my yard, and I'm not gonna have somebody with a Power Complex telling me what I can and can't do! There are frequent complaints from homeowners out here about the "things they can't do!" A couple years ago when we still had pretty severe watering restrictions there were people complaining that their HOA REQUIRED that they HAD to have a certain percentage of grass on their property, so even people who wanted to put in some nice xeric gardens WEREN'T ALLOWED to do it--no exceptions! I never heard anymore of that story, but I'm quite sure the homeowners lost in their battle to do what they wanted to do! I've heard other stories (one from a relative) that ALL their window coverings HAD to be WHITE from the outside! They couldn't even pick the color of their interior decorating!!! And about a year ago somebody was having a big fight with a HOA because they wanted to fly an American flag--and weren't allowed to! I think those people might have won--but they had to fight for it! So if you're looking at a place that has a HOA, be very, very, very careful about what they can and can't "control." And also be very careful about the fees, and how much they can RAISE the fees--whenever they vote themselves a raise! There have been stories about that too, HOA boards deciding they needed/WANTED more money and doubling or tripling the monthly charge--and there was nothing the homeowners could do but fight it in court if they wanted to spend even more money!

In Thornton there are city codes, and they actually drive around checking places out and give people notices if something is starting to look trashy! And if there's something they don't notice, I can call code enforcement and tell them to do something about it--all the city codes are online. But NO restrictions about the colors I pick for anything, or flying flags--and I'm NOT paying somebody to decide what I should or shouldn't, can or can't plant!

Just be careful! What good is it to buy a house you really like and make big plans and then find out you can't do half of the things you're dreaming about doing!

Skybird

You're absolutely right, Skybird. We will be very careful. We prefer a new house but it sounds as if we wouldn't 'fit' very well in all of the new communities that are being built. We knew that we didn't want a retirement community where you really can't do anything. This may get a bit more complicated than we thought, but I can't imagine having restrictions placed on my gardening at this point in my life. We may have to seriously consider an older home.

Thanks again for your kindness.

Marshaaa

Marshaaa, we ended up in a really great area in an older house but with no HOA. We love it. There are great neighborhoods all over the place-- any chance of you guys doing a house hunting visit before you head over?

There have been some brand new houses built in old neighborhoods with no HOAs so you can sometimes get old and new. But I imagine them to be quite expensive. But it is possible.