Where can you snow ski on Saturday and play golf on Sunday?  What’s just an hour away from Rocky Mountain National Park and an hour from Colorado’s capital city, Denver ? It’s Greeley of course, and here are a few more facts about that northern Colorado town with its spectacular views of the Rockies and charming and unhurried Greeley neighborhoods.

• Sports Illustrated Magazine selected Greeley as one of the best park/recreation programs in the nation
• Golf courses and country clubs abound
• The all-new Ice Haus Ice Rink is open for business
• Union Colony Civic Center is a beautiful venue for both local talent and nationally acclaimed performances
• Greeley is home to University of Northern Colorado, an institution with a strong background in educating teachers.

Zip Up
One of the most popular ways for discriminating homebuyers to shop for properties in Greeley is to search by Greeley zip code.  All the freshest and most relevant Greeley listings are here, sorted for price, square footage, listing status, type, number of beds, number of baths, address, city, subdivision, or MLS#.
Browse the zip codes
80634 | map these listings
80631 | map these listings

See also a list of Greeley streets with homes for sale in the Colorado MLS, or browse these popular Greeley neighborhoods and Greeley subdivisions.

• Mountain Shadows Two and three thousand square foot single-family homes on the west end of Greeley. Nearby open space
• Greeley A generous and varied palette of single family homes and income properties.
• Poudre River Ranch The west side of town, with speedy access to town, highway 34, and just a stone’s throw from the Greeley Country Club.
• Riverview Farm Newer single-family homes in the middle of town, with highway 85 on the other side of Greeley’s main street for stellar accessibility to Denver (south,) and Cheyenne (north).
• St. Michaels Lots of land available, along with  large custom homes with breathtaking mountain views.
• West Point A place with something for everyone. Offerings include land, condos/townhomes, single family tracts, and giant custom homes for over a million dollars. Near golf courses and Aims Community College.
• Kelly Farm Higher end and custom larger homes, paired homes, and condos/townhomes, with a few plots of land that are still available in this quiet, northwest corner of Greeley.
• Rolling Hills Very affordable homes built in the 1970s right in the middle of town.
• Weber West An extremely family-friendly neighborhood on the north side of town, with lots of parks, open space and within the Mcauliffe Elementary School boundaries.
• Country Club West Country Club living with all the trimmings. Roomy homes ranging from the high-100s to the mid-600s.

Cheap Dates
In today’s economy, COhomefinder’s price reductions calendar is the bargain finder’s best friend, and is always on. Start out at this month’s Reduced Price Listings for the freshest listings that have undergone a price cut.

On July 4, 1898, over 4,000 people gathered for the opening day of the Colorado Chautauqua. Since then, the Colorado Chautauqua has become a magnet for cultural and educational activity, and served as the epicenter of west-central Boulder’s residential growth in what’s become known as the Chautauqua Heights neighborhood. (Take a peek at a map of Boulder houses to get a grasp of the geography.)

Located near the University of Colorado, NCAR and other national laboratories, the Chautauqua area is often considered where the scientists and scholars live. And upon first glance at a map of Chautauqua Heights, it’s easy to see why Chautauqua has been the Boulder neighborhood of choice for generations. The beauty of the Flatirons, the natural surroundings, the gentle climate, and the people who care about wild places are hard to argue with.

What’s There Now?

According to the Colorado Chautauqua Web site, “Boulder civic leaders and Texas educators had joined together to create a cultural and educational summer retreat. Today, the Colorado Chautauqua is one of three remaining Chautauquas in the United States, and the only site west of the Mississippi River, in continuous operation, with its original structures intact.”

What that means is that the good people of Boulder love their Chautauqua. It’s a well-kempt, well-loved institution where weddings are celebrated, symphonies play, meetings are held, picnics are assembled, Thanksgiving dinners are served, kites are launched into the springtime wind, and much, much, more. And, it’s where people live, learn, and work.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you know that building green has been all the rage.  Going green is great; I’m all for it; the Stapleton subdivision is one of Denver’s most popular and shining examples of sustainable construction.  Environmental stewardship is the thing to do, and following the three Rs in everyday life is getting easier and more accessible every day, especially here in Boulder.  So it follows that green home building is a common topic of conversation; I just happened to have no idea what it really meant.

As it turns out, building green can mean different things, and there are even some controversies about what are really environmentally green building practices, and what are simply trendy perceptions.   Take, for example, flooring. I was recently speaking to a flooring expert who mentioned the ever-rising requests for bamboo.  You may have heard that bamboo flooring is considered “green” because it’s a renewable resource because it matures in five years instead of thirty. (There’s also cork flooring, which can be harvested without harming the plant.)  But I learned that there’s a distinction with alternative flooring that I hadn’t considered. Some bamboo is shipped from other countries, which means that fossil fuels play a big part in its transport.  Sometimes bamboo is treated with eco-unfriendly chemicals during processing. And because some owners want to keep expensive flooring protected as long as possible, that may mean finishing bamboo with a compound with high VOC levels.

It seems that the moral of the story is: Don’t stop using your good sense just because a product or practice makes green claims.  Continue to use the kind of common sense it takes to get along in every other facet of home ownership.

Other practices believed to encourage the greening of our neighborhoods and communities include:

• Keeping courtyards and driveways permeable, so that rainwater continues to penetrate into the ground and recharge the aquifer rather than run off into the street.
• Planting xeriscaped landscapes, using native plants grouped according to water usage.
• Using natural fibers for window treatments, upholstery and rugs: wool, cotton and linen, rather than synthetic fibers that may give off harmful gases.
• Spraying on expanding-foam insulation, installed on the underside of roof sheathing in the attic.
• Installing dual-pane, impact-resistant windows that provide good insulation and are resistant to debris during storms.
• Using insulated concrete–rigid foam blocks reinforced with steel are filled with poured concrete. Provides high insulation value and wind resistance.
• Sealing duct work with mastic, a concrete-based paste painted over joints to prevent air leakage.
• Installing air conditioning systems with a SEER (seasonal energy efficiency rating) of 15, exceeding the code minimum of 12.
• Using compact fluorescent lighting. Uses less energy, generates less heat, lasts longer than incandescents.
• Choosing Energy Star appliances: refrigerator, dishwasher, range, oven, microwave, top-loading washer and dryer and ceiling fans. Certified to exceed federal standards for energy efficiency by at least 20 percent.
• Choosing dual-flush toilets that uses 0.8 gallon flushes for liquid or light waste, 1.6 gallons for solid waste. Kohler says its dual-flush toilet can save up to 2,000 gallons of water per year.

In the greater Boulder, Colorado area, Boulder creek is a big part of local life.  There’s the Boulder Creek Fest every year, which has in past years, featured one of the world’s biggest rubber ducky races.  You’ll also find folks milling about the Boulder neighborhoods bordering Central Park and the nearby main branch of the Boulder Library.  Boulder Creek Path meanders around the west end of town, and winds up Boulder Canyon, which eventually ends in Nederland.

In the summer, Boulder creek is a hotspot for kayaking and tubing, but at all times, it’s also nature’s water feature for residents who live between Canyon Blvd and Arapahoe Ave.

Map these Boulder homes on Arapahoe (west of Broadway and even 9th Street) for especially creek-rich experiences. These homes are known for gorgeous, quiet back yards with paths right down to the water.

And check out these Boulder homes on Canyon Blvd, which include some nice new condos at One Boulder Plaza, Canyon Condominiums, and others.

Have you been focused solely on Colorado real estate along the highway 36 corridor between Boulder and Denver, or the I-25 corridor between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs?  Have you been swayed by the Summit County properties of Dillon, Breckenridge, Frisco, Keystone, and Silverthorne?  And have you taken your search as far as the Vail Valley, or even to Aspen? If so, you might want to refocus your attention to the stellar real estate offerings in Golden.

Just 20 minutes west of Denver, Golden overlooks Table Mountain, and is the gateway to both “xtreme” and tamer outdoor attractions including Bear Creek, Heritage Square’s alpine slide, and the Coors Brewing Co.  But it’s not just bikes and beer that makes Golden great. It’s the great buys that are available to commuters going anywhere along Colorado Front Range.  Because of its centralized location, Golden really is a gateway. To Denver, Boulder, the mountains, and beyond, Golden is one of the last great western towns so close to modern day Colorado.

With all the amenities of other popular communities such as Englewood, Littleton, Aurora, Lakewood, and others, Golden properties are priced right, too.   Here are some  where you can begin your home search.

• Watchdog Subdivision Between White Ranch Open Space Park and Golden Gate Canyon State Park
• Dory Lakes Goldern –Between the main byways of highway 58, which takes commuters east to Denver, and 93, which takes them north to Boulder. These homes are within biking distance to downtown Golden.
• Tablerock–Larger, newer single-family homes priced in the 700s.
• Downtown Golden–If you never considered Golden the place for luxury townhomes, your perception may be outdated. 1275 Washington Ave. in Golden is the hotspot for setting up house in what has become more than a one horse town.
• Applewood Mesa Ranchettes–Some consider this “old Golden,” which was once known primarily for Colorado’s biggest liquor store. Today, its reputation includes some of the best golf course and country club surroundings possible, prime vacant land, and single family homes that are great candidates for scraping.
• Crescent Park –Up Coal Creek Canyon, or highway 72, at the north end of the wider Golden area near Eldorado Canyon and State Park, you’ll find the sweeping views and this quiet mountain neighborhood between Plainview and Pinecliffe.
• Spring Ranch–Between Genessee and El Rancho, these blue chip properties are part of Golden’s secret sauce.

Willing to go further? Extend your search to these nearby Golden communities and remember that Golden Realtors are always at your service, and a private showing of the Golden homes of your choice is available in a flash. The following are some of Golden’s surrounding communities and towns:

• Morrison/Red Rocks
• Black Hawk
• Central City
• Gilpin Gardens/Rollinsville
• Nederland
• Boulder
• Denver
• Lakewood
• Littleton
• Arvada

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by lrargarich

I first heard of telecommuting as a young professional in Denver, and I thought it sounded great. And also like a pipe dream. And then technology did that thing it does, seemingly all by itself: It moved forward until we couldn’t imagine our lives without the new-new things that had come along.  Research data from a library in Newfoundland could be delivered like lightening to my Centennial home, or in my Fort Collins home; you can buy a purse, some shoes, and have them delivered, gift wrapped, in just a few keystrokes. Now even the most geographically-dependent experiences have been either replaced or augmented by electronic ones.  Home buying in Colorado is one of them.

Will you still need or want to physically visit the homes that sound right for you, taking a tour of it and asking good questions with a qualified Colorado REALTOR?  I hope so.  Will you need to spend as many hours in a car as the last generation of homebuyers looking at the same number of homes? No way. In buyer’s markets and in seller’s can you get the edge over other shoppers while you sleep? Actually, yes.

In the Old Days…
Home shoppers were at the mercy of the market and its gatekeepers. Information was limited; lookers were forced to surrender themselves to people and paper.  There was a limit to one one could do for one’s self. That’s because home buying is a personal business.  No one will care about your home in Colorado  as much as you do.

Today…
You have the power, the control, the initiative, to make informed decisions. And you can make them from anywhere, at any time.  With COhomefinder’s Automated HomeAlert system, there’s a system on your side, thinking about your preferences, and delivering the results to your inbox, even while you sleep. Your wish is its command.

And now that you know all that is possible, wouldn’t a teleporter be nice?

As a third-generation native Coloradoan, I have a lot of old contexts about many of Colorado’s cities and towns.  One of them is that Brighton, CO, the town where my mom grew up in the ’40s after moving there from her birthplace of Windsor, is a small, rural town with more livestock and corn rows than people.  That may have been true 30 years ago, but today, Brighton is booming. According to the Brighton Economic Development Council, “With plentiful land at affordable prices, Brighton has attracted residential development that ranges from townhomes to executive housing. Over the past decade, Brighton and communities within a 10-mile drive have issued a combined 2,400 building permits a year on average.”  (For the record, the same kind of growth is going on in Windsor and the rest of previously sleepy Northern Colorado–try browsing by zip code. Personally, I think these towns are where the future of Colorado is going to land.)

The Gadberry Group named Brighton in ‘07 as one of the seven most notable high-growth areas in the nation. But what with the wide-open expanse around it, especially to the east, there are no worries; there’s still plenty of room. Brighton is the county seat of Adams County, which is roughly the size of Rhode Island, and is home to Denver International Airport.  With so many other towns and communities in the northeastern region, Brighton makes a great place to work and play.  Try some of these others areas near Brighton to get a feel for where it’s at, both literally and figuratively.

• Greeley
• Thornton
• Northglenn
• Denver
• Westminster
• Loveland
• Fort Collins
• Henderson
• Frederick
• Firestone
• Dacono
• Longmont
• Fort Lupton
• Platteville
• And many more.  See a map of Brighton to start your own search today.

Photo courtesy of City of Brighton